Skip to content
  • HOME
  • THE DREAMER
    • CONTACT
  • DISCLOSURES
  • HOME
  • custom-logo
  • THE DREAMER
    • CONTACT
  • DISCLOSURES
Books

Book Tour // It Happens in the Hamptons by Holly Peterson

May 8, 2017 Crystal // Dreams, etc. 5 comments
Book Tour // It Happens in the Hamptons by Holly Peterson

Note – I received a copy of this book from the publisher through TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About It Happens in the Hamptons

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 9, 2017)

In the Hamptons, everyday people are as complicated and fascinating as millionaires…

When Katie Doyle moves across the country to the Hamptons, she is hoping to find summer employment, new friends for her young son, and a chance to explore a new love affair with George, a dazzling investor. What she finds is a strange cocktail of classes, where society’s one-percenters vacation alongside local, hardworking people who’ve lived in the Hamptons for generations. Though she’s looking forward to her move, Katie is wary about mingling in her boyfriend’s East Coast elite circles. She soon discovers Southampton isn’t all that it seems to be on the surface–and neither are the people who live there.

As George takes Katie on a whirlwind tour of country clubs, haute couture, and lavish events, Katie is amazed to witness sudden whims becoming dire needs, extramarital affairs blossoming right and left, and people purchasing friends and loyalties like a pair of shoes. Even the middle-class townspeople maintain determined facades while maneuvering like sharks among the wealthy summer invaders.

The more Katie becomes immersed, the more she learns the stories of both the upstairs and downstairs, the upper crust and middle of the road. The combustion between classes becomes explosive as the summer tears on. Betrayals, a sexual predator, and a missing person lost in murky waves drive the reader on a racing Learjet through impossible twists and turns before landing at the shocking conclusion. When Katie meets Luke, a marine biologist and teacher, he makes her what it is she really wants as she understands the life she’s begun for herself is built on shifting Hamptons dunes.

My Thoughts

I really like books that take place in the Hamptons. I’ve never been there and it isn’t even a place that I have a desire to go to, but I love books that take place in seaside communities on the East Coast and in experience with books that take place in the Hamptons, there’s usually a lot of relationship tension, which is what I love most in fiction. I love exploring tension in relationships. It really doesn’t matter if it’s romantic, familial or a friendship–if there’s a relationship between people that can be put through something that can create a lot of tension, I love exploring that.

This was an interesting book to read, because there were sections that had me turning pages and there were sections that didn’t capture me quite as much–mostly, I had trouble putting the book down when there interactions between Katie and Luke.

The book moved more slowly than I thought it would–it wasn’t quite as flashy as I anticipated, but that didn’t bother me either. It just took me by surprise. It also took me about fifty pages or so to get acclimated to the story and the different characters involved.

The chapters in this are pretty short, which might bother some, but I think it’s great for people who might have short periods of time to read and want to be able to dip in and out of a book and not worry about putting the book down mid-chapter.

I always think of spring and summer as the perfect time to pick up a book with a beach setting and this is definitely one to consider!

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Photo by Eric Strifler Photography

About Holly Peterson

Holly Peterson is the author the May 2017 social satire fiction release, It Happens in the Hamptons. In 2016, she curated an outdoor cooking book, Assouline’s Smoke and Fire: Recipes and Menus for Outdoor Entertaining. In 2014, she published The Idea of Him and of the New York Times bestseller The Manny in 2007. She was a Contributing Editor for Newsweek, an Editor-at-Large for Talk magazine and an Emmy Award-winning Producer for ABC News, where she spent more than a decade covering everthing from trials of the century to global politics. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, Town and Country, The Daily Beast, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Decor, Departures and numerous other publications.

Find out more about Holly at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

About Crystal

About Crystal

Hi! I'm Crystal, a millennial learning how to live slowly and sustainably, while still seeking adventure and following my dreams, etc.

Post navigation

Book Tour // Red Leaves by Paullina Simons
Book Tour // My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach

5 comments

  1. shootingstarsmag says:
    May 8, 2017 at 1:44 pm

    Sorry some parts moved a bit slow, but that’s awesome you liked it overall. I really like exploring various relationships in books too.

    Lauren
    http://www.shootingstarsmag.net

    Reply
    1. Crystal @ Dreams, etc. says:
      May 8, 2017 at 3:34 pm

      It’s always an interesting thing to read about. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Lecy | A Simpler Grace says:
    May 8, 2017 at 4:33 pm

    I keep hearing about this book and have seen it everywhere. I’m going to have to pick it up and give it a read. Thanks for the great review!

    Reply
  3. Akaleistar says:
    May 8, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    This sounds like a great summer read!

    Reply
  4. HeatherTLC says:
    May 13, 2017 at 10:49 am

    Like you, the Hamptons isn’t someplace I want to visit, but I do enjoy reading about it!

    Thanks for being a part of the tour.

    Reply

Share Your Thoughts! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

hi!

I'm Crystal, the storyteller behind Dreams, etc. I'm all about learning how to live slowly & sustainably, while also seeking adventure as we follow our dreams, etc.

Come with me to Cafe Ceres in downtown Minneapolis Come with me to Cafe Ceres in downtown Minneapolis.
A low key Sunday: church, pizza with mom, phone ca A low key Sunday: church, pizza with mom, phone call with niece, dogs. What was your Sunday like?
Summer has never been my favorite season so I inte Summer has never been my favorite season so I intentionally try to find those moments that I enjoy. Here’s one from summer 2023: sitting outside and watching this bird couple care for their babies.
It’s true. Okay, Mina. Your human needs a hug. It’s true.

Okay, Mina. Your human needs a hug. And maybe we should consider taking more flattering videos of the two of us. 😂

.
.
.
#dogstagram #dogsofinsta #dogsofig #dogstagram #dogslife #dogsofinstaworld #dogscorner #dogsdaily #dogs_of_instagram #girlsbestfriend #ckcs #doglove #dogsdaily #dogslover #dogsandpals #dogsworld #dogsrule #dogsoninstagram #dogsarefamily
August. August.
July is over and I’m glad. I’m ready for summe July is over and I’m glad. I’m ready for summer to come to an end. I’m thankful that you can see Mina throughout the entire video…there were a few days in July that I wasn’t sure she would be around much longer. Hold your pups tight. 💙 #onesecondeveryday #onesecond #1secondeveryday #1se #monthinreview #videodiary
A rainy day is a special gift to readers. [Amy Mil A rainy day is a special gift to readers. [Amy Miles] 🌧️

What’s your rainy day (or night) read?
Saturday morning. Mim’s Cafe. Saturday morning. Mim’s Cafe.
June 2023. June 2023.
See More Follow on Instagram

RECENT POSTS

  • The Summer Day by Mary Oliver
  • A Week in Idaho
  • Saying Goodbye to Crystal the Writer
  • The Day the Sorcerers Visited Baby Jesus
  • Thoughts on Hope

CATEGORIES

  • Adventures (53)
  • Beauty (16)
  • Books (147)
  • Creativity (58)
  • Entertainment (18)
  • Life (225)
  • Uncategorized (539)
  • Wellness (8)

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Follow
  • Book Review Policy
  • BOOKS
  • Contact
  • DISCLOSURES
  • Insta Links
  • Seint Links
  • THE DREAMER
Copyright © 2023 | All Rights Reserved | © 2023. All text and photos belong to Crystal Brutlag, unless otherwise stated. Theme designed by Little Theme Shop: https://littlethemeshop.com

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Dreams, etc. // Minneapolis Lifestyle Blog
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.