Published: 6th August 2020 in paperback
Thank you to the awesome team at @millsandboon for the exclusive proof copy to read ahead of publication.
The blurb for this book said that ‘One Summer can change your life…’ and for Ellen and Unity this is absolutely right!
The story takes us on a journey of friendship, a summer pact, lists and romance! Susan Mallery does a splendid job of telling us about two very ordinary women’s lives changing over the course of one summer.
From the off I completely loved (and identified with) Ellen Fox, who was our primary MC. My gosh was she sincere, direct and hilarious. A single mum to a son who was about to go off to college, Ellen had missed out on a lot of fun that most of us experience in our late teens and into our twenties. She’s fiercely protective and loving to her teen son, Cooper, and she works as a Teacher. Ellen is a woman who – like so many of us who are 30+ with kids – has lost herself in amongst working and parenting. Hiding under a sack of clothes that are too big, she suddenly wakes up one day and she realises that she simply can’t continue … causing her friend, and fellow Teacher, Keith to have a metaphorical heart attack at her new behaviour! The bus swerves were hilarious, ha!
But, although Ellen grabbed the spotlight for me, we mustn’t forget unity, who is Ellen’s friend and has been broken by the loss of her husband, Stuart, three years ago. She too sets herself some challenges on the list and embarks on a summer of change. Her struggles are very real, and my heart really did ache a little for Unity and her feelings as she battles with being widowed but still relatively young.
I’ll stop there – no spoilers! It’s fun and I really enjoyed the story. This is the first book by Susan Mallery that I have read, but it won’t be my last!
I recommend this book for something feel-good this summer, and you can get your copy on amazon here or in all good book stores!
