The Summer Getaway

Title:  The Summer Getaway

Author:  Susan Mallery

Publication Information:  HQN. 2022. 416 pages.

ISBN:  1335479996 / 978-1335479990

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley and a publisher's blog tour free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "'I'm going to sleep with Dimitri.'"

Favorite Quote:  "No one who's an awful person is willing to consider the possibility that she's awful. Self-awareness requires intelligence..."

***** BLOG TOUR *****

Review

This book deals with infidelity, an absentee parent, death, mother-child angst, military service, an unplanned pregnancy, bridezilla, divorce, financial insecurity, childhood cancer, and more. At the same time, it deals with love, dreams, hopes, friendship, and the courage to pursue them. It features an odd mansion on the Santa Barbara coast overlooking the ocean. It features the kind of wealth that can afford such a mansion.

So much happens in this book that it makes for a fun read because it is so over the top. Robyn Caldwell is at the heart of this story. She is there for everyone - her ex-husband, her boyfriend, her kids, her friend who also happens to be her boss, and her aunt. The question of it all is where and who is Robyn beyond all that surrounds her. Who was she before she started putting everyone else first?

The thing is she has the luxury of finding out. She has the luxury of an escape to her aunt's home in California. The fact that the home happens to be a gigantic ocean front mansion helps. The fact that Robyn  is to be at least partial heir to her aunt's fortune helps. The fact that she meets the other heir when she gets to California helps. Let's just say the book isn't exactly grounded in the day to day reality of most of our lives. However, that makes this perfect escapist reading.

Robyn gets her momentary escape until everyone - and I do mean everyone - somehow ends up following her to California. Her son Austin is figuring out who is going to be when he grows up. Her daughter Harlow needs to grow up and define her self beyond an indulged kid. Harlow and her fiancé need to determine if their relationship is a partnership between adults. Robyn's ex-husband is still trying to get Robyn to solve his problems. The ex-boyfriend cannot take rejection. Even the friend intrudes on Robyn's escape with her own crisis. In the middle of all this, Robyn herself must figure out what is next for her own life.

Some of the scenes and the chaos that ensues is completely over the top. Yes, emotions and situations that are closer to real life. Some I find myself relating. Yet, the fact that all of this happens to Robyn and at the same time leaves me laughing at the circumstances. Laughter is a good thing in an escapist read. I am not sure if that is the intended impact, but it works for me.

All the individual stories end up about where I expect them to, but it is a fun journey getting there.

About the Book

Already a worldwide success in mass market and trade paperback formats, Susan Mallery’s newest hardcover is an emotional, witty, and heartfelt story about a woman who takes a trip to California to figure out her life and get a break from her family...only to be reminded that life--and your children--follow you wherever you go. With a powerful mother/daughter relationship at its core, fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Susan Wiggs, Mary Alice Monroe, and Nancy Thayer will love this book.

Robyn Caldwell’s family is driving her crazy. There’s Harlow, her daughter, who’s engaged to a man she’s only known a short time and is rapidly turning into bridezilla. And her son, Austin, who would rather work with his dad’s family charter boating business than go to college. Her friend, Mindy, who’s playing with fire by contemplating an affair with her tennis instructor. And let’s not forget her ex-husband whose bad behavior has just crossed the line yet again.

Robin needs some time to catch her breath and figure out what her next step should be. So when her beloved aunt Lillian asks her to come to Santa Barbara for an overdue visit, Robyn jumps at the chance. Her aunt Lillian is working on settling her affairs and a distant relative is staying with her that stands to inherit the house. Trouble is the last thing Robyn needs, but she refuses to let her aunt be taken advantage of.

While staying in her aunt’s beautiful, quirky mansion and spending time in the Santa Barbara sunshine with the woman who’s like a mother to her, Robyn will see herself—and the people she loves most—with a bit more clarity. And it will push her to take chances she hadn’t dreamed of before.

