Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Summerhouse  By  cover art

The Summerhouse

By: Jude Deveraux
Narrated by: Melissa Hughes
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.07

Buy for $15.07

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Jude Deveraux's blockbuster best seller at a new low price!

Three best friends, all with the same birthday, are about to turn 40. Celebrating at a summerhouse in Maine, Leslie Headrick, Madison Appleby, and Ellie Abbott are taking stock of their lives and loves, their wishes and choices. But none of them expect the gift that awaits them at the summerhouse: the chance for each of them to turn their "what-might-have-beens" into reality....

©2012 Simon & Schuster; 2012 Jude Deveraux

What listeners say about The Summerhouse

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    823
  • 4 Stars
    196
  • 3 Stars
    101
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    26
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    772
  • 4 Stars
    171
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    17
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    745
  • 4 Stars
    162
  • 3 Stars
    84
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    26

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

All time favorite Jude Deveraux story...

It is a story of redemption, of healing and of love. Three women meet by chance on their shared 21st birthday and reconnect on their 40th. They discover the things that matter most to themselves and each other. This is the first Jude Deveraux book I ever read and it is still my favorite to date. I appreciate the complexity of choices in this story, that there is consequences to each decision made and that they aren't always good or easy, but still worth it. I hope you enjoy each woman's story as much as I did...it makes me long for my very own summerhouse.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Depression is the loss of hope

How wonderful it would be to go back and change our choices based on what we have learned the first time around.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

self reflective and romantic

it was a little slow in the beginning but the character build up is worth it. Each characters story makes you reflect and pulls you into caring for her...and hoping for her.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Engaging. I didn’t want to stop reading.

Very feel good ending.

STORY BRIEF:
Three women travel to a summerhouse in Maine for a reunion to celebrate their 40th birthday. They share the same birthday. They haven’t seen each other for nineteen years and tell each other about their lives. Terrible and depressing things happened to Madison. A terrible injustice happened to Ellie. Leslie is unhappy and disappointed with people and things. Then a mystical woman offers them a chance to go back in time and spend three weeks there, with their current memories in tact.

The first 2/3 of the book is the story of each woman’s life up until her 40th birthday. The last third is what each of them did during those three weeks and how their lives changed afterwards.

An important part of the story is men who cause heartbreak and ruin. Men also cause happiness. But this is not a “romance novel.” To be romance, more would be needed on the relationships with men. I see this as womens fiction with romantic influences.

OPINION:
Madison’s life was too depressing for me, too much heartbreak. I started thinking I don’t like this book. But the ending reversed it and more than made up for it. It was a wonderful ending. Neat things happened to all three women as a result of their do-overs. This was a creative way to explore the road not taken.

My main complaint was wanting more details and events during each woman’s three week do-over and resulting life.

A second complaint was that during the last third the author jumped around among the three stories too much. She told part of what happened to Ellie, then jumped to part of what happened to Madison and Leslie. Later she returned to finish the Ellie story. It was an “artificial device” to create suspense. The stories were naturally good and didn’t need this.

The narrator Melissa Hughes was good.

Genre: womens fiction with fantasy time-travel and romance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a sweet novel

This was recommended to me by a dear friend. When I start to listen I was very skeptical. I kept listening and oh what a nice book! Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really Enjoyed It!

What did you love best about The Summerhouse?

I cheated, since I've actually read The Summerhouse before and wanted to experience the audible version. What I love the best is the concept of being able to go back and change something that might affect your future for the better.

What other book might you compare The Summerhouse to and why?

There are a many books with this concept and Deveraux actually did a Summerhouse Returns, really good as well, though the trip back went way back in history! I actually read a short e-book called "Anything" and the main character wanted to know his fiance more deeply and was able to go back and change something bad that happened to her with the caveat that when you change one thing, it can ripple to the present and perhaps change something, yes, for the better, but possibly for the worst. I just love that idea!

Which character – as performed by Melissa Hughes – was your favorite?

Leslie, by far is my fave, trying not to give anything away here, as she herself was changed.Something for us to think about sometimes. Leslie had children, so to me you have to think, though her present life left a bit to be desired, you would have to think about the ripple effects. This was my first book with this Narrator as well and I really enjoyed her and will look for other books by her.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I guess I'd say something like 'What would you do to make your life better or perhaps realize its the best life for you after all?'

Any additional comments?

I read a lot and have read many of the reviews on audible so I feel my reviews are going to be somewhat plain but I know what I look for in the books I read so that is what I'll most likely be sharing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book for a book club

I love this book each time I read it. I always ask myself. "If I could go back and change my life, when would I go?" The voice of this reader is soothing and I could listen to her for hours.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book!!!

This was a great book! I did not expect the twist in the middle. It was a delightful story! Great narration too!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Definitely a nice beach read.

Sometimes the story is a bit slow, but it ends well. I do like a good ending!
I accidentally read the second one first. So I had to go back and read the first. I really liked Return to Summerhouse! Actually I liked it a lot better! I recommend it! And you don't have to have read the first one (this one) to enjoy it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good

I gave this book 3 stars because it was a little hard to follow with all the different stores going on. It does come together in the end if you can get though the beginning.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful