Always reliable, Kerry Lonsdale has done it again with her latest release. Perfect poolside, and guaranteed to distract on any flight , Last Summer is the perfect vacation read, the only downside is that once you start you may not want to put it down.
Ella Skye is a successful lifestyle journalist, happily married to her adoring husband Damien. She has it all until one day it is taken away in a horrific car accident that kills her unborn baby boy. Deeply traumatized, when she wakes in the hospital she has no memory of losing her son, or even of ever being pregnant despite remembering everything else up to the moment of the accident- how she met her husband and fell in love, her friends and colleagues from work, and even the loss of her parents as a child. She desperately seeks answers from her husband, but in his grief he has closed himself off, turning instead to work. It seems that Ella will do the same when she is assigned an exclusive interview, but from the beginning something seems off- she has no idea who the celebrity in question is ,despite having interviewed him previously. Adding fuel to her suspicion is her husbands reaction when he hears about the interview and begs her to stay away. On meeting her interviewee, Nathan, Ella immediately feels a connection and he seems perturbed to hear about her memory loss. In hopes of unlocking her lost memories , Ella agrees to spend more time with him, but the truth she begins to uncover may break her heart all over again.
Dramatic, emotional and intense, Last Summer is a captivating story of deception, heartbreak and betrayal. The characters are easy to relate to despite their glamorous lives, the emotional journey they take the reader on is considerable. Yes it is a little far fetched, and the ending feels a little rushed given the build up of the book as a whole, but it is still a very enjoyable and entertaining read.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Linda's Book Obsession Reviews "Last Summer" by @Kerry Lonsdale, Lake Union Publishing, July 2019

Kerry Lonsdale, "Last Summer" has written an intense, intriguing, and captivating novel. The Genres for this Novel are Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, and Romance.  The timeline for this story is mostly in the present and goes back to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. There are twists and turns, betrayals and lies. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated.

Is there anything at all in your life you would willingly forget if you could? Ella Skye is a journalist, who seems to have selective memory loss. Ella remembers her husband Damien, but she can't remember significant and important things after her accident. Ella tries to solve this mystery by herself, and she has no idea what will change lives forever. I would recommend this page-turning novel for readers who enjoy a thought-provoking, and intense novel.

I genuinely enjoyed this quick read although I will say that it's pretty darn soapy. Which is fine. I did a lot of belief suspending, which is also fine. Don't read any spoilers, just read this book! It's the first book of Lonsdale's that I've read all the way through and I look forward to reading more!

I had no idea what I was in for with this one and let me just say that I was not expecting ANY of that. Like, what did I just read? The deception, the manipulation, the twists, the turns! Just when you feel like there’s a clear path to the end of the story, your life gets flip-turned upside down and just 🤯 And don’t plan on trying to dissect or decide if you like or are rooting for any of the characters because they continue to develop until the very end! And speaking of the end, y’all are NOT ready for this one. Brace your damn selves. This is my first read by Kerry and I’ll definitely be checking out her other books because this one was a wild and crazy ride!

REVIEW:
Well that was quite the story! Last Summer stirs a roller coaster of emotions with its interesting plot. It follows Ella Skye, successful writer and contributor to Luxe Avenue Lifestyle magazine. Having snagged the heart of Damien Russell, highly sought-after CEO and founder of a San Francisco based cyber-security firm, living in a dream home and with a close college friend and confidante nearby for girls nights out, she seems to have it all. Until she wakes up in a hospital after a devastating car crash, with a significant portion of her memory blocked...a pregnancy she cannot remember and the loss of a baby she cannot truly mourn.

The theme of memory loss, in and if itself, has been done in books before (though I confess to still finding it intriguing when done well). What’s not usual, is the particular twists that this plot takes. It was quite clever, if not a bit troubling.

This story was cyclical for me...it captured my attention from the start, but after awhile it began to feel a bit predictable and overdone. Eventually, I found myself not caring for the characters erratic behaviors, poor decisions and skewed values. However, the author had more up her literary sleeve than I anticipated, and the plot twist recaptured my attention, offered some interesting explanations and left me contemplating this provocative and problematic situation.

