Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Alice and Andy met in Barcelona ten years ago, when they were 20 and 21 and had some unforgettable weeks together. They fell in love but something happened and Alice returned to London alone, but has never forgotten him. Now, ten years later, her work in a language school brings her suddenly back to Barcelona and to Andy. Unfortunately, he is married to the elegant Mariana and they want to buy the language school she works for!

There are two timelines: ten years ago narrated by Andy in the past tense, the now narrated by Alice in the present tense. This worked really quite well for me.

The utterly gorgeous cover drew me in, and the warm-hearted second chances story reads well.

I loved the copious food descriptions (both Alice and Andy are foodies) but instead of describing Barcelona's famous art and architecture the author concentrates on sunshine and food and while there is a genuine love for cooking shining through, I found it a little limiting as a description of a world-class city.

The main problem is that the miscommunication and misunderstandings trope is used too heavily. We don't find out what happened to rip them apart until the very end of the book (and it is so dumb!). Especially Alice is a very frustrating character, but Andy is also someone who just let life happen to him because of the trauma with his brother Matt's death, which he feels responsible for. He is in very good company with Alice here who thinks she is responsible for her mother's accident, and that her penance is to forever having to look after her. Honestly, sometimes I wanted to bang their heads together! Alice's pansexual sister Charlie is such a breath of fresh air, and has exactly the right approach with their mother, something Alice neither sees nor appreciates until late in the day.

The epilogue is lovely though, with a happy ending for everyone. This is a pleasant escapist summer read if you can get over the fact they could have had a happy ending ten years earlier (and if you forget that Brexit exists which means you now can't simply move country like that anymore).

3.75 stars

Summer Ever After by J. Crittenden, published by Lake Union Publishing is the perfect summer, beach read. Set in beautiful Spain you can only fall in love with characters and story.
Blurb: Ten years ago, while travelling before starting a cookery apprenticeship, Alice fell head over heels for Barcelona: the food, the sun and the gorgeous Andy Hall…Family tragedy sent her back to London, but now, finally, she’s been given the chance to return. Only to find herself working alongside none other than Andy, the only man to ever break her heart.

The decade apart has changed them both, though he still has his frustratingly good looks―and is Alice imagining it or does the spark that always existed between them still burn just as brightly? Not ready to risk getting hurt again, she focuses on exploring the culinary delights of the city, and begins to remember a life she once dreamed of…

I usually do not DNF books, but for this one I had to. It was so hard to get into that I was dreading even thinking about reading it.

Thanks to NeGalley and Lake Union for the opportunity to read Summer Ever After by Jane Crittenden. A perfect book for those who enjoy food and travel with their romance.

This deliciously evocative modern romance brings together the themes of a heartbreaker from the past, current family dynamics, a love of food and cooking and, yes, love! It's a sensitive and expertly plotted delve into identity, the mistakes we make and whether it's too late to rectify them. A must for anyone who wants to feel caught up in a tangled love story and whisked away to warmer climes.