Four people. Four messy lives. One night that changes everything …
Emily is obsessed with ending her father’s new relationship but is blind to the fact that her own is far from perfect. Dominic has spent so long making other people happy that he’s hardly noticed he’s not happy himself.
Helen has loved the same man, unrequitedly, for ten years. Now she may have to face up to the fact that he will never be hers. Alex has always played the field. But when he finally meets a girl he wants to commit to, she is just out of his reach.
At a midsummer wedding party, the bonds that tie the four friends together begin to unravel and show them that, sometimes, the sensible choice is not always the right one.
Midsummer Dreams by Alison May was published in paperback on 14th February. And when those lovely people at Choc Lit asked if I’d feature it – again – on Being Anne, I really wasn’t going to say no, was I?
I’m an unashamed fan of Alison’s writing. I’ve previously reviewed Holly’s Christmas Kiss, Cora’s Christmas Kiss and Jessica’s Christmas Kiss, and loved them all. And I just know I’ve told you before how much I enjoy reading Alison’s blog, where she talks about everything under the sun and frequently makes me laugh and nod in agreement (do follow it if you’re not already…). Cora’s Christmas Kiss is shortlisted for the RoNA Rose Award this year too, and I’ll be at the ceremony on 7th March, cheering Alison on – oh ok, I’ll be cheering people on in other categories too, but wouldn’t it be lovely if she won the Rose?
I had the great pleasure of reading Midsummer Dreams back in June last year, when it was first published for kindle. You can read my review here – and I’ll embarrass Alison further by quoting the bit where I called it “sheer enjoyment from the first page to the last”.
I’m really delighted to welcome Alison to Being Anne today, with her tale of two heroes…
The question of what makes a perfect romantic hero is one often discussed wherever romance readers and writers gather together to engage in the key debates of our age. Many a blog post and many a glass of wine has been spent in the pursuit of the agreed ideal of the perfect hero, but time and time again, we end up with the same problem – we simply can’t all agree. For every James Bond fancying alpha-male fan, there’s a Dr Who obsessed geek lover readying their sonic screwdriver for the fight at the other side of the room. So what is a hard working purveyor of romantic fiction to do? How can she possibly please all of the readers in a single book? Well, how’s this for a solution? What if she managed to squeeze two completely different heroes into a single book? Please allow me to introduce Professor Dominic Collins and Alex Lyle.
Dominic Collins is the man who would always be there for you when you needed him. He’s intelligent, really really intelligent, and he’s a man who cares deeply about his family and friends. He’s loyal, dedicated, well-respected. He’s kind to his mum, even when she’s not that kind to him. He’s the sort of man you could rely on in an emergency. He’s thoroughly decent – whatever the situation you know that Dominic will always try to do the right thing, even if doing so breaks his own heart. Dominic is, without question, one of the good guys. But maybe good guys don’t float your boat. Maybe your tastes run to something a little more … dangerous.
Step forward please bachelor number two, Alex Lyle. Alex is also really clever, maybe even smarter than Dominic if he could be bothered to apply himself, but that’s pretty much where their similarities end. Alex is not reliable. He is not the person you would call on to drive you to the airport, unless you were not at all fussy about when you got there and which airport you ended up at. He’s not someone you’d ask to feed your cat. He’s not someone you’d lend money too unless it was money you were surprisingly keen to never see again. He’s not a reliable option. Nights out with Alex invariably end with everyone concerned doing a check to make sure they’re still wearing all their own clothes. It’s not that he sets out to make bad choices, it’s just that the bad choices often seem like tremendous fun, and tremendous fun is the one thing that Alex can guarantee. But you can’t base a relationship on tremendous fun, can you?
So there we have Dominic and Alex – which one would you choose?
I’m still undecided! Alison’s book, Midsummer Dreams, is now available to buy in paperback from all good bookshops and suppliers. For more information and buying options click here.
Alison was born and raised in North Yorkshire, but now lives in Worcester. She is a History graduate from the University of York and has a Creative Writing degree from the University of Birmingham. Alison has worked as a waitress, a shop assistant, a learning adviser, an advice centre manager, and is now a creative writing tutor and freelance trainer for charities and voluntary organisations.
She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and won their Elizabeth Goudge trophy in 2012 for her short story Feel the Fear which was published in the RNA’s 2014 anthology. Alison writes contemporary romantic comedies.
Find out more about Alison at her website: she is also active on both Twitter and Facebook.