Review: The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan is one of my favourite authors and I often read her books more than once, particularly if I am feeling low. The Summer Seekers is, as the name suggests, a blast of summer fun, perfect for this time of year, even more so if you're stuck at home on a Staycation. You'll be whisked off on holiday with Kathleen, Liza and Martha!

Kathleen used to have a popular TV travel show but now she's 80 years old and chaffing at the restrictions others (mainly her daughter, Liza) seem to want to force upon her due to her age. Liza feels Kathleen should give up her home on the beach in Cornwall and go into some form of retirement home. So Kathleen retaliates by booking a road trip across America. She can't drive but that's not a problem - she'll hire Martha to drive her!

Martha is only too eager to jump at the chance to get away from her family and ex-boyfriend, who want to belittle her at every opportunity. Won't they be surprised (and hopefully impressed) to learn she has a new job driving a TV star across America? There is only one teensy problem. Martha can't drive...

Liza can feel herself buckling beneath the pressure of being everyone's go-to woman. She worries about her too-independent mother and feels her husband and daughters are not supporting her, rather creating more work without a second thought. The final straw is coming home to find her house wrecked after a party. Using cat-sitting as an excuse, she flees to her mother's home in Cornwall to rediscover the woman she used to be.

The Summer Seekers is a feel-good, heart-warming story about three women rebelling against their family's expectations, who seize the chance for an adventure with both hands, and discover new friends and potential lovers along the way.

I particularly adored the character of Kathleen and had Dame Maggie Smith stuck in my head for most of the book. What a terrific film this would make! Martha was sweet and I enjoyed how she gained confidence with every mile, even having a romance along the way. I think the character that resonated most with me was Liza. Who hasn't fantasised about giving up the stresses of everyday life and heading to Cornwall and the beach. And finding a sexy rock star living next door? Bonus!

The Summer Seekers will be published on 27th May 2021.

Thank you to Sarah Morgan and HQ for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related Posts:

One More for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Family for Beginners by Sarah Morgan

A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan

Review: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

I'm not a huge fan of books set during wartime (they are a little bit too real-life for me) but two words on the cover of this book caught my eye: Paris and library. How could I resist?

Odile is obsessed by books, so working at the American Library in Paris is a dream come true. Her family are against the idea but she's seen first-hand how important it is for a woman to have her own money and be independent. The library and its thriving community of students, writers, and fellow book-lovers is the perfect haven - until war looms, pitting friends and colleagues against each other. Suddenly the punishment for being caught with the 'wrong' book is severe.

The main part of the story is told from Odile's viewpoint: from 1939, when she applies for a job at the library, to the end of the war in 1945. The second timeline is a coming-of-age story about American teenager Lily, who is struggling following the death of her mother and the arrival of a young step-mother. The only person who seems to truly understand is the reclusive Frenchwoman who lives next door.

This story completely swept me away. The American Library is a fascinating setting. It is a real place and many of the characters mentioned are real people, who acted heroically keeping the library open and delivering books to their Jewish subscribers. Odile is an engaging character who wants to do the right thing but has led a sheltered life. She is unprepared for the way living in Occupied Paris will change the lives of her family and friends, causing some to crack under the pressure. Will she also betray those she loves? In 1980s America, Odile tries to pass on all she has learnt about family and friendships to teenage Lily, so she won't make the same mistakes.

The best part of this story is the library and the characters who work there. It would make a terrific film. I loved the way Odile references titles and quotes from her favourite books to help her cope, and the way she automatically categorises each book or subject according to the Dewey Decimal System. The point of the dual timeline is to help explain Odile's character and the choices she made forty years previously. It does mean the book seems overlong at times and I wasn't entirely convinced by the ending.

However, the historical detail is amazing and I found myself thinking a lot about the story after I had finished it. Recommended for anyone who loves historical fiction, this was a five-star read for me.

Thank you to Janet Skeslien Charles and Two Roads (John Murray Press) for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.