I loved this novel & everything about it!
Tonge has found her way on to my auto buy list.
I cannot wait to see what she does next.

This was one of the best books I've read for a long time. The characters were engaging and lovely to see some inclusivity featured as well. The monkey Chatty was adorable and Sarah's plight with being out of her comfort zone really resonated with me. I'm not sure I would have had the same strength of character as she did, especially with the tarantulas in the shower.

The storyline was well-paced and entertaining and I enjoyed finding out the secrets and mysteries in the character's pasts as well as how they coped in the present.

I have read a few of Samantha Tonge's books (Doubting Abbey, Breakfast Under a Cornish Sun) but it sure won't be my last.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

The first thing I want to say about this book is just how much I love the relationship between the two sisters, Sarah and Amy. Even though they are very different people, they have such a close, caring bond. It was formed after their mother died, when Sarah took over bringing up her sister until she left home at 18. Both sisters had a horrible childhood, with a verbally abusive father, and they have a lot of problems that they have to overcome brought on by their childhood trauma that give this book a lot of depth and make the characters seem real.

When Amy wins a lottery she decides to take Sarah on holiday, but not to a 5 star destination like Sarah works with every day (she’s an assistant manager in a hotel), but to a conservation project in hopes to save her sister from working while she was meant to be enjoying herself. This type of camping would have been my worst nightmare so I could sympathise with Sarah, but I really loved the conservation undercurrent to the story, and I loved how they worked to rebuild the island and help it’s wildlife. There was even a monkey side character called Chatty who was really cute.

My favourite part of the story was the way the island came together to rebuild and I loved the moments of wildlife conservation such as saving the turtle eggs. And I loved the romance in this book too, between Sarah and Rick and side-characters Benedict and Jonas. Amy’s friendship with Jackie was great to read about too.

All in all, this was a feel good, emotional, romantic story. It’s a bit of a tear jerker, but it’s all about family which I loved. It only took me a couple of days to read this book and I loved it.

A great summer/beach read!

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A fab little read that’s addictive from start to finish. Gorgeous descriptions and a story that is funny, relatable and charming about a relationship between two sisters. The Summer Island Swap is such a fun and easy read that had me laughing out loud Reminded my very much of my relationship with my Sister. A very enjoyable read

All you need for a summer escapist read, it is full of energy and sunshine and characters that you can believe in

This was such a lovely feel good summer read.
Sarah is looking forward to a 5* luxury holiday on a Caribbean island. She'd looked after her sister my since they lost their mum , and Amy wanted to spoil her big sister when she had a small win.
They arrive to a holiday completely out of Sarah's comfort zone and the opposite of the 5* luxury she had been dreaming about. Amy had swapped it for a conservation project.
She'd done it with the best of intentions and Sarah didn't want to hurt her feelings, but she's not feeling the love!
It sounded an absolutely fascinating holiday- hard work , but so rewarding. But no cocktails by the pool and luxury spa treatments. Things aren't running quite as smoothly under the surface as they could be.
I absolutely loved this book, getting drawn into the activities, Amy's love of helping with the animals, Sarah putting her skills to use in unexpected ways. The sense of camaraderie with the others working on the project , the draw of romance in the air and the skype calls with the nan were amusing. There are parts of that holiday that I would have loved- if they had been excursions from the luxury island!

I love it when you've been saving a book and it's even better than you were hoping it would be! I knew as soon as I read the blurb I would enjoy it but once I'd picked it up I literally didn't put it back down again.

Sarah and Amy are sisters who have always stuck together after a difficult childhood. When Amy has a lottery win and offers to treat Sarah to the trip of a lifetime, Sarah can't wait to go but it isn't the trip she was expecting!

I loved the stunning location and the animal conservation element. This is a story with a really current topic about the environment and I loved how it was woven together with so many wonderful facts and details to keep you wanting to know more.

I expected to enjoy this book but I loved it, it totally captured my heart. I have already recommended it to my friends as I'm sure they will also love it!

A wonderful and memorable 5* read with fantastic characters and animals alike that I wish I could read all over again.

