Summer on the Bluffs: A Novel

Written by Sunny Hostin

Narrated by January LaVoy

New York Times Bestseller!

The View cohost and New York Times bestselling author Sunny Hostin dazzles with this brilliant novel about a life-changing summer along the beaches of Martha's Vineyard.

Welcome to Oak Bluffs, the most exclusive Black beach community in the country. Known for its gingerbread Victorian-style houses and modern architectural marvels, this picturesque town hugging the sea is a mecca for the crème de la crème of Black society—where Michelle and Barack Obama vacation and Meghan Markle has shopped for a house for her mom. Black people have lived in this pretty slip of the Vineyard since the 1600s and began buying property in the 1800s, making this posh town the embodiment of “old money.”

Thirty years ago, Amelia Vaux Tanner and her husband built a house high on the bluffs, a cottage they named Chateau Laveau. For decades, “Ama” played host to American presidents, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons. But her favorite guests have always been her three “goddaughters:” Esperanza “Perry” Soto, a beautiful, talented Afro-Latina lawyer with Ama’s strong, yet guarded personality; Olivia Jones, a gifted Wall Street analyst with Ama’s brilliant, logical mind; and Billie Hayden, a gifted marine biologist and rule-breaker with Ama’s courageous free spirit.

Growing up, these three goddaughters from different backgrounds came together each summer at Chateau Laveau. As adults, the cottage is a place this trio of successful yet very different women go to escape, to slow down from their hectic lives, share private time with Ama, and enjoy the gorgeous weather, cool water, and stunning views Oak Bluffs offers. 

This summer on the Bluffs, however, will be different. An era is ending: Ama, now nearing seventy-one, is moving to the south of France to reunite with her college sweetheart. She has invited Perry, Olivia, and Billie to spend one last golden summer together with her the way they did when they were kids. And when fall comes, she is going to give the house to one of them.

Each of the women wants the house desperately. Each is grappling with a secret she fears will hurt her and her chances. By the end of summer, old ties will fray, new bonds will be created, and these three found sisters will discover they aren’t the only ones with something to hide. Ama has a few secrets of her own. What she has to give them is far more than property. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, she will tell these surrogate daughters she fiercely loves and protects everything they never knew they needed to know.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9780062994202

Sunny Hostin

Attorney and four-time Emmy Award–winning, legal journalist Sunny Hostin is a co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View. She is the author of Summer on the Bluffs and Summer on Sag Harbor as well as I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds. Hostin received her undergraduate degree in communications from Binghamton University and her law degree from Notre Dame Law School. A native of New York City, she lives with her husband and two children in Westchester County, New York.

Reviews for Summer on the Bluffs

[Karen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bluffy, fluffy summer escape. I read mostly nonfiction, so it was good to abandon reality and enjoy a scandalous break at the Vineyard shore. Characters are fun to learn about, and there were enough twists to hold my interest. A great summer read.

[Bren G · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book! I loved the whole storyline. I cried and laughed.

[Kathy Fornelli · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyable read! I wish it would have gone on!

[Sandra Middleton · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully narrated. I felt the love. I saw the sunshine and the affirmation of my roots.

[Nan Rice · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book! My first audio book and I'm hooked!

[Renishia P · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great Read or Listen....the storyline kept you wanting to know what's gonna happen next. I really enjoyed it!

[Vergie Anderson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was great. Great job, Sunny and your audio readers.

[Ann James · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm frustrated with the ending!!! The book was amazing and I was hooked, but I had a ton of questions! I really hope there's a sequel!

[Patt Mihailoff · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I must admit that I liked this book but I didn’t love it.

One of my fellow reviewers said that that there was too much TELL and not enough SHOW. I must agree since they have been drumming that into me from the first time I began writing.

I have been to Martha’s Vinyard, and I loved it. I wished I had been privileged enough to be able to have afforded a “cottage” there let alone a HUGE mansion beachfront etc. property.

The vineyard has an impressive African American history, and I was not only surprised (all those years ago) but elated.

Sunny is beautiful so of course she would write about beautiful people.

There were a lot of characters in this novel and easily confused, but there were some characters that were THROWN IN that I liked and felt bad for. NiKESH was one of them, I did feel however that since he was going to be thrown to the wind, the INTIMATE scene with Perri was not necessary. I liked the fact that it was indicated that MOST marriages are a continued WORK IN PROGRESS, especially with Perri and her husband Damon. I felt he was too focused on his “friends” and had to learn that when you have a wife, its about her and none of your friends (no matter how close) are allowed to refer to her as “THAT BITCH WIFE OF YOURS!”. He needed to check his friend.

Like so many women of the darker hue, Olivia had to find her own worth and learn to love herself. This is a problem with us on many levels. I love the fact that Anderson loved her even though he tried too hard. He was funny and sincere in his love for her.

Writing is subjective. Some people will like this novel, and some won’t. Some people will object to the “rich, beautiful, smart” characters and others will say the same thing can be accomplished with lesser attributes, because it is about the journey.

All in all, it’s not a bad summer read, and was enjoyable.

[Beverly Tucker Childress · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I felt like I was there the entire time. I also learned so much about food, travel and art. This was exciting and educational! Magnificent!!

[The Opinionated Virgo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It took me a second to get into it because of all of the character development early on, but I was in love by the end! A very pleasant read. Would recommend!

[Lynda Delsol · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was a fun summer read. The characters were not very deep, somewhat simplistic. Been to the Vineyard many times so it was fun to hear about places and traditions that I experienced.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Heftier than a normal beach read, but still a wonderful novel for and of summer.

[froxgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beach read featuring an all-Black cast! There are many fascinating characters here, though the founding mother and father are a bit too perfect. Ama and Omar are a power couple, wealthy from Wall St, who build a summer "cottage" on the Vineyard and support three goddaughters, now all successes on their own, or mostly through the financial and advising interventions of the godparents. When Omar dies, Ama decides to leave the Oak Bluffs cottage to one of the girls, and the novel delves into back stories to explain her decision. There's lot of love, a little bit of sex, many brand names, and also a heartfelt guide to the Vineyard's Black spaces and history. A perfect beach read - smart and a bit silly but never dumb or boring.

[brangwinn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A very enjoyable summer book. I enjoyed the characters, but felt I was being told the story rather than being able to “experience” the story unfold. The elements are all there for a summer book, the wealthy, love, secrets, and family. It was refreshing to see Black people as residents of a wealthy Martha’s Vineyard enclave.