A Summer for the Books: A Touching Novel of Friendship, Adoption and Family Secrets Uncovered on a Summer Adventure

by Michelle Lindo-Rice

Fans of Jennifer Weiner and Sunny Hostin will love this emotional dual-timeline novel about two former besties finding their way back to each other.

To heal their friendship, they’ll have to face their past.

Jewel Stone has it all—the perfect marriage, a bestselling author career, her dream home—or so she likes everyone to believe. But between her writer’s block and her husband losing his job, her picture-perfect life is in shambles. And inspiration just isn’t hitting…until she receives a call she never expected: her former best friend needs her help.

When Shelby Andrews wakes up in the hospital after a biking accident, she can’t remember the last twelve years. She knows she owns a bookstore on the beach, but she has no memory of Lacey, her nineteen-year-old adopted daughter who’s away for the summer. There’s only one person who can help Shelby through this—her bestie, Jewel.

With so many secrets and heartbreaks between them, Jewel and Shelby haven’t spoken in years. Yet Jewel can’t turn away from the friend who doesn’t remember their fallout. Besides, the best writing she’s ever done was with Shelby…

But when they learn Lacey’s really spending her summer searching for her birth parents, their tentative reunion might just unravel along with all of their secrets.

Genres: Fiction, Books About Books, Contemporary, Friendship, Audiobook, Summer, Womens Fiction

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2025

About the author

Michelle Lindo-Rice is the bestselling author of the "Able to Love" and "On The Right Path" series, an Emma Award Winner and a Vivian Award finalist. Michelle enjoys reading and crafting fiction across genres. Originally from Jamaica West Indies, she has earned degrees from New York University, SUNY at Stony Brook, Teachers College Columbia University, Argosy University and has been educator for over 20 years.

Reviews

[Orsayor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Summer for the Books is a heartfelt journey of friendship, forgiveness, and finding your way back to the people who truly understand you. The story unfolds with a quiet intensity that makes you reflect on how time, distance, and pride can create cracks in even the strongest bonds.

Michelle Lindo Rice captures the complexity of friendships that are tested by life’s unexpected turns. At its core, this book is about showing up for someone even when it hurts, and choosing grace over bitterness. The pacing slows in spots, but the emotional payoff is worth it. I give it four stars.

[Colleen Estep · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can’t finish it - this could have been an interesting beach read but the ponderous storyline setup and the same story, basically told 2 ways (1st perspective from real life, 2nd from a book written by one of the characters) got boring quick. You notice I didn’t say 2 DIFFERENT ways. The characters and plot are identical, between the two tales. And why do I keep picking up books that feature writers and bookstores? First, we all know bookstores are quaint, no need to invoke the perfect one and second, do a little research. Quit projecting the plights of a writer.

[LaKeisha W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. The pacing fell a bit flat for me. There were moments I was hooked, but overall it didn’t fully deliver. Very grateful for the ARC opportunity and I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

The book had an interesting premise. I enjoyed the characters and the dual timelines ( when I'm not usually a big fan, since the back and forth flowed well and didn't get annoying ). The change of names in the diary was a little confusing at times, when I wasn't sure who was speaking.

I liked Shelby right away, she seemed very genuine and sweet. I loved Roman, and his relationship with Jewel but had a harder time liking her, as she was often shallow and selfish. I felt for Shelby and liked her right away too, as well as her friends.

I liked the way the story was told, although it could have been somewhat condensed. A new to me author and I would read more from Michelle.

[Jo Ann Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of this book I enjoyed. They were very strong female character's. I don't normally read books with this much drama but it was our book group read of the month. It was very well written.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate what the author is trying to do with this novel. She uses books within the story to show how stories can create connection and relationships. The story is sweet, but the setup is a bit confusing. In A Summer for the Books, there are occasional references to the book Ciaran is reading, and at times I thought his book was actually the main plot.

Now I understand it’s a unique way to highlight the power of books to bring people together, which is one of the main themes.

