My Summer Reads 2015

Here is Norman the Gnome guarding my summer reads for 2015. He looks very happy, doesn't he?
I'm happy too because I've already enjoyed books by all these authors, and I'm looking forward to reading some more of their work.

So, here we go!
The Olive Branch by Jo Thomas
I really enjoyed The Oyster Catcher (see my review here) so I was pleased to find her new book already on sale. This one is about Ruthie Collins who buys an Italian farmhouse on the internet.  Italy is one of my favourite holiday destinations and the blurb says that 'olives and romance might just flourish in the warmth of the Mediterranean sun'.
Sounds just my sort of read!

A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke
I was blown away by Lucy's debut novel The Sea Sisters last year: here is my review, so I'm looking forward to reading her new one. Eva witnesses her husband, Jackson, drowning and travels to Tasmania to meet his estranged family, only to find out that the truth about him was all a lie. I'm hoping to immerse(!) myself in the watery imagery which Lucy does so well, all over again!

Love on the Rocks by Veronica Henry.
Late last summer I read The Beach Hut and The Beach Hut Next Door (review here). Unlike Jo Thomas and Lucy Clarke, Veronica has written many novels and I was surprised that I hadn't come across them before. She is brilliant at bringing all sorts of different characters to life having been a script writer on Holby City, The Archers and Heartbeat, and she must have an encyclopaedic knowledge of every  job you can think of to make them realistic. This book is about Lisa and George who throw in their day jobs to buy a rundown seaside hotel, but I'm sure that it won't be all smooth sailing!

Bay of Secrets, Return to Mandalay and The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley
Ok, I've gone a bit mad here! I recently read Rosanna's first book The Villa, (review) and liked it so much, I decided to read all her others! These are set respectively in Spain, Burma and Morocco. In Writing Magazine (June 2015) she says that in Germany, her kind of writing is called 'love and landscape' where place and story are inescapably intertwined, and that's just what I adore. Exotic location, romance and multi-stranded narrative means a perfect summer read for me.

I hope you enjoy your summer reading and that I've given you some ideas for books to take on your holidays!