Spotlight & Giveaway: Summer on Highland Beach by Sunny Hostin

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Sunny Hostin’s new release: Summer on Highland Beach

Summer on Highland Beach is the sparkling finale to Hostin’s New York Times bestselling Summer Beach trilogy, which aims to make beach reads fully inclusive and spotlights historically Black communities that have existed in America for over 100 years.

This summer, Hostin transports readers to the charming enclave of Highland Beach along the Chesapeake Bay. Founded in the late 1800s by the son of Frederick Douglass, Highland Beach is the oldest Black resort community in America. Inside this proud and secluded beach community of about 100 private homes is Olivia Jones’s legacy.

But Oliva’s legacy comes with thorns—intertwined are secrets of her aunt’s death; a controlling grandmother who is determined to crush anyone or anything that will interfere with her son’s political career; and a father who wants to rebuild the family he rejected decades ago.

In the midst of tense family drama, Olivia must decide if she wants to return to the beautiful life she’s created in Sag Harbor—with the neighbors and wonderful man who’ve become central to her happiness—or finally achieve her dream of having a family and home to call her own in Highland Beach.

In this awakening, spirited novel, Sunny Hostin celebrates family, friendship, and community and reminds us of the importance of the legacies of our collective past and finding one’s way in the world.

Beach season is approaching, and with it comes the captivating third novel from Emmy Award-winner, renowned lawyer and journalist, and The View cohost Sunny Hostin.
 

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Summer on Highland Beach 

Since the family dinner had baptized Olivia by fire in Christine’s style, she didn’t worry about what to wear to lunch. It was already 85 degrees, and her white eyelet romper with capped sleeves was the perfect summer outfit. She paired it with her white Hermès heeled espadrilles with a braided detail on the wedge.

Olivia checked the living room. Seeing that her parents weren’t there, she walked out the front door. She didn’t want to sneak around, but she wasn’t ready for the conversation with her mother about Christine.

She walked for ten minutes and found her grandmother waiting in her pearl white Lexus. Christine rolled down her window. Oversized Gucci sunglasses nearly covered her pale elfin face.

Olivia opened the passenger door and slid into the seat. The smell of new car and leather teased her senses.

“We’re going to go a little farther out today and drive to DC. I’ve made reservations at Ocean Prime. You like octopus, scallops?”

“I do.” Olivia’s voice was brighter than her feelings. Instead of dining closer to Highland Beach, they were going deep into Washington, DC. Maybe Christine was ashamed of Olivia?

“Excellent. Their food is divine.”

Dr. LaGrange’s voice entered her mind. Don’t assume. Just ask.

Olivia cleared her throat. “Is there a reason you selected this restaurant?”

“Now, I know you’re in Sag Harbor, but I’d argue the way we prepare our seafood in DC and Baltimore is even more delicious.”

“I hear the restaurants in Annapolis are very good, too. Not as far as DC.” “I see.” Christine gripped the wheel, then glanced at Olivia.

“It’s just that—”

“Alan told me yesterday that you aren’t sure how long you are staying. And that you’ve been avoiding engaging with our neighbors.”

“I have.”

“Why?” Christine stopped at a red light and then stared at her. “Why?” she repeated her question, this time softly.

“I worry that once the news of my existence breaks out, it will negatively affect CJ’s career.”

“So I have an altruistic granddaughter.” Christine harrumphed. She tapped her pale pink
fingernails against the leather steering wheel. “Surely CJ, a man you’ve only just met, isn’t the only reason you want to lie low.”

Ah, there she is, Olivia thought to herself. The woman Ama and Cindy warned her about.

The woman who wanted to know everything about family, friends, and foes.

Olivia swallowed. “I don’t want to be known as the love child of Cindy and CJ. I’ve done a lot of . . . of growing this past year, but I don’t want to go to that place of insecurity again. I won’t tolerate anyone who makes me feel unworthy.”

Olivia exhaled when the light turned green, and Christine returned her attention to driving the car. She changed the music station to smooth jazz until they arrived at the restaurant.

Christine already had a table reserved in the back of the restaurant, away from the bathroom, away from prying eyes.

After they ordered oysters, goat cheese ravioli, sautéed shrimp, and wine, Christine launched into a series of questions. Olivia noticed a pattern to her questions. She started off safe, with rather disarmingly charming inquiries, like her favorite toy as a child. Olivia had forgotten about a beautiful rag doll named Suzy that Omar and Ama had bought for her.