But life has a funny way of following you wherever you go. What began as an escape soon becomes an unforgettable adventure…and Robyn is ready to dive in, feet first.

About the Author

SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship and romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations," and readers seem to agree—forty million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live.

Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband. She's passionate about animal welfare, especially that of the two Ragdoll cats and adorable poodle who think of her as Mom.

Q&A with Susan Mallery

Tell us about your latest book, who is the main character(s) and what can we expect when we pick it up?
The Summer Getaway, which will be out on March 15, is the story of Robyn Caldwell, a mom who has one too many things on her plate—her daughter’s wedding demands, her son’s refusal to grow up, her best friend’s self-destructive behavior, and her ex-husband’s wildly inappropriate new girlfriend: their daughter’s soon-to-be sister-in-law. She’s been focusing on everyone else’s problems so much that she forgot to make a plan for her own future.

She needs a minute. So Robyn hops on a plane to visit her beloved great-aunt Lillian in sunny Santa Barbara, to give herself time and space to figure out what she wants the rest of her life to look like. But she’s the heart of her family, and those family ties draw everyone she loves to follow her across the country, one by one.

I adore Robyn, a smart, nurturing mom who has given so much that she forgot about herself. I think a lot of us women are like that, and I think readers will be thrilled to go along on Robyn’s journey of self-discovery.

Give us an out of context quote from your book to warm our hearts.
Harlow's gaze turned knowing. "You're protecting him. Not because you're still in love with him, but because he's my father. This is about me, not him." She smiled. "You're a good mom. I hope when I have kids I'm just like you."

Which of your characters would you want to share a campfire with, and why?
Oh, Robyn, for sure. First of all, because she’s the kind of woman I love to have as a friend—great sense of humor, good conversationalist, loving, loyal, smart. And secondly, because the woman knows how to cook. (That said, I would choose a fireside table at a nice restaurant. I don’t get the appeal of eating outside.)

Where do you get your ideas for your books, characters, series?
Ideas come from everywhere – conversations, articles. Songs are a great source of inspiration for me. I’m convinced that there’s a book in every country music song, but you might be surprised at the idea that comes from a song. For me, it’s not about the lyrics or the story of the song, as much as it is about the emotions.

So yes, ideas are everywhere, but the idea is merely a spark. The tough part is fanning that spark into flames, into a full-length women’s fiction novel. I’ve had a lot of ideas that weren’t good enough to sustain a book. I either have to reassign it as a subplot, or let it go. (That is so hard sometimes!)

The spark that led to The Summer Getaway is something no one would ever, ever guess. I had an idea to write a story about a woman who has fallen in love with an oil painting and goes in search of the artist, sure that they will share a deep connection. Instead, she discovers that the painting means nothing to him. He paints the same scene over and over again because it sells.

But there’s no artist in The Summer Getaway. No contemporary oil painting. While brainstorming the book, the idea morphed beyond recognition from that initial spark. Inspiration is a funny, ineffable thing. You don’t know where it will lead. All you can do is loosen the reins on your mind and let it run.

I couldn’t be happier with the end result. The Summer Getaway is a heartfelt, emotion-filled story of one woman’s triumph over self-doubt. Robyn is nurturing and fiercely loyal, and I love her.

I might still write about that artist. . .

Do you interconnect series and locations or is it one and done with series?
Sometimes series are connected to other series, sometimes not. The Summer Getaway is a standalone novel, not part of a series. But when it comes to series, the Fool’s Gold series segued into the Happily Inc series. The Blackberry Island series segued into the Mischief Bay series—and then I returned to Blackberry Island with Sisters by Choice. A teenager in the Bakery Sisters series ended up as the hero of one of the Fool’s Gold books, Finding Perfect. (That was a reader’s suggestion, by the way.)

How do you keep track of your characters when a series is longer...do you keep what I have heard referred to as a "Bible"?
I do have a series bible that my assistant creates. The Fool’s Gold bible is about 300 pages long. Every character is in it, with whatever specific details have appeared on the page—age, height, hair and eye color, where they went to college, what kind of car they drive. . . And because animals are so important in my books, even the animals are included in the bible.

