Member Reviews
As a fan of Sue Moorcroft I had high expectations of this book and wow did it deliver! It was a funny, heartbreaking, heart warming, and captivating read from start to finish and I would highly, highly recommend it. It leaves you feeling good (which is what we need in the world!) and definitely desiring a trip to the book's location!
Another winner from Sue Moorcroft and a great book to pack in your suitcase.
The book starts when Alice leaves Lee at the altar, disappears and leaves her cousin Clancy to pick up the pieces. Fast forward a few years to Clancy, who is In the middle of planning her own wedding, when her life suddenly falls apart and she loses her boyfriend, her job and her home in London. She has been looking after Alice's half share in holiday cottages in Norfolk (the other half is owned by Aaron, Lees brother) when the position of caretaker suddenly,becomes available and with no home this seems like an opportunity she can't miss.
Clancy comes across as a kind thoughtful person who is always happy to help others but Aaron and his family aren't happy to see Clancy because of Alice. I love the way other characters are woven into the story each with their own problems to work out such as Harry and Rory and her next door neighbour who lives in the cottage next door to her outspoken husband.Ernie.
There are many twist and turns and, although the ending is predictable I really enjoyed the journey and was sorry when I turned the last page.
I love a good summer book and A Summer to Remember certainly hits the spot.
When Clancy loses her fiance, home, and job, she needs to get away from London. She runs to Nelson’s Bar, a small village on the Norfolk coast, where her cousin Alice co-owns a small row of holiday cottages in need of a caretaker.
Aaron is also a co-owner of the holiday cottages, he is unhappy with Clancy turning up to be caretaker, as Alice jilted his brother Lee on their wedding day. As the summer progresses, Clancy and Aaron find they are attracted to one another but with an ex-girlfriend hovering and Alice suddenly returning to Nelson’s Bar, will the complications of the past get in the way of the future?
A great lighthearted story with a good cast of characters, this makes for an entertaining and enjoyable read..
If I'm being completely honest, I knew nothing about this book going in, I had an email to tell me there was a new Sue Moorcroft book available and after reading 'A Christmas Gift' in December and falling in love with the writing style I had to give it a go.
This book is about Aaron and Clancy, Clancy is a city girl that's had to leave her old life in London behind and get away, so she goes to Nelson's Bar - we've all felt like we need a change of scenery sometimes, it was nice to read about someone who actually achieved it rather than just talking about needing to do it. Aaron runs some holiday cottages in Nelsons Bar and needs a new care taker for them... all seems perfect right? You soon learn that there's more to this than you first thought though because they already know each other! - I won't get into why because I don't want to riddle my review with spoilers.
There are so many different characters in this story and each with their own story to tell, to begin with I was a little worried that it might become overwhelming and hard to keep track of, but it's just done so seamlessly that you don't even realise a new storyline has been added until you're already in the thick of it.
Dylis was a favourite character of mine, my next door neighbour who was in her late 60's was a very very close friend of mine until she died 8 years ago & I saw so many similarities between the two that it actually brought a tear to my eye. I also loved the unconventional set up between her and her husband Ernie, that brought a smile to my face because I'm sure it's what a lot of people secretly want.
Harry and Rory were more firm favourites, their storyline was an important one, I feel like it was handled with care, whilst also showing the not so nice side to the way people can react when confronted with something that is outside of their 'normal' again, I can't say too much without spoiling but I promise all will become clear when you read the story.
I both love and hate story's like this because their standalones so you KNOW there is going to be an ending to the story, but I'm always left wanting more. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Aaron, Clancy, Nelson the dog or anyone else in the story. But all good things must come to an end.
Thank you Sue for writing such a beautiful story which I will probably read again and again.
Sweet book full of twists and turns. Thank you Sue Moorcroft for this delightful read. Would recommend it to all.
A Summer to Remeber is a fun, enjoyable read. Immediately, you’re set up to root for the female protagonist Clancy, who has to deal with the double blow of being left by her fiancé for another woman while also being forced out from her business.
As fate would have it, an open caretaker position allows Clancy to leave London and find refuge in the quiet village of Nelson’s Bar. Of course, that is just the beginning - eventually, Clancy begins to form relationships with the people in the town and realizes she likes it a lot more than expected...
Thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, as I very quickly cared about Clancy and wanted to see how she’d deal with what life threw at her. The supporting characters were also well-developed and truly felt like a village.
There’s just enough spice to make things interesting, but not enough to feel the need to hide the book from public view.
My only complaint would be that Alice seemed so off-putting that it made it hard to see why Clancy cared for her so much. I think the idea was that they were basically sisters (moms were twins), but since they weren’t physically near each other growing up, I’m not sure the whole basically-a-sister thing holds up. However, that detail wasn’t enough to turn me away from the book!
Overall, highly recommended!
