It’s been a delight this week to see so many lovely reviews for Adrienne Vaughan’s Summer of Secrets. This gorgeous book was published for kindle by The Paris Press on 26th April last year, and is now available for kindle (just £1.99, or free via Kindle Unlimited) and also in paperback. And isn’t that beautiful summery cover one that you’d like to have on your shelves too? My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to join the ongoing blog tour.
I shared my review of this one back in May last year – not a new one, but an updated 2018 review (checked out by the author) of That Summer at the Seahorse Hotel. This book is a substantially altered version of that earlier book, and now the first book in a new series of Rosshaven Romances – and it’s a real pleasure to share that review again today.
Let’s take a closer look…
Mia Flanagan has never been told who her father is and, aged ten, stopped asking. Now she keeps her own secrets. But when the movie she’s working on ends in disaster, she flies home to discover her fiancé has a secret too; leaving her dreams crushed.
Broken-hearted, a lonely summer in London looms. Until family friend, Archie Fitzgerald, invites her to stay at his fading mansion on Ireland’s ancient east coast.For Archie also has a secret, and the longer Mia stays, the more she wonders if Archie really is her father after all…
Summer of Secrets is a tale of how the ghost of love can blight many lives. And how Mia, realising the past cannot hurt her, must make way for new love and the promise of happiness waiting in the wings.
And my review follows…
This book really was everything I wanted it to be, written with all the style and panache I’d hoped for – a wonderful sweeping story, with tragedy and secrets, passion and heartbreak, a hidden history to be uncovered, more than a touch of glitz and glamour, the world of the silver screen combined with a wonderful cast of (mostly) loveable eccentric characters in a perfectly drawn Irish setting.
At its heart is Mia – immediately likeable, with her career in film wardrobe (simply fascinating!), her questionable taste in men, trying to escape the shadow of her film star mother, surrounded by people who love her, but always with that uncomfortable question mark over the identity of her father. I loved seeing her story unspool, watching her relationships develop, seeing her find her own path into the future. But while I might have loved Mia, the undoubted star of the book – with all apologies to Mia’s mother Fenella – is the larger-than-life Archie, the mesmerising centre of every scene in which he appears.
This book isn’t a star vehicle though, it’s a wonderful ensemble piece – it’s a joy to cast and picture every character, each of whom takes their turn centre stage. Yes, even young Pearl – and you’ll know what I’m usually like about children in books. And the setting is almost a character in itself – the state-of-the-art hotel complex and the dilapidated Irish estate sitting uncomfortably side by side, the forbidding island in the bay a focus for much of the story.
It’s not all about the story and the setting – this is a book that gives you a good work-out on the emotional front too. There are some wonderful “moments” that make you feel absurdly tearful – like the sparring between Archie and Fenella, light banter but with a deep love and an undercurrent of tension, as she – and we – begin to realise that everything is about to change forever. And there are wide-screen full technicolour dramatic moments too, moments that make your heart beat rather faster, that have you turning the pages as you want to discover what happens – but, at the same time, you really don’t want to find out.
There are so many threads to this book that I don’t know where to start telling you about it – from corporate shenanigans to long-buried personal secrets of the past, dramatic scenes amid dramatic scenery, a current day love story and another (mmm, maybe more than one) giving depth to the background. There are villains and there are heroes, and there are some that you’re never entirely sure about until they show themselves – some driven by greed and jealousy, some with other motivations.
In the hands of a less able author, this book might have been just too much – the large cast of characters, the different threads of current and background story, the mixing of different worlds and settings. But Adrienne Vaughan is in absolute and total control of her material, stirring everything up every now and then but holding your hand and leading you firmly through any possible confusion. Don’t miss this book, whatever you do… did I forget to mention that I really loved it?
And if you find you enjoy this one, you might also like to check out the second in the series, Secrets of the Shell Sisters, now also available for kindle and in paperback – I loved it so much it thoroughly deserved its place in my 2023 Books of the Year list.
About the author
Adrienne Vaughan writes spell-binding, page-turning romantic suspense.
Her award-winning 5 Star Heartfelt Series – The Hollow Heart, A Change of Heart and Secrets of the Heart – features a feisty investigative journalist and her beautiful West Highland terrier and is set on a remote island off the West Coast of Ireland.
Her next two new novels (the second currently waiting in the wings to be published) are spell-binding family sagas with a touch of Irish magic, this time set on Ireland’s Ancient East Coast.
Her collection of short stories and poetry, Fur Coat & No Knickers was shortlisted for the Irish Carousel Prize for Anthology and includes Dodo’s Portrait, shortlisted for the Colm Toibin International Short Story Award at the Wexford Literary Festival in 2018.
All her books are heart-warming, uplifting and feature the fabulous twists and turns plus laugh out loud moments for which she is renowned.
She’s keeping everything crossed there’s still time to realise her ambition and become a Bond girl!
Love this wonderful review of my novel so much Anne – as you know. You always seem to get right into the heart of my stories, and so pleased you liked Pearl … she was a dream to work with! XXX