Did you love books as a child, what age did you begin to read and devour books, and what is the first book that you remember that made a difference in your writing (as a child or later)?
Oh yes, I was a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. Every Saturday, my dad took me to the library, and the rule was that I was allowed to check out as many books as I could carry. We would go home, and I’d read them all that day, and then spend the week re-reading the ones I loved. When a librarian told me how many more books I could carry if I used a tote bag, she changed my life!

I didn’t start writing until I was in college (studying accounting). In addition to my full courseload, I took an evening class titled How to Write a Romance Novel. By week six of the eight-week course, I knew I wanted to write books.

My goal, still, is to make each book better than the last, so I continue to study the craft of writing. I don’t remember the first book that made a difference in my writing, so I’ll tell you about a book that did so more recently—Save the Cat! It’s a book on screenwriting. Although I don’t have aspirations of writing screenplays, I like to study screenwriting because I find the story structure helpful. Save the Cat! talked about the importance of high stakes in a way that made me think differently when plotting my books. In my books, the stakes aren’t actual life and death, but they’re deeply emotional stories, and the stakes need to feel like emotional life and death to the characters and to the reader.

Can you remember one or more early books that influenced you? What were they? Did you remain interested in the same type of stories over the decades or did your interests change? 
When I was a teenager, I discovered my best friend’s mom’s stash of romance novels. She let me borrow them whenever I wanted. I still remember the feeling that came over me when reading that first one—that moment of catching my breath when the hero’s and heroine’s eyes met in the mirror—and that early reading experience continues to influence me today.

Do you read the same genre you write or branch out to relax?
I still love reading women’s fiction and romance. I like stories that bring me deep inside characters’ heads and hearts, and I love happy endings.

Do you write under another name or in other genres? If so...please share!
No, I only write under Susan Mallery. Early in my career, I wrote a few historicals as Susan Macias.

How many books have you written?
176 and counting… (including a few that haven’t been published yet—The Boardwalk Bookshop will be out in May, Home Sweet Christmas in October, and The Sister Effect next year, assuming the title doesn’t change.) And I’m working on more.

Is writing easy or difficult...or should I ask what parts are easy and what parts are difficult?
The beginning of a book usually goes relatively slowly for me as I get to know the characters. But once I’m in the groove, the actual writing goes pretty fast and smoothly for me. I do a lot of plot work before I ever sit down to write, and that works for me.

The more challenging part for me, after all these books, is to come up with ideas that I haven’t already written about, but that still give readers the experience they want from one of my stories. Variety makes it more interesting and fun for me, too.

Tell us about what you are reading at the moment or anticipate reading in the future? Any new books you are looking forward to?
Christina Dodd has a new one coming out this summer that I can’t wait to read—Point Last Seen. She’s a master of romantic suspense, and I find myself holding my breath as I read. I’m currently reading First Comes Baby by one of my favorite romance authors and one of my favorite people, Christine Rimmer.

Social Links

Twitter: @susanmallery
Facebook: @susanmallery
Instagram: @susanmallery
Author website: https://www.susanmallery.com/

Buy Links

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-summer-getaway/9781335479990
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1335479996?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwsusanmalle-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1335479996
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-summer-getaway-susan-mallery/1139380149?ean=9781335479990
Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Summer-Getaway/Susan-Mallery/9781335479990?id=8185827134866
Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335479990
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093T6319S?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwsusanmalle-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B093T6319S
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-summer-getaway-susan-mallery/1139380149?ean=9780369703668
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Susan_Mallery_The_Summer_Getaway?id=ZgcsEAAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-summer-getaway/id1565341890
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-summer-getaway-1
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Summer-Getaway-Hardcover-9781335479990/209254131 Target: https://www.target.com/p/the-summer-getaway-by-susan-mallery-hardcover/-/A-83982879

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