[Rebecca Wood · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited for the premise of the story, but it just wasn’t one that resonated with me. I didn’t connect with the characters and felt like they needed substantially more development, and while the conflict was built up with a good pacing, it was resolved unbelievably quickly for a happy ending.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved this book about friends . One becomes a successful writer and the other owns a book store. an accident brings them back together to work on their issues and reveal secrets. loved the timelines and the romance. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley

[Cindy Guyette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don’t take this that long on a book but I had eye surgery and couldn’t read for a week. Plus I had a hard time with this book. Hard time to follow but once I got it couldn’t put it down. The love for a child,friend,and husband was so realistic I loved it.

[Savannah Mattair · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot happening in this book.
On top of the three povs from the main characters there were excerpts from two separate books as well as journal entries. At times it did get so confusing I would have flip back to the chapter page to figure out what character and timeline I was reading from but towards the end that got easier.
There were many heartfelt themes including loss, love and friendship. I definitely felt for all of the characters but Jewel was way too selfish and I felt like there was no character development for her.

Overall I liked this a lot and finished it fairly quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc for my honest review!

[Elyse Mcnulty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo-Rice was a fun summer book choice. Jewel and Shelby’s friendship had dissolved 10 years ago. Shelby gets in a bicycling accident and looses her recent memory so she does not know she and Jewel parted ways. She contacts Jewel to come help in her recovery and Jewel drops everything to help Shelby hoping they can resurrect their lost friendship. There are many secrets to uncover including who Shelby’s adopted daughter truly is. Enjoy this quick read.
As an FYI, the editing is really poor. There are a lot of mistakes but I eventually just ignored them and enjoy the story.

[ShayBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Summer for the Books was right up my alley and I love all things Michelle Lindo Rice but baby the audiobook narrator was not for me, this was a good storyline and borderline mystery the mystery was figuring out which one was mom. I enjoyed the bookstore and book writing aspects of this book and I definitely thought history was going to repeat itself, I was so happy it didn’t.

[Midori Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely a book of summers! I enjoyed all the dynamics in the book. I loved that the main characters were best friends and their different dynamics of their relationship (love, ultimatum, loyalty, lies, jealousy, forgiveness, and support). It’s difficult to explore friendships like this and I appreciated their story. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in summer scandals, love, lies, forgiveness, and a second (maybe third) chance.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise! Then it got really confusing with many changes in time, 2 different storylines, and a book within the book...overall it was an average read.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with this book and was generous with the four stars rating, only because it ended well.

[Cindy Schrauben · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rich promises and painful secrets in this novel make for a delicious emotional rollercoaster.

[Jackie McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book.

[Shana OkieCozyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love that Brenda Novak chose a diverse author who was new to me for the month! During their interview she said she likes alliteration and decided to write a story about a baby at the Bookstore at the Beach (in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, which always reminds me of Ethan Joella’s book Same Bright Stars).

There is a book inside a book, which is written by one of the characters who told her and her best friend’s story (which involves a baby that was left at the door of the bookshop). Throughout the book, we see how these events led to the demise of their friendship. When one is in an accident and doesn’t remember the last 20 years, she reaches out to her best friend.

I liked how the best friends were able to work through problems, especially earlier in the book. The friendship part of the story was my favorite part.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo-Rice
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 rounded up)

Michelle Lindo-Rice’s A Summer for the Books is a layered, emotionally driven novel about fractured friendship, forgotten memories, and the hard truths that hide in the spaces between what’s said and what’s buried. Told through three points of view—Jewel, Shelby, and Lacey—the story unfolds across two timelines and a patchwork of journal entries and book excerpts. At times, it’s a lot to track, but the payoff comes in the emotional depth and the push toward healing.

Jewel, a once-successful author struggling with writer’s block and a crumbling personal life, gets a surprise call: her estranged best friend Shelby has been in an accident and lost the past twelve years of memory. That includes her adopted daughter, Lacey—and the friendship-ending fallout with Jewel. Shelby’s first instinct is to call the one person she trusted most, unaware they’re no longer close. Jewel, despite her baggage, shows up.

The story then follows their slow, cautious reunion, while Lacey, away for the summer, searches for her birth parents and her identity. Secrets simmer under the surface, and while everyone’s grappling with their own version of the truth, the question becomes: Can this friendship survive a second chance?

The emotional beats are authentic. The dynamics between the three women—Jewel, Shelby, and Lacey—are messy and real. Lindo-Rice shines in portraying the complexities of love that doesn’t always look pretty: the friend who hurt you but you still miss, the child who wants to know more even if it might hurt, the creative spirit stifled by guilt and regret.

