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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5 ⭐️
This was such an incredible story of sisterhood, motherhood, and womanhood in general. Alternating between two timelines of summer at a family’s beloved Martha’s Vineyard home, Our Last Vineyard Summer does a perfect job of intertwining feminist themes with the atmosphere that the Historical Fiction lover in me adored. Truly the perfect beach read if you’re looking for something summery, but not without substance and empowering and emotional themes!
As stated before, Our Last Vineyard Summer follows two separate timelines and narrators. The first is the summer of 1965, following Virgie, wife of a senator, writer of the beloved “Dear Virgie” column, and mother to three girls. In this timeline we follow Virgie navigating tensions within her marriage while attempting to stay true to her convictions. The second timeline is set in the summer of 1978, following Betsy, Virgie’s youngest daughter. We follow Betsy as she and her sisters attempt to save their families beloved home after the death of their father, all while Betsy is attempting to figure out the path of her future and the kind of woman she wishes to be.
This book is above all, a love letter to women. Each woman in this story is unique and I guarantee every woman who reads this will see a part of themselves in at least one of the characters in this story. Foster truly immerses you in the time period, while maintaining strong feminist themes throughout this novel. I really enjoyed her writing style, and though this was my first book by her it will definitely not be my last. My only gripe with this book was that it had a slow start, but once it got going I truly did not want it to end.
A huge thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Set against the backdrop of a beloved Martha’s Vineyard summer home, Our Last Vineyard Summermoves between 1965 and 1978 to explore the lasting impact of family secrets and generational trauma. In the earlier timeline, we follow Virgie, the wife of a U.S. Senator and a passionate feminist, as she tries to raise her daughters with values that challenge the era’s gender norms—even as her own marriage starts to unravel.
More than a decade later, the youngest daughter, Betsy, returns to the Vineyard with her mother and sisters to confront the reality of their late father’s hidden debts. When Betsy uncovers a letter from him, long-held truths begin to surface, forcing the women to reevaluate the past—and their place in it.
Told through alternating perspectives, Brooke Lea Foster expertly reveals the emotional complexities of motherhood, womanhood, and sisterhood. The characters are richly drawn, the prose is thoughtful, and the themes feel timeless. Both nostalgic and sharply relevant, this is a moving story about how women carry—and sometimes heal—the wounds of those who came before them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the advanced copy.