Gincy Gannon works hard for a living.  Her career as senior editor for a PBS newsletter finds her often working long hours.  Needing a change of pace and a little excitement, Gincy decides to rent a summer home on Martha’s Vineyard.

Danielle Leers has a loving family, stylish wardrobe, and a job that keeps her living the high life.  A summer on Martha’s Vineyard sounds like the perfect way to find a wealthy, hopefully Jewish, professional.

Clare Wellman does have it all.  A prosperous fiancé, a HUGE diamond on her engagement ring, and the opportunity to live happily ever after should make any girl happy.  For Clare the opposite is true, her fiancé plans everything, tells her what to do, when to do it and how to do it.  Clare is ready for a break.  Martha’s Vineyard is the perfect escape.

The three strangers, all nearing their thirties, find themselves becoming unlikely friends and confidantes.  Soon Gincy is falling for the last person she’d ever expect to date – a single dad.  Danielle finds herself in the same predicament; only her beau is a down to earth fisherman.  As for Clare, she dreads her impending nuptials, which should be the happiest time in her life.  Clare realizes she has a tough decision to make…

Gincy’s romance is the highlight of the book, in my opinion.  She has the hardest transition to make.  She goes from being single, with no suitor in her life, to finding herself falling for a single dad and his son.  Making such a choice is a huge commitment, and her character does not jump right in.  She struggles with all angles of such a relationship.  Holly Chamberlin does an exceptional job of creating what could be a simple romance, but adding in the difficulties that any woman in that situation faces.

Clare has been pushed around her entire life.  Her character is a little wishy-washy for my tastes at first.  However, once you get to understand why she acts in that manner, you see her in a whole new light.  When she starts tapping into the feminine strength that you know should be there, you cannot help but cheer her on!

Danielle is more complex than the other two.  She is a Jewish princess and expects things done on her terms or not at all.  When the fisherman comes into her life, you immediately get a sense of how hard it is for her to just admit she is in love with a man who is not rich, not Jewish, and shares very few of her own ideals.  While she is willing to bend to some degree, I found her less lenient than the other two.  Therefore, I had more issues with her character.

With summer right around the bend, THE SUMMER OF US is a great choice for your summertime beach reads.  A clever mix of sassy attitude and romance, I found myself eagerly turning pages to find out what happened next.