The Summer We Ran

This is a story that transcends generations—a novel built on an idea and conflict that could take place anywhere, at any time. At its heart is a question: What is the power of one summer?

Two people—deeply connected in just a few short months—must face the reality of love colliding with tradition, class, and ambition. Can young love survive the weight of expectations? Or is it doomed to become just another lost chapter in history?

Years later, Tests and Grant—once lovers, now rivals—stand at the brink of a new battle. No longer bound by romance but by politics, ambition, and the ghosts of their past, they face off for the governorship of Virginia. With the shadow of that long-ago summer looming over both campaigns, how can show more either hope to win?

Will long-buried secrets be exposed? Will either use the past to their advantage? And how will their families withstand the fallout?

The novel keeps these questions at the heart of its narrative, and the author’s dual-timeline approach masterfully builds the tension, weaving regret and ambition into a compelling slow-burn mystery. show less

4.5 stars

Loved how the author shows these characters grow. How they all have flaws and aren’t perfect let this be a complex story you can believe and really fall into.

The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram is well-written and a page turner. The book tells the story of Tess Murphy and Grant Alexander running against each other in 2021 to become governor of Virginia with flashbacks to their teenage romance in 1996. Grant was a boarding school rich boy and Tess was the daughter of the single mom chef hired for the summer at the estate next to Grant’s parents’ estate. They have both hidden the events of that summer from everyone for 25 years. Having kept the secrets from their spouses becomes a real problem as their campaigns progress. The reader sees both the current day situation and the teenage romance from both Tess’ and Grant’s viewpoint as things escalate during the campaign. It’s very show more engaging but I couldn’t stop wondering why Tess and Grant would ever have thought they could run a political campaign with so many dark secrets just waiting to be uncovered. By the end of the book I had run out of patience with both of them. show less

A melodramatic story of two teenages from different classes who fall in love one summer, before being separated, only to find themselves running against each other in a gubernatorial race 20+ years later (riiiight....). This could have been a decent "beach read," but only if it had better copy editing. For example, bath water cannot be both tepid and cold at the same time. The writing was sloppy and the story bordered on the ridiculous. I only finished it because it was an Early Reviewers book.

The Summer We Ran is the story of Tess and Grant, two high school kids from completely different walks of life who have a summer romance in 1996 that ends with both of their hearts broken. Jump forward to 2021 and they are running against one another for Virginia Governor. Told in dual timelines, we see their love blossom and then finally learn what tore them apart. This book was written so beautifully and I loved the storyline, but I was frustrated that I never saw content warnings, though I think they were held out because it would technically "spoil" the reason for the split.

Spoiler/content warnings:
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The last 30% of the book consists of a lot of discussion of teen pregnancy, abortion debates and whether the father of the child show more has any say, adoption and miscarriage. Although this wasn't a trigger for me I could see how it could be extremely upsetting to some readers so I would go into this with caution. Had I known of this content I may have chosen not to read it, but I'm still glad I did. Overall, I would say this falls into women's fiction more than romance, and it was very thought provoking in multiple ways.

Content warnings:
teen pregnancy
abortion/adoption/miscarriage
alcohol and drug abuse (not the teens)
death of a parent
domestic violence
cheating spouse show less

I enjoyed the chapters alternating between past and present, and that the story was told at different points from the perspective of each main character. The writing is simple and straightforward, which kept the story moving.

The characters themselves were difficult to root for. Tess and Grant are overdramatic and destructive to themselves and their families. Grant is childish and unempathetic, which is even more glaring in the adult chapters. The book did keep me reading, but not without increasing frustration.

Wow! This book captivated me from the very beginning. The storytelling is exceptional, keeping me fully invested throughout. I found myself constantly torn between liking and disliking the main characters as their choices unfolded, yet by the end, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for both. I also appreciated the dual perspective, which added depth to the narrative and made their journeys even more compelling.