Summer Affair

It's that time of year again. My favorite time of year, actually. Summer. And anyone who has read here for awhile, knows that I love a good summer read!

Just how enticing is this cover for beach/poolside reading:



I know, right? That alone had me hooked. And I promise you, the inside of Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand (published by Little, Brown and Company), is just as intriguing.

The weird thing for me was the fact that the main character, Claire Danner Crispin, is a professional glass blower. How many main characters have you read with that job? None? Yeah, me too.

Well, it just so happens that my sister is an art major in college and is studying glass blowing. It's what she wants to do when she's finished college, and she just made me a gorgeous, glass vase for my birthday this past May. So I felt closer to my sister as I read all about the ins and outs of this amazing art.

There are so many interesting characters in Summer Affair, and that was another aspect I really enjoyed. Each one was well-developed and I couldn't wait to hear how each one's life was progressing throughout the story.

The entire story takes place on the island of Nantucket, and Hilderbrand will make you feel like you are right on the island with all of the characters, enmeshed in the goings on of everyday life there.

The main character, Claire, was someone I couldn't quite figure out. She was a mystery to me. And I think that was the author's intent.

She is study in contrasts. Yin and Yang. Fire and Ice. On one hand she is a loving wife and mother, and on the other, she is abandoning her family night after night to enjoy a fling with the head of a charity event (of which she is the co-chair). At times, she is a devoted friend to her sister-in-law, Siobhan, and at other times, she is keeping secrets from her and lying to her.

I think Claire herself is on a journey to find out exactly who she is, and that was the reason for her affair. She is rebelling against all of the labels that have been put on her and takes this dangerous journey to discovering herself.

Click here to get your hands on a copy of this fun read. And after you've read it at the beach or poolside (and into the wee hours of the morning by a nightlight on your nightstand...*ahem*), come let me know what you thought about it.