This was an easy breezy Summer read. I give it a solid 3.stars. I really enjoyed reading about the location and the description of the conservation area. Made me feel like I was there. However I just couldn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. I also felt that the romance was a bit weak.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Sarah has been working and taking care of her sister for years. When her sister wins some money in the lottery, she plans and books a holiday for the two of them. One month on an island with five star service. Working in the hospitality industry, Sarah is excited to stay in a five star resort, and plans to gather as much information as she can to further her career. At the last minute, Amy switched islands. She didn't want Sarah to feel like she was at work, but wanted to treat her to something different, well, different it was. They end up on a working vacation for a conservation effort, with no indoor toilets, huts they share and physical labour that Sarah has not done in years, if ever.

This was a fun story dealing with dreams, new beginnings, family (specifically siblings), environmental issues, endangered species, friendship, acceptance, honesty and romance. That seems like a lot of issues but Samantha Tonge writes a story that naturally includes them all and weaves them together into an interesting and enjoyable story. Her characters were wonderful with enough development to get this reader caring about them and what would happen next. I loved learning about the island and the issues it deals with. The concerns about development are real and the importance of that is included in a way that got the message across, but as part of the overall wonderful story. I do recommend this story to readers of romance and families, but with some other meatier issues such as siblings who look after each other and discovering more about yourself, your abilities and your dreams. The characters move out of their comfort zone, but find out what they are made of and what they really want out of life. It has been awhile since I read a book by Samantha Tonge, but I will go back and read some of the ones I have missed.

This was a fun and easy story to listen to, loved getting to know the sisters Sarah and Amy along with all of the other characters. I especially loved the inclusion of the little blind monkey, who has his very own role to play in the story, so adorable. I thought the story was well written and brilliant character development throughout which is no surprise when written by author Samantha Tonge who sure knows how to write an engaging story from start to finish.

I have to say if I was in Sarah position and my sister had changed our holidays as drastically as she did, I’m not sure I’d have been as understanding as I’d definitely not be able to cope in those conditions that they had to on the island, don’t get me wrong, the working on the conservation project would have been fine, it would have been the spiders and other creepy crawling that I struggled with lol.

If you haven’t discovered Samantha books already, then I can highly recommend her books as they are always such fun and entertaining reads.

If the film The Holiday was set in the Caribbean, the Summer Island Swap would be the result. Fun beach read!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Samantha Tonge is back with a fun, feel-good, poignant and irresistible page-turner that will bring a smile to readers’ faces and lift their spirits: The Summer Island Swap. As brilliantly written as ever, The Summer Island Swap is a gripping page-turner I simply could not stop reading.

Sarah has had a long and difficult year that has been fraught with all manner of problems and challenges. The only thing keeping her going is the thought of a luxury Caribbean getaway which her sister has booked for the two of them. Sarah cannot wait for sandy beaches, delicious cocktails and balmy summer sunshine. She longs for some much-needed relaxation and does not plan on doing much at all during her holiday except topping up her tan and lounging on her sunbed. Unfortunately for her, her sister Amy had a brainwave and at the last minute had thought that a sojourn in a conservation project would be more fun. Forget about five star luxury and fine dining, this holiday is all about going back to basics, so so long power showers and room service because it’s time to get used to dilapidated beaches, compost toilets and wooden shacks being held up by glue and hope.

Sarah does not know what possessed Amy to book them on the holiday from hell. She wants the first flight out of this nightmare she has found herself trapped in and a decent shower, but when she begins to let go of the negatives and starts looking at the positives, she realises that maybe this holiday was what she needed. As the relationship between the two sisters strengthens, Sarah begins to commune with nature and even starts to make new friends and begins to trust her heart thanks to the handsome island leader whom she is increasingly finding herself distracted by…

This holiday might not be what Sarah initially wanted, but it might just provide with just what she has been looking for all along…

Samantha Tonge is on sparkling form with The Summer Island Swap, a witty, warm-hearted and emotional tale about taking chances, the ties that bind and letting go the past that is as delicious as a chilled glass of your favourite cocktail.

A zesty-paced page-turner that makes for perfect summer reading, The Summer Island Swap is another winner by Samantha Tonge.

