Book Review: My Summer Darlings | May Cobb

Grab the ice cold beverage of your choice and get yourself to your nearest pool or beachside lounger because May Cobb has delivered another salacious summer read in My Summer Darlings! This book is wild and totally over-the-top, featuring a sexy new neighbor and a trio of friends (not to mention their other neighbors) who are hot and bothered and ready to let this man ruin their lives. A spicy thriller to heat up your day!

About the Book | My Summer Darlings

Three lifelong friends plus a dangerous, sexy new stranger in town add up to a scorching summer of manipulation, obsession, and murder, from the acclaimed author of The Hunting Wives.

A woman in the forest thinks she’s going to die.
I know he’s coming back for me.

Jen Hansen, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols have been friends since childhood. They are now approaching forty and their lives have changed, but their insular East Texas town has not. They stay sane by drinking wine in the afternoons, dishing about other women in the neighborhood, and bonding over the heartache of their own encroaching middle age and raising ungrateful teens.

Then Will Harding comes to town, moving into one of the neighborhood’s grandest homes. Mysterious and charming, he seems like the answer to each woman’s prayers. He’s a source of fascination for Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, but none of them are ready for the way Will disrupts their lives.

As Will grows closer with each of the women, their fascination twists into obsession, threatening their friendships and their families. When he abruptly pulls away, each woman scrambles to discover the source of his affection. But what they’ll uncover is far more sinister and deadly than any of them could have ever imagined.

Review | My Summer Darlings

Ladies, ladies, ladies—I beg you keep your head straight, your eyes above shoulder height, and your panties on around mysterious new neighbor Will Harding! I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced quite this level of hot-and-bothered attraction, but it sure made for a fun read! These friends seem so close but they are certainly willing to wreck their lives and their friendships for Will Harding.

Set in a small town in East Texas, My Summer Darlings is told through multiple narrators and centers largely around three friends who live in the same suburban community and have been friends since high school. They spend their days drinking wine, gossiping about their neighbors, and sitting poolside to beat the Texas heat.

The book begins when Jen Hansen has just moved back locally in the wake of a devastating divorce. Jen is barely scraping by for herself and her teenage son, helped in large part by her parents who live nearby and have given her their home while she regroups. Jen’s teenage son isn’t so happy to leave Austin for smalltown life, but the promise of a car for his sixteenth birthday (as well as the attractive teenage daughter of Kitty who lives nearby) soften the move.

Kitty Spear is the queen bee of the friend group (and of their high school back in the day) and she loves to be the center of attention. Kitty is always happy to supply wine and gourmet appetizers (which financially-struggling Jen appreciates) in exchange for a gossipy girls night where they can catch up on their neighbors and Jen’s desolate love life. Kitty has a husband who adores her and a teenage daughter who inherited her unique combination of magnetism and crushing need for attention.

Cynthia Nichols has been Kitty’s righthand gal, especially when Jen was living away from Cedartown for many years, and she thinks of herself as the brains of the trio. Cynthia is in therapy and working through how to be more assertive with what she’s looking for in terms of intimacy with her husband. Cynthia also is richer than sin, and lives a seemingly happy life, grateful to have Jen back.

When sexy stranger with a mysterious and hard-to-place accent Will Harding moves to town, all of the women in Cedartown are hot and bothered to learn more about the new snack around the block. Jen is particularly entranced. Perhaps Will could be just what she needs to get over her ex and have some fun. But Jen isn’t the only one who seems to be interested in Will. In fact, happily married Cynthia and Kitty (among other neighborhood women) can’t seem to stay away from him. And Will certainly plays into their desires!

There is something strange about Will, though. He is very hot and cold with each interaction we see him in. Even though he seems interested in Jen, including spending time with her teenage son working on his car, he still seems to enjoy flirting (and maybe more) with other women. Even stranger, why does he claim to not have a cell phone? And where exactly did he come from?

Meanwhile a mysterious fourth narrator speaking from a time in the near future is in a bad way—captured and fighting for her life. Who is this woman, and who is responsible for the situation she is trapped in? Will she survive?

The first half of the book was like Desperate Housewives in a totally fun way. As the second half begins, the tension gets higher and higher as these women cannot get a grip on themselves around Will. As their lives and friendships speed on a collision course that is sure to end in catastrophic emotional turmoil, the tension from the fourth narrator increases. And by the last 30% of the book the twists and turns will have you glued to the book, unable to stop (except maybe to refill your drink).

No one in the book other than maybe Jen is particularly likable, and even she has some erratic and over-the-top scenes that will make you either like her more or question her life choices (or both!). It’s hard to feel badly for Kitty, Cynthia, or most of the neighbors with their posh lifestyles which they treat flippantly. Will is so mysterious it is almost as infuriating for the reader as it is for the women in the town. It does help you see why he might be such a draw for these women, though. Nothing can draw the eye like a tall, dark, handsome, mystery man who seems wounded.

But none of this really detracts from the book in my opinion because we are not here for the characters arcs and growth, we are here for the drama. And let me tell you, these ladies bring the drama!

Addictive and compulsively readable—this is a perfect summer thriller!

The Ending | My Summer Darlings

Caution opening the dropdown below if you haven’t read My Summer Darlings yet! I encourage you to wait to read this until you’ve finished the book, as these include details about the ending of the book as well as my spoiler-filled final thoughts. You’ve been warned!