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    The Summerhouse
    The Summerhouse
    The Summerhouse
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Summerhouse

    Written by Jude Deveraux

    Narrated by Melissa Hughes

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Jude Deveraux’s marvelous New York Times bestseller is a touching and delightful exploration of the longings that live deep inside every woman’s heart, featuring three friends who get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to find out what might have been...

    Have you ever wanted to rewrite your past?

    Three best friends, all with the same birthday, are about to turn forty. Celebrating at a summerhouse in Maine, Leslie Headrick, Madison Appleby, and Ellie Abbott are taking stock of their lives and loves, their wishes and choices. But none of them expect the gift that awaits them at the summerhouse: the chance for each of them to turn their “what-might-have-beens” into reality...

    Leslie, a suburban wife and mother, follows the career of a boy who pursued her in college wonders: what if she had chosen differently? Madison dropped a modeling career to help her high school boyfriend recover from an accident, even though he’d jilted her. But what if she had said “no” when her old boyfriend had called? Ellie became a famous novelist, but a bitter divorce wiped out her earnings—and shattered her belief in herself. Why had the “justice” system failed her? And could she prevent its happening the second time around?

    Now, a mysterious “Madame Zoya,” offers each of them a chance to relive any three weeks from the past. Will the road not taken prove a better path? Each woman will have to decide for herself as she follows the dream that got away...and each must choose the life that will truly satisfy the heart's deepest longings.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJan 3, 2012
    ISBN9781442350137
    Author

    Jude Deveraux

    Jude Deveraux is the author of historical and contemporary women's fiction featuring women of strong character and gorgeous, exciting men. Jude has had more than thirty books on the New York Times bestsellers list, 60 million copies in print, and has been translated into 18 languages. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading murder mysteries, working in her garden, and in boxing class she likes to show much younger males that she can throw a mean right cross.

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    Reviews for The Summerhouse

    4/5

    278 ratings16 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I loved the mystical aspect of this book. And it’s an easy listen. But there’s some body shaming and ableism I’d hoped we’d moved on from at this point in literature. So while it’s a women-centered story, I didn’t find it empowering or anything. But fun characters otherwise.
    • 5/5
      A captivating and emotional read about friendship, loss, love and life's what-ifs.This engaging story takes three friends, on the verge of turning 40, back to a place in time to live for three weeks. But it is not without it's risks. Things may happen that cannot be undone, for better or worse.Wonderfully written, this novel explores the age old adage "if you knew then, what you know now" with imagination and heart.
    • 2/5
      First book when three women share the same birthday. Each goes back in time to decide if they would make the same choices.
    • 4/5
      It's embarrassing how much I like this book.
    • 5/5
      This was an excellent paperback.. I'd read it again. Such up and downs in life,but very hilarious,then some sadness. Things that happen in the real world.
    • 5/5
      This book touched my heart, and made me think a lot, in some ways it changed my life, i had made a lot of changes because of this book... and the eternal question in it: have you ever wanted to rewrite your past?? I don't want to regret anything so I decided to follow my heart and be more adventures and follow what I think is right for me.
    • 3/5
      The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux was sure to delight. This was only the second book I have read from this author and I couldn't put it down.The story begins right where 3 women are in their lives. Leslie is married with two children and a husband who was a college sweetheart. Leslie is feeling less than excited about her marriage and wonders if there is something going on with her husband and his assistant. Ellie is the second female character in this book and she is on a plane reminiscing of the time 20 years ago at the DMV when she was turning 21. Madison was the third female character. The book revolves around 3 women in three different stages of their life and all are about to turn 40. They have not seen each other in 20 years and are meeting up at a cute little summerhouse in Maine to reconnect. The three women meet this very mystical lady who said she can send each woman back in time for 3 weeks. Once they return they must decide if they want to stay where they are with all of their memories of knowing what they know now or return to their current life. Each woman goes back in time to do things that were never done to see how different their lives could be. When they return do they take their new life or stick with their old life? You will have to read the book and find out.I found the book to be very entertaining and was happy with how it ends. I enjoyed learning about their current lives, but also what twists and turns their potential lives would take. I will definitely read the follow up book, "Return to Summerhouse.
    • 5/5
      If you could do over three weeks of your life, what would you choose? This complex story follows the life of three women - dancer Leslie, writer Ellie and model Madison from age 21 to 40 and back again. I was absorbed throughout.
    • 5/5
      I picked this book up because it was written by Jude Deveraux. I had read her Knight in Shining Armor and was delighted by the story. I was hoping that this book would give me more of the same.It was about 3 women, who had met each other at the New York DMV 19 years previous, all on the cusp of a new life in New York. One wanted to be a dancer, another, a model and the third a writer. At present all were either in an unhappy marriage or in the process of getting divorced. Now this type of book I don't generally like - it is too much like the reality we live in nowadays. But let me continue the story. One of the women had invited the other 2 to a small town in Maine as a sort of therapy for her because she was devastated about the outcome of her marriage, but under the pretense of celebrating their 40th birthday together, all born on the same day.The reader learns all about the last 19 years of the women through the telling about what happened to each after they had met at the DMV. While in town for lunch they decided to go see a woman, Madame Zoya, whose business card said she can send you to the past and relive 3 weeks and change your past. The 3 women thought she was a fortune reader, but became intrigued with the idea of people able to change the past. All 3 agreed to return to their pasts. If they liked their new lives, they would return and continue with their new lives. If not, they could have their old one back.It was just a wonderful book! Jude Deveraux did not disappoint me. I love the mix of romance with paranormal. Don't miss out on this one. It's delightful!
    • 2/5

