Summer Island: A Novel

Written by Shelley Noble

Narrated by Marni Penning

New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble pens a heartwarming story of a mother-daughter road trip to the beach and to self-discovery.

When reporter Phoebe Adams loses her job and her fiancé on the same day, it never occurs to her that she’ll also have to support her mother, Ruth, through her divorce from Phoebe’s father after thirty-five years of marriage. They both need a safe haven, and Phoebe knows just the place—Summer Island where Grandma Alice still rules the roost from the big New England beach house Phoebe and Ruth once called home.

But “home” has changed. There’s a trendy new look downtown. Large beach houses are replacing the old; the Harken house next door is in disrepair.

Phoebe’s plan for a peaceful retreat is quickly hijacked when globe-trotting Great Aunt Vera makes an unannounced pit stop. With Vera around, no one can stay morose for long, not even Lars, the grumpy widower next door, or his son Ty, formerly geeky middle child all grown up into a handsome and enigmatic man. Soon they’re all enjoying things they used to do and discovering new ones. Each adventure opens a part of themselves they’ve neglected for too long and brings them closer together.

But when an accident threatens to destroy the tenuous tie between them, Phoebe realizes how fragile life can be, and that she has some serious choices to make about her own life. It will take the support of her newly awakened family and the magic of Summer Island for Phoebe to embrace the challenge of an unexpected future and to trust her own heart.

In Summer Island, Shelley Noble once again creates a thought-provoking and life-affirming beach read that will stay with you long after the last tan of summer fades.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9780063118478

Shelley Noble

Shelley Noble is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Whisper Beach, Beach Colors, and The Tiffany Girls, the story of the largely unknown women artists responsible for much of Tiffany’s legendary glasswork, as well as several historical mysteries. A former professor, professional dancer and choreographer, she now lives in New Jersey halfway between the shore, where she loves visiting lighthouses and vintage carousels, and New York City, where she delights in the architecture, the theatre, and ferreting out the old stories behind the new. Shelley is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Historical Novel Society.

Reviews for Summer Island

[Andrea Author · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After losing her job, her boyfriend, and her home in one fell swoop, reporter Phoebe goes to stay with her mother and grandmother at the beach. There, she reconnects with Ty, son of her grandmother's neighbor. He thinks Phoebe is too nosy. She thinks he has no ambition.

The truth is more complicated. As Phoebe and Ty get to know each other better, they find they have more in common than they think. Could this temporary situation lead to something more permanent?

I love Shelley Noble! This book is more women's fiction than romance, with a complicated web of relationships between Phoebe, her mother, her grandmother, and her great-aunt. Ty is also dealing with family issues: he lost his mom; his father is suffering from depression; and his brothers don't think running his foundation is a real job. Phoebe and Ty help each other deal with loss, love, and finding a place to belong.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.