Portobello Book Blog

Summer on a Sunny Island? I don’t think many of us are going to be experiencing that this year. Yes, I know that Britain is an island but you know what I mean. Luckily, you have this book to whisk you off to Malta and spend a few sunny weeks in the company of Rosa and Zach and some of their friends and family. I feel like I’ve had a personal tour of Malta with an expert guide. Sue Moorcroft’s love of the island and her knowledge really shine through and bring the island and its people to life.

Rosa is getting over a break-up from Marcus when her mum suggests she comes to Malta with her as she researches recipes for her new cookery book. Zach meanwhile is spending time on the island renovating a relative’s house and trying to stay out of trouble. Not that he’s a bad lad – far from it – but trouble just seems to find him! Both have parents who were children of army families who spent some of their childhood in Malta, just like Sue Moorcroft herself.

I found it rather poignant that early in the book Rosa makes herself a playlist of Zumba videos so she can still do some dancing which is one of her passions in life. She enjoys this connection to home but notes that it wasn’t the same as being with her friends and I think we can all relate to that right now. And I think we can all empathise with Zach when he unexpectedly has his entirely family living with him in one apartment!

Sue Moorcroft is skilled at creating complex characters and has excelled again with Rosa and Zach. They both are moving on from their old lives, but just when they are settling into a new life and considering new possibilities it seems that their pasts may catch up with them and throw a spanner in the works. That makes it sounds like there was something really terrible they were both trying to leave behind but that’s not what I mean. However, their past responsibilities and connections may mean they can’t move on, that their options and possibilities may be taken away. These dilemmas make Zach and Rosa seem so much more than just characters but real people with real problems to resolve.

I can’t talk about this book without mentioning the food. Rosa’s mum Dory is something of a celebrity chef and is in Malta working on recipes for a new book. And oh my goodness did they have my mouth watering! Fresh and vibrant sounding dishes that I could almost imagine tasting! I really feel we almost needed a supplement to the book with some of the recipes included.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Malta with Rosa and Zach and as always found that Sue Moorcroft has written a thoroughly absorbing and uplifting story with great characters and in such a fabulous setting. Summer on a Sunny Island is the perfect escapist read to have you dreaming of summer holidays and sunny shores when we perhaps can’t experience those in real life for a while.

My thanks to Sabah at Avon Books for inviting me to take part in the blogtour and for providing an e-copy for review via Netgalley. Summer on a Sunny Island is available now in ebook, audiobook and paperback formats. If you are able to support an independent bookshop at this time, please do. Otherwise, you will find it on many supermarket shelves or you will find buying options for several retailers on the publisher’s website here: Summer on a Sunny Island

From the back of the book

This summer, sparks are flying on the island of Malta…

When Rosa Hammond splits up from her partner Marcus, her Mum Dory suggests a summer in Malta. Not one to sit back and watch her daughter be unhappy, Dory introduces Rosa to Zach, in the hope that romance will bloom under the summer sun. But Rosa’s determined not to be swayed by a handsome man – she’s in Malta to work, after all.

Zach, meanwhile, is a magnet for trouble and is dealing with a fair few problems of his own. Neither Rosa or Zach are ready for love – but does fate have other ideas? And after a summer in paradise, will Rosa ever want to leave?

About the author

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel Award and the Katie Fforde Bursary. Her novels of love and life are currently released by publishing giant HarperCollins in the UK, US and Canada and by an array of publishers in other countries.

An army child, Sue was born in Germany then lived in Cyprus, Malta and the UK. She’s worked in a bank, as a bookkeeper (probably a mistake), as a copytaker for Motor Cycle News and for a digital prepress. Now she has the best job in the world … author.

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