Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Flora and Hugo have been invited to stay in their friends villa in the South of France and Flora thinks that it is just what they need, their daughters have both just left home for uni in the States and Hugo is struggling with their absence. When they arrive Flora is amazed to find one of the other guests is Xavier, an old flame from a summer in Norfolk 20 years ago, and there was definitely unfinished business there! So with the sparks flying between Flora and Xavier and Hugo deserting her to go sailing with an acquaintance that he bumped into it, and going totally off radar it is going to be an interesting holiday!

A great book to get you ready for your summer holidays, plenty of descriptions of the sunshine and the great area in the South of France and plenty of fun and angst to keep you interested. Perfect beach read

A wonderful novel characters that come alive drew me in.Inwas caught up by the story their lives from first pages a Perfrct summer read,#netgalley#ariabooks.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review! #thatlonglostsummer #netgalley

Flora and her husband Hugo are invited to their friends french villa. Their children have both flown the nest and are at university in the USA. Flora and Hugo have not seen their friends for many years since their move. This is the perfect combination for a South of France holiday to find themselves as a couple. They've never had to spend time togetheras soon as they were married they had their first child quickly becoming a family. However on their first day Floras old flame Xavier who shes not seen in 20 years is their. Is this holiday going to be what it seems? Can Flora and Hugo rectify their relationship.

The title attracted me to this book. It gave a summer romance vibe, from those few words!

This book makes you laugh, cry and hold your breath as you go through Floras journey of resurrecting her marriage.

This book is a great summer romance read. Although their are some emotional subjects included in this book such as adoption/family fostering, adultery and death. I do not feel this takes away from the summer feel of the book.

I felt an emotional connection with all the characters. All the characters were strong individuals who merged fantastically together to create a fab novel.

The book was beautifully paced between new experiences and it not being rushed or too slow. Whilst still getting everything i wanted and needed from ir.

I would love a sequel of them all reuniting at the villa maybe in another 10 years or so to see how things have changed or maybe not.

Flora and Hugo are devoted to their children, but when their girls leave home for university, their lives seem empty. Hugo is cold and distant, leaving Flora unsure what their future holds. When they are invited to a friend's villa in the South of France, Flora hopes the summer sun and gorgeous setting may bring them closer together. In a crumbling, picturesque villa in the luscious French countryside, they are introduced to Susie, Matt and their friends. Flora is surprised to meet Xavier, her old flame, who she fell in love with one long lost summer when she was eighteen. They parted suddenly all those years ago, leaving Flora wondering, what if...

Handsome, passionate, sensitive, Xavier is so different from her reliable, predictable Hugo. Both Flora and Xavier have moved on with their lives, but is there something that still lingers between them? Or will Flora's devotion to her children, and her loyalty to Hugo, show her where her true heart lies...

This was a sweet story about finding yourself again as an adult.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

An excellent book which was well written.
The storyline was easy to read and kept my attention throughout
This book is a great summer read

I really enjoyed this book - a story of new beginnings, second chances, lost love, memories, romance and relationships. Well written this is a charming story with characters I could easily identify with. I enjoyed the setting of the story in the south of France and this made me long to go on holiday there. I love how insightful the author is into relationships and feelings.

Charming and bittersweet, I recommend this book. Perfect for an afternoon on the sofa or in the garden, or a perfect summer holiday read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a novel I fell into, heart and soul .. it's a gorgeous read, and especially enjoyable in summertime.

We join Flora and Hugo as they arrive at the villa to find that others have also been invited to share the family's new inheritance which in an idyllic location. Whilst Flora is keen to embark on their new relationship, Hugo seems to be rather aloof and distracted. When owners Suzie and Matt introduce them to the others in the group, Flora is surprised to find her teenage boyfriend amongst them - a relationship which never did run it's course. How will Flora cope with being in close proximity to the very attractive Xavier whilst being on the receiving end of Hugo's chilly demeanour?

I loved everything about this book; the fabulous array of characters, the superb location and the relationships between all the guests. I read this at my leisure during the recent hot spell, and it's a novel to sink into and relish. The author displays a real understanding of friendships, lovers and so much more - it's a story with hidden undertones, beautifully written and quite sumptuous to read and the ending is just sublime! It definitely shows Minna Howard's skill and flair and has put this author onto my radar, without a doubt. Absolutely worth a full five stars!

My thanks to publisher Aria for my copy via NetGalley, and to Victoria Joss for including me in this Blog Tour. All stated opinions are, of course, entirely my own.

The Blurb :
A gorgeous and bittersweet romance set in the South of France, about an old passion rekindled and the choice between family loyalty and a great love.
Flora and Hugo are devoted to their children, but when their girls leave home for university, their lives seem empty. Hugo is cold and distant, leaving Flora unsure what their future holds. When they are invited to a friend's villa in the South of France, Flora hopes the summer sun and gorgeous setting may bring them closer together. In a crumbling, picturesque villa in the luscious French countryside, they are introduced to Susie, Matt and their friends. Flora is surprised to meet Xavier, her old flame, who she fell in love with one long lost summer when she was eighteen. They parted suddenly all those years ago, leaving Flora wondering, what if...
Handsome, passionate, sensitive, Xavier is so different from her reliable, predictable Hugo. Both Flora and Xavier have moved on with their lives, but is there something that still lingers between them? Or will Flora's devotion to her children, and her loyalty to Hugo, show her where her true heart lies...