      Three women who met on their shared 21st birthday while waiting forever at the DMV to pick up their new driving licences decide to get together for a weekend in the wilds of Maine to celebrate their 40th. Would-be supermodel Madison is now a gaunt and wretched woman, having sacrificed her life to an abusive, crippled husband who threw her over as soon as he regained his facilities; she rues her decision, long ago, not to ditch him in favour of moody genius physician Thomas. Would-be ballet dancer Leslie threw it all over to marry her childhood sweetheart, who, like her kids, treats her as a doormat while probably having an affair with his PA, Bambi; should she instead have listened to the entreaties of sensitive dynamo Hal? Would-be artist Ellie abandoned her career to be supportive of her husband, a brilliant musician with failure stamped all over him, who squandered the money she earned when she became a megabestselling author and then, through a combination of lies and judicial corruption, ripped her off something rotten in the divorce; the consequent binge-eating has transformed her from sylph into sofa.

      The three tell each other their tales, then discover they've each mysteriously come into possession of the business card of one Madame Zoya, who claims to be able to send people back into their own pasts so that for three weeks they can try to do things differently, then thereafter choose which life they'd prefer to have led, the original or the new one created through their choices. Returned to the present, the three women solve their problems and heal their hurts in different ways, one by selecting the new life while having the memory of the original wiped out, one by selecting the new life while retaining the memory of the original, and one by selecting to stick with her original life yet with the consciousness that it's up to her to remould it.

      The first 50 pages or so of this book really creak, and I had my sneers ready (e.g., around p25 Ellie's attention is caught at the DMV by the faces of the other two, but then we discover they've had their backs to her; on p41 Ellie says something under her breath yet the other two hear her), but after that things look up very considerably, as if it took a while for Deveraux to get into her story and then later she couldn't be bothered to polish the early sections. I was impressed by the way she wove her various narrative strands together, neatly avoiding any repetitions of treatment as the three pairs of lives unfolded. And, of course, this is at its heart not just a time-travel tale but a variant of the "Little Shop" story, the home of Madame Zoya standing in for the magical Little Shop that's no longer there when you try to find it again; since I've always been a sucker for both tropes, it could hardly fail. That said, I have no huge urge to rush out 'n' buy the sequel, Return to Summerhouse (2008), which I gather is little more than a not-as-good retread, and nor am I likely to read the other romantic time-travel novels I see that Deveraux has produced. There's a kind of ostentatious reverence for wealth and inherited privilege that's a bit offputting (even though Deveraux does make limp attempts to introduce some counterweights, as it were). Still, The Summerhouse was, to my pleased surprise, quite fun while it lasted.

      Oh, I could hardly not mention some bizarre comments Deveraux (via the character Ellie) makes about the way the modern publishing industry works: apparently writers don't need agents, and can do just as well on their own. Deveraux might like to explain this thesis to all the commercial publishers who have a public policy of refusing to consider anything that isn't offered to them through an agent.
    • 4/5
      I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! If I had the opportunity to have an alternate view of my life and still get a choice of which life I'd take, I'd do it just to see.These women's lives before the time travel seemed unbearable. For one in particular, I'm surprised she didn't "accidentally" kill her husband.Definitely a book for someone who LOVES books with happy endings.
    • 4/5
      The Summerhouse is a delightful and thought-provoking story where do-overs are allowed and alternate realities are possible. There’s even a bit of time travel involved in the story, which is always a big draw for me. The idea of being able to change the past is not a new one, but this book has an added twist to that idea – the ladies had to choose which few weeks they would go back and change in their lives. Which three weeks are the most important in regards to the path your life has taken? Which three would have the most impact if you could go back and live them differently?

      The first half of the book covers the lives of the women after they met at a DMV and spent the day together. They all had big dreams and aspirations of becoming a dancer, a model, and an artist, however things turned out far differently than what they expected. After disappointments and personal tragedies, one of the three ladies tracks the other two down and they reunite for a weekend in Maine. All three look forward to a chance to get away from it all and reflect on how to move forward from the disappointments in their lives.

      During that weekend in Maine they are given the gift of a lifetime – the opportunity to go back and change what they did in the past. The second half of the book describes their trips back to their earlier lives and what they choose to change. I couldn’t put the book down while reading this section because I was very invested in the characters by this point and wanted so badly for things to turn out well for them.

      The idea that three women would meet again after so many years, only having known each other previously for a day, seemed a little unrealistic to me. After all, I have a hard time remembering the last names of some of my good friends from college, and those were people I spent a lot of time with. However, it was the only issue I had with this book, and I enjoyed the reading experience so much that I was willing to let it go. It just proves that good writing, interesting characters and a compelling plot can convince you to overlook things that would be bothersome in another book.

      Although this is an easy book to read (the story flows quickly and is not bogged down by flowery descriptions or philosophical meandering), it was one of those rare stories that has made me reflect on my life and has been simmering in my mind since I read it. I think it would be difficult to read this book without looking back on your own life and speculating about what (if anything) you would change.
    • 5/5
      We loved it!
    • 2/5
      This book felt like I was reading a grocery store novel. Thought provoking in the sense of imagining time travel and whether you would change anything in your life if you could.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. Its one of those books that you dont forget easily. I find myself thinking about it often. (corny I know!!) But the writing and how its all put together is great. Its alittle far fetched but hey anything possible. I would recommend it to anyone!!! I cant wait to read another one of her books.
    • 3/5
      Good book. Sort of different.3 women born on the same day, meet later when 40, and go to a fortune teller, who lets them go back and change or not change their lives. Interesting concept. some holes in the story though.