Member Reviews
A thrilling and heartfelt story; draws you in very quickly and doesn't let go. Excellent character development. Highly recommended!
More than Ella, I guess this book shocked me. Had it not been for what the author wrote in her acknowledgements, I almost lost a little faith in humanity. I read a book so full of suspense after a long time, and unwittingly this became my first psychological suspense. Suspense and Thrillers are my first love, and first love is always special!
The book starts with a prologue, an interview of Academy Award-winning actress Amira Silvers by Ella Skye. The date is 18 August 2018. Such an interesting and a different start to a story, which sets the pace for all that is to come. With the lost memories, there's a lot of going back and forth throughout the book but, it is done so deftly that it never once confuses you.
The story then starts in November 2018 with Ella waking up in a hospital. She is disoriented, with a splinted wrist and a gauze on her pelvis. And with no idea how she got there. Her loving husband seems to be angry with her for forgetting her pregnancy, hinting that she forgot everything deliberately, which doesn't make any sense. She is all the more surprised because when they married a few years back, Damien had made it clear that he didn't want any kids, opposite of what she wanted, but the fear of losing him made her keep quiet about her feelings.
The author's writing is so powerful and I'm in such awe that I can't wait to read her other works. The characters have been sketched exactly for them to smoothly achieve what they set their minds to. The title has its own place, as it is Ella who wants to find out what happened to her/with her, Last Summer.
Woah! I usually don't like reading stories where the lead characters cheat on their better halves with others, but this was something else. I thought of this as an amnesia story, and I love a good amnesiac romance, but this is more than that. So much deception. So much of hiding the truth. And of course, miscommunication, which is pretty standard in relationships. The author drops a bomb towards the end, just when you think that the story has ended. Shit! What mind-blowing premise and execution! I just don't know how to react to the 'you just hang in there' ending. I want to know what happens after that, though in a self-deprecating way I know that it will ruin it. Too much information!
This is a story which I would recommend for a read and a re-read!
Thank you to the author - Kerry Lonsdale, the publisher - Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for this review copy.
This is a favorite author of mine and I was thrilled to read this next release by Kerry Lonsdale. This was a exciting read that I was unable to part with until the last page was done. It is part thriller, part mystery and part love story.
Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC. I enter my own opinions.
Ella and Damien are a couple facing a crisis. She has been in a accident and lost their baby. She also does not remember being pregnant or her husband and their marriage. She remembers her career but not her marriage. As she recovers she finds mysterious clues to her marriage and finds out that her husband is not who she thought he was and that her loss of memory may be tied to her husband and past events after all.
I did not expect the twist and turns of this plot The ending was so exciting and fun to conclusion. I loved the rich charcters and the plot development is very smartly written. The fast pace almost takes your breath away page after page as you will be as captivated as I was.
Well done to the author another winning story that is a fun read.
This book was like a roller coaster ride, with all of the twists and turns! I was up late last night finishing it because I had to know how it ended. It wasn't and ending I would have predicted!
Absolutely fantastic. My favorite book of Kerry Lonsdale this far. See Goodreads review for more info.
I love a twisted mystery and didn't mind the "romance" aspect to it. This unique story kept me guessing the ENTIRE time. I thought I had the mystery figured out but was totally wrong. You will never see this ending coming!!!!!!! My only complaint- with a twist so big, I really wanted MORE information and felt the ending wrapped up a little too quickly for my liking.
Thank you Netgalley for this book. My review is unbiased and optional.
Twisting and turning, the book keeps you guessing until the end - again playing with memory like the authors other books. I thought I had it all figured out 20% of the way through but I was wrong. This was a quick read, and one I couldn't put down. My opinions on Nathan, Damien and Ella changed throughout the book, and that ending! I had issues with this book, but I sorta forgave some of them. The premise seems crazy, and it is. Really people, honesty is the best policy - no matter what you experienced as a child.
What an compelling read! So many lies and twists in this book, you may get a bit dizzy. Loved the memory loss, or the use of it, even though I’ve seen it used multiple times. Well written!
Will be sure to rave it up!
The jacket description of this book drew me in with all sorts of questions. As the story unfolds, I had more questions. The back story was built and slowly enlarged as you try to figure out exactly what did happen last summer. The characters are perfect, playing off each other as if you were watching them in real life. The tension and suspense build, moving each character into play as Ella tries to piece together her life. This was a really good book written by an excellent author who gave me plenty of clues that did not come together until close to the end. One of the stories that when someone talks to you while you're reading, they get the "hand" and a "go away" sign.
I've read Kerry Lonsdale's Everything trilogy and really enjoyed all three books, so was happy to receive an ARC of this, her latest book. And it didn't disappoint. There was a common element with Ella's memory loss, but these were very different characters, and a very different kind of memory loss. There are clue crumbs dropped throughout, but I didn't put most of them together until towards the end. And even then, there were surprises. For me, that's a great sign of a suspenseful novel - it kept me reading and guessing and wanting to know what really happened and how. I didn't always like the characters, and even at the end wasn't quite sure how I felt about them, yet they fascinated me. I really enjoyed this one, it kept me guessing and entertained all the way through.
My thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing a copy for an unbiased review.
Lies, deceit and memory loss all combine to produce an intriguing novel.
