REVIEW: These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

In These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean, In the grand scheme of things, one week is a blip on the radar. But not for Alice Storm. A full week with her family on their isolated island off the coast of Rhode Island will be more time than she’s spent with them in the past five or more years. And she’s not looking forward to any of it. But Alice knows her duty in life and first and foremost it is to always put the Storms ahead of everything and everyone. Even if they did cast her aside half a decade ago.

“This family is one bad accident away from a true-crime podcast.”

Reeling from the death of her world-famous father and not knowing what to expect on Storm Island, Alice makes her way from NYC to Wickford, ready to set out on a skiff when a huge storm keeps her on the mainland. After an unexpectedly steamy night, she finally arrives at the family compound the next morning. And from the moment Alice steps foot into their rambling historic house, it feels like she’s sixteen again, watching her three siblings all fracture off into their own drama-filled lives. But it’s somehow also reminiscent of the summers they all spent trying to please their father, playing his ridiculous games to garner attention.

‘And there it was–the game, afoot. Franklin would have delighted in watching the entire family struggle between winning together and sticking it to each other.’

Alice, Greta, Sam, and Emily don’t want to complete the tasks their patriarch left for them, knowing it has disaster written all over it. And although they spend much of the week arguing and tossing insults at each other, the sibling group slowly begins to realize they have a common end goal. It might not make up for the years of hurt, but maybe it can be the catalyst for the Storms to find a way to be in each other’s lives as their true selves. And if that can also strengthen their other personal relationships, including a burgeoning romance between Alice and one of her father’s most treasured employees, then maybe their sacrifices over the years will have been worth it.

‘He kissed her like she was the only thing that mattered–in the room, on the island, in the world. And in that moment, in his arms, she believed it.’

THESE SUMMER STORMS is the ultimate beach read with its slow burn romance, a family in turmoil settling old scores and revealing shocking truths, and a historic island every bit as mercurial as those who stayed there.

‘No matter how hard she tried, the most interesting thing about Alice Storm had always been her last name.’

Sarah MacLean’s first ever non-historical fiction novel, THESE SUMMER STORMS, was a total knockout. The gorgeous New England island setting–complete with a gothic house. The intense family dynamics and games of loyalty that would hopefully secure their inheritance. It was one wicked ride. It gave me vibes similar to the work of Emily Henry, Carley Fortune, or Susan Wiggs: Big drama with even bigger personalities and exceptionally complex backstories all wrapped up in every emotion imaginable. And I was there for it. Every fiasco, every meltdown, and every small step the Storms made toward a better future for themselves.

To say this was an epic family saga is doing it a disservice because this was way beyond that. It was mainly told from Alice’s POV but had a chapter from each of her three siblings as well: Emily, Greta, and Sam. After their father Franklin’s death, once they converged on the island, they realized he planned one final game for them all to take part in so they could inherit millions. The tasks they were assigned, though, put each siblings’ family loyalty to the test. I really thought the way MacLean showed Alice, Greta, Sam, and Emily moving through their grief–the sorrow, the anger, the bits of humor and camaraderie–was so utterly genuine. It made it very easy as a reader to get drawn into each scene.

That’s not to say it was all roses and rainbows by the ending. Things did work out quite well for the Storms, just maybe not in the way they expected. But the romances that were brewing, old and new, left off on a great note. And all of the sneaky twists and turns MacLean included will keep readers on the edge of their seat to see what new secrets were revealed and if the siblings got along or turned on each other. Highly recommended.

QOTD: Have you read any Sarah MacLean books yet? If so, will you be giving this one a try?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: July 8th, 2025 | Ballantine Books |

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction, with a sharp, sexy novel about a wealthy New England family’s long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets…and one week that threatens to tear them apart

Alice isn’t like the other Storm siblings. While the rest stayed to battle for their parents’ approval, attention, and untold billions, she left, building her own life beyond the family’s name and influence. Nothing could induce her to come back, except the shocking death of her larger-than-life father. Now back on the family’s private island off the Rhode Island coast, she plans to keep her head down, pay the last of her respects, and leave the minute the funeral is over.

Unfortunately, her father had other plans. The eccentric, manipulative patriarch left his widow and their grown children a final challenge–an inheritance game designed to humiliate, devastate, and unravel the Storm family in ways both petty and life-altering. The rules of the game are clear: stay on the island for one week, complete the tasks, receive the inheritance.

One week on Storm Island is an impossible task for Alice. Every corner of the sprawling old house is bursting dysfunctional chaos: Her older sister’s secret love affair. Her brother’s incessant mansplaining. Her sister-in-law’s unapologetic greed. Her younger sister’s obsession with “vibes”. Her mother’s penchant for stirring up competition between her children. And all under the stern, watchful gaze of Jack Dean, her father’s enigmatic, unfairly good-looking, second-in-command. It will be a miracle if Alice manages to escape the week unscathed.

A story about the transformative power of grief, love, and family, this luscious novel is at once deliciously clever and surprisingly tender, exploring past secrets, present truths, and futures forged in the wake of wild summer storms.