Blog Tour and giveaway (now closed) – Summer At Tiffany’s by Karen Swan

A wedding to plan. A wedding to stop. What could go wrong?

Cassie loves Henry. Henry loves Cassie. With a Tiffany ring on her finger, all that Cassie has left to do is plan the wedding. It should be so simple but when Henry pushes for a date, Cassie pulls back.

Henry’s wild, young cousin, Gem, has no such hesitations and is racing to the aisle at a sprint, determined to marry in the Cornish church where her parents were wed. But the family is set against it, and Cassie resolves to stop the wedding from going ahead.

When Henry lands an expedition sailing the Pacific for the summer, Cassie decamps to Cornwall, hoping to find the peace of mind she needs to move forwards. But in the dunes and coves of the northern Cornish coast, she soon discovers the past isn’t finished with her yet . . .

I’m delighted that it’s my turn today to host the blog tour for the new book by Karen Swan, Summer At Tiffany’s, published by Pan on 2nd July in paperback and for kindle – and thank you to Pan Macmillan for the three paperback copies for the giveaway that follows my review.

I’ve really enjoyed other books by Karen Swan – I reviewed Christmas At Claridge’s here, and also liked The Perfect Present in my pre-blog days. I haven’t read Christmas At Tiffany’s though, and that made me wonder whether I’d struggle with this one, which other reviewers were describing as a sequel and – horror of horrors – maybe not as good as the first one. Sequel it might be, an opportunity to meet again the characters met in the first book, but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment one jot – the author gives just enough of the back story to let you catch up (dropped into the story, not the sort of bland retelling that can be off-putting).

One of Karen Swan’s great strengths is the way she creates very real people, then sits back with you to watch what happens when she creates a situation and lets them interact. I liked Cassie a lot – I’ll admit though that my sympathies did waver a little bit through some of her actions while Henry was battling his way across the Pacific. I adored her friends – Suzy and Arch (and lovely little Velvet), Kelly, Anouk and the wonderful Bas. Gem was thoroughly exhausting with all her energy, model Amber a great creation, and as for… ah no, you have to read it.

The Cornish setting is perfectly described, the dialogue sizzles, the story twists and turns wonderfully – I particularly loved the scenes at the festival, and the way Cassie needed to work her way through Henry’s list. It was a quite perfect read for a sunny afternoon in the garden, and would be equally perfect for a poolside sun lounger. But don’t dismiss it as a fluffy read because I’ve said that – there are very real issues, real human problems here, well handled and sitting comfortably with fashion and romance. I really enjoyed it.

Congratulations to the three winners drawn (names below), each to receive a paperback copy of the book direct from the publisher. E-mails on their way… I just need your addresses.

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My thanks to Katie James at Pan Macmillan of my advance reading copy, and for the opportunity to host the blog tour. Here’s the banner so you can visit the other hosts…

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism – working at Tatler, Vogue and YOU magazines, as well as consulting to companies like Thomas Pink – before giving it all up to raise her three children and ADHD puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She moved out of London in 2006 and now lives in the forest in Sussex, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs. For more information about Karen’s books, have a look at the Pan Macmillan website.

19 thoughts on “Blog Tour and giveaway (now closed) – Summer At Tiffany’s by Karen Swan”

Margaret Pickess July 5, 2015

Another great review and another for the wishlist!

Michelle Banks July 5, 2015

i need a new good read x

Linda Hill July 5, 2015

I love the way you describe how the characters have a life of their own. I'm new to Karen's books but they look just my kind of read so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and would like to say thank you for the chance to enter.

Marie Judd July 5, 2015

Love the review – fingers crossed. Never read a book By Karen before xx

Suze Lavender July 5, 2015

Such a great review, I'd love to read this book. I haven't read the first one yet, but have it on my shelf, so it would be great to read them together.