Books Read: Lucy Diamond - Summer with my Sister

Source - Received from publisher to review

Polly has always been the high-flyer of the family, with the glamorous city lifestyle to match...

Clare is a single mum with two children, struggling to make ends meet in a ramshackle cottage.  The two sisters are poles apart and barely on speaking  terms.

But then Polly's fortunes change unexpectedly and her world comes crashing down.  Left penniless and with nowhere else to go, she's forced back to the village where she and Clare grew up, and the sisters find themselves living together for the first time in years.  With an old flame reappearing for Polly, a blossoming new career for Clare and a long-buried family secret in the mix, sparks are sure to fly.  Unless the two women have more in common than they first thought?

I'm sure most readers could reel off a list of authors for whom they are eagerly awaiting the publication of their next book, and for me Lucy Diamond is one of mine having read and loved all her previous books especially The Beach Cafe.  In fact I think Summer with my Sister has been on my wishlist the longest as I added it as soon as I knew it was coming out so I'd like to thank Pan Macmillan for sending me a proof copy of this book to review.  

Polly has always been the success story of the family, the small town girl who has made a name for herself in the big city but at what cost...  She works non-stop and her friends are merely acquaintances really not anyone she can rely on in a crisis.  So when her world comes crashing down around her when she's made redundant she realises she'll have to sell her flat and return home to her family as she has no-one else to turn to for help.     

Whereas sister Clare is a single mum who struggles to make ends meet following her divorce, and her ex certainly doesn't make things any easier for her, but she has a great network of friends who support and help her whenever she needs them as well as her parents living nearby.

At first glance the sisters couldn't be more different but after spending many hours together over the summer they begin to build a new friendship that they've never had and before long they are helping each other to rebuild their lives.

I have to confess that I didn't really warm to Polly's character but the more you got to know her the more she grew on you, whereas I instantly emphasised with Clare and wanted things to work out well for her.

This book had it all, family secrets, sibling rivalry as well as a love interest or two.  The storyline flowed well and my only criticism would be that I wanted the story to continue, I could easily have carried on reading this for another few hours!

This is a wonderful feel-good book that I would have no hesitation in recommending so if it seems the perfect holiday read for you, then treat yourself to a copy.  It's available in paperback or Kindle format.