Olivia could’ve sworn she saw a flicker of annoyance on Christine’s face. And maybe it was her imagination, but jealousy, too. The Black elite circles were small, and Christine had met Ama a handful of times, according to her godmother.

Hoping to bridge the uncomfortable divide, Olivia jumped in to ask Christine’s favorite color, but the woman soon took back control, launching more personal questions. “Are you dating, dear?”

Olivia did not share that she nearly married Anderson, but did divulge that she and a neighbor had been dating for a little less than a year. She also gushed about Garrett’s adorable daughter Zora, who was also her goddaughter.

“You have many ties to Sag Harbor.”

“I do. I love it there.” Olivia found Sag Harbor charming, but it was the spirit of the people that had captured her heart. People there understood they needed to fight unapologetically to keep their homes away from greedy developers. And what’s more, she’d discovered herself in Sag Harbor the previous summer. She’d fallen in love with the confident and beautiful woman she was today.

“Have you visited before?” Olivia asked. Though she knew the answer, she needed a reprieve from Christine’s curious yet pointed questions.

“Oh yes. My sister and her husband lived there for a long time.”

Christine tipped the deep red merlot into her mouth and then cleared her throat. “Tell me your favorite place to visit.”

“Italy.”

“Favorite city?”

“Florence.”

“The shopping!” they both exclaimed.

When she was a teenager, Omar and Ama had taken the goddaughters to Florence when fall break came during the same time frame for all three of them. They’d sampled delicious treats like lemon and pistachio gelato while walking the narrow, cobbled streets within the old city walls. They’d each chosen a gift. Olivia had gone with a Prada purse.

“What was your favorite purchase?” her grandmother asked.

“My favorite purchase was from Ferragamo. A sheer, off-the-shoulder blue-and-lime dress.” Olivia had bought that dress on her second trip to Florence, during her third year at Goldman Sachs. She’d also gifted herself a matching purse, stilettos, and an amazing lover.

“You must be having some memory.” Christine’s syrupy voice and lifted eyebrow snapped her back to attention. She could just imagine her grandmother’s thoughts.

“It was an unforgettable experience.” Olivia’s cheeks warmed. “I can’t wait to return.”

This time she’d love to see Paris, Rome, and Florence through Zora’s and Garrett’s eyes. An Italian summer, just the three of them. She could feel their hands holding her own. Her heart raced from the fantasy. Shaking her head, she focused on the shrewd woman in front of her.

“Where’s your favorite city to visit?” she asked her grandmother.

“Singapore.” Christine rested her pointed chin on her hand. She smiled idly, as if reliving a beloved memory. “Talk about shopping—just pure opulence. Spas, shopping, and the food . . . incredible. It’s the best I’ve ever had. Have you been?”

Olivia shook her head. She’d had a trip to Singapore planned about five years ago until work got in the way. “I haven’t been to Asia at all, but I would love to visit.”

They continued chatting, and soon Olivia broke the vow she’d given to her mother about avoiding personal topics and sang like a canary. However, when Christine asked about past hardships, Olivia talked about food, travel, and shopping instead.

Not life, death, money.

After a few hours of eating and drinking and talking, Olivia looked around and realized the staff had changed over to prepare for the evening rush.

Christine noticed as well. She glanced at her rose-gold Gucci watch. “Goodness. It’s a quarter to four.”

After they walked to the car and got in their seats, Christine pressed the ignition but kept the car idling.

“You know, there’s a wonderful boutique a little closer to home in Annapolis. It’s no Florence, but they have the most brilliant colors and patterns in the area. Would it . . . would you mind extending our day a bit?”

Olivia’s smile spread so wide her cheeks stretched. “Of course.”

Excerpt. ©Sunny Hostin. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: William Morrow is pleased to sponsor a giveaway of two (2) copies of Summer on Highland Beach. Open to US entries only.

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Meet the Author:

Attorney and three-time Emmy Award–winning, legal journalist Sunny Hostin is a co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View. She is the author of Summer on the Bluffs and Summer on Sag Harbor as well as I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds. Hostin received her undergraduate degree in communications from Binghamton University and her law degree from Notre Dame Law School. A native of New York City, she lives with her husband and two children in Westchester County, New York.

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