Three college roommates are celebrating a twentieth wedding anniversary by taking a cruise to Bermuda. As the ship pulls away from the pier, everyone is looking forward to lounging by the pool, sipping sunset cocktails, and reminiscing. Abby, the mother hen of the group, will be celebrating her wedding anniversary in style, even as she and her husband keep a secret from the group. Ambitious career woman Caroline happily anticipates several stress-free days away from her magazine job with her boyfriend, Javier, who may or may not be finally inspired to propose. And single mom Lee (annoyingly gorgeous and irresistibly popular in college) hopes she’ll win back the affections of her formerly sweet daughter Lacey, who after her first year in college, has inexplicably become a little bit of a monster.
As the balmy pink shores of Bermuda come into view, tensions simmer, and old jealousies flare, sending the temperature from soothing to scorching in this engrossing tale of three best friends on a vacation they won’t soon forget—but not for the reasons they expect.
About the Author
Wendy Francis is the author of the novels The Summer Sail, The Summer of Good Intentions, and Three Good Things. She grew up in the Midwest (Wisconsin to be exact) and moved east for high school and college. After graduating from Harvard, she attended law school for a brief stint before realizing that she was more interested in rewriting cases than studying case law. She went on to work at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Da Capo Press for nearly fifteen years as a book editor.
She wrote her first novel, Three Good Things, when she was home with her infant son (now 9). It was probably the worst time to begin a writing career since her baby rarely napped, but something about storytelling (and being able to sneak snacks throughout the day) appealed to her. Her articles have appeared in Good Housekeeping, The Washington Post, Yahoo Parenting, The Huffington Post and WBUR’s Cognoscenti, among others.
Her most recent book, The Summer Sail, is set on a cruise ship bound for Bermuda and explores the friendships among three women who were once college roommates. The novel delves into three of Wendy’s favorite things – family dynamics, women’s friendships, and a tropical cocktail poolside.
She currently lives outside of Boston with her husband and son, where she can be found shooting hoops or playing knee hockey with her nine-year-old. She is also a proud step-mom to two amazing college-aged kids.
Review of The Summer Sail
Review (4 Stars): This was a beautiful story of friendship between three women that experience the trip of a lifetime at a pivotal point in each of their lives. Abby is renewing her vows after twenty years while her friend, Caroline, is hoping to get the ring from her boyfriend that she always wanted. Lee is a single mother with a college-age daughter and she feels as though she is at her wits end trying to find balance in her life. Together, these women share an amazing bond and this bond will be put to the test when Abby reveals a terrible secret on their journey.
I enjoyed The Summer Sail because these three women would do anything for each other and wanted to experience this wonderful adventure together. This book was filled with laughter, love and brought me to tears when Abby finally revealed to everyone the secret that she had been hiding. This was a thought-provoking story that will stick with you and I wish that I had this incredible bond with my own female friends that Abby had with Caroline and Lee.