What first drew me to this book was the fun description as well as the author. I hadn't read anything by Sue Moorcroft but I had heard so many good things I thought I would give her a shot. I am very happy I did! This book was very fun and would be a perfect beach read this summer. While it did have a fairly typical contemporary romance storyline, there were a good amount of twists and turns that were not predictable. Clancy and Aaron were both likable characters to me and I enjoyed many of the secondary characters as well. If you are looking for a fun contemporary romance read this is for you. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher. A really like this authors books, they all have a real feel good factor and this was no exception. It is a standard romance book with a nice ending and the descriptions of the village and the surrounding countryside made me think and long for summer
This is Sue Moorcroft's best book to date. I realised whilst reading this book, why I enjoy reading contemporary romance fiction like this so much. It's because we are inundated with bad news, disturbing incidences and so much unkindness in the real world, that reading this novel simply makes me feel good. It restores faith in the nicer side of life and that beautiful things can happen. Now, of course, I remember its fiction, but what occurs in this story is topical - being cheated on in the most atrocious of ways, of the search for love and belonging, the intricate dynamics of family and suffering terrible tragedy are all issues we can relate to and novels like this one remind us we can triumph. Sue is the master of creating fantastic, scenic and adorable communities that she fills with entertaining characters that all play a pivotal role. She drafts characters we learn to love and gives them quite a hard time along the way. It was simply a delight. I highly recommend this book.
Received a copy of this book through netgalley.
Nice setting for a summer romance,in an idelly situated small,costal village.Characters are true to life so the reader czn eadily associate eith thdm,also brings up very modern topics,break ups, coming out,new situations,coping with life.All in all a really enjoyable read.
Can also be revommended gor abook club.
This was a fairly standard romance in a really lovely seaside village setting. The characters all had their problems, and the romance faltered a couple of times, but all ends were tied up and we were given the required ending. Not Sue Moorcroft's best book but an enjoyable and easy read nonetheless.
I felt this was way longer than it needed to be. The author tried to shove in too many side stories outside of Clancy and Aaron’s story.
Personally I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, they were all kind of terrible. But the setting of Nelson’s Bar seemed nice and cozy as did the roundhouse. Guess this one just didn’t work for me.
I really enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend it. It has a great story line, excellent main characters and it is a real page turner. I read this book in one sitting and the hours just flew by!
I thoroughly enjoyed this story! It's a standard romance where you know there is going to be a happy ending of course, but it's so full of twists and turns and surprises that it kept my attention alive thorughout the whole book. The characters retain a certain air of reality that will make you immediately identify yourself with them. ( my personal favourite? Annabelle. I really punched up in the air at a certain point. Go her! ) The beautiful English countryside is ever present and so well described that you'll feel 'there'.
A brilliant read for the summer that I can heartily recommend.
I had the great pleasure to be able to read this book through NetGalley, before it was published. Many thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.
#NetGalley #AvonBooksUK
Alice left her groom, Lee, standing at the altar. The repercussions seriously affected Lee's brother Aaron and Alice's cousin, Clancy. Fast forward six years later and Clancy answers an ad to be a caretaker at summer cottages on the Norfolk coast belonging to her cousin (Alice) and Aaron (Lee's older brother). It seems Clancy has had her own fair share of relationship problems from good friends, her work associates and her fiancé.. Let the fun begin!
I've never read anything by Ms. Moorcroft before. I found this book to be both entertaining and enjoyable. The on-again, off-again plot, the Englishness of it all and the main protagonists!!
An absolutely lovely read.Full of wonderful characters a small village a perfect read,My first Sue Moorcroft Book so happy I found her will be grabbing recommending more of her books. #netgalley #avonbooksuk.
A heart-warming story with well rounded characters. Well written, it held my attention throughout. Sue Moorcroft at her best.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first Sue Moorcroft Book I’ve read and overall I’ve found it quite enjoyable, Clancy and Aaron are both good, strong characters with some interesting background and the side story of Harry & Rory was good, I would have liked to have read more of their story in honesty. The setting for the story sounded lovely and I think the author conveyed the closeness of the villagers well. I know this type of novel is fairly predictable but there was a good amount of originality and the epilogue rounded things off well.
A light read that warms you through and through. I enjoyed this book so much that I read it in one day whilst on holiday. A story of love, let downs and happiness and how different characters coped with this.
A Summer to Remember, Sue Moorcroft
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: general fiction (Adult), women's fiction
Ah no....usual moan :-( Why, why do we have women's fiction as a category? Why assume men won't/don't read romance – they do, they write it and read it.
With that off my chest, on to the book. I loved it, fabulous read full of incredible characters, I do like some that I can dislike, realistic scenes, I live in North Norfolk and it was easy to picture things playing out as they did. What I enjoy best in a story, a book with not just one main plot but some genuine and heartfelt subplots, and here they worked so well and kept me engrossed.
I loved Clancy, and understood why she was so devastated at what happened. What a blow, to lose your fiance, home and job all in one, and I'd have been just as...difficult isn't really the right word, but her actions that tied up others, yes, I'd have done that – I feel they were incredibly unfair to her.
Aaron, I kind of understand why he's the way he is, her cousin Alice caused such disaster by her actions to his brother, and the family are afraid for Lee and his mental stability. It took him a long time to recover, and they are very protective of him. Clancy isn't Alice though, she's had to pay for her ex's mistakes, its not fair to punish her for Alice's too.
Anyway, the story plays out well, plenty of events and action, lots of emotion, people who aren't as they seem, family issues and jealousies, and a real touch of teen drama with Harry and Rory, and a very topical point there that was so well done. I like to read books to escape but I want them to be real, to reflect genuine issues and this one is perfect, and delivers my always needed HEA.
Stars: Five, another great read from Sue, and one to keep for re-reading. Perfect holiday read or one for when you want to escape into another world for a while.
Arc via Netgalley and publishers