It Happens in the Hamptons: A Novel

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys mystery, drama, love, and life! The writing was spectacular which provided the ability to visualize the characters and surroundings as if I were watching a movie instead of reading a book.

Favorite Quotes:

As the moonlight bore down on the abandoned town, the conversation between the Tide Runners instructors bounced between topics big and small: the height of the waves heading in (measured by buoys far out at sea that could predict)… and, most animatedly, who would be paying the thirty-dollar June fee for the Porn Hub password they all shared.

She’d had a fitful night; the worry fairies kept sprinkling their persuasive spell on her.

Julia, who sensed she wouldn’t get her way, suddenly decided to save her arguing capital for another fight. It was easier to let the kids and husband believe they were in charge so she could squash their demands like insects when it really counted.

The gloomy, preteen boy posse at her side were mortified to be anywhere near this woman, let alone in her care. They all wore surf trunks, flip-flops, and towels wrapped around their necks. Margaux Carroll’s son, Tyler, age nine, was a few years older than the other kids, and looked like he was weighing the pros and cons of matricide.

My Review:

I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging, intriguing, and cleverly amusing story. Holly Peterson has deft word skills and a wicked sense of humor - which are at the top of my list of favorite traits. The plot was well-paced and artfully crafted and the characters were delightfully complex, uniquely quirky, colorfully described, and lushly detailed. A wealthy and highly skilled sexual predator was on the loose and plying his wiles on young girls and women of all socio-economic groups across the country. I established and discarded several of my own theories and while I had figured out the perpetrator, I certainly did not foresee the entangling plot twists coming. The interesting storyline was smartly written, witty, irresistibly intriguing, and held my rapt attention throughout.

The first half of this book is really awful. The second half seems quite different, if you have bothered to read that far, which I almost did not do. There is an actual story going on for awhile. Unfortunately most of the story is based on such puerile thoughts it is almost unreadable.

Most of the characters are unbelievable. The group of young guys on the beach have been running a business for 10 summers yet talk as if they are 13. Crude views of females and sex fill their minds and we hear about it CONSTANTLY. Having any of them morph into a desirable adult mate was too big a leap.

Sex is the prevailing theme in this book, unfortunately much of it is wrong. Who wants to read about a 16 year old girl who is boasting to the world about all the guys she's had oral sex with? Her mother acts quite dumb about her daughter's nympho behavior.

Why when Luke's ex girlfriend is "writhing on the beach with her rear in the air", is Huck left in the vicinity!? Some of Katie's decisions make no sense. She listens to her son a lot but suddenly he is left with George to do swim team try outs? For that matter, SHE is not a club member, so neither is Huck.

Why IS she so willing to do club stuff with Poppy? What WAS the meaning of the staff acting in awe of Katie? I do not believe even Poppy could simply insert Katie deep into the workings of a private club!

From what we see of the Hamptons, oh sorry, of Southampton, during one summer, it makes absolutely zero sense to want to get the school job and LIVE there.

Merely running George out of town was not enough but all we get.

The sudden chummy grouping at the end is too odd to be believed.

Probably the only reasonable thing written in this book, is the advice Katie's mother gave her about the two things she should do every day while raising Huck. The rest of the book is an utter waste of time.