This story was surprising, disconcerting, thought-provoking and easily-readable. It had a bit of everything, including romance, betrayal, heartbreak, friendship and lies. This is my first Kerry Lonsdale story, but I’m now intrigued to read more by this author.

As I'm either reading fantasy or romance these days, this was a nice change of pace. It did have its raunchy and saucy parts which I very much enjoyed. And all the intrigue and questions that formed kept me on my toes. The memory loss was a little far-fetched in a way, but thankfully it wasn't over the top.

I really enjoyed the character development. You think you know what the character is all about, but then - bam - something new is revealed. Loved it. I really dislike it when plot twists are predictable, thankfully that wasn't the case with this book.

I hadn't read anything by Kerry Lonsdale before, but I'm definitely intrigued enough to pick something else of hers up now! All in all, a very enjoyable and quick read.

I love Kerry Lonsdale's books! But...I can't say that Last Summer is one of my favourites. Although her writing is fast-paced and really good, I found the basic premise of the book too far-fetched for me. Don't get me wrong, the book is an unputdownable read, full of plot twists but, in my personal opinion, the beginning kind of gave away the main ones. All in all, a good book.

The plot twists!! Just when I thought I figured something out, a plot twist would happen and suck me right back in to the story. I could not put this story down; I just needed to know what was happening. Great read!

Just 2 stars, though I wished for more. The character's secrets were so transparent, the docile acquiescence to non-answers infuriating. Even the quirky method of amnesia in this book did not elevate the basic plot. Best to save your beach reading time for something else.

A book that seriously had me hooked from page one. Full of unreliable, yet reliable and loving characters. It almost feels like you are right along with Elle trying to figure out who to trust and what really happened. Last Summer was a quick read, mostly because it was next to impossible to set it down!

Tell me already! Those were the words constantly spinning through my mind as I read Last Summer.

Lifestyle journalist Ella Skye remembers the chance meeting with her husband, Damien; their rapid free fall into love; and their wedding. But she can’t remember the car accident that ripped her unborn child from her. Ella can’t even recall being pregnant. Hoping to find the memories of a lost pregnancy that’s left her husband devastated and their home empty, Ella begins delving into her past when she’s assigned an exclusive story about Nathan Donovan, a retired celebrity adventurer who seems to know more about her than she does him.

The opening words to my review were not words uttered in frustration, but words uttered in excitement. There is this underlying sense of mystery and secrecy throughout this book. This sense of intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat awaiting the answers. I needed answers, absolutely had to have them right now! For this reader, that is one of the signs of a good mystery and the key to keeping me hooked.

I’m sure some of you will figure out the hows and whys of this book, but I didn’t. There are several twists and while none of them made me sit back and say “WOW!”, they were impressive and had me putting down my Kindle for a minute to catch my breath. Last Summer is well done and is sure to thrill the lovers of mystery out there. This was my first Lonsdale novel and it certainly won’t be my last.

Can a marriage survive if deceit, lies and secrets are done all in the name of love?
This compelling book by Kerry Lonsdale is a page turner with unexpected twists that led to my reading late into the night. How could I have so many different feelings toward Ella, whom this story revolves? But WOW, it is easy to see why there are already over 2500 great reviews. This book pulled me in from the first page and I thought I knew how it would end (another ho hum) but then the author wrote an unbelievable ending that left me very glad I had the opportunity to read “Last Summer.”

Thank you Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book for my honest review.

