It’s a real pleasure today to be one of the first stops on the blog tour for At the End of the Summer by June Moonbridge, published in April/May 2018 and available for kindle and in paperback. It’s a particular pleasure because I’ve been wanting to read one of June’s books for such a long time, but life has always conspired to make it impossible: she was my guest here on Being Anne way back in January 2016 (you’ll find that interview here – Racing Heart was later relaunched as All that the Heart Desires) and has always been such a lovely and supportive author friend. My thanks to June and tour organiser Rachel’s Random Resources for my reading e-copy. Let’s take a closer look…
Joshua’s life as a rock guitarist seems like a dream come true. Sold out concerts, red carpet events and wild nights portray him as a confident young man with the world at his feet. Only few friends know the scars he carries.
When freelance photographer Caroline meets the rock band Burning Ruins at the after party, an irresistible chemistry of attraction between her and the sexy rock guitarist is clearly seen to everybody. However, after a forced conversation from Joshua’s side, Caroline’s convinced the attraction is not mutual.
Waking up the next morning, Caroline has no idea what happened. She flees out of the hotel room mortified, convinced she’d become another of the band’s trophies. Determined never to meet anyone from Burning Ruins ever again, she has no clue people around her have different ideas.
In a summer that takes them from London to Wales and to the sultry heat of Rome, they’re desperately fighting their demons from the past, while trying to protect their broken hearts. Will they ever let each other mend their broken hearts or will they try to heal them alone?
I’ll admit I found this book a little difficult at first – I’ll happily concede that it might have had more to do with me and my concentration than the writing – but I really wasn’t that keen on the main characters or their apparent immaturity in the way they reacted to events. However, once the action moved to Rome it turned into quite a different book, and I rather enjoyed it. Both Caroline and Joshua turned out to be considerably more complex that they had appeared at first, and I enjoyed both the slow reveal of both their back stories and their developing relationship with its well-judged little touch of heat.
Caroline’s photography provides a perfect way of seeing the sights of Rome, both conventional and more unusual: I also liked the musical theme, the friendships, and the fact that nothing is quite as it first appears. I particularly enjoyed the way Caroline’s back story was developed, with its many layers of secrets and misunderstandings. And this really has to be the first book I’ve read where some of the action takes place against the not-usually-romantic backdrop of Port Talbot steelworks – as well as the Italian setting, parts of the book do take us into rather more unspoilt parts of Wales too.
While I did think some of the writing was perhaps a little dialogue-heavy, it was well done – but it was the book’s climax that I particularly enjoyed, where the story came together with a rather perfect musical note. A light read, and perhaps not entirely to my personal taste, but very enjoyable.
Giveaway
With thanks to June and Rachel, I’m delighted to be able to offer the chance to win a $15/£15 Amazon gift card (open internationally). Here’s the rafflecopter for entry:
Terms and Conditions Worldwide entries welcome. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
About the author
June was born in June and she always loved the moon. Born and raised in Slovenia, she studied economics, and quickly realised she hated it.
However, later she found herself working in mainly male-dominated businesses. She can choose the best steel for your project, but don’t, please don’t, ask her which lipstick brand you should use.
Although her writing was constantly criticised by her teacher that didn’t stop her. Under different pen names, she had stories published in magazines, and then went on to publish three books under pen name Eri Krt.
After having two children, and learning that her second child has autism, she married their father and carried on working. Work and family life left her with little free time. But the desire to write didn’t die.
Always looking for something new, she challenged herself to write a novel in English and all her three novels – All that the Heart Desires, Caught Between Two Worlds and At the End of the Summer – are a result of that continuous challenge…
You’ll find her website here, and you can also find her on:
Thank you Anne for your review. I really waited for it and loving it. x
I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it, June – thank goodness for blog tours! x
Don’t worry Anne, I know you were busy. xx
Great review as it intrigues me to want to read the book myself!
Now that’s a comment I always like to read, Linda!
Thank you Linda for your comment.
A pleasure. Good luck with the book!