Katie Doyle – the main protagonist of "It Happens in the Hamptons" by Holly Peterson – crossed a number of class lines when she and her young son, Huck, moved from a lake-side community in Oregon to the East Coast community of Southampton. By virtue of her quasi-boyfriend and her own gutsy initiative, she befriended not only the local “townies” but members of the top one percent tier who drive up from New York City to the Hamptons for the weekend, as well as endearing herself into the middle-class landed-gentry, whose sea-faring and whaling forebears originally founded the quaint communities dotting the Long Island shores.
Katie and George Porter were instantly attracted to one another during a Portland educational conference, spending the rest of the sessions in a hotel room rather than in the lecture halls. Overwhelmed by his insistence, and distracted by the sudden demise of her mother, Katie agrees to spend the summer in a small cottage in Southampton, with the promise that she and George would eventually move into a more solid, lasting relationship. When she meets Luke Forrester, a local marine biology teacher and part owner of the Tide Runners water skills camp, Katie finds herself floundering in deep waters as she begins to doubt her feelings for George. What transpires between Memorial Day weekend and the last fading days of September is grist for the millwork of Peterson’s third venture into the world of fiction.
Peterson’s author page on the store.com calls this novel “social satire fiction”, but it is easily just a step or two higher in its real genre: romantic, suspenseful chick-lit. As such, it does have an interesting plot line with, of course, the requisite sex scenes written with just the right touch of explicitness – not too graphic, but steamy enough to keep turning the pages. The characters are believable; most of the time realistic as they swim in and around the tidewaters of Katie’s and Huck’s lives. Although a few of the author’s attempts to caricature members of Hampton society – locals and one-percenters alike – did seem a bit forced; a bit too “put on”, too “over the top”. However, with the realization that It Happens in the Hamptons is supposed to be, in fact, a satire, more than several of the more humorous passages and descriptions rang chuckle-out-loud true.
I have to admit, though, that it did take me a while to catch on to the sometimes awkward and stylistically stilted manner of writing. The first fifty or so pages did have a few grammatically jarring juxtapositions, but as I warmed up Peterson’s plot lines and characters, her story of Katie’s experiences – mingling up and down social strati while juggling emotions between two lovers – finally flowed nicely into a satisfying, nearly surprising denouement. Who and what George finally turns out to be, the revelation of Luke Forrester’s secret, and the resolution(s) of Katie’s turmoiled emotions are, in this case, exemplar hallmarks of a rather good satirical commentary on moder- day cultural mores.
Even if it is couched in suspenseful chick-lit romance.
Enjoy the read!

Unfortunately, this book did nothing for me. It had zero substance, unlikable and poorly written characters, and a ton of plot lines that were hardly resolved. The only thing I liked about it was the descriptions of the Hamptons. And that's a bit of a stretch too because, well it just felt like it was missing something that would have really added to the story. Now, if the author stuck to one plot point (there were quite a few) I think this book could have been amazing. But there was too much going on with no meaning. Normally, I feel quite bad being so critical in a review, but I feel the need to warn readers that if they want a book that has even a tiny bit of meaning you won't get it in this one. :(

First, thank you to LibraryThing (William Morrow Publications) for an advanced copy of this paperback book for my enjoyment and review. If you like a true summer,
in-the- beach-bag, chik-lit book – this is truly your read. Most people love summer stories about Cape Cod and the Hamptons, and this book will not disappoint. It is the story of Katy Doyle who moves from Oregon to the Hamptons to spend the summer in a little cottage of a friend (George) of hers, who promises to “leave her alone” and let her settle in. She and her 8 year old son are attracted to many things about the Hamptons, so of course there is romance and fun involved. Enjoy, and put into your beach bag now!!

Katie Doyle moves from Oregon to the Hamptons at the invitation of her new friend/fling, George. She rents a cottage from his mother and begins to settle in, find summer employment, look for permanent employment, find new friends and activities for her young son, and to see if this new friendship with George is going to go anywhere. He promises to leave her alone and give her lots of space, and does. A bewildering amount of space actually, where she won't see him for days on end. Many of the ways and traditions of the Hamptons that Katie encounters are odd to her, especially George and his country club members, but the ocean does have a magical pull for her, so she tries to make a life there.

This light, summer beach-read has it's share of romance and mystery and issues between the rich and the Hampton natives. Definitely not a taxing read, maybe a little too light-weight for some tastes, but a certainly a book you can get through in a few days on a beach blanket.

When Katie’s new boyfriend offers a family cottage in the Hamptons to her and her son Huck for the summer, she takes a chance and accepts. It will be a big change from the Pacific Northwest and away from the memories of just losing her mother. She loves the little house and the adventure of the coast and the town. She also catches the eye of Luke, an instructor at the beach during the summer for the elite’s children. She too finds herself drawn to him. Aside from any love story, we have the secrets, dirt and scandal of the rich. The country club rich feel that they have ownership of the area. Jason Chase is newer money and he and his family fly in on their private helicopter. The country club rich look down on those people. There is sex and mystery and it makes you guess on who certain people might be.