My Thoughts :
Flora and Hugo no longer think they want to be with each other, their children have flown the nest and gone to Uni. And they really dont know how to be anymore.
When they get invited to France to spend some time in a villa with friends they decide to go as they feel this is what they need to ignite the spark again.
Once there Flora is shocked to come face to face with her past and first love in the form of Xavier, an ex boyfriend she met all those years ago when she was just 18.
Do old feeling resurface and do they both still feel the same or has time moved on and both Flora and Xavier keep the past in the past?!.
We get to meet an array of supporting characters in the villa and it was great learning more about them and their place in the story.
Minna Howard delivers a beautiful story with plenty of what ifs, reminiscing, memories and secrets that will leave you wanting more, she has the perfect descriptions and attention to detail, the story really drags you in on to the core of the action.
Looking forward to more from this Author.

What a wonderful book! I flew through this and loved the setting. I've never been to the south of France and it's on my bucket list of places to go.

Flora and Hugo are a couple who have two daughters who are at university in the USA. They miss them and Flora is really happy when friends invite them to their villa. Hugo is a misery guts right from the start and I didn't like him at all. He's rude immature and self-centred. The couple traveled a lot as he works for a travel company.

The friends and acquaintances have not seen each other in a while as life has taken them all in different directions. Flora feels like it's a breath of fresh air when Xavier, her old flame is there, He's now remarried and has a young son but her feelings for Xavier have never dwindled. She and they wonder about the what ifs and remember their good times.

Minna Howard creates a wonderful atmosphere in both the house and surrounding area and really delves into people's feelings and relationships. I felt sorry for Flora and wished Hugo wasn't there but any couple would sometimes think that a break away might fix things as Flora hoped. I admired her for her courage and determination to not let Hugh ruin her holiday but at times was thinking why does she put up with his attitude?

That Long Lost Summer is feelgood, detailed and atmospheric and Xavier is a real gentleman. I loved every page of the book.

Thanks to Minna Howard and Aria for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. 5 stars.

This was a beautiful gentle read of lost moments and lost love. Hugo and Flora didn't know how to be with each other when their daughters left home. So to find their lost passion, they went on a holiday to French countryside where they met with Susie, Matt and their friends. Entered Xavier, Flora's long lost love when she was 18. And passion and memories rekindled. But Flora was married. She had to decide.

My first book by Minna Howard, this story saw me holding back my tears as I read about their lost summer. Flora and Xavier knew they were made for each other. But somehow they were not free to be with each other. Minna has brought out the angst between them powerfully. I kept hoping that they would get together even though I don't like the idea of a marriage breaking up.

The depth of the feelings described by the author had me reflecting on my lost love and the memories. I was hit by a bittersweet emotion as I read the story. Interspersed between the love, there were laughter and fun with the friends. The writing flowed smoothly, and I was struck by the lovable characters who made their decisions which were apt for them.

A beautiful heart touching read, no doubt.

Interested in a story about the rekindling of an old romance set in the South of France? Absolutely, and please sign me up for that! I loved this lovely read about a couple, Flora and Hugo, whose daughters have left home for college. When you start a family and all your attention and love seem to get passed on to your children, and the relationship you are left with end up being more like stale bread than that hot in the oven fresh baked cookies - well, that is what happened here with Flora and Hugo. So, what better place to light up that stagnant love but in the beautiful setting of a French countryside in a picturesque villa. Everything seems to go as planned until your first love, the handsome and ever so passionate Xavier shows up.

Read this amazing book and you will find out where Flora's heart lands in this beautiful story. The writing is superb with good flow, and kept my interest until the very end. The characters are lovable and realistic, and you will fall in love with them. I highly recommend this book for a nice read about first loves and the choices we make for our commitments and family.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Aria Fiction and the author for the opportunity to read this wonderful book as an ecopy.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Minna Howard writes the most charming and escapist novels that never fail to touch the heart and she is back with a wonderfully bittersweet romantic read set in the South of France I simply could not bear to put down: That Long Lost Summer.

Flora and Hugo are devoted to their children. Through the years, the couple have, like most parents, put their daughters to the forefront of their existence, however, when the girls leave the nest and head off to university, their once busy and frenetic lives come to a screeching halt as the hours stretch emptily ahead and the once noisy house is deafening in its silence. Now that it’s just the two of them, Hugo seems to be getting more and more distant from Flora, leaving her to wonder just what the future holds in store for them. When they get an invitation to spend the summer in the South of France at a friend’s villa, Flora thinks that this is just what she and Hugo need to get closer to one another again. However, on their arrival in France, Flora is shocked when she realizes that she is going to end up spending time with a face from the past she hasn’t seen for years: her old boyfriend, Xavier, whom she had fallen head over heels in love with that long ago summer when she had been only eighteen.