The themes of forgiveness, identity, and the fluid nature of family are well handled, and the beachside bookstore setting adds a cozy-but-not-too-sweet atmosphere. Fans of dual timelines and second-chance stories will feel right at home.

The structure can be overwhelming. With three POVs, two timelines, excerpts from two books, and journal entries, the narrative occasionally loses clarity. Early chapters, in particular, require effort to stay grounded in whose head we’re in and when. It smooths out by the final act, but some readers may struggle to get there.

Also, Jewel’s character remains divisive. While some readers may empathize with her struggles, many will find her selfishness hard to forgive. Her development is uneven—she makes a late push toward redemption, but it doesn’t land with the emotional weight it needs to.

A Summer for the Books is heartfelt and ambitious. It stumbles in pacing and structure but ultimately delivers a moving story about friendship, reinvention, and the truths we owe each other. It’s perfect for fans of Jennifer Weiner or Sunny Hostin—readers who appreciate emotion-forward fiction that doesn’t shy away from life’s rough edges.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you like to read summer themed books?

Jewel Stone is a best-selling author, but she has been experiencing writer’s block. Her husband has also recently lost his job and finances are tight. When her estranged best friend, Shelby, is in an accident and has amnesia, Jewell is her emergency contact. She drops everything to help Shelby and is inspired by her life to write again. As secrets from the past threaten to overtake them, will Shelby and Jewell be able to repair their friendship and confront their past? Will Shelby’s adoptive daughter Lacey be able to find her birth mom?

My thoughts on this novel:
• A Summer for the Books was the August pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group. I just finished it this month and listened to the Facebook Book Group meeting when I was done. I enjoyed the meeting and the interview with the author. She was delightful!

• This novel does have romance, but it is closed door.

• I liked hearing how the author based the characters on herself and family members.

• I loved that the book explored friendships of both mothers and daughters, as well as mother / daughter relationships.

• The book is narrated through Lacey, Jewel, Shelby, journals form the past, and a book within the book. It is a dual timeline book.

• The story overall was good, and the characters were interesting, but I found it confusing at times especially as the characters were referred to by different names in the past. It was also repetitive at times and could have been trimmed down to make the storyline move quicker.

• I liked the bookstore and beach settings.

• The book had a good ending.

Overall, A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo Rice was a good story with great characters, friendships, and setting, but it did move slowly at times.

Book Source: Thank-you to NetGalley for a review copy of this novel.

This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2025...

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review on NovelsAlive.com by clicking the link below. It is also posted in full.

https://novelsalive.com/2025/07/08/4-...

A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo-Rice is a book with a dual timeline with many journal entries.

The book is a little choppy and somewhat difficult to read since it’s a book within a book. The journal entries are written using pseudonyms for the people involved, and they relate directly to the bestseller that one of them wrote many years ago. So, it was sometimes challenging to keep the characters straight.

Jewel and Shelby have been best friends since kindergarten and did everything together. When one of them got pregnant, they were there for each other, but neither kept the baby. Their secret unexpectedly destroyed their friendship ten years later, and they had no contact until this summer.

When they unexpectedly reconnect, we get to know each of them a little at a time, along with their history. Shelby’s adopted daughter, who’s now in college, is woven throughout and could be considered the third main character.

Jewel is married, and they face some stresses and financial difficulties, especially when she is unable to write her next book. Shelby owns a bookstore in a small beach town in Delaware, which serves as an essential backdrop.

Much of the story is set at the beach, and it plays a vital role in all their lives, even when it’s in different locales. Many stories are told and woven together, and most are integral in both timelines. There is a resolution to most of the stories, but several loose ends remain, and the ending seems rushed.

A Summer for the Books is a nice summer read, thanks to its engaging setting. With dual timelines and numerous secrets that impact the present, it’s a complex story about friendships, betrayals, and the cost of keeping secrets.

