Kiss, Marry or Kill: 32

Everyone is TERRIBLE and you will hate-love every page. Plus a "Kiss" lightning round, is decaf coffee really healthy, and the ONE rule change that would ruin air travel the most

This is my weekly series for subscribers only, where I’ll share things that caught my eye this week in a fun and flirty way (kiss), a sustainable way (marry), or a not-so-good way (kill). And yes, this trendy game is technically “f***, marry, or kill” but we run a family-friendly-ish show around here.

Kiss (things I like right now)

Bad Summer People, Emma Rosenblum

This book was the equivalent of eating a Cadbury Creme Egg. It was Season 6 of Love is Blind. It was schadenfreude in the latest Tory Burch sandals. It was awful and I LOVED EVERY BITE.

Bad Summer People tells the tale of a small island town outside of New York City, to which a group of horrible summer people migrate each year to gossip, backstab, embezzle, get drunk, and play tennis. They are very serious about their tennis.

This year, more than one person has a big secret—and would do just about anything to preserve their reputation, cachet, and sense of superiority. There are twists! It’s also predictable, as long as you assume that everyone is the worst and will do the exact opposite of what a marginally decent person might do. Loyalties are tested! Except basically everybody fails because (have I mentioned?) EVERYONE IS AWFUL?!?

In the end, this book was a fast, fun, fantastic snack. You’ve gotta be a good writer to craft such bad people and still keep the reader invested, and Rosenblum smartly inserted just enough humanity and vulnerability to make me care. I found myself strangely rooting for some people, and there were enough twists and surprises in the final chapters to impress me. If you’ve got a vacation coming up, need some light easy reading to distract your brain, or want to confirm that you actually are a pretty good comparison compared to these a**holes, make Bad Summer People your next read.