A Summer to Remember

by Victoria Connelly

[Leah]

Victoria Connelly is a very popular Chick Lit author with many novels under her belt, I remember reading Molly’s Millions a few years ago and I absolutely loved it! I’ve also read some of her “Darcy”-inspired novels, and so I was very pleased to be offered the chance to take part in her blog tour for her beautiful looking new novel A Summer To Remember! The cover is super pretty – a girl, standing under a bright blue sky, in a field of yellow flowers; it’s very evocative, and makes you think of the best of England on a sunny, pretty day. I couldn’t wait to dive in to the novel, and see if it was as good as Victoria’s other reads.

I really like books where the heroine of the novel changes her life completely- in this case, Nina quits her dead-end job, dumps her horrible boyfriend, and decides to have a fresh start. Although I do question the wisdom of a “fresh” start that sees you going back to the family you used to baby sit for… But nevertheless, it was a way for Nina to get herself out of the rut she found herself in, and do something she might actually enjoy doing, and the Milton’s are very welcoming, and very encouraged to have Nina come and stay. Olivia Milton thinks Nina will be the perfect foil for her husband Dudley and a fabulous secretary to boot, but things when complicated when the two boys she used to babysit, Adam and Dominic start warring over Nina’s affections and suddenly she finds herself stuck in a rather unwanted love triangle.

For the most part I enjoyed A Summer To Remember, it’s a quick, light-hearted book that lights on deeper topics, but never actually takes them to their full extent. (For example, Nina’s ex was emotionally abusive, but we never meet him…) I liked the friendly atmosphere, and the way the Milton’s embraced Nina into their clan without a second thought, I enjoyed the Norwich setting (I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set there, that I can remember) and I loved that Nina walking the Milton’s dog, Ziggy, let her meet the wonderful Justin. I quite enjoyed their chats and exchanges, and was always left wanting a teensy bit more. I didn’t particularly like the warring between Adam and Dominic. It was childish and quite out of order – Nina is older than them, she used to baby sit them, and it just seemed wrong, like two brothers trying to get their sister to go out with them. UGH. I thought Nina was way too naive when it came to the boys because it was glaringly obvious they were both crushing on her, and I just didn’t like that part of the story at all. I would have preferred them to welcome Nina back with open, friendly arms, instead of the awkward dance to see which of the two boys can date her.

I really like Victoria Connelly, she’s a great author, and I like her writing, although A Summer To Remember was perhaps a bit old-fashioned – everyone talked as if they were quite a bit older, instead of in their twenties as most of the characters were. But overall I enjoyed the novel. I loved hearing about Dudley’s writing, and how Nina managed to tame his temper and help him out with his novel writing, it was super interesting. A Summer To Remember is a quick, enjoyable novel, with a fantastic Norwich setting. I just had a few issues with the novel that, if they had been a bit different, it would have been a fantastic novel, but nevertheless this was a lovely little read!