[Ann-marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelby's daughter Lacey has once again asked her about her adoption story and wants to find her birth parents. So begins this novel. We the readers are privy to the inner dialogues of Shelby knowing that she does not want her daughter looking into the past and we find out Shelby does know who the birth parents are. The novel goes back and forth between the past of when Shelby and her friend Jewel were teenagers and the present. Shelby ends up having an accident that lands her in the hospital and has no one to turn to but her ex friend Jewel. Jewel in shock that her friend has reached out after years of not talking and goes immediately to see her. As Shelby is happy to see her Jewel realizes that Shelby does not remember why they stop being friends and has amnesia. As they both fall back into their friendship with each other deceptions and lies of the past seem to becoming close to being a expose and both women try their hardest to keep them at bay. But as time goes it only a matter of time it all comes to an end. This was my first read by this author and I truly enjoy the storyline. This title is Women's fiction with a small pinch of romance. I love the friendship of the two women and we get other subplots of Lacey and her friend Bea and Lacey love interest Mekhi. Enjoyed as I turn the pages to get to some truths we the reader wondered throughout the novel and it did not disappoint. Look forward to reading more books by Ms. Lindo-Rice

[Diane Nagatomo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A Summer for the Books” by Michelle Lindo-Rice is the story of two best friends (Jewel and Shelby) who had carried a secret between them ever since they were teenagers. But ten years earlier, they had a falling out and went their separate ways. Jewel had become a successful novelist (although currently suffering from writer’s block and financial woes) and Shelby was running the bookstore in their hometown and had adopted a child, Lacey.

When Shelby has a near-fatal accident, she woke up with no memory of what’d happened in the past ten years. Her first instinct was to call her best friend, the one who was always by her side. Jewel rushes to Shelby and their friendship is rekindled. But will it be able to survive when the truth of everything comes out?

I wanted to love this story—and I really did in the first quarter of the book. But then I felt bogged down by the dual timeline and the parallel fictional story (which was basically autobiographical) written by Jewel. This was somewhat confusing. And I really didn’t like Jewel as a person much either. I found her selfish and self-centered. I wanted to smack some sense into her at times.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an arc of this book. I definitely want to read more by this author. This was my first book by Michelle Lindo-Rice, but it won’t be the last.

[Roslyn Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo-Rice was my first introduction to her work, and it left a lasting impression. The novel unfolds through a dual timeline that explores the fractured friendship between Jewel Stone and Shelby Andrews, two women whose shared past is riddled with secrets, heartbreak, and unresolved tension. Jewel, a bestselling author facing writer’s block and personal upheaval, is drawn back into Shelby’s life after a biking accident leaves Shelby with memory loss including the existence of her adopted daughter, Lacey. The emotional stakes rise as the women attempt to reconnect, while Lacey embarks on her own journey to uncover her birth parents, adding another layer of complexity to the story.

What struck me most was the way Lindo-Rice balances emotional depth with a breezy summer setting, making the novel both poignant and engaging. The characters are richly drawn, and their intertwined histories feel authentic and raw. Jewel and Shelby’s reunion is not just about healing old wounds it’s about rediscovering themselves and the power of forgiveness. As a newcomer to Lindo-Rice’s writing, I appreciated her thoughtful exploration of friendship, identity, and the ripple effects of past decisions. This book has definitely piqued my interest in reading more from her catalog.

[Kelly Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo-Rice is a generation-spanning tale around a what happens at the beach stays at the beach point in the history of two friends.
While the concept is an intriguing one, and the writing technically proficient, the constant changes of points of view and timelines confuses things considerably. There are passages from Shelby's journals, using alias names for herself and her friend Jewel, describing a past summer that changed both of their lives forever. There are passages from Jewel's best-seller first book that features characters based on herself and Shelby, and events on that past summer. There are passages from the points of view of both women, set 20 years later in the present. And there are passages from Shelby's adopted daughter Lacey, who is desperate to find her birth parents.
Underlying it all are multiple lies, omissions, and half-truths, and one character's habit of taking advantage of the others for her own gain threading its way through all of the storylines.
I must admit, the structure of this left me with a headache. I rarely give three stars, as I usually love or dislike a book, but this one was just okay for me.
I received an ARC of #ASummerfortheBooks from #NetGalley.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This summer women's fiction book was a complicated story of female friendship and mother-daughter relationships. I listened to this one and found it hard to keep track of the alternating POVs and timelines if I'm completely honest. For that reason I recommend reading a print copy rather than the audio (even though the audio narrator does a good job - might have worked better if there was a full cast of voice actors for the three main female characters).

