A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand (audio book)

Narrated by:  Isabel Keating

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Claire Danner Crispin, mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair the Nantucket's Children Summer Gala. Claire is asked to chair the benefit, in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of rock star Max West. Claire agrees to play the gala and it looks like smooth sailing for Claire-until she promises a "museum-quality" piece of glass for the auction, offers her best friend the catering job, goes nose-to-nose with her Manhattan socialite co-chair, and begins a "good-hearted" affair with the charity's Executive Director, Lockhart Dixon.

My thoughts:    I was really excited to dive into A Summer Affair after my wonderful experience listening to The Island.  This one was tough for me to get through in part because of the subject matter. To me the title and the cover graphic  presented something much more light hearted than what it delivered. I was never able to relate to Claire, I disliked the way that she handled the situation she was in and much of her behavior. I honestly never understood why Claire began the affair.  She didn't seem like she had a bad marriage.  Four kids under the age of 10 has to be a lot of work, but it can be done.  The only thing that I could come up with was that she was bored. The Affair never felt "good-hearted" as the synopsis indicates, but rather tawdry.

There were a couple of secondary stories that were interesting and I would have liked to see them developed a little bit more.  The effect of Claire's relationship with her sister in law and friend, Chavon is one of those.  It is something that many might not consider when beginning such an affair.

All in all I'd have to say that I would recommend this audio to those who like a story that is rife with sexual tension and aren't easily offended.

It seems that I have a love hate relationship with Hilderbrand's work.  I have The Castaways in my TBR pile so we'll see how our relationship continues.

Review based on an audio book version that I purchased.