The heat meter is high on this one. If you like sex in your novels, this one is for you. I usually don’t read books with a lot of sex in them but this was fun. It reminded me of older days when I would sit and read something like Scruples by Judith Krantz in one sitting. The way she describes the Hamptons makes you feel as if you are there. I could smell the ocean breeze. Katie and Huck were a cute team. If you are looking for an escape from reality, this is straight up fun.

I received a copy of this book from William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.

Who writes these editorial book reviews? I wonder if they ever read the novels or are paid to write glowing reviews for sophomoric chick lit like It Happens in the Hamptons? Or maybe it's tit for tat: I'll write a great review for your book if you do the same for whatever I churn out next. I couldn't even finish this book- it wasn't well written and seemed like it was meant for junior high readers. Don't waste your time.

I've really enjoyed Holly Peterson's first two books, so eagerly awaited this one. Probably my favorite.
The book starts out with the protagonist, Katie from Oregon, who is moving East to try a summer with a handsome man named George. He turns out to be much different from what she expected, but while spending time in the Hamptons, she meets many people from different worlds. There's Luke, the local marine biologist and teacher, Kona, the seducer, Poppy, the WASP old world matron (and a character with more soul than you'd first imagine, one of my favorites), and the Chase family, filled with obnoxious people who also have huge hearts. Her story of fitting into this Hamptons planet, and whether it matters or not, is quite riveting. And then there's a surprise ending, which I never could have predicted. Made me want to hit the beach, as she writes evocatively of it's beauty and power. Think it's a great summer read.

This was a very interesting look at the dichotomy of Hamptons living and vacationing. At the same time, it was a novel of self discovery and finding yourself, even when you're a long way from home. This was interesting and intriguing.

This is a trite story poorly told. Horribly edited -- George gets out of a car then gets out again on the next page. Awkward prose. The novel jumps from character with no apparent plan or reason slowing the insipid plot down considerably. The Manny was a cute fun read. This is no The Manny.

I liked and very much enjoyed this one. Well written with strong characters, adequate suspense and some nice steamy summer romance mixed in. It was fairly predictable but had a nice little surprise twist at the end. Strictly light weight but highly recommended if you're in the mood for a little summer fun.

Great potential that doesn’t deliver unfortunately. It’s obvious a lot of background work was done for this book. The $XX,XXX.XX next to each name brand item was a great idea. Unfortunately this tactic was beaten to a pulp after the 10th time it was used. Author still used it over 100 pages into the book...

Read the Manny and loved it so eagerly anticipated this book about the Hamptons. Peterson doesnt disappoint. Easy. breezy, fun and lively read with perceptive contrasts between the locals and those who summer there. She has a really keen eye for conspicuous consumption and the manners that go with it addimg a layer of biting social commentary to a suspenseful plot.

A great ride --straight into the middle of summer in the Hampton's!!! A small town girl finds herself in the swirl of Hampton's High Season and, well, you just can't put this book down. Crazy, ridiculous people make for a juicy story well told. THIS is the party you've been trying to get into all year!!!

Holly Peterson brings you front and center for the good times and good life in the legendary Hamptons homes and beaches. I would like to say that it is the perfect summer beach read but the author also challenged me to think about the cultural impact of wealth on the haves and have not so much.

A perfect summer read. Very funny and entertaining.
A thinly veiled romp of the snobbery and insanity that happens in the Hamptons. The surf dudes have to deal with oblivious wealthy jerks while being asked to care for their kids in the ocean. Lots of crazy sex scenes and a good story lies beneath.Every description is exactly how it is!!!!!

Witty and pitch-perfect social satire of New York elite's weekend getaway, the Hamptons, where classes clash and the sun glitters on diamonds. Fast paced, the novel also has a juicy mystery at its center and is filled with sizzling sex and romance. The perfect beach read all the more perfect for taking place on the beach!

A shamelessly delicious summer read, especially tasty for those familiar with all the spots, societies, nuances, and sublime to ridiculous contrasts that make up the "Hamptons," down to the fact that locals never call it that.

Saw this promoted in People Magazine. I just have had a hard time getting into it. Seems a little corny. Only half done and hoping to finish since I paid for it. Would probably not have purchased this if I could go back.