That said, the story starts with Shelby waking up after getting hit on her bicycle and suffering from post-traumatic amnesia. Shelby doesn't recall the last 13 years of her life and has no recollection of why she had a big fall out with her former best friend and best-selling author, Jewel. Throw in the daughter she gave up for adoption that she also doesn't remember and this was a complicated story to unpack to say the least.

Overall it was just an okay read for me, I didn't really love either of the women (Jewel especially) but I did enjoy Lacey's sections (the young college student who was left on the steps of the bookstore where she works and who was adopted by the owners). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Sherry Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My initial experience with this book was a somewhat slow start, as I found the narrative a bit disjointed and challenging to follow, primarily due to its "book within a book" structure. The use of pseudonyms in the journal entries for the individuals involved, which directly ties into the previously successful novel written by the two main characters, added to the complexity, making it difficult at times to distinguish between the various personalities.

Despite these initial hurdles, the core themes of friendship, grief, love, forgiveness, adoption, and the pursuit of second chances resonated deeply with me, which is what originally sparked my interest in reading this particular story. The two female protagonists, depicted as lifelong best friends since childhood, were portrayed with admirable flaws that made them remarkably relatable. However, I must confess that I found the character of Lacey to be somewhat grating, as she often presented herself as rather spoiled and immature.

Ultimately, the conclusion of the story felt somewhat rushed and left me with a lingering sense of vagueness, as though some crucial threads had been left untied.

The audio reader brought the story to life, making it a truly enjoyable listening experience.

[michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a review copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was a bit all over the place and I think the fact that it started out confusing and clunky is a big reason that it never moved past a 3 star read for me. The story is told from alternating perspectives, alternating time periods, and some as excerpts from a fictional book written by one of the characters. The writing did hit a groove at some point, but it could have been tighter all around.

The story itself is interesting. Beset friends leave a baby on the doorstep of a bookstore. The reader doesn't get to know which one was the mom until nearly the end of the story. Fast forward 20 years and one is a best selling author with writer's block and the other owns the old bookstore and has an adopted daughter. Plot twist, the 2 women haven't spoken to each other in 10 years. When one gets into a bike accident and forgets the past 12 years, the two are brought back together and they need to address the past in order to move on.

The characters were interesting, but the pacing and constant switching between the past and present and fact and fiction hurt the flow.

[Rina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 20 year old secret, a breakup, and car accident induced memory loss all feel like the set up for a korean drama, and it is…except the main love story is friendship.

While there is plenty of romance, I love that the focus of the book is Shelby’s and Jewel’s friendship. Second to that is Shelby’s relationship with her daughter, Lacey. I don’t think we explore the strength of long-term friendships enough. More-so about the breakups. This books catalogues the rollercoaster of their past and how it played into their future. I think one of them was worse than the other, but I won’t say who. :P

The story itself was pretty predictable. I think it was easy to figure out all the shocking “twists” from the first chapter. While there were a few curve balls, they felt thrown in for the sake of drama. My biggest critique is how much competition there is over men in a novel about female friendship.

I’ll probably give this a 2.75 on SG, but I’ll round up to 3 here. While some of the lines were corny and the writing style felt a bit unrefined, I think that added to the charm. It made me want to go to Delaware and eat black cherry ice cream so that’s a win!

[Marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, the story was okay. I started it then took a break for a few days because I just couldn't understand why someone would get back on a bike after almost having an accident. If you were going to want to finish that ride just go with the group so they can keep an eye on you.

I really had to tell myself multiple times in this book, this is just a story. Some of the things that happened were a bit unrealistic. I think the ending was kind of a letdown. Roman just forgave her, even when she wouldn't admit that she was so selfish. In Katarina saying that Jewel's book made her change her mind it kind of erases that everything she did was wrong. I didn't like Jewel at all she came off as seriously selfish and only thinking about herself. She had no problem putting everyone's business in her books but left all her secrets out. If you're going to do something like that then put your secrets in too.

I hated that for 10 years Shelby put her life on hold, I hate that narrative that you can't be a good mom and also have a life. She made no friends or close connections. I hated how everyone just ended up as friends in the end. It doesn't work like that in real life, I would love to see them having to put in effort and work into rebuilding relationships between everyone. Lacey and Shelby, Shelby and Jewel, and Jewel and Roman.