One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

One Italian Summer really appealed to me as I loved Rebecca Serle’s previous novel and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed it. The novel follows Katy who is lost following the death of her beloved mum Carol. She can’t connect with her fiance and doesn’t know what she wants in life anymore. So when she finds the tickets to Positano, Italy – a trip she and her mum planned together she decides to go on her own. While there she meets her mum, but her mum at thirty years younger when she was Katy’s age! I loved seeing Katy discover what her mum was like as a young woman and it made me long to have that kind of magic in my own life. I could really identify with Katy’s pain, having lost my own mum when I was in my late 20s, and could empathise with how her grief made her sometimes selfish and sometimes lost. I also loved the descriptions of Positano, it really comes alive in this novel and I could visualise it so clearly. I want to go there one day! I recommend this one!

Six Days by Dani Atkins

I always enjoy Dani Atkins’ books so was excited to get a copy of her new one. This book follows Gemma who is in love with her fiance but he seemingly jilts her on their wedding day. Gemma simply cannot believe that Finn would do this to her and is convinced that something has happened to him but there is no evidence. He appears to have disappeared. The novel goes back and forth in time as we learn how they met and we find out more about Finn and his life. I have to say that I didn’t particularly like Finn or how he behaved at times and that made it a bit difficult to care what happened. Having said that I did like Gemma and was really hoping that things would work out for her. I enjoyed this book, not quite as much as the author’s previous novels, but it was still a good read.

How To Live Without You by Sarah Everett

This novel follows seventeen year old Emmy whose sister Rose has disappeared, and Emmy feels like a part of her is also now gone. Rose had lived with their dad and Emmy lives with their mum across the country so Emmy decides to go to stay with her dad and is determined that she will find her sister herself. The novel follows Emmy over the course of the summer as she starts to find clues and unravel the mystery. Along the way she learns that not everything is as she remembered it, and she reconnects with an old friend. I found this a really engrossing novel and one that really made me emotional at times. It made me think of people I’ve lost along the way, and made me feel nostalgic for the summers of my teenage years. I recommend this one.

The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh

I read and loved Rosie Walsh’s previous novel so was keen to get my hands on this one and I really enjoyed it. This book follows Emma who loves and adores her husband Leo and their daughter but everything she has ever told them is a lie. It also follows Leo, an obituary writer, who when Emma is taken seriously ill he starts looking at her life just in case he has to write hers, and this leads him to learn some things about his wife. I found this book engrossing and was so keen to keep turning the pages to find out who Emma really is and why she lied for all those years. I also wanted to know if Leo was going to find everything out and if their marriage would survive. This is a really good read with lots of twists and turns to keep you gripped. I recommend it!