Xavier is as far removed from Hugo as it is possible to get. He is handsome, charismatic and sensitive whereas Hugo is reliable, predictable and rather boring after being married to him all these years. Although Flora had made a new life for herself after she had parted from Xavier, a part of her still wonders what might have been had she not chosen sensible Hugo and had instead thrown caution to the wind and made a life with Xavier. As long-buried feelings resurface with a surprising vengeance, will Flora give into temptation and give into the attraction which she still feels towards Xavier? Or will her devotion to her husband and their daughters compel her to listen to her head instead of her heart?

Is the grass always greener on the other side? Or is what’s right under our noses often what we need most in this world?

Reminiscent of early Joanna Trollope, That Long Lost Summer is a fantastic read about love lost and found, second chances, new beginnings and the ties that bind that is perfect for reading with a glass of French wine on a breezy summer’s day. Minna Howard writes with great humour, depth and sensitivity and she has penned an insightful and compassionate novel that is romantic, uplifting and thought-provoking.

Flora is a heroine women of all ages can relate to and her struggle to choose between her heart’s desire and her duties and responsibilities is one that is sure to resonate with women of all ages.

A well-written love story sure to keep readers entranced from start to finish, That Long Lost Summer is an indulgent, emotional and witty tale that is absolutely impossible to resist.

Such a happy/sad book about life and love. It is a tail of two people lost in a world they are in together. Definitely a make you think kind of book.

A thoughtful story of first love, mature love after children have flown the nest and friendship all in a vividly described South of France setting.

Flora and Hugo are trying to find what life means for them, now their daughters have left the family home. Flora is determined to power through her sense of loss, but Hugo is uncommunicative, distant and lost. When they are invited to stay in France by old friends, Flora sees it as a new opportunity for them as a couple but Hugo it seems has other plans.

I like Flora and the cast of friends and new acquaintances, that gather at the villa. Hugo is harder to like, his attitude towards Flora grates, and his actions are selfish. However, like all the characters he realistic, and his behaviour is the necessary excuse for Flora to question her long marriage’s future validity when she meets her first love unexpectedly.

The story flows well and keeps its secrets until the end. Although the ending is not unexpected and may disappoint some, it is realistic and fitting. A gentle story that contrasts first and mature love.

I received a copy of this book from Aria in return for an honest review.

What an amazing novel! The character development was incredible, the story line flowed seamlessly and I was captivated the whole time. Highly recommended!

A lovely story about a woman struggling to choose between a man she is devoted to and a man she has passionately loved in the past. It will remind you of the delicious summers of your youth and that first feeling of falling in love. The setting is the South of France. The emotions run wild. There is so much at stake and the writing is just delicious.

I adore novels set in France, so when this one caught my eye, I was so eager to read it. It had been sitting on my Kindle for a while, and once I started it, I fell in love! The cover is so romantic, with beautiful buildings, rolling hills and the bright blue sky. It draws you in, makes you think of summer days - and I couldn't wait to get stuck in!

I feel like this novel starts fairly quickly, we were introduced to Flora and Hugo and their relationship 'issues' straight away, and I enjoyed that. It gave a quick overview of the whole novel. I also found that the flirting from Xavier started quickly too, and I was eager to see what Flora was going to do about it all. Especially with Hugo swanning off on a boat for a week with an old school friend, to give himself 'space to think'. I loved Flora's character and often felt so sorry for her, with what she was going through with husband Hugo. As well as the other characters, I enjoyed reading about the other secondary characters such as Susie, Matt and the others.

The setting for this novel sounded idyllic, and not for the first time it had me dreaming of spending weeks in the beautiful country of France, especially where this book was set, it all sounded so beautiful and ideal. I loved the mentioning of the food markets, the food overall just sounded mouth-wateringly delicious. It was a great summery read and I really found myself flying through the pages as it was just such an easy and enjoyable read.

One thing I will say, was that I was a little disappointed with the ending. Throughout this novel, we see Flora and Xavier growing closer and finding it harder to hold back against their passion for one another but when it got to the end, it was kind of left open and we wasn't given a full explanation as to what happened with them both which I thought was a shame. I really thought that we would be given a further explanation as to what was going through Flora's head and who she had 'chosen'. I really disliked Hugo throughout the novel, so to see him and Flora 'together' at the end of the novel confused me slightly - for me it just ended too abruptly. It would have been nice for it to go on for a few more pages to find out more.

Overall, it was a quick and easy summery read. If the ending had been slightly better I would have given it 5 stars. Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this novel to read, which I have reviewed honestly.

Having read several other books by this author, I had high hopes and maybe it was my expectations that let me down. I thought the dialogue was excessively long, each character had the same voice (what 6 year old knows indigestion?!) The dialogue was repetitive and every single page was just some miserable woman wondering where her husband had gone and if it was a good enough excuse for an affair. The supposed heartthrob of the book came across as over zealous pervert who wouldn’t take no for answer. I just kept hoping that some miracle would turn it in to a crime novel and they’d all get murdered. In my opinion, there are much better books out there by this author.