Every now and then you read the first few sentences of a book by a new author and think, “Yes, must read this now!” That was the case with this book, A Hundred Summers, by Beatriz Williams. I bought it on a cloudy Sunday, curled up on the sofa and didn’t stop 
until I finished several hours later.
The story is nothing like The Great Gatsby, yet I was reminded of it as it was set in a similar time period and deals with wealthy New Yorkers who Summer by the sea. The writing is lovely and atmospheric and pulled me in immediately. I’m normally not a huge fan of flashbacks, but they worked exceptionally well in this story and served to generate suspense as they’d alternate back and forth to when the main character Lily was dating the love of her life, Nick, in college and her selfish socialite friend Budgie was dating Graham, the college football star to 7 or so years in the future when Budgie is suddenly married to Nick and Graham and Lily start dating.
The big mystery and what kept the pages turning for me was needing to know how it all went wrong and the wrong girl ended up with Nick. A Hundred Summers is a fun, well written and very soapy story that is just perfect for the Beach. I really enjoyed this author’s writing style and look forward to reading whatever she comes up with next.