A Summer in Sonoma

I love Robin Carr!!! Her books are wonderful! She can make me laugh until my husband thinks I'm nuts, yesterday she had me crying. All of her books are about good friends, love, & life. I can't seem to get enough. Thanks

I have enjoyed all of Carr's books to date, especially The House on Olive Street and the entire Virgin River series. In "A Summer in Sonoma", Carr again writes about believable, fully developed characters. The women in her stories could be our sisters, daughters, mothers, granddaughters, best friends - we all know someone like them - and Carr paints vivid mind pictures with her prose.

Carr does seem to bring up women's health issues in most of her novels but that doesn't bother me. I am always willing to learn new things, or if I already am aware of the issues I skim over them. I believe a good novelist can be an educator as well as an entertainer.

I especially liked the romance between Cassie and Walt in this book. It was not the same old cookie cutter mold and not the same Fabio hero.

I will continue to read every one of Carr's books that she publishes. I cry, I laugh, and they always leave me feeling better once I have finished them.

I love this book and following the lives of four friends. I've borrowed it from the library so many times I finally just bought my own copy for my Kindle. My favorite couple is Cassie and Walt. He is not your typical character in a book of romance, but hey, everyone deserves love in their life. Walt makes other appearances in at least one of the Virgin River series books (Redwood Bend) by Robyn Carr. I really didn't want this story to end and wish Ms. Carr would have written of Cassie and Walt and their story between these two books although imagination works just as well.

I'm kinda a romantic, so i've read a lot of Nicholas Sparks books. I was getting tired of crying all the time so decided to try a different author. I like the story because you can relate to some of the characters. This is my first book by this author and although i liked it, i can't say its on my top 10 favorite books, but it's a fast easy read.

This is my first Robyn Carr book and it caught my eye because of Walt. Living near Sonoma County and riding a Harley with my husband, I had to read it. I was not disappointed. This is the kind of book that you take on vacation and think about the good times you had growing up with own girlfriends - and how important it is to keep them. It also may bring back memories of a long-ago biker with a naked lady tattooed on his arm.

It was a wonderful story. I've read three books of the Thunder Point series and can't wait for The Chance to come out next year. I understand there are going to be two more books in this series. Robyn Carr is a great author.

I didn't buy this when it came out even though I usually preorder the Virgin River Series for my Kindle. I didn't know if I'd like a book with 4 characters. Audible had the audio book on sale so I bought it. I really enjoyed the audio and bought the ebook for my Kindle. Carr does an excellent job of blending the stories of the 4 friends. She always deals with contemporary problems faced by women today. Can't wait for the next Virgin River book.

I enjoy Robyn Carr's romances because she always seems to come up with a different story line. Like the characters, their different but believable. I have recommended her series books to others who have become as committed as I am to this author.

This is my first Robyn Carr book and it caught my eye because of Walt. Living near Sonoma County and riding a Harley with my husband, I had to read it. I was not disappointed. This is the kind of book that you take on vacation and think about the good times you had growing up with own girlfriends - and how important it is to keep them. It also may bring back memories of a long-ago biker with a naked lady tattooed on his arm.

It was a wonderful story. I've read three books of the Thunder Point series and can't wait for The Chance to come out next year. I understand there are going to be two more books in this series. Robyn Carr is a great author.

I didn't buy this when it came out even though I usually preorder the Virgin River Series for my Kindle. I didn't know if I'd like a book with 4 characters. Audible had the audio book on sale so I bought it. I really enjoyed the audio and bought the ebook for my Kindle. Carr does an excellent job of blending the stories of the 4 friends. She always deals with contemporary problems faced by women today. Can't wait for the next Virgin River book.

I enjoy Robyn Carr's romances because she always seems to come up with a different story line. Like the characters, their different but believable. I have recommended her series books to others who have become as committed as I am to this author.

