Today I have a wonderful read for you by Rachel Burton, The Secrets of Summer House which was published by Aria on 21st April. An emotional, atmospheric summer read about family secrets
and loyalty from the author of Kindle bestseller A Bookshop Christmas.
The secrets of Summer House are about to come out at last...
1976. Rushing out of the University Library, undergraduate
Alice Kenzie bumps straight into PhD student Tristan Somers. There begins a
whirlwind romance, and Alice falls pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl.
Then Tristan is killed in a car accident. Unable to cope, Alice takes her baby
to Summer House, Tristan's family home in Suffolk, leaves her there and
disappears.
2018. Olivia Somers has always been told that her mother
died in the same accident as her father. But when she finds a bundle of old
letters in Summer House, everything she ever believed about her mother is
called into question. Can she find her – and even more importantly, forgive
her?
My Thoughts
I always enjoy a dual timeline story and this is no exception. You follow two generations, Alice who is a student in 1976 and Olivia in 2018. There are several similarities between the two women, principally their love of libraries and one in particular. Olivia, though, seems much more grounded as a person. When you first meet Alice, you are struck by her lack of confidence. She feels like an outsider amongst the affluent Cambridge students, but you also recognise in her a romantic streak.
Olivia has been feeling detached from the family life which has been her centre. As she faces up to some shocking secrets from the past, you get to see how she is able to work through her own family issues. I found this to be an entertaining read as both stories fed into each other. It raised some interesting issues around motherhood, loss and grief which all seemed to swamp Alice. Whether you can ever forgive and put the past behind you are also questions which Olivia has to face.
In short: secrets from the past emerge.
About the Author
Rachel has a degree in Classics and another in English
Literature, and fell into a career in law by mistake. She has spent most of her
life between Cambridge and London but now lives in Yorkshire with her husband
and their three cats. She loves yoga, ice hockey, tea, The Beatles, dresses
with pockets and very tall romantic heroes. Find her on Twitter & Instagram
as @RachelBWriter or follow her blog at rachelburtonwrites.com
Social links:
Thanks to Rachel Burton, and Amy Watson of Head of Zeus for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
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