Portobello Book Blog

A Summer of Secrets tells the story of four of the residents of Buttersley village over the course of one summer. Portia has recently lost her father and returns to the family manor to find it in a state of disrepair and with little money left in the family coffers. Enter a property developer and Portia becomes more determined than ever to somehow keep her home. Sparks of attraction fly between the two of course despite Portia’s best intentions. Joe is the local window cleaner providing more than just cleaning services to the bored housewives of Buttersley! He is missing his young son who he hasn’t seen since his wife left him two years ago for a richer man. Rich and his wife Alison run a successful company selling hot tubs but he is in for quite a shock one day when a visitor to the showroom reveals a secret from the past. Jenny is the last main character. She put her dreams of university on hold when her father died and has been looking after her demanding mother ever since. But a suave new member at her local history club offers a chance of a happier life – or does he have ulterior motives?

This was a light and enjoyable read as we get to know the characters and find out about their lives. I liked the character of Jenny best and was hoping she would get a chance to follow her dreams and find a better life away from that domineering and unreasonable mother. The village sounded like it would be a lovely place to stay especially during a hot summer when I could imagine sitting at the local pub watching the ducks in the pond. I hope that the plans for Buttersley Manor feature in another book as it would be good to hear more about that. A Summer of Secrets is just right for a quick summer holiday read by the pool.

Thanks to Jenny at Neverland Blog Tours and publishers Carina for providing a review copy via Netgalley. A Summer of Secrets is available to buy now as an e-book – A Summer of Secrets

From the back of the book

A perfect, feel-good summer read about love, life and family.

One long hot summer. Secrets never stay buried for long…

Portia is determined to restore Buttersley Manor, her family’s crumbling ancestral home, to its former glory. Yet she has a feeling that there are a few forgotten skeletons in the dust-covered cupboards.

Jenny has put her life on hold for far too long. It’s time to finally start living and to dig up those hopes and dreams she’s kept hidden all these years – but is she brave enough?

Rich is happily married with a beautiful wife and lovely daughter. In fact, his world is perfect until a very unexpected consequence of his past walks through the door…

Joe would like nothing more than to travel back in time to when he and Gina were happy. But is it too late to rescue what they once had?

One thing’s for sure, nothing’s ever quite what it seems when it comes to life in the country!

Goodreads: A Summer of Secrets

Amazon UK: A Summer of Secrets

 

Alice Ross used to work in the financial services industry where she wrote riveting, enthralling brochures about pensions and ISAs that everyone read avidly and no one ever put straight into the bin.

One day, when nobody was looking, she managed to escape. Dragging her personal chef (aka her husband) along with her, she headed to Spain, where she began writing witty, sexy, romps designed to amuse slightly more than pension brochures.

Missing Blighty (including the weather – but don’t tell anyone), she returned five years later and now works part-time in the tourism industry.

When not writing, she can be found scratching out a tune on her violin, walking her dog in wellies two sizes too big (don’t ask!), or standing on her head in a yoga pose.

Twitter: Alice Ross

Website: www.alicerossauthor.co.uk