After hearing great things about Robyn Carr for years, I finally read my first book by her. I can't believe I waited so long to get to her! Just a wonderful book, characters, and writing story. I didn't want it to end. I can see why so many people love her. I've now started her Virgin River series, and of course, I'm not disappointed. I wish I could have given the book ten stars.

Robyn Carr is brilliant! Have almost completed her entire library. Virginia River series is my favorite. Only hope she continues with the series. From book 1 to 20 the reader can connect with all the characters.

If you loved Four Friends, read this one. After I read Four Friends three times, this one was recommended to me. It has the same format as Four Friends but a little different. Four families dealing with their family stuff. Four women coming together and helping each other deal with their lives. I read this in a day, could not put it down. I would recommend this if you liked Four Friends.

I read this book in one afternoon. I couldn't put it down!!! Robyn Carr has outdone herself with this one. I do however need a sequel. I have to know how Beth is. I have to know about Cassie. Did she marry Walt? Have kids? What about Julie? Did she have one more baby? Wow don't leave me hanging!!!!!!

I love the Virgin River and Grace Valley series, but Summer in Sonoma is a book I have read a few times and each time take a little more of it with me. I especially like Walt & Cassie and like a review on this page would have liked to have a epilog or a new book telling about the friends and Walt & Cassie. Hope there will be another one coming

I have read all of Robyn Carr's books. Her series are filled with amazingly strong woman and incredible stories of places you wish you could live in forever. She paints pictures in your mind of these towns and the people.The stories are exciting and warm and you can't put them down.

That being said this book was just okay. If this was the first one I had ever picked up, I would not have read her other works.

I really loved this story... but for me, I wish there was some sort of epilogue. I was left feeling that is was somewhat left undone. I would have loved to see where they all were 2-5 yrs down the line.

Is there a sequel in the works?

If you're looking for a book with four friends, each experiencing different issues regarding the men in (and out) of their lives, this is the book for you. ER Nurse Cassie is saved from a bad date by a biker dude, and discovers that, in spite of her concerns about how he wants to spend money on her, she likes him. He's not her type, but he's so nice.

Julie and her high school sweetheart have too many kids and too many debts and when she gets pregnant--again?!--she is certain they're going to end up in bankruptcy, until she loses the baby and ends up in the office of a credit counselor.

Marty's firefighter husband seems to take her for granted, but hasn't she done the same regarding him? When she moves out of their bedroom and into the guest bedroom, is this the beginning of the end of their marriage, even with a child in the mix?

Then there's Beth, a busy OB-GYN who ends up losing her second breast to cancer and scaring her three best friends to death when she collapses at work. Will her oncologist, who's also become something more than a friend, be able to calm everyone down and keep her alive through the last of her chemo?

How these four women live their lives is instructive for all of us: taking risks is...risky, but it can also lead to what some would describe as "the best is yet to come."

Rating: 3.5 stars __Contains graphic sexual content
Note: Stand alone read. Some characters are a prequel to Virgin River series.

EASY READ. Engaging storyline, interesting characters, strong sisterhood theme, and multiple romances. HOWEVER, the storyline is very predictable, vocabulary is weak, language is bleep-able, some minor inconsistencies, some characters behave stupidly, and the story drags a little in places, but is still able to hold the reader' attention.

THE STORY follows four long-time friends; emergency room nurse, Cassie, stay-at-home wife and mom, Julie, successful hairdresser and wife, Marty, and women's clinic doctor, Beth. Each is facing a personal crisis. Cassie has nearly given up on finding Mr. Forever, Julie is drowning in family debt which her husband ignores, after the wedding, Marty's husband turned into a grubby slob at home, and Beth is facing a re-occurrence of her cancer. As the story progresses, each shares her troubles, is given loving support, and finds the help they need.

