The Summerhouse

Three best friends, all with the same birthday, are about to turn forty. 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...

Leslie, a suburban wife and mother, follows the career of a boy who pursued her in college wonders: what if she had chosen differently? Madison dropped a modeling career to help her high school boyfriend recover from an accident, even though he’d jilted her. But what if she had said “no” when her old boyfriend had called? Ellie became a famous show more novelist, but a bitter divorce wiped out her earnings—and shattered her belief in herself. Why had the “justice” system failed her? And could she prevent its happening the second time around?

Now, a mysterious “Madame Zoya,” offers each of them a chance to relive any three weeks from the past. Will the road not taken prove a better path? Each woman will have to decide for herself as she follows the dream that got away...and each must choose the life that will truly satisfy the heart's deepest longings. show less

The Summerhouse is a delightful and thought-provoking story where do-overs are allowed and alternate realities are possible. There’s even a bit of time travel involved in the story, which is always a big draw for me. The idea of being able to change the past is not a new one, but this book has an added twist to that idea – the ladies had to choose which few weeks they would go back and change in their lives. Which three weeks are the most important in regards to the path your life has taken? Which three would have the most impact if you could go back and live them differently?

The first half of the book covers the lives of the women after they met at a DMV and spent the day together. They all had big dreams and aspirations of show more becoming a dancer, a model, and an artist, however things turned out far differently than what they expected. After disappointments and personal tragedies, one of the three ladies tracks the other two down and they reunite for a weekend in Maine. All three look forward to a chance to get away from it all and reflect on how to move forward from the disappointments in their lives.

During that weekend in Maine they are given the gift of a lifetime – the opportunity to go back and change what they did in the past. The second half of the book describes their trips back to their earlier lives and what they choose to change. I couldn’t put the book down while reading this section because I was very invested in the characters by this point and wanted so badly for things to turn out well for them.

The idea that three women would meet again after so many years, only having known each other previously for a day, seemed a little unrealistic to me. After all, I have a hard time remembering the last names of some of my good friends from college, and those were people I spent a lot of time with. However, it was the only issue I had with this book, and I enjoyed the reading experience so much that I was willing to let it go. It just proves that good writing, interesting characters and a compelling plot can convince you to overlook things that would be bothersome in another book.

Although this is an easy book to read (the story flows quickly and is not bogged down by flowery descriptions or philosophical meandering), it was one of those rare stories that has made me reflect on my life and has been simmering in my mind since I read it. I think it would be difficult to read this book without looking back on your own life and speculating about what (if anything) you would change. show less

The Summerhouse is a delightful and thought-provoking story where do-overs are allowed and alternate realities are possible. There’s even a bit of time travel involved in the story, which is always a big draw for me. The idea of being able to change the past is not a new one, but this book has an added twist to that idea – the ladies had to choose which few weeks they would go back and change in their lives. Which three weeks are the most important in regards to the path your life has taken? Which three would have the most impact if you could go back and live them differently?

The first half of the book covers the lives of the women after they met at a DMV and spent the day together. They all had big dreams and aspirations of show more becoming a dancer, a model, and an artist, however things turned out far differently than what they expected. After disappointments and personal tragedies, one of the three ladies tracks the other two down and they reunite for a weekend in Maine. All three look forward to a chance to get away from it all and reflect on how to move forward from the disappointments in their lives.

During that weekend in Maine they are given the gift of a lifetime – the opportunity to go back and change what they did in the past. The second half of the book describes their trips back to their earlier lives and what they choose to change. I couldn’t put the book down while reading this section because I was very invested in the characters by this point and wanted so badly for things to turn out well for them.

The idea that three women would meet again after so many years, only having known each other previously for a day, seemed a little unrealistic to me. After all, I have a hard time remembering the last names of some of my good friends from college, and those were people I spent a lot of time with. However, it was the only issue I had with this book, and I enjoyed the reading experience so much that I was willing to let it go. It just proves that good writing, interesting characters and a compelling plot can convince you to overlook things that would be bothersome in another book.

