What could possibly go wrong in a weekend? Rather a lot, it seems, when you are back under the roof of your childhood home for the first time in two years with all of your family – and secrets abound.
The Last Days Of Summer, by Sophie Pembroke, is almost a family saga with a hint of mystery and more than a touch of romance, which is no bad thing. There is a lovely flow to the book, like a warm gentle breeze carrying you along.
Here’s the blurb:
Saskia has always loved Rosewood. It was her family home, her sanctuary and her memories of it are vividly alive even after two years of being absent. Never did she think she would be standing in the rose garden afraid to cross the threshold and own up to the past she ran away from.
So much about Rosewood hasn’t changed, everyone still dresses for dinner, sips cocktails on the terrace, her father cooks every delicious meal and her beloved grandfather still tells spellbinding stories. But the cold reception from her grandmother, Ellie’s complete avoidance of her and the judgmental gaze of Edward, her grandfather’s new assistant (who seems to know more than enough about her past, thanks), are all new.
All Kia needs to do is attend her grandparent’s Golden Wedding Party and make it to the train station without her secret coming out. What could possibly go wrong in just one weekend?
Sophie Pembroke has created a wonderful backdrop in Rosewood, which sounds like just the sort of place I wish I could have visited when I was a child (ok, and now) – and, as such, it must be heartbreaking to feel like you are no longer welcome, as Kia does, for reasons we soon discover.
She also creates some wonderfully eccentric yet familiar characters, including Kia’s grandfather. A famous author, Nathaniel Drury seems to be the sort of man that children adore and adults, particularly his wife, might despair of. There is no doubt this mischief-maker is steering the story but I think at the end we know his heart is in the right place.
I won’t give too much away but this book is definitely a page turner – and a perfect read for The Last Days Of Summer.
Price: 99p on Kindle (August 2016).
My rating: Four stars.
After The Rain 