For Ruben De Lacy, growing up at Willoughby Manor was far from perfect, despite the idyllic location. Thankfully, he had the friendship of Olive and Dolly King who lived in a tumbledown cottage within the grounds of the estate with their eccentric father and free-spirited mother.
Now Rubens back to sell up, and the memories flooding back aren’t all good ones. But when he uncovers a clue to a treasure hunt that has remained hidden for decades, Ruben knows he is going to need Olive and Dolly’s help.
With the three estranged friends reunited at Willoughby, can they work together to solve the mystery and finally face what happened decades ago when the treasure hunt was laid?
After only discovering Jenny Oliver last year, and absolutely loving her writing, I was thrilled to receive her latest novel on NetGalley.
One Lucky Summer offers a pleasing romantic comedy but with a little more depth than you would usually expect from this genre. I found the multi-strand narrative worked really well for this story as it allowed the reader to see how each protagonist had interpreted, and dealt with, the same scenarios very differently. I think this technique made Olive, Dolly and Ruben highly relatable, and it was interesting to see how circumstance and unresolved feelings contributed to their personalities as adults.
Set against the backdrop of the Cornish coastline, this book is filled with dazzling descriptions that really brought the Willoughby estate to life. Almost as though it was a character in its own right. Having lived in Cornwall my whole life until 4 months ago this setting was somewhat bittersweet. The sights, smells and sounds of the coastal woodland and seaside were so impeccably written that they came alive off the page and even those that haven’t experienced this landscape would find them tangible.
This is the perfect story for a few hours of summer escapism, and I highly recommend.
* Thanks to HQ, via NetGalley, for this ARC *
Comentários