The next book I selected in my top 5 of 2017 was the fantastic The Summer of Serendipity by Ali McNamara. I love Ali’s books and this was no exception, I adored it. I first reviewed this on Goodreads on the 16th July 2017.
The Summer of Serendipity by Ali McNamara
Published: 13th July 2017
Publisher: Sphere
Rating: 5 stars
Blurb:
One summer, property seeker, Serendipity Parker finds herself on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, hunting for a home for a wealthy Irish client. But when she finds the perfect house in the small town of Ballykiltara, there’s a problem; nobody seems to know who owns it.
‘The Welcome House’ is a local legend. Its front door is always open for those in need of shelter, and there’s always a plentiful supply of food in the cupboards for the hungry or poor.
While Ren desperately tries to find the owner to see if she can negotiate a sale, she begins to delve deeper into the history and legends that surround the old house and the town. But for a woman who has always been focused on her work, she’s remarkably distracted by Finn, the attractive manager of the local hotel.
But will she ever discover the real truth behind the mysterious ‘Welcome House’? Or will the house cast its magical spell over Ren and help her to find true happiness?
My Review:
The Summer of Serendipity was a great read that I didn’t want to end! I fell in love with Ballykiltara and The Welcome House, I could really picture the place in my mind thanks to Ali McNamara’s beautiful writing style.
Ren and Kiki are property hunters, they help other people find their perfect home. Whilst in a search for a home for a wealthy client who wants a holiday home on the West coast of Ireland which is how they ended up in Ballykiltara. Ren struggles to find a house right for him until she discovers The Welcome House on the edge of a lake.
Local folklore soon tells Ren and Kiki that the house is magical and provides shelter for those in need so is absolutely not for sale. What follows is an exploration into ancient history going back to times of the monks and Vikings and also a journey through Irish folklore. I’ve read a few books relating to Irish folklore and I love it, it’s such a fascinating premise and I love to read about it.
I love the characters of Ren and Kiki, they work well together and I would love to hang out with these two drinking Guinness! All the other characters in the book are great as well but especially Finn, he was one of my favourites!
I liked the little update we had of some characters from Breakfast at Darcy’s, I loved that book but it’s been a while since I read it so may have to read it again soon! Even if you hadn’t read the book you won’t get lost in this one as it’s not really a sequel, just certain characters pop up again since it’s in the same setting.
I highly recommend this book, I enjoyed every second of it! Now I need to go and grab a paperback copy to add to my collection of Ali McNamara books!
About the Author:
Ali McNamara is a writer and author of eight novels.
The latest of which, The Summer of Serendipity, was published in July 2017.
Her debut, From Notting Hill with Love…Actually, the first of three ‘Notting Hill’ books, became an instant bestseller.
Ali has had much overseas success with her books – particularly Breakfast at Darcy’s which was a Top Ten bestseller in Italy. Her novels Step Back in Time and Letters from Lighthouse Cottage were nominated for the Romantic Novel of the Year.
Ali lives in Cambridgeshire with her family and her beloved Labrador dogs. When she isn’t writing, she likes to travel, read and people watch, more often than not accompanied by a good cup of coffee!
Her dogs, and a love of exercise keep her sane!
To find out more about Ali visit her website: http://www.alimcnamara.co.uk
or follow her on Twitter: @AliMcNamara & Facebook too.
