Summer By The Sea by Jenny Hale

For Faith the one summer she can’t forget is when she fell in love as a teenager – only for her sister, Casey, to steal her man. Now, at the request of her beloved ninety-year-old Grandmother, Faith has agreed to a family holiday – at their childhood beach house, where it all began.

Faith hasn’t seen her sister in years but is finally ready to forgive and forget, enjoy the sunshine and relive happy memories. What she’s not ready for is meeting Jake Buchanan – the owner of the beach house – or the long-forgotten feelings he ignites in her.

Can Faith overcome the hurt of the past, rekindle the close bond she had with Casey and make this summer THE ONE to remember?

Title: Summer by the Sea

Author: Jenny Hale

Publisher: Bookouture

Date: 12th June 2015

 Purchase Link

UK:         http://amzn.to/1cOpBHo

US:         http://amzn.to/1T0e5sK

My Review 

Summer by the Sea is a gentle read about a close family, perfect for a lazy day relaxing on the beach. Faith's nan is soon to be ninety and her wish is to have her whole family together to celebrate so she rents a beach house for the summer. The house has been built on the exact spot where her previous house stood which had been destroyed in a hurricane. The family were devastated as they had spent many glorious summers there together.

The reunion was going to be hard for Faith as she would see her sister for the first time since they had fallen out years before. Faith had been heartbroken when Casey married Scott as he had been her boyfriend before this. However when they all meet again she finds out that Casey and her husband are about to go through a divorce which has upset their five year old daughter.

When she first arrives at the house she meets Jake the handyman who is just finishing off a few last minute jobs. She finds him really attractive and he seems to like her but her beautiful sister Casey seems to like him too and Faith is worried that history will repeat itself. 

Jake manages to surprise Faith when she finds out more about him and their relationship becomes complicated as she realises they have very conflicting views on things which make it seem impossible for them to get together. 

One of my favourite characters was Nan as she loved her family so much and being at the beach allowed her to spend time with her loved ones and remember special times with her late husband. She was very close to her grandaughter and gave her good intuitive advice.

I found the book started quite slowly but Jenny managed to create a perfect setting, I could see the beach and the sand and visualise the sand castle making very clearly. I loved how the story unfolded and the sentimentality really shone through. I would definitely like to read more of Jenny's books.

If you would like to read our Q and A with Jenny then please click here.

Thank you to Bookouture, Kim and Jenny for the review copy.

About Jenny Hale

When she graduated college, one of Jenny's friends said "Look out for this one; she's going to be an author one day". Despite being an avid reader and a natural storyteller, it wasn't until that very moment that the idea of writing novels occurred to her.

Sometimes our friends can see the things that we can't. Whilst she didn't start straight away, that comment sowed a seed and several years, two children and hundreds of thousands of words later, Jenny finished her first novel. Coming Home for Christmas went on to be a Kindle hit on both sides of the Atlantic - reaching the top 20 in the UK and top 10 in the US.Summer by the Sea is Jenny's fourth novel.

Contact Links

Facebook  - https://www.facebook.com/jennyhaleauthor 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/jhaleauthor

Website - http://itsjennyhale.com/ 

Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly

Your best friend isn’t who you think she is.
You’ve been friends since university, when you became the people you are today.
You don’t see each other enough but when you do it’s as if you’ve never been apart.
She’s one of the family. You would trust her with your life, your children, your husband.
And when your daughter is rushed to hospital, you’re grateful that she’s stepping in at home, looking after things.
But your best friend isn’t who you think she is. You’re about to find out just how wrong you were.

Title: Keep Your Friends Close
Author: Paula Daly
Published By: Corgi
Link: Amazon

My Review

It's a wonderful thing when a book just grabs you at the first page and then doesn't let you go until you have finished. I felt compelled to read page after page and really could not put this down. 

Natty and Sean Wainwright were the perfect couple, they had met and fallen in love at school, both with bright futures ahead of them. But their lives were set to go on a different path when Natty falls pregnant at nineteen so they decide to leave university and return home to the lake district. They work really hard to set up their own B&B, eventually moving up to an exceptional hotel called Lakeshore Lodge. They now seem to have everything they ever wanted, lovely house, fantastic business, two teenage daughters, however their lives are so busy that one thing they don't seem to have is time for each other.

Dr Eve Dalladay is Natty's friend from Uni who is now a successful Psychologist in America, she is in Scotland on business and comes for a visit. Natty is really pleased to see her but not long after she arrives their youngest daughter is rushed to hospital in France so Natty has to leave immediately. Eve very kindly offers to stay a bit longer to help out at home.

It doesn't take long before Eve starts offering Sean something his wife has been far too busy to give to him and he can't resist.

Natty and her daughter eventually come home to their family being torn apart. Eve has managed to steal Natty's life from her and is determined to convince everyone that Natty is crazy.

Natty is weak to start with but eventually realises she will have to fight really hard for her family before she loses her daughters as well. She decides to put up a fight and manages to play Eve at her own game, she delves into her past and uncovers a dark history that she had never known about.

There are twists and turns around every corner but could narcissistic psychopath Eve have finally met her match in Natty? 

This book reminded me a little of 'The Hand that Rocks the Cradle' there is no way you would want Eve Dalladay near to your husband or children. I simply can't wait for the release of Paula Daly's next book 'The Mistake I Made'.

Thank you to Paula Daly and Transworld Books for the review copy of this amazing book.

Sincerely

Book Angel x

About the Author

Paula Daly lives in Cumbria with her husband, three children and whippet Skippy. Before becoming a writer she was a freelance physiotherapist. She has previously written:-