The Summer Without You

by Karen Swan

[Leah]

Karen Swan is an author I very much enjoy. I read Christmas At Tiffany’s a couple of years ago and I thought it was a wonderful read! Karen seems to be Queen of the Christmas novel, with three under her belt so far, so it was very pleasing to learn last year she was writing a summer novel! I love when authors do that, and it was even more exciting to see on the back of my proof copy of The Summer Without You, that Karen will, from now on, be writing two books per year, following in the footsteps of Paige Toon, Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews. I very much admire any author who can write two books a year, when some authors struggle to write just the one, and considering Karen is a very enjoyable author, I very much look forward to the extra book a year!

The Summer Without You is a massive book – probably Karen’s longest book yet, coming it at 562 pages, but it’s enjoyable, and it doesn’t lag at all during the middle as many books of such length do! I rather admired Rowena for many things, but firstly that she so generously allowed her boyfriend Matt to “pause” their relationship for six months while he goes gallivanting around Asia, without causing a scene or telling him where to get off, as many women would. And then to head off to New York, and to spend the summer in the Hamptons was amazing. Anyone who knows me and reads my reviews will know I long to be brave like that and go and do something crazy and unexpected, like travelling somewhere solo. I don’t personally see the appeal of the Hamptons – it’s expensive, crazy expensive, but it was a very nice setting, just not somewhere I would park myself for the summer – I personally would have stayed in NYC, but the setting worked for the book, and I can’t complain, plus there were a few scenes in NYC which is always awesome.

The novel deals with a lot of issues regarding flooding and whether the homes on the Hamptons are too close to the sea – which Rowena gets involved in after meeting a lady called Florence, but mostly all of that floated over me. I’m loathe to admit that it didn’t bother me and a lot of it seemed unnecessary and tedious, although it did eventually lead to a bigger (and most unexpected plot). The bits I really liked were the whole family-vibe to the Hamptons. Rowena ends up staying at a house with three other people – Hump (an AWFUL name, I cringed every time I heard it), Bobbi, and Greg, and they’re all friends, and they eventually become like family. They’re all such separate and different personalities, but they blended well and they had a great dynamic going on. I loved Hump’s laid-back personality (and his entrepreneurial spirit!) and Bobbi’s feisty go-get-em attitude. Greg was perhaps the one I felt least connected to as he comes and goes as he pleases, and he mostly goes. You couldn’t ask for a more diverse set of people and I adored them. I also loved how Rowena could basically talk and make friends with anybody – the aforementioned Florence, who she becomes quite close to, the yoga lady who has an office next door to Rowena and Hump, Melodie. Everywhere Ro went, she seemed to make friends. Except for one instance, right at the beginning, where she made an enemy of a fella after taking pictures of his kids and nearly got tossed in the sea.

The Summer Without You is a wonderful summer read. It has all the great ingredients – wonderful characters, a summer-y setting, even a surprising mystery which I did not expect AT ALL from a Chick Lit novel, and which will make more sense when you read/if you’ve read the novel. I truly managed to escape into the novel over the three days it took me to read, and I felt like I was a part of the gang, which is what really marks good writing for me. If I can lose myself in the plot and feel at home with the characters, you’re a writer I love. It’s all I ask for from a novel and Swan had that in spades. I’ll admit the whole dune/sea eating away at homes aspect wasn’t to my taste – it’s not something I experience so I can’t imagine how awful it must be, so a lot of that sailed over my head, but the rest of it was awesome. I really enjoyed the novel, it’s the perfect read for summer day at the beach (or the Hamptons!).