THE MAIN ROMANCE focuses on odd couple Cassie and black-leather clad, tattooed biker, Walt. As the story opens Walt saves Cassie from an attack, but she is afraid to become involved with him because of his appearance . Walt slowly convinces her to try motorcycle rides and fine dining throughout Sonoma and the nearby countryside. As she spends more time with this gentle giant a deep friendship develops, and she finally lets go of her "image" of the man perfect many she should marry, in favor of the untraditional man she loves.

OVERALL, an engaging storyline with well-developed characters and complex romances.

You may also enjoy the complex characters and storytelling of N. Bruhns, A. Stuart, or E. Palfrey. For sweet, funny, heart touching romances, try Susan Fox, Cara Colter, or Nikki Logan.

I enjoyed this story, even though it was a bit different from some of Mrs. Carr's other books. The writing was a bit different than Robyn Carr's usual story telling.

This is the story of 4 friends, Cassie, Julie, Beth and Marty. It tells the story of the challenges they face heading towards their 30th birthday. While there are four friends this feels mostly like Cassie's story, but follows the other women pretty closely.

I knew where Cassie's story was heading from the start, but I enjoyed watching her relationship with Walt blossom. I rooted for him from page one and figured out his story very quickly.

Mrs. Carr takes on some serious everyday topics that while typical are addressed from a relationship perspective. Cassie is saved from an assault by a mean looking biker, Walt; and swears off men while ignoring the fact that she's falling for a man she is convinced she couldn't have a future with.

Julie and her husband Billy are high school sweethearts who are still madly in love, but falling apart under the strain of serious financial pressures, marriage and three children.

Marty's marriage is in danger as her husband Joe stops treating her like the prize he once treasured, but instead like an unappreciated housekeeper. As she deals with her marriage pressures her ex boyfriend adds a new complication.

And Beth, an Ob/Gyn is trying to hide her second bout of breast cancer in five years. The first bout cost her one breast and the man she loved. This bout may cost more, but everything changes as Jerod enters her life and changes her perspective.

Good story, well drawn characters and relatable issues are at the heart of this novel. While satisfying, I could have easily been swept into a series about these women. I've been spoiled by Virgin River.

Rating: 3.5 stars __Contains graphic sexual content
Note: Stand alone read. Some characters are a prequel to Virgin River series.

EASY READ. Engaging storyline, interesting characters, strong sisterhood theme, and multiple romances. HOWEVER, the storyline is very predictable, vocabulary is weak, language is bleep-able, some minor inconsistencies, some characters behave stupidly, and the story drags a little in places, but is still able to hold the reader' attention.

THE STORY follows four long-time friends; emergency room nurse, Cassie, stay-at-home wife and mom, Julie, successful hairdresser and wife, Marty, and women's clinic doctor, Beth. Each is facing a personal crisis. Cassie has nearly given up on finding Mr. Forever, Julie is drowning in family debt which her husband ignores, after the wedding, Marty's husband turned into a grubby slob at home, and Beth is facing a re-occurrence of her cancer. As the story progresses, each shares her troubles, is given loving support, and finds the help they need.

THE MAIN ROMANCE focuses on odd couple Cassie and black-leather clad, tattooed biker, Walt. As the story opens Walt saves Cassie from an attack, but she is afraid to become involved with him because of his appearance . Walt slowly convinces her to try motorcycle rides and fine dining throughout Sonoma and the nearby countryside. As she spends more time with this gentle giant a deep friendship develops, and she finally lets go of her "image" of the man perfect many she should marry, in favor of the untraditional man she loves.

OVERALL, an engaging storyline with well-developed characters and complex romances.

You may also enjoy the complex characters and storytelling of N. Bruhns, A. Stuart, or E. Palfrey. For sweet, funny, heart touching romances, try Susan Fox, Cara Colter, or Nikki Logan.

Originally posted at: [...]

A good listener and easy-going, Walt ,the biker, eases into a friendly relationship with Cassie when she comes by the Harley place to thank him for rescuing her from that bad situation. After meeting for coffee and talk and finally a dinner, he takes Cassie on her first of many motorcycle rides into the beautiful Sonoma area. A new, exciting, non-threatening, fun friendship grows between them while Cassie comes to realize that his intimidating physical appearance belies his nurturing, trustworthy nature. The reader gets to share a courtship that touches the heart and soul.

