I have long been a fan of Jenny Oliver’s books – my husband even bid at a charity auction for my name to be a character in one! They are escapist, funny and easy to read. Jenny had tweeted that her new book was available on Netgalley (To quote their home page “We help readers of influence discover and recommend new books to their audiences. If you are a librarian, bookseller, educator, reviewer, blogger or in the media, get started right now by signing in or joining for free.”) I decided to sign up, given I review so many books on my blog now, and thankfully I was accepted and so could download a preview copy for free straight to my kindle.
Here is the Amazon blurb:
“Every Summer has its own story…
For Ava Brown, the backdrop to all her sun-drenched memories – from her first taste of chocolate-dipped churros to her very first kiss – is her grandmother’s Summerhouse in the sleepy Spanish seaside town of Mariposa.
Returning for one last summer, Ava throws herself into a project her grandmother would be proud of. Café Estrella – once the heart of the sleepy seaside village – now feels more ramshackle than rustic. Just like Ava, it seems it has lost its sparkle.
Away from the exhausting juggle of London life, Ava realises somehow her life has stopped being…happy. But being back at the Summerhouse by the sea could be the new beginning she didn’t even realise she needed…”
The book starts with a bit about Whatsapp – and I think it’s the first book I’ve read which even mentions it – so you can see it’s totally up to date with it’s references, which I love! Whatsapp / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook feature throughout the book – just as they do throughout most people’s lives – and I really liked that.
The descriptions of Spain are wonderful – and made me want to hop on a plane pretty smartish – and the food descriptions, as ever in all Jenny’s books, are fabulous. You can almost taste the food.
Ava is a central character that you’re rooting for – and the dynamic of her relationships with family (present and absent), older people in the village and romance-wise are all beautifully explored. I liked the multi-generational aspect of the book a lot.
It was a perfect, easy, escapist read – that would only have been better if I’d been reading it on the beach!
I have to say this is my favourite Jenny Oliver book now and had me proper sobbing at the end. I would love to know what happens to all of the characters in the future – so fingers firmly crossed for a sequel???
I was trying to work out which category in my Reading Challenge I could fit this into! Firstly I thought maybe ‘A book by an author who uses a pseudonym’ as I though Oliver wasn’t Jenny’s real surname (I checked with one of her best friends, and I was right!!) but then also it could be ‘A book with one of the four seasons in the title’ – but that’s questionable. Even in the book it is discussed whether it’s summer house or summerhouse! The layout of the front cover would suggest the former, but the content the latter – so who knows. It can be one of those books that would fit a couple of categories, and I can move it during the year dependent on what else I read!!
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