This was my first Kerry Lonsdale book and I really feel like I have missed out on getting to read her previous books all these years! I do love going into a book with no expectations and being blown away by the story and the writing. The first six pages are full of many bestselling authors I know and love singing their praises for Kerry's books which got me really excited to dive in. I was engrossed right from the beginning to the very last page! A big thank you to Netgalley as well as Lake Union for this copy for review, and for helping me to discover Kerry Lonsdale.
Imagine waking up in the hospital with terrible pain in your abdomen and a splint on your wrist, and you have no idea what happened or how you got there. This is all too real for Ella Skye and she’s scared to death. Ella’s husband Damien is at her bedside trying to calm her but he has a hard time believing Ella has no memory of what happened to her. Damien informs her that she was pregnant with their son Simon but that he died in the car accident. How can someone remember their own husband, the dinner she cooked for him the night before, and the fact she works as a journalist for Luxe Avenue but she has no clue why she’s lying in a hospital bed? Nothing shows up on her scans, so the neurologist said she can go home and rest and hopefully her memories will slowly return. She’s suffered a very traumatic experience and only time can heal her wounds, or will her memory loss open more painful memories she hoped would never return.
Love, Loss, Betrayal, and discovering all over again who you thought you were and who your actually not. I loved the storyline, the twists I didn’t see coming, and the ending I didn’t expect but loved. Last Summer will be released on July 9th, go preorder your copy!

I have Kerry Lonsdale's books in the past, so I was very excited to see that she had a new book coming out this summer. She has always written compelling books that keep me wanting more with complex characters.

This book had a great premise. We start the story in Ella's shoes, very confused with lots of gaps in memory. We don't know whether we can trust her husband, Damien, or not. The author's descriptions of the mountains and the wilds of Alaska were breathtaking. I have friends who live in Cordova, AK, so that was a fun find in this book--it's a pretty obscure place!

I also enjoyed the unreliable narrator feeling that we got from Ella. But pretty quickly I found that I couldn't find a character to root for in the story. Neither Ella or Damien or even Nathan, who we meet later, have very many redeeming qualities. I was hoping to feel less disoriented as the story went on, but I think I just felt too confused and with a lack of characters to root for, I found myself losing interest. I know no one is perfect, but I was at least hoping for character growth or something to make me really invested in at least one character, but that just never happened in this book.

The last few chapters cleared a lot up, but it felt like too little, too late, unfortunately. Check out the author's previous books for much more engaging characters!

2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy.

Wow, this book, Last Summer by Kerry Lonsdale, is fantastic. The story of a women who wakes up in a hospital with huge lapses in her memory. Not knowing what has really happened, truthfully, Ella questions everything and everyone around her. Why can't she remember. This is such a strong storyline you cannot put it down, the characters and the decisions along with, probable leaps of faith, just keep rolling. I wish I could share more, but I can't give anything away. Read it and be part of the plot! Thank you #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing #LastSummer

Wow!

Such a great read with an ending I never saw coming!

Kerry Lonsdale writes a story that keeps you turning pages and has you completely immersed. I was so addicted to these characters.

I do have to say, I hope there’s another book coming. I want more!!!

Clever. That is the word that comes to mind when thinking about this book. The plot, the twist, the characters, the motive, the idea, the ending - they are all very clever. I can’t imagine being in the positions that Ella found herself in throughout this book. How absolutely frustrating and scary! And how she managed to move on with each revelation and truth uncovered is amazing! I am a big believer in gut instinct and, boy, did Ella have some spot-on hunches! I really enjoyed reading “Last Summer”. It was easy to read and was a perfect blend of psychological drama and suspense. I am interested in reading other books by Kerry Lonsdale, this one was my first by her, and I’m hooked!

Ella wakes up in a hospital and she can't remember the past couple months. She decides to look more into her past and winds up with more unanswered questions. Will Ella ever get her memory back? Will she ever find out how she lost her memory?
Last Summer was a really good book. I look forward to read more from Kerry Lonsdale!

This is an entertaining book, but I had trouble suspending disbelief and relating to the characters. This stand-alone novel is about loss, grief, and lies within a marriage. Ella is dealing with memory loss after a car accident and cannot remember her pregnancy, which she lost. There are a few twists and turns that will make you question her ethics and morals and ending will leave you with unanswered questions.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.

I finished this book and thought "Wow! What just happened?!" I thought the author did an amazing job writing all the twists and turns that are threaded throughout this book. I kept trying to figure out exactly what happened last summer that resulted in Ella forgetting key pieces of her life (how do you forget your entire pregnancy?!). Let's just say I was no where near close to what actually happened and that is one of the things I liked best about this book - it was unpredictable! Once I started I didn't want to put this book down because I had to know what happened.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.