While Cassie and Walt's story is never far from the reader's attention, the stories of Cassie's friends, Julie, Marty, and Beth intertwine to create a story replete with struggles, heartaches, fears, and loves -- loves that withstand lots of hard knocks. The reader is pulled into this circle of friends and the men in their lives as these four young women give each other unfailing support in good and bad times.

Robyn Carr creates vibrant characters that bring to the fore conflicts and issues that plague modern society. The reader is privy to the traumas and the struggles to work through life-changing events that the characters experience as they face their fears and brave the possibilities of rejection as they strive to resolve conflicts, solve problems, and overcome tremendous odds. Trust, patience, and communication bring fantastic results.

Summer in Sonoma is a journey from loneliness to feeling worshipped for Cassie. For Julie, it is a journey from despair and hopelessness to hope, confidence, and reaffirmed love. For Marty, it is a journey from fear of failure to understanding and rekindled love and for Beth, it is a journey from fear of death alone to a joy for life with a man who loves and wants her just like she is. This is a heartwarming story that is beautifully told by Robyn Carr.

This book follows four long-time girlfriends through four very different life-and-love crises.

It was an OK book. But for some reason I just couldn't get into it. For one thing, I prefer a lot fewer points of view (this one jumped around a lot, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph). But more crucially, the characters felt too cliché (I mean, really, do they HAVE to have been high school cheerleaders?).

This is probably intended to be a "feel good" read, and maybe it isn't fair that I now look for and like a little more depth. For example, the one who almost cheated on her husband... It would have been a darker read if she had, that's for sure, but so much more interesting.

The only character I found truly interesting was the biker (Walt)... and perhaps that's because I am a biker myself and I write about bikers and motorcycle chicks on occasion. Even he was almost too good to be true (he gets manicures?!), although I have to admit the opening scene grabbed me right away and I liked the final story twist about him.

If you're looking for a light, really girl-oriented read, you'll enjoy this book.

Emergency room nurse Cassie goes on a date with Ken that turns ugly until Walt the mechanic rescues her. They become friends although he would like their relationship to be intimate; she prefers her man to be more than someone who dirties their hands.

Firefighter Billy and his wife Julie are in dire financial straits while she carries their fourth child. Firefighter Joe ignores his wife Marty, who is looking closely at her former boyfriend for attention. Doctor Beth struggles with the return of breast cancer while her oncologist Dr. Jerod wants to be with her during and after she receives treatment as he wants a non-medical relationship with her too.

Though the theme of an ensemble friends struggling with different relationship issues has been done many times before ion TV, movies and novels, the four fully developed BFFs and the hunks in their lives make for a warm engaging contemporary tale. Readers will enjoy spending A Summer in Sonoma with Robyn Carr's charming cast.

Harriet Klausner

Cassie, Marty, Beth and Julie have been friends since they were little girls. Now grown up, the ladies try to get together often to stay in touch.

Beth is a doctor in a women's clinic. She is unmarried and thinks she will remain so her entire life as something happened to her at the age of twenty-five that shaped her into the woman she is today. When unforeseen circumstances bring her into contact with a fellow doctor, Beth is unsure of what is happening, but her colleague convinces her to let down her defenses.

Marty and Joe have been married over four years and have a young son. The handsome firefighting Italian she married has turned into a smelly slob on his days off and Marty finds herself at her wits end. Running into the first man she fell in love with has Marty thinking about what might have and could be again.

Julie and Billy are high school sweethearts. They are the parents of three children. Billy works two jobs and Julie stays home with the kids. While they still love each other intensely, they are unable to get out of the financial rut they have found themselves in. Julie is hardly able to make ends meet though she tries her best. Will Billy ever notice what she has had to do for years just to keep a roof over their head?

