Frankie owns a movie memorabilia shop in Hollywood left to her after her mother's passing. She finds two letters addressed Mitch Beckett and Gabe Beckett. She contacts Gabe so she can send him the letters. He refuses figuring she is out to scam him. Instead she goes to Cape Cod, hoping to track him down so she can give him the letters. Arriving at the beginning of the Stardust Summer Film Festival she learns she has no room but meets Russ Chandler, husband of Louise who is the media director of the film festival. Upon learning she has no room, he offers her their guest room. She accepts and slowly she begins to learn about her mother who spent a year living in Cape Cod. What she learns and what the others learn is amazing. But can they overcome the hurts and anguish of the past?

I loved this book. I liked the snarkiness of Gabe at the beginning. I liked how his mind was mad up over the letters. I appreciated how Frankie gave it to him when he got too big for his britches. I also enjoyed how they went head to head with each other but manage to find each other. The two of them have similar backgrounds and have their prejudices about the other but in the end they let their walls fall to grow and make necessary decisions for their futures. I liked Russ and Louise but hated how they stopped communicating. Finding them learning to trust and communicate with each other gave me hope that they would survive as well as be examples for Frankie and Gabe. Glory and Mitch both had a lot of growing up to do but we only see them in flashbacks of others' memories so that can color my opinion of them. Maeve, I am not sure what I think about. She certainly gave her daughter a lot of rules to follow but did not give her roots so that she could learn how to make lasting connections. I am glad Frankie went to Cape Cod and started making connections.

The story was great. I liked the lessons learned on communication, forgiveness, and trust. This is on my list of top 10 reads this year for me and considering the year is only half over and I generally read over 200 books a year that is high praise from me. This is worth a reading by everyone over 16. ( )

Thanks to the Book Club Cookbook program, St. Martin’s Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own. #ASummertoRemember #NetGalley

This was a totally engaging book from the start, where 30-year-old Frankie runs a Hollywood-based memorabilia shop, which her late mother, Maeve, opened years ago. Receiving a package from Maeve's boyfriend, Frankie hopes the photo and letters enclosed will reveal the name of Frankie's father, whose identity she has never known.

Using the old photo of her mother and famous movie stars Glory Cartwright and Mitch Beckett at a Cape Cod film festival as a clue, Frankie travels to the coastal town in search of her father. She meets people who knew her mother as a young woman, as well as connecting with an attractive man - and sparks fly.

Author Erika Montgomery includes quotes from well-known Hollywood movies at the beginning of each chapter, in addition to sprinkling references to movies and stars from the 1970s and 1980s throughout the novel. The Hollywood allusions of romance, dreams and happy endings are juxtaposed with the actualities of family secrets, betrayals, and sad memories.

Throughout this novel of mystery and romance Frankie searches for her real father as she inadvertently uncovers the secrets of her mother, movie stars Glory and Mitch, and others who knew Maeve during her time on Cape Cod. The well-written and imaginative story is a captivating read and kept me turning the pages.

I have to share two complaints: the title A Summer to Remember was just too corny and doesn't do the book justice. I also didn't like the cover - both it and the title seem to promise a chick-lit story, and this is so much more than that. I highly recommend this memorable novel of friendship, family, and finding how the past unlocks the present. ( )

Finding Answers Both Expected And Not. This was a solid tale from multiple perspectives across dual timelines of some people searching for answers, others running from them, and everyone arriving at the unexpected. As a debut novel, it does a great job in making me want to see what other stories this author has to tell, as this one was excellent and very well written. In a sense, it uses the standard trope of trying to find one's parents, but it also does a superb job of upending the trope a bit and putting an interesting spin on it in so many ways. Truly a great read, and very much recommended. ( )

3.5 Stars

Frankie sells Hollywood memorabilia, her store and love of this was handed down to her by her Mother, who passed away in a tragic accident. She doesn’t know who her father is...it’s been a closely guarded secret for 30 years. She finds some sealed letters that she feels must be delivered and heads to Hollywood, in search of the recipient and, hopefully to find her father.

Story drew me in from the beginning, but didn’t gel as nicely as I had hoped. Quick read, perfect for a lazy day on the beach. Loved the references to old movies and Hollywood personalities. A good debut novel, look forward to reading this author again.

Thanks to Ms. Montgomery, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone. ( )

What a fun first novel. I am looking forward to more great stories from this author. It’s a love story, a mystery, a story of secrets and betrayals, of long-forgotten friendships. And of a woman looking to see where she belongs.

It was always just Frankie and her mother, running their movie memorabilia shop on Hollywood Boulevard, and they had a fine time doing it, just the two of them against the world. But now Frankie’s mother is gone and Frankie may lose the lease for the shop. Suddenly it’s not her and her mom enjoying the Hollywood glitz and glitter, the movie quote and gossip, but just 30-year old Frankie missing her mom, wondering what she is going to do, and thinking maybe she would have liked to have more family after all. So when a package arrives containing a mysterious photograph Frankie starts to wonder about the life her mother had before Frankie was born, and if it just might be possible to find her father, to have a family. So off she goes to Cape Cod with nothing but the photograph and some hunches.

Frankie feels at home on the Cape, both with the place and with the people she meets. But will the secrets she uncovers make it possible for her to stay or necessary for her to leave? Will she find family – and love – or will the truth ruin her?

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance copy of A Summer to Remember via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. It’s a wonderful story, with interesting characters and a good mystery to keep you guessing and a sweet romance running throughout. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it without hesitation. ( )