I am someone who is very sensitive to the formatting and trim size of a novel, so I think a lot of my enjoyment in this novel was partially related to how much I liked the mass market formatting they used. A couple of years ago a lot of publishing companies switched to this taller, skinnier format that doesn’t work well with my hands, but the edition I got at the airport of this book was a more squat square format that was perfect. And the actual story in the book is basically the perfect in transit read. I consumed a good chunk of it on a plane and then the majority of the rest on trains. Probably this would also be great to read on the beach pictured on the cover.
Hello, Summer is a combination mystery and romance that follows Conley Hawkins as she’s forced to return to her small childhood beach hometown. Conley is a print newspaper reporter who takes a better paying job at a digital news service, only to see it abruptly close, leaving her with no job and the need to regroup and figure out her next move. She comes back to the town she fled from, where her grandmother still owns their struggling family newspaper. Throw in some drama with her sister, the death of a congressman, and her mess of a love life, and this is a book that flies by. I especially appreciated the authentic feel of the newspaper business scenes, due to Andrews’ background in journalism, and the interesting characters. Enjoyable and recommended for a fun read with some real depth to it in terms of subject matter.