Cassie has always wanted a family and husband of her own. She decides to give up her dream after having to be rescued by a biker when a date turned sour and wouldn't let her out of his car. Walt is everything that Cassie has never wanted - he has a tattoo of a naked woman on his arm and rides a motorcycle. It seems opposites do attract because Cassie and Walt are perfect for each other - if only Cassie will admit the truth.

I adore Robyn Carr. Love her. However, I didn't love A Summer in Sonoma. I found Marty to be mean and selfish and I hated how she treated her husband. I loved how Julie and Billy were still in love, but I am unable to forgive her for a choice she made in A Summer in Sonoma. Beth was gutsy and had defense mechanisms two feet thick. Her doctor, however, was perfect for her. He left her confused and she needed that. Cassie tried the hardest, I think, to convince herself that the choices she made were good ones. She and Walt's relationship was such a wonderful combination of best friends and lovers. It just worked.

Die hard fans of Robyn Carr will probably think I am crazy, but I feel A Summer in Sonoma would have been great just featuring Beth and Cassie. I also think that my dislike of Julie's actions is a deeply personal one - one that Robyn Carr should not be held accountable for. After all, A Summer in Sonoma is definitely realistic and could be happening to anyone. Will I stop reading Robyn Carr? Heck, no. I am going to chalk up A Summer in Sonoma as a Robyn Carr oxymoron and leave it at that. I still love her writing and her books. Just not this one.

Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Four women who have been lifelong friends are all at a crossroads in their lives. They are in different phases and stages in their relationships with men, and one of them is even facing her own mortality, again.

This story focuses on each individual friend and dissects their current state of mind and problems. Cassie has been on a lifelong search for Mr. Right. Julie struggles juggling the finances and her over fertile body. Marty has lost the spark in her marriage and is feeling taken for granted. And then there is Beth, who from the outside seems to have it all, except her health.

This book touched me on so many levels. I think there isn't a female out there who couldn't relate to at least one of these characters, or maybe all of them in different stages of her life. Robyn Carr really has a unique ability to write really relatable characters. This story is heartwarming and touching. It was like reading about so many women I know, myself included.

My one complaint was Cassie's consistent and incorrect stereotyping. She finally meets Mr. Right and spends 90% of the book hung up on his looks. I wanted to punch her. She was such a caring and lovable character and then where Walt was concerned she turned into a snob. I hated that. Had Cassie eased up on her judgmental BS, this totally would have been a 5 star book.

Highly recommended!

Cherise Everhard, August 2010

I was such a fan of Robyn Carr, but this book blew me away. I loved the girlfiends, and how each of them was dealing with their own personal problems. I have to say that this book took some everyday problems, and pulled them out of the closet and showed us all that there can be a happy ending to some of life's unhappy situations, too. We all have little problems that we don't even want to share with our best friends, because it's too embarrassing. This book gave me hope, and I hope other find it here, too.

Cassie is an emergency room nurse with a penchant for picking the wrong guys. When her latest date turns into a disaster bordering on date rape, an unlikely hero comes to her recue - Walt, a tattooed biker with a taste for the finer things. He soon takes her on an odessey encompassing more than rides on his Harley - causing Cassie to think outside the box. Can she find a future with a bad boy? Julie is so fertile that a single glance from her husband Billy results in a pregnancy. Unfortunately, they are living on such meager means that another mouth to feed might just break them. Beth is a workaholic OB/GYN and cancer survivor who gets some bad news. Marty and Joe have lost the romance in their marriage. Will they be able to rekindle it before Marty gives in to temptation and it is gone forever?

I usually find Carr's books a little too sacharine - but I totally enjoyed this story (though still think that it is over populated). Make no mistake - this story is definitely Walt and Cassie - in fact I found myself getting inpatient when other characters took the center stage. My only gripe is how small minded Cassie tended to be (though I loved the message that heroes can be the most unlikely of characters), and the whole drama at the end (with Walt and Marty's high school boyfriend) was somewhat predictable. But after reading a couple duds, this was a refreshing surprise.

