Ironically, I finished The Summer House just before a winter storm hit. Sounds 2020 style, doesn’t it?

The Summer House brings readers to a small retirement village called “Safe Harbor” — the perfect name. It became a safe harbor for Lily as she hit the RESET button on her life. I couldn’t help but feel drawn to her character. She seemed so vulnerable yet resilient, not allowing circumstances to pull her down. Her quiet strength was a striking contrast to Rose’s demeanor. I loved seeing the way Denton smoothly transitioned her characters into change.

The first 2/3 of this book had a slow, steady movement that felt like honey dripping off a warm biscuit. The final third seemed to fly by, and didn’t feel as cohesive to me. I also wanted MORE information about the resolution. There was a soft closure to the story, and it left me wondering, “What next?” It occurred to me that Denton could create a Safe Harbor series in which she brings us into the side characters’ lives….and I’d sign up for that!

Side note — This book comes from Thomas Nelson publishing, which I have always associated with Christian fiction. I don’t know if they’re making a clear switch to mainstream or what, but this book didn’t really fit that CF bill. While it was a clean read, it didn’t have the faith element that I have come to expect from this publisher. It also had many references to drinking alcohol. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I certainly wouldn’t gift it to my strictly Christian-fiction-reading grandmother who would twitch from all the mentions of cocktails. I will have to be careful in previewing Thomas Nelson books before sharing them with her! My rating of Summer House was not impacted by this observation, but it was worth noting for those of you who might go into this expecting a Christian viewpoint.