Thank you netgalley for letting me read this lovely story.
From start to finish I couldn’t put it down.
I was hoping for good things to happen between Gemma and Sam from early on in the story. I was swept along with the will they won’t they.
Will look out for more books by this author.

A sweet story that made me smile, root for the characters and kept me hooked.
I liked the well thought characters, the setting and the plot that flows.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

🏰 Lovely summer 💞romance with a super cast of characters🌼

I loved this story, its characters and the plot. Gemma, the beleaguered, financially-strapped heroine, is a single mother trying her best to raise a techno-absorbed teen son. Her dwindling resources force their move to an economical rental cottage and put her in the orbit of Sam, a former London policeman who's decided to restore a castle but keeps getting sidetracked by caring for his ailing father. in addition to the romance, unusual friendships are struck, problems with exes and surprise visitors ensue and there's even a spot of criminal mayhem. Like the cover, the story has a light, sunny, hopeful feeling despite Gamma and Sam's almost daily trials and tribulations. 😊

Judging by how much I enjoyed The Summer of Wishful Thinking, Eve Edwards is an author whose works I would gladly read again.👍👍

Thanks to publishers One More Chapter/HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review and opinions expressed are completely my own.

This was a sweet book. Gemma Whitehall is a single mum, trying her best to raise her 14 yr old son Leo the best she can but her job isn’t the highest paid and now her ex, Leo’s dad, has stolen her laptop. She needs to move and finds a dilapidated cottage on grounds of a castle for a discounted rent.

Only the new landlord of the castle, Sam Ranworth, is making too many promises he can’t keep. His list of things to do on the castle grounds grows as fast as it’s weeds: he also has to keep on eye on his aging dad with dementia and now a demanding new tenant. He left London for the easy country life - when was it supposed to start?

I really liked the story and Gemma and Sam’s interactions felt natural and authentic to their characters. I could see it play out in my mind like a movie, a tad predictable at some points although I got the villain wrong with the bit of intrigue in it.

I really liked the book and how it all came together and connected but I don’t see myself rereading it. If it’s part of a series, I would love to read the next as Claremont Magna seems really picturesque.

Gemma and Sam are complex characters with depth and things they needed to overcome and both were trying to run away from their problems. All secondary characters were perfect. Thank you to the publisher and net galley for this book. This is my own review.

I have to admit I wasn't too keen on the male protagonist in this book, he seemed a bit too mean and belittling and some of the other characters felt very much like stereotypes and not good ones. It was a shame because I think it had a lot of potential.

The plot of this book was interesting, but honestly, if I had realized that Gemma had not only a son but a son who would randomly get his own POV at some point, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I wish the blurb had mentioned that she was a single mother with a deadbeat of an ex, so I would have known to expect that aspect. Also, I felt there were too many POVs happening and usually no indication as to a switch. It got pretty confusing for me. If each chapter alternated between Sam's POV and Gemma's POV (and completely excluded her son's), it would have been easier to connect the dots. On top of that, I struggled to connect with these characters. Something was off, and I couldn't really click with this book.

A lovely summer read...nice predictable romance that simmers between Gemma and Sam. Very enjoyable easy pick up put down tale...ideal for the beach. Likeable characters and not too complicated!!

It was predictable from the start where the book was going, but such a lovely easy read! I absolute adore all the characters and ate through this book in a day!

I thought this was a good, easy read. I enjoyed the setting and a few of the characters, but thought the character development was a little lacking and it took over half the book for me to really get into it. I didn't really feel the dynamic between Sam and Gemma was natural/organic but overall thought it was a pretty good mindless, easy summer read!

I have enjoyed immensely the plot and loved the characters. This is my first book that I have read written by this author and for sure it won't be the last. I recommend the book to anyone who likes to read and relax with a good book at the end of the day.

A heart warming easy read set in beautiful surroundings. This was a lovely way to spend a few hours.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

The Summer of Wishful Thinking was a hit and a miss for me!

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the book, the characters were lovely, especially William and Leo and the eventual connection between Sam and Gemma.

I didn't love the pacing or the lack of conflict building. I had a hard time buying the animosity between the main characters as it seemed pretty one and done. People are going to call this an enemy to lovers book but it's a bad first impression to lovers if anything! The ending was also kind of... Rushed and wrapped up too perfectly! It's the ending I wanted of course, I just didn't love the journey.

