Synopses & Reviews
Novels as masterfully done as A Hundred Summers come along only about that often. Beatriz Williams delivers an intricately woven tale of friendship, betrayal, old families, and closely guarded secrets. It is what every beach book should aspire to be smart and engrossing.”Elin Hilderbrand, author of Beautiful Day and the bestselling Summerland [A] fast-paced love story
the scorching sun illuminates a friends betrayal and reignites a romance.” O, The Oprah Magazine Summer of 1938: A scandalous love triangle and a famous hurricane converge in a New England beach community. Add in a betrayal between friends, a marriage for money, and a Yankee pitcher, and its a perfect storm.” Good Housekeeping One of summers best beach reads, as named by People
magazine, Vanity Fair
, O: The Oprah Magazine
and Good Housekeeping
. Memorial Day, 1938: New York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that sustained her after heartbreak.
That is, until Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview.
Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lilys past: her former best friend and her former fiancé, now recently marriedan event that set off a wildfire of gossip among the elite of Seaview, who have summered together for generations. Budgies arrival to restore her familys old house puts her once more in the center of the communitys social scene, and she insinuates herself back into Lily's friendship with an overpowering talent for seduction...and an alluring acquaintance from their college days, Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton. But the ties that bind Lily to Nick are too strong and intricate to ignore, and the two are drawn back into long-buried dreams, despite their uneasy secrets and many emotional obligations.
Under the scorching summer sun, the unexpected truth of Budgie and Nicks marriage bubbles to the surface, and as a cataclysmic hurricane barrels unseen up the Atlantic and into New England, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional cyclone of their own, which will change their worlds forever.
Review
Praise for A Hundred Summers “[A] fast-paced love story…the scorching sun illuminates a friends betrayal and reignites a romance.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine
“Perfect for fans of the Gossip Girl series.” — People
“Summer of 1938: A scandalous love triangle and a famous hurricane converge in a New England beach community. Add in a betrayal between friends, a marriage for money, and a Yankee pitcher, and its a perfect storm.”
—Good Housekeeping
“A candidate for this years big beach read.” —Kirkus
“Novels as masterfully done as A Hundred Summers come along only about that often. Beatriz Williams delivers an intricately woven tale of friendship, betrayal, old families, and closely guarded secrets. It is what every beach book should aspire to be - smart and engrossing.” —Elin Hilderbrand, author of Beautiful Day and the bestselling Summerland
"Smart, delicious writing... Williams adds a signature touch of historic drama." —Library Journal
"Williams' sweeping saga of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption trenchantly examines the often duplicitous nature of female friendships and family friendships."
—Booklist
“A Hundred Summers delivers swoons and intrigue against the backdrop of the 1938 New England hurricane….Williams evokes the era effortlessly and delights in ripping the rug out from under the reader just when the riddles seem easiest to solve. Filled with delicious scandals, catty socialites, and true love, this beach read deserves pride of place in every vacationers tote bag.”
— Shelf Awareness
A Hundred Summers sparkles like the New England summer sun. A brilliantly told tale of love lost and found, of friendship, and of family ties that strangle… Definitely a book for my keeper shelf. —Karen White New York Times-bestselling author of Sea Change
Review
Praise for New York Times Bestselling Author Karen White
“White...keeps those pages turning, so much so that the book can—and should be—finished in one afternoon, interrupted only by a glass of sweet iced tea.”—Oprah.com
“[A] richly detailed narrative.”—The Washington Post
“Worthy of a Tennessee Williams play.”—fayobserver.com (Fayetteville, NC)
“White...write[s] a book that keeps you hankering for more.”—South Charlotte Weekly
“White...weaves together themes of Southern culture, the powerful bond of family, and the courage to rebuild in the face of destruction to create an incredibly moving story her dedicated fans are sure to embrace.”—Moultrie News (SC)
“Karen Whites...delta-drawn narrative is gothic gold.”—The Atlantan
“Storytelling of the highest order: the kind of book that leaves you both deeply satisfied and aching for more.”—Beatriz Williams, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Secret Life of Violet Grant
“A book you could get lost in.”—Delta Magazine
“[A] dedicated artist....Karen Whites talent is ripe for the taking.”—The Huffington Post
“A master storyteller.”—Fresh Fiction
“Truly gifted.”—Las Vegas Review-Journal
Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling author of The Guests on South Battery explores a Southern family's buried history, which will change the life of the woman who unearths it, secret by shattering secret.
Two years after the death of her husband, Merritt Heyward receives unexpected news--Cal's family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by his reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt.
In Beaufort, the secrets of Cal's unspoken-of past reside among the pluff mud and jasmine of the ancestral Heyward home on the Bluff. This unknown legacy, now Merritt's, will change and define her as she navigates her new life--a life complicated by the arrival of her too young stepmother and ten-year-old half brother.
Soon, in this house of strangers, Merritt is forced into unraveling the Heyward family past as she faces her own fears and finds the healing she needs in the salt air of the Lowcountry.
Synopsis
A war bride awaits the arrival of her GI husband at the platformand#133; and#160;
A Holocaust survivor works at the Oyster Bar, where a customer reminds him of his late motherand#133;
and#160;
A Hollywood hopeful anticipates her first screen test and a chance at stardom in the Kissing Roomand#133;
and#160;
On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York Cityand#8217;s Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.
and#160;
Now, ten bestselling authors inspired by this iconic landmark have created their own stories, set on the same day, just after the end of World War II, in a time of hope, uncertainty, change, and renewaland#133;.
Featuring stories from
and#160;
Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Aviatorand#8217;s Wife
Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us
Amanda Hodgkinson, New York Times bestselling author of 22 Britannia Road
Pam Jenoff, bestselling author of The Ambassadorand#8217;s Daughter
Sarah Jio, New York Times bestselling author of Blackberry Winter
Sarah McCoy, bestselling author of The Bakerand#8217;s Daughter
Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Alyson Richman, bestselling author of The Lost Wife
Erika Robuck, critically acclaimed author of Hemingwayand#8217;s Girl
Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of After the Rain
and#160;
With an Introduction by
Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Home Front
Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling author of A Long Time Gone now explores a Southern familys buried history, which will change the life of the woman who unearths it, secret by shattering secret.
It has been two years since the death of Merritt Heywards husband, Cal, when she receives unexpected newsCals family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by Cals reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt.
Charting the course of an uncertain lifeand feeling guilt from her husbands tragic deathMerritt travels from her home in Maine to Beaufort, where the secrets of Cals unspoken-of past reside among the pluff mud and jasmine of the ancestral Heyward home on the Bluff. This unknown legacy, now Merritts, will change and define her as she navigates her new lifea new life complicated by the arrival of her too young stepmother and ten-year-old half-brother.
Soon, in this house of strangers, Merritt is forced into unraveling the Heyward family past as she faces her own fears and finds the healing she needs in the salt air of the Low Country.
About the Author
Melanie Benjamin,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Aviatorand#8217;s Wife Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us
Amanda Hodgkinson, New York Times bestselling author of 22 Britannia Road
Pam Jenoff, bestselling author of The Ambassadorand#8217;s Daughter
Sarah Jio, New York Times bestselling author of Blackberry Winter
Sarah McCoy, bestselling author of The Bakerand#8217;s Daughter
Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Alyson Richman, bestselling author of The Lost Wife
Erika Robuck, critically acclaimed author of Hemingwayand#8217;s Girl
Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of After the Rain