The relationship between the sisters is central to this story. You guess from the beginning that the holiday is not going to be run of the mill but Sarah’s initial reaction is quite amusing. There are some interesting issues in the background around tourism and the environment. There are some lively characters and plenty of humour in this lovely summer read.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of the book

I just love this author. Your always guaranteed a lovely summer read. Great location. Wishing you were there. Nice easy to read book. Great plot. To lose yourself in

The Summer Island Swap. This is the perfect read for summer. Fantastic story line with great characters. Definitely a must read. Five stars

Some women will do anything to get close to a brooding look and broad shoulders. Sarah isn't one of them. It's bad enough that her sister booked the two of them on a eco volunteer break instead of a 5 star luxury hotel but with the project leader taking everything she says the wrong way it's going to be a very long 4 weeks. This is the perfect book to read on the beach while thanking God that you don't have to empty a compost toilet. There are some great characters here including a tiny blind monkey aptly named Chatty..Lighthearted and funny with a touch of romance thrown in this book is well worth a read.

As a summer read this one took me by complete surprise. I totally judged this book by the cover, and really expected a luxurious holiday escape! Having previously read another book by Samantha Tonge which gave me pause for thought about food poverty, this did exactly the same but regarding plastics, and the way in which we do not consider that what we do will impact not only the climate but also the lives of the animals who come into contact with thoughtless humans.

I loved the relationship that Sarah and Amy had. As Sarah had taken on a motherly role over Amy while she was still a child, she found it hard to step back when Amy was an adult but through their experiences on the island, they both learned a lot about themselves as well as about one another. This really resonated with me, because I’m seven years younger than my sister, and I felt like I was constantly treated like the baby, well into my adult life. Circumstances between my sister and I have changed dramatically over the last year, and although we’ve had significant losses, we’ve gained one another out of it. In many ways it made me really identify with Amy, although I have to say Sarah’s idea of the perfect holiday was a much closer match to my own, than what Amy chose for them!

The location sounded idyllic, but also very basic, and as an absolute mosquito-magnet, I found some of it uncomfortable reading, but honestly, in much the same way that Sarah fell in love with the location, I did too, and I found myself pondering how I’d love to be involved in a conservation initiative like the one Sarah and Amy were involved with, well, if I was maybe 20 years younger, and there were air-conditioned mosquito-free rooms!

I enjoyed the other characters so much in this story, they all played an important role, and I was a particular fan of Chatty! Who wouldn’t want a friendly, blind monkey who appreciated terrible whistling?

I really loved this insightful book, and I love the way Samantha Tonge writes novels that really make me think more deeply about my own interactions within the world. This was such a wonderful summer book.

The Blurb :
After a long and turbulent year, Sarah is dreaming of the five-star getaway her sister has booked them on. White sands, cocktails, massages, the Caribbean is calling to them.
But the sisters turn up to tatty beaches, basic wooden shacks, a compost toilet and outdoor cold water showers. It turns out that at the last minute Amy decided a conservation project would be much more fun than a luxury resort.
So now Sarah's battling mosquitos, trying to stomach fish soup and praying for a swift escape. Life on a desert island though isn't all doom and gloom. They're at one with nature, learning about each other and making new friends. And Sarah is distracted by the dishy, yet incredibly moody, island leader she's sure is hiding a secret.

My Thoughts :
This is such a beautiful cover, it screams read me and as I am a fan of Samantha Tonge, I couldnt wait to get stuck in.
Sarah and Amy are sisters. When Amy wins some money on the lottery she insists on taking her sister on holiday. Sarah starts getting all excited and dreaming of a luxury stay in a top hotel with room service, white sandy beaches and cocktails by the pool, little does she know that Amy swapped them onto a conservation project staying on Seagrass Island thinking it would be so much more fun than a luxury resort. Sarah knows nothing about this until they arrive on the island. Faced with tatty buildings, a compost toilet, cold showers, mozzies everywhere and not a cocktail in sight, Sarah refuses to stay and wants the first boat out of there.
Will Sarah really leave Seagrass Island and upset her sister or will she decide to stay and suck it up!?.
Although a bit of a slow start for me, I did really warm upto the charactors and loved exploring the Island and how the conservation project developed!. Samantha Tonge really did her homework. I loved the Sea Turtles and then there is Chatty the blind monkey, such a cute addition.
This was perfect escapism with some romance thrown in.