Although this is an easy book to read (the story flows quickly and is not bogged down by flowery descriptions or philosophical meandering), it was one of those rare stories that has made me reflect on my life and has been simmering in my mind since I read it. I think it would be difficult to read this book without looking back on your own life and speculating about what (if anything) you would change. show less

I found this gem at the local "Friends of the Library" semi-annual book sale. This is the first in the Summerhouse series. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable read. The plot was original and intriguing, the settings well-described and the characters were believable, for the most part. Of the three main characters, it appeared that most of the storyline was focused on Madison, which threw me off a bit. I felt that the other characters, Leslie and Ellie were not as well developed as they should have been. Also, once the characters were able to "go back in time", the actions and dialogue seemed a bit off and almost laughable at times.
I would still recommend this novel and I look forward to reading the others in the series.

Three women who met on their shared 21st birthday while waiting forever at the DMV to pick up their new driving licences decide to get together for a weekend in the wilds of Maine to celebrate their 40th. Would-be supermodel Madison is now a gaunt and wretched woman, having sacrificed her life to an abusive, crippled husband who threw her over as soon as he regained his facilities; she rues her decision, long ago, not to ditch him in favour of moody genius physician Thomas. Would-be ballet dancer Leslie threw it all over to marry her childhood sweetheart, who, like her kids, treats her as a doormat while probably having an affair with his PA, Bambi; should she instead have listened to the entreaties of sensitive dynamo Hal? Would-be show more artist Ellie abandoned her career to be supportive of her husband, a brilliant musician with failure stamped all over him, who squandered the money she earned when she became a megabestselling author and then, through a combination of lies and judicial corruption, ripped her off something rotten in the divorce; the consequent binge-eating has transformed her from sylph into sofa.

The three tell each other their tales, then discover they've each mysteriously come into possession of the business card of one Madame Zoya, who claims to be able to send people back into their own pasts so that for three weeks they can try to do things differently, then thereafter choose which life they'd prefer to have led, the original or the new one created through their choices. Returned to the present, the three women solve their problems and heal their hurts in different ways, one by selecting the new life while having the memory of the original wiped out, one by selecting the new life while retaining the memory of the original, and one by selecting to stick with her original life yet with the consciousness that it's up to her to remould it.

The first 50 pages or so of this book really creak, and I had my sneers ready (e.g., around p25 Ellie's attention is caught at the DMV by the faces of the other two, but then we discover they've had their backs to her; on p41 Ellie says something under her breath yet the other two hear her), but after that things look up very considerably, as if it took a while for Deveraux to get into her story and then later she couldn't be bothered to polish the early sections. I was impressed by the way she wove her various narrative strands together, neatly avoiding any repetitions of treatment as the three pairs of lives unfolded. And, of course, this is at its heart not just a time-travel tale but a variant of the "Little Shop" story, the home of Madame Zoya standing in for the magical Little Shop that's no longer there when you try to find it again; since I've always been a sucker for both tropes, it could hardly fail. That said, I have no huge urge to rush out 'n' buy the sequel, Return to Summerhouse (2008), which I gather is little more than a not-as-good retread, and nor am I likely to read the other romantic time-travel novels I see that Deveraux has produced. There's a kind of ostentatious reverence for wealth and inherited privilege that's a bit offputting (even though Deveraux does make limp attempts to introduce some counterweights, as it were). Still, The Summerhouse was, to my pleased surprise, quite fun while it lasted.

Oh, I could hardly not mention some bizarre comments Deveraux (via the character Ellie) makes about the way the modern publishing industry works: apparently writers don't need agents, and can do just as well on their own. Deveraux might like to explain this thesis to all the commercial publishers who have a public policy of refusing to consider anything that isn't offered to them through an agent. show less

A captivating and emotional read about friendship, loss, love and life's what-ifs.
This engaging story takes three friends, on the verge of turning 40, back to a place in time to live for three weeks. But it is not without it's risks. Things may happen that cannot be undone, for better or worse.
Wonderfully written, this novel explores the age old adage "if you knew then, what you know now" with imagination and heart.

I was very pleased with this story! It was a nice break from my usual dystopian/thriller type books. The characters were believable and the nice touch of a little time travel was a pleasant surprise. The choices made by the characters were a bit surprising and I love the way it tied up nicely at the end. I am so pleased that there are more books in this series!