A Hundred Summers

By: Beatriz Williams

Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

As the 1938 hurricane approaches Rhode Island, another storm brews in this New York Times best-selling beach listen from the author of Her Last Flight and The Golden Hour. Lily Dane has returned to Seaview, Rhode Island, where her family has summered for generations. It’s an escape not only from New York’s social scene but from a heartbreak that still haunts her. Here, among the seaside community that has embraced her since childhood, she finds comfort in the familiar rituals of summer.

But this summer is different. Budgie and Nick Greenwald - Lily’s former best friend and former fiancé - have arrived, too, and Seaview’s elite are abuzz. Under Budgie’s glamorous influence, Lily is seduced into a complicated web of renewed friendship and dangerous longing.

As a cataclysmic hurricane churns north through the Atlantic, and uneasy secrets slowly reveal themselves, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional storm that will change their worlds forever...

Listeners guide included.

©2013 Beatriz Williams (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"[A] fast-paced love story...the scorching sun illuminates a friend’s 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 it’s a perfect storm."(Good Housekeeping)

Contrived but sweet

Typical love story.. very contrived but sweet. Made my commute pass by easily. Ready for a thriller next though.

Couldn't stop listening

Great story, and always intruguing, making me want to listen to more and find out what happens next. Lily's character gets annoying on occasion for her super naive thinking but otherwise very pleasant to listen to.

A Delicious Listen!

This book was really hard to stop listening to...I recommend having a couple of hours uninterrupted to listen to the final third of the book. The story had everything I love in a light read, romance, mystery, and likeable characters and I loved learning more about pre-war America...not a time period I have read much about. I highly recommend this one...it had me thinking about it while I was away from my ipod!

Perfect Book!

Back in time one car learn and admire the passages of important events. This is a true vivid story of what I heard from my grandparents. I was so involved on the story, the narrative is amazing!

Just OK.

Any additional comments?

Story drags on too long for my taste. Could have probably done without 1/3 of the book. Not terrible, just ok.

LOVE!

This is one of my favorite books! Love every book by this author so far!!

I really enjoyed this book but..

I loved this book, and I'm so happy that it came highly recommended to me from NPR. However, I almost didn't make it through because the first hour or two was incredibly droll. I knew it would be worth it so I kept pushing through.
Then, I couldn't put it down. Audiobooks are usually a only-when-driving listen for me, but I found myself listening while cooking, working, and before falling asleep. It was a beautiful escape and took me back to a time of obsessive love, girlfriend cattiness, pure intentions, and blissful passion.

I would rank the narrator as my current favorite on Audible. Her range with the voices is very good, and I appreciate the pep and cadence.

I only gave a lower overall rating because of how tough the beginning was to get through.

Good, not great

Good, not great. Good summer read. I wasn’t expecting the twist. Seemed a little unbelievable at times, but I still enjoyed it.

Most credit worthy listen all year!

I haven't read a lot of fiction based on life in the thirties. Literary requirements of college and high school, while great literature, aren't exactly uplifting. I didn't finish "The Grapes of Wrath" and long to read more about those exciting 1930's! Okay, so I shouldn't throw that title around with light Summer reading.

This story is about a group of privileged New Englanders, who with a couple of exceptions, experienced the financial crises of those times only in abstract way. They still summered in picturesque, elite New England seaside communities; mostly ignored prohibition, and attended elite Northeastern universities. The characters were realistic and well developed. Despite their privileged life, they still managed to screw this up royally, as people will. This was NOT the 1930's my stalwart Midwestern grandparents told me about. The writer's descriptions of the idyllic, and ridiculously idle life of summer in an affluent Rhode Island seaside community drew me in completely. The writer skillfully reminds us of the absence of modern day technology (an extremely wealthy man at the mercy of the timer on a payphone because he's out of change....a payphone? I forgot about those) or the heroine's references to an article she just read in Time about this stuff called 'adrenaline'. #1, Time was already around, providing continuity with today and #2 adrenaline was a new discovery, oh how far science has come.

I learned a lesson in selecting this title. I tend to be lazy when choosing my next listen. I have had a rule not to choose titles with less than a 4,0 reader rating. Since this book was new and had only one rating, I clicked on the author's name to see how other titles were rated and was reminded that Ms. Williams also wrote "Overseas", another of my favorites. In doing so, I was very surprised to see that book only carried a 3.something rating now. In looking at the reviews, I see many of the less charitable reviews related to the genre classification (science fiction as well as romance) and the comparison somewhere to "Outlander" (not at all a fair comparison) rather than the story itself.
So, from now on, if a book looks interesting, I'll take the time to see what the negatives are before I disregard it. What other interesting authors have I carelessly overlooked with my silly rule?

I highly recommend this book, this author and this narrator.

Satisfying Beach Read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It is a wonderful, languid beach read. A lovely period piece, very descriptive and entertaining. I didn't want the story to end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Hundred Summers?

There are many memorable moments of A Hundred Summers - the great storm, how Nick ended up with Budgie, the moment Lily discovers what society really thinks of her... it's all delicious!

Which character – as performed by Kathleen McInerney – was your favorite?

I liked the voice of Lily and Budgie. Kathleen McInerney was able to voice all of the characters in a way that I was able to tell who was who every single time.

Who was the most memorable character of A Hundred Summers and why?

Lily, of course. It is her story and it is a good story. A Hundred Summers is a great escape and a beautiful love story.