Ella Skye is a sought-after journalist. She interviews the rich and famous and remembers every detail of her interviews. Chance meeting with entrepreneur Damien Russell turns from fairy tale romance into a happy marriage. Ella remembers Damien telling her he does not want children, she marries his anyway, hoping for a change of heart. Ella does not remember the tragic car accident that caused the loss of their unborn child nor can she remember being pregnant. Ella wonders why she was pregnant if Damien never wanted children. Damien is vague and unreachable when Ella tried to question him.
LAST SUMMER by Kerry Lonsdale is an intriguing story. It’s a psychological drama exploring the limits of lies, deceit and secrets in relationships.
Aside from LAST SUMMER being a very readable novel, it transports you to many different locations in evocative detail.
The characters are well drawn and full of human flaws. The book kept me invested until the very last page.
This book is A-mazing! Author, Kerry Lonsdale, keeps the reader guessing until the unique, unexpected end. I can't wait to read more by this author!
I was finally accepted to review this book after the published date and now I just want to go out and buy a hard copy of it so I can share with all my friends! It’s a novel that I’ll certainly read again! Lonsdale had me “turning the page” (or swiping to the left so to speak since it was an ebook) - so quickly that I couldn’t put this book down. This was a fast-paced and addictive read that kept me on edge wondering what was going to happen next. I literally could not foreshadow anything throughout the book. I simply gave up because every time I thought I knew what would happen, I was completely wrong. But I did need to find out what Ella forgot and why she forgot it. Trust me when I say, you won’t be able to predict what will happen next; or who to trust for that matter.
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What would you do if you woke up in the hospital following a car accident? How about waking up and in addition to the car accident, you feel a giant scar from an emergency c-section and then finding out you lost your baby at 5-months pregnant? Now add on the fact that you don’t even remember being pregnant. Well that’s exactly what happened to Ella Skye. She has all of her memories except finding out that she’s pregnant, she doesn’t remember buying anything for the nursery or even going to OB appointments. So feeling the fresh scar and extra skin where a baby once was is a mystery to her, and even worse, how can she grieve for something that she doesn’t even remember existing? Is her selective memory loss hiding something or protecting her?
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This book was released on July 9, 2019. I suggest you go out and get a copy now!!!
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Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an independent and honest review!
I really wanted to enjoy this book, but sadly that didn’t happen. The characters aren’t likable and the plot didn’t work for me.
What a great book! I was hooked from the very beginning. Lonsdale really knows how to keep her audience enthralled. With just the right amount of mystery with a twist this is a book worth picking up.
I was provided an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley and the author.
Not what I expected at all! 4 stars for this steamy and somewhat suspenseful book! Add in some lies, drama and a unexpected twist at the end - this makes for a really good read! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!
A thrilling read that will leave readers guessing until they finally know the truth.
Ella Skye wakes up in a hospital to find that she has been in a car accident. Initially, she can’t remember what happened but begins to remember some details of her life. The one thing that she can’t remember is being pregnant for the last five months. She can remember what happened five days ago, but no memory whatsoever of carrying a child. She returns home to find a nursery that she decorated and all sorts of plans she had set up for a child. Even her husband Damien, who never wanted children, seems to be devasted by this loss. She and Damien’s relationship has been strained since the accident, but they seem to be finding some sort of new normal. Then she gets a call from the magazine she works for to pick up where she left off on an interview with a world explorer named Nathan Donovan. Amazingly, Ella can’t remember a thing about this man either, even after spending two weeks in solidarity with him. With her husband begging her not to go interview him, Ella decides she must take the chance to find out if he can trigger anything about her lost memories. What else can she lose?
If there is one thing that I’ve learned from Kerry Lonsdale, it’s that her books will always give you a dose of the unexpected. Another thing is that the antagonist is always very crafty. I loved getting to know Ella’s story just as I have her previous books. This one had a bit of a twist to it at the end, which I had a feeling was coming, but still had me pleasantly surprised. Ella is a strong confident woman, who must become very vulnerable to try to find out what happened in her past. Having carried two children, I can’t imagine waking up to not being able to remember them. That would an earth-shattering moment, which is obvious in her behavior. I’m not sure I would have made the same choices in her place, but then again, I don’t share her past either. Needless to say, this book stayed suspenseful, but not in a murder thrilling kind of way, just in a way that made me have to find out what happened.
There is some strong language throughout the book as well as some sex scenes that make this a read for mature audiences only.
I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
awesome book. Supper steamy and filled with suspense and that twist at the end I wasn't expecting! I loved it!
Who do you believe, when your memories are lost?
To what lengths will you go, to remember exactly what happened Last Summer?
Lonsdale takes us on a roller coaster ride of heartbreak, love and mistrust; throwing surprises our way until the very end.
There were numerous twists and turns in this story, which kept me guessing as to who was telling the truth. A perfect summer read, in my opinion.
I quickly succumbed to Ms. Lonsdale's magic and tumbled right into an oddly unsettling yet mesmerizing vortex inhabited by her troubled characters. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Ms. Lonsdale is deviously talented with the word voodoo! My opinions and feelings towards her characters turned on a dime, I couldn’t decide who was to be believed as none seemed trustworthy and all appeared to be harboring layer upon layer of secrets, tragic losses, and deep-seated issues that I was extremely curious to unearth. The writing was emotive and highly moody while the storylines were maddeningly paced and cunningly crafted. I was deeply annoyed and beyond irritated with each character in turn and biting my cuticles and lips with the ever-increasing and ratcheting tension. It was stellar!