I spent the entire book wondering if I liked it or not and I'm still kind of stuck on that question.
2.5-3*

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well I have to start this review by saying this is in my top 3 books of the year so far and I've read over 30 so far!
I loved it from the start. There were 2 characters I didn't like because you weren't supposed to.. The first character being 14 year old Leo's father. He was a nasty piece of work and then Gemmas mum. Although she grew on me in the end.
I loved the cover of the book and every word from the first to the last.
The characters were delightful and very relatable to, Gemma having a hard time and the lovely Sam who owned the castle being in turmoil from his past.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I want to thank the author, the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this early release book for the chance to give my honest review. This is my own thoughts on this book and I highly recommend it

Unfortunately this just wasn’t for me, I really struggled to connect with most of the characters, especially the two main leads. It was clique and it felt at times slightly two-dimensional. However, due to the current situation I did finish it pretty quickly and it had a sweet ending.


Thank you Netgalley & One More Chapter.

I had a tough time getting into this book. The characters seemed poorly put together, from the gay wedding to the very stereotypical black friend. In addition, Sam got very aggressive and not so nice to Gemma, which was not appealing. I felt like it took a long time to get to the climax of the book, and then it was a quick ending.

With thanks to Net Gallery and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gemma is a registrar who has had a bumpy start in life having fallen pregnant at 15 to a man who is a total waste if space. Despite no longer being with him he still find a ways to make her and her son's life miserable so she decides to move out of town. She finds herself renting the Gate House, a small cottage at the entrance to a castle. The castle owner Sam happens to be very dashing. Will Gamma be able to get her life in order and find the happy ending she so deserves?

I loved this book, if you like Carole Matthews, Holly Martin or Jenny Colgan then this is a book for you. A wonderful feel good read for these very testing times we find ourselves in.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting my read this book.
It was definitely a different set-up for a romance, with one of the main characters having a child so young. I like that Gemma had real problems like, money issues, occupation and lack of relationship. Her ex was really annoying and I hope that the issues with him were sorted.
Sam had a good back story as well. He seemed like a lovely guy and I wished there had been a bit more scenes with them getting to know each other.
An easy summer read.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
The summer of wishful thinking by Eve Edwards is an easy book to read,. It just flows along at its own pace and the storyline and the characters are easy to listen to and enjoy. It is a romantic tale, set in a castle with its own gardens which have been neglected and are being restored by the owner, who falls for his new tenant.
An easy to read romance.
Highly recommended.

This was an interesting set-up for a romance novel. Gemma is approaching 30 and a single mom with a 14-year old son. Do the math to see what a struggle she’s had in her life. She’s a registrar in a small English town who does weddings, funerals, and baptisms. Sam is a former policeman who has tired of the depressing struggles of that life and retired and bought a castle with the hopes of restoring the gardens and castle to make it a wedding venue.

Gemma rents out a cottage on the grounds and proceeds to fall for the handsome new “lord of the castle.” Sam can’t help being attracted to this plucky young mother.

I enjoyed the growth of all the characters shown in the story. Gemma’s rather unpleasant son turns into a model teen when he’s hired by Sam to take care of Sam’s father who suffers from dementia, but still loves gardening and imparting that knowledge to his young helper/caretaker. Gemma learns once more how to pick herself up and carry on. Sam learns to get past a personal tragedy and open up his heart to a new romance while also accepting help.

The book was a good read, but it also made me roll my eyes and suspend bushels of disbelief. How did this former policeman have enough money to be an honest-to-god castle. Why did he suddenly think he could host weddings? Real lords who inherit castles can’t afford to keep them up, but a former policeman has the wherewithal to tackle the job? I’m not buying that. And Gemma seems to have been on her own raising her son since she was 15 since her parents supposedly didn’t help her out. How did that happen? Did she really not get any help with a place to live and money to take care of a baby? I would have liked to have known a lot more about how she achieved that?

But if you can throw these plot questions out and just enjoy the story, you’ll have fun.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This was a great romcom story to read while quarantining. A lighthearted read full of hope and also such a quick read!