As a romance/chick lit novel, I liked it. Robyn Carr does a nice job of creating real characters with real world problems - kids, money, family, etc and gives them mostly reasonable, real world solutions. The main romance, between Walt and Cassie, is well done and satisfying.

I found the title a bit misleading. A couple of motorcycle trips by one pair to wine country do not, for me, a summer make. (The story mostly takes place in the Sacramento area.) While Carr uses a lot of localized place names, there's not really any localization in the story. The bike trip to Napa/Sonoma could have been given place names from nearly anywhere in the US and read the same.

I'll look out for the next book in the series.

Too often romance novels tell stories that is just too good to be true. Everyone finds the perfect partner with whom they have super sex happily after ever. Problems float away as if on clouds, if there are any problems at all. Robyn Carr tells this tale of four friends who approach the issues of real life. There are money problems, marital disharmony, disease and mistrust in relationships. Although the discord does get resolved, it is with work and difficulty. It is truly romantic to see that communication and trust, that are intrinsic to all good relationships, pays off. this is an absolutely enjoyable read!

I'm a fan and I admit it. Loved the Virgin and Grace series and couldn't wait to read each new book. Carr has done an outstanding job in this stand-alone book of creating believable characters and having them go through real-life situations. There is nothing saccharine here, only people who speak, think and act the way real people do. Carr has done a great job of portraying the tight friendship of the four women and I'm sure she has done that because so many of have tight freindships with other women so we can identify with the situation. (And if some don't, they wish they had.)

Is this a fabulous, classic book for the ages? No, but it was one I couldn't put down once I started, that had me laughing and crying and that I was sorry to get to the end of (as another reviewer said).

I don't understand Zosia's review at all. While I agree with Tuff Tulip, to me the most surprising thing was how many spoilers she had: why tell every detail of the book? Glad I read reviews AFTER I read the book.

Julie and her husband Billy are high school sweethearts. They fell in love, got married and started popping out kids. Julie is so sick and tried of constantly paying bills. Julie will receive the surprise of her life soon.

All Cassie is looking for is Mr. Right. She thought she found him but he turned out to be Mr. Wrong. In fact, he was so Mr. Wrong that Cassie was rescued by a knight on a Harley bike. His name is Walt Arneson. Cassie figures what can it hurt to hang out with Walt riding on his motorcycle, even if he is not the one or is he?

Marty and her husband, Guy have been married for a long time. Lately, Marty feels like the spark has gone out of their marriage for good. She is tempted be a younger man. Marty is at a crossroads. Which path will she choose?

Beth is a doctor. Her job is to treat and help heal people. Can Beth be strong when the tables are turned and the doctor becomes the patient?

I really enjoy reading Robyn Carr's Virgin River series. Mrs. Carr's latest novel, A Summer in Sonoma is its own novel. It was a nice change and pace from the Virgin River series. I met four new friends in Cassie, Julie, Marty and Beth. I had a blast hanging out with these four ladies. Readers will relate to them all. My favorite two characters were Julie and Cassie. Julie because she was human and I could really relate to the head aches of always paying bills and Cassie because she is a pure delight to be around. If you are looking for the perfect vacation spot then travel to A Summer in Sonoma.

I loved that Robyn had the four girlfriends with each having their own separate story line with different issues to address. Cassie and Walt's Love story was fabulous. The book ended too soon though, no epilogue a few years out. Please tell me there is another book to finish up these story lines.

This is a sweet story. It expresses patience, and personal growth. It is a dream come true with people that you feel that you know. I wish my life had been similar to Cassie' s. A sweet, gentle, kind and caring man would be miraculous!!

I have become a new fan of Robyn Carr; this book was one of the best I have read in quite some time! The story started out a little melodramatic but turned around and became a true story of what friendships are all about.