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Summer on the Bluffs (Oak Bluffs #1)
By Sunny Hostin
432 pages
Published May 4, 2021 by William Morrow
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I used to be a big fan of The View and loved hearing Sunny’s opinion on hot topics. She is intelligent, respectful and a little sassy and I really appreciate her views. I was so excited to see this new book from Sunny and was thankful to have received an ARC from #NetGalley.
We clearly do not have enough black representation in either authors or in main characters. And especially in fun beach read stories or stories reflecting, wealthy successful women. I was over the moon excited when I picked up this one.
Unfortunately, this story fell really flat for me. I loved that the characters were black, successful, wealthy women, but past that, the story was very weak. Characters in each chapter had to be described by what they were wearing, from head to toe. Designer names and very specific articles of clothing were mentioned ad nauseam. If it was sprinkled throughout, maybe just at the big events, I could have had fun with that. But it was at the club, or in the coffee shop, or in the office, or at home getting dressed for work, or when someone was seen on the street, any time and all the time. Just too much!
Also, the book referenced other black women in negative ways. Now why would Sunny do that? I just can’t fathom it. One example is a slam against Meghan Markle. Unnecessary. It didn’t move the plot forward, didn’t fit in the storyline and wasn’t necessary. A story about successful black women doesn’t need to detract from other black women. I don’t get it!
The characters themselves started out interesting, but quickly became very shallow shells throughout the book. The story also begins with an interesting theme but then skips around so much that the main thread – which of the goddaughters is going to inherit the house – is completely lost. Like gone.
It was really a mess of a story and by the end, I just didn’t care.
Thank you to #WilliamMorrow and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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