Five years ago, Greer left her family’s summer camp in the mountains of Georgia and vowed she’d never return. An idyllic season had turned into a nightmare after a mysterious Phantom began stalking the camp—and ended with Greer’s friend and fellow counselor dead. Losing Steph shattered everything, and Greer’s been fleeing from the grief ever since.
But then Greer’s mother dies, and Greer finds herself back at Dread’s Cove, surrounded by the people she was closest to that intense summer. Two ex-boyfriends—one a childhood sweetheart, the other the guy she’s never gotten over—and old friends. Including Margo, Steph’s best friend.
Greer and Margo didn’t leave things on the best of terms. But now, Margo needs her. Margo never believed that Steph’s death in that horrific fire was an accident—and she’s on the trail of an explosive secret Steph took to her grave.
Greer has to make a choice: keep the Cove’s secrets and her own, or finally face the truth about that summer.
This strong debut novel is coming out at the perfect time, as it’s the summer thriller you need to add to your list. When I initially saw the cover and read the blurb, I was expecting an upper YA popcorn thriller, but it’s actually an intricate dual-timeline, character-driven thriller that’s atmospheric, emotional, and full of buried secrets and suspicious characters. There are also several popular thriller tropes woven in—unreliable narrators, toxic friendships, a dangerous love triangle, summer camp horror vibes, a phantom in the woods (and more), along with themes of grief, memory distortion, guilt, and how far people will go to bury the truth!
Told entirely from complex protagonist Greer Olsen’s first person POV—she’s complex, emotional, reactive, and an unreliable narrator. You get fully immersed into her story as she returns home after her mother’s death to the summer camp her family owns—where a devastating fire and the death of her friend Stephanie happened 5 summers earlier. I loved the way the author shifted between timelines, either to enhance the emotional impact or to pull another piece of the puzzle into place.
There’s a small group of friends and staff at Dread’s Cove that Greer interacts with. They all seem suspicious, especially Margot, who forms a reluctant alliance with Greer to uncover the truth behind mysterious findings. This book is layered—there are family secrets, questionable staff members, and a complex love triangle that develops as Greer’s history with Wes and new love interest Trevor gets messy and emotionally charged. Add in a so-called “phantom” in the woods appearing in both timelines, and you may find yourself questioning who’s really behind everything—or whether multiple people are working together to keep the past buried.
With short-to-medium-length chapters, strong momentum throughout, and constantly shifting timelines, this book is difficult to put down. The final chapters deliver shocking reveals and back-to-back twists that may leave your head spinning—some you may see coming and others that come out of left field. The epilogue is quick and tidy, offering some closure, but I was still left with lingering questions I wanted answered after such an intense buildup.
If you’re an audiobook listener, you’re in for a treat, as Carlotta Brentan does an incredible job bringing Greer and the rest of the characters to life. She fully captures the atmospheric tension of the story and narrates the reveals and twists with a lot of intensity, making this one an absolutely immersive listen!
Narrator Performance
Summer’s Never Over is read by award-winning narrator Carlotta Brentan. She portrays protagonist Greer Olsen with an emotionally intelligent voice layered with unease and volatility, perfectly capturing someone who is forced to confront the past while grieving the loss of her mother. As the story is told in Greer’s first-person POV, Brentan adds tension to every decision she makes, and you’ll feel every revelation and interaction as if you’re inside her head. Greer’s reactions to new information—whether it’s shock, denial, or emotional fallout—feel authentic and make the twists hit harder, especially during the final climactic scenes.
The dynamic between Greer Olsen and Margot is a highlight. Their interactions are narrated with a lot of emotional intensity and a palpable sense of mistrust—and you can feel their shared history, resentment, and unresolved tension underneath the surface in every exchange. And Brentan later shifts their dynamic to feel even more unpredictable as they enter into a reluctant alliance to investigate what really happened to Stephanie.
The transitions between timelines are very well executed. Brentan subtly shifts Greer’s tone depending on whether you’re in the present or the past, making it always easy to know where you are. She also gives distinct voices and personalities to the supporting cast, including Wes, Trevor, Rig, and Chelsea, who all play key roles and are easy to distinguish, giving the audiobook a cinematic feel. She also does a good job casting suspicion onto each of them through shifts in her tone, which keeps you questioning everyone until the end.
If you’re considering reading this book, the audiobook is absolutely the way to experience it. Brentan’s performance greatly elevates the story and makes it an addictive listening experience from beginning to end!
Narrator Performance
Summer’s Never Over is read by award-winning narrator Carlotta Brentan. She portrays protagonist Greer Olsen with an emotionally intelligent voice layered with unease and volatility, perfectly capturing someone who is forced to confront the past while grieving the loss of her mother. As the story is told in Greer’s first-person POV, Brentan adds tension to every decision she makes, and you’ll feel every revelation and interaction as if you’re inside her head. Greer’s reactions to new information—whether it’s shock, denial, or emotional fallout—feel authentic and make the twists hit harder, especially during the final climactic scenes.
The dynamic between Greer Olsen and Margot is a highlight. Their interactions are narrated with a lot of emotional intensity and a palpable sense of mistrust—and you can feel their shared history, resentment, and unresolved tension underneath the surface in every exchange. And Brentan later shifts their dynamic to feel even more unpredictable as they enter into a reluctant alliance to investigate what really happened to Stephanie.
The transitions between timelines are very well executed. Brentan subtly shifts Greer’s tone depending on whether you’re in the present or the past, making it always easy to know where you are. She also gives distinct voices and personalities to the supporting cast, including Wes, Trevor, Rig, and Chelsea, who all play key roles and are easy to distinguish, giving the audiobook a cinematic feel. She also does a good job casting suspicion onto each of them through shifts in her tone, which keeps you questioning everyone until the end.
If you’re considering reading this book, the audiobook is absolutely the way to experience it. Brentan’s performance greatly elevates the story and makes it an addictive listening experience from beginning to end!
Summer’s Never Over is read by award-winning narrator Carlotta Brentan. She portrays protagonist Greer Olsen with an emotionally intelligent voice layered with unease and volatility, perfectly capturing someone who is forced to confront the past while grieving the loss of her mother. As the story is told in Greer’s first-person POV, Brentan adds tension to every decision she makes, and you’ll feel every revelation and interaction as if you’re inside her head. Greer’s reactions to new information—whether it’s shock, denial, or emotional fallout—feel authentic and make the twists hit harder, especially during the final climactic scenes.
The dynamic between Greer Olsen and Margot is a highlight. Their interactions are narrated with a lot of emotional intensity and a palpable sense of mistrust—and you can feel their shared history, resentment, and unresolved tension underneath the surface in every exchange. And Brentan later shifts their dynamic to feel even more unpredictable as they enter into a reluctant alliance to investigate what really happened to Stephanie.
The transitions between timelines are very well executed. Brentan subtly shifts Greer’s tone depending on whether you’re in the present or the past, making it always easy to know where you are. She also gives distinct voices and personalities to the supporting cast, including Wes, Trevor, Rig, and Chelsea, who all play key roles and are easy to distinguish, giving the audiobook a cinematic feel. She also does a good job casting suspicion onto each of them through shifts in her tone, which keeps you questioning everyone until the end.
If you’re considering reading this book, the audiobook is absolutely the way to experience it. Brentan’s performance greatly elevates the story and makes it an addictive listening experience from beginning to end!
