The Fire Island Trilogy: Book 3
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
A young woman crashes the wedding of the summer on Fire Island in search of her birth mother—and gets a whole lot more than she bargained for—in this warm, heart-stopping getaway from Jane L. Rosen
Maggie May Wheeler is living her best life—at thirty, she has big plans for her vintage record shop and is about to be engaged to her childhood best friend. But when she stumbles across a letter she wrote to her future self when she was thirteen, she realizes it may not be enough. The letter ignites a desire to find her birth mother and discover where she really belongs.
Her search takes her to dreamy Fire Island, where her birth mother is a guest at a wedding. As Maggie spies on her biological family, she’s caught between diving into their chaotic lives and returning to her comfortable world. Things heat up when a charming local makes her an offer to crash the wedding as his date.
Is it the island’s magic, the whirlwind of the weekend, or the thrill of a fake beau that has her rethinking everything? Swept away by every love song she hears, Maggie must figure out where her heart truly lies.
Songs of Summer by Author Jane L. Rosen is the third and final book in the Fire Island Trilogy. Not having read the first two books, I was at a slight disadvantage. But not having known it was a connected story left some gaps, and it was slow for me to get into it initially.
Maggie’s best friend, Jason, was always there for her. When they decide to perhaps take their relationship to the next level, will it be the best for them? They live in Ohio, and she runs her parents’ record store, which she inherited after growing up in it.
Jason is a college professor. Are their goals even in sync? When Maggie decides to look for her birth mother, he’s all in.
Their search takes them from their small town to Fire Island, and the scenes are vivid and memorable. We get to meet so many characters whose lives are intertwined. A wedding is the backdrop on the island, and several stories are interlaced and nicely connected. While at the wedding, Maggie is trying to figure out how best to reveal herself and finds a new friend and maybe more in Matt, whose paths unexpectedly crossed. They both love music, records, bands, and performers play a key role. I love how the song selections for each chapter title were spot on, and a soundtrack was created.
There are happily ever afters on several fronts. The prologue set the stage, and the epilogue gave wonderful closure in a better-than-expected way. The discussion questions were thought-provoking.
Songs of Summer is filled with music and musical references. Throughout, different types of love are presented and felt. Having a large part of the book set on the beach took me to my happy place.
Jane L. Rosen is the author of six novels, Nine Women, One Dress, Eliza Starts a Rumor, A Shoe Story, On Fire Island, Seven Summer Weekends, and her latest, Songs of Summer. She has a monthly column in the Fire Island and Great South Bay News called Cake Or Pie? where she whimsically interviews her fellow authors. She is also a screenwriter and New York Times, Tablet, and Huffington Post contributor.
