Book Review; Summer at Tiffanys by Karen Swan

Summer At Tiffany's by Karen Swan

Synopsis

A return to the characters from the bestselling Christmas at Tiffany's. With a wedding to plan and a wedding to stop, what could go wrong?

My Musings 

So lucky to get a proof thanks to Cover to Cover Book Shop in Mumbles! Thankyou x



 This book is a welcome return to the amazing characters of Karen Swan's Christmas in Tiffanys but what lies in store for them in the sequel?

Certainly all that glitters is not gold. I was dying to know what happened to Cassie, Henry and her best friends so many of us fell in love with and Karen certainly takes her readers on a rollercoaster ride. We left Cassie and Henry in a perfect place as they just got engaged at the end of the last book. But sometimes life can be too perfect and Cassie seems to want to deliberately sabotage her own chance of happiness. Cassie will not or cannot commit to a wedding much to Henry's obvious frustration. What I like about Karen Swan books is she makes her character flawed, thereby relatable and Cassie is certainly that. You want to shake her sometimes but also recognize we all carry baggage that can influence future decisions and not always in a good way. 

This book also sends out some curve balls. When a husband of one of Cassie's friends has a heart attack it sets in motion a set of events that will change their lives and highlight unresolved issues. My heart was in my mouth for some parts and I was hoping Karen wasn't going to be too cruel to her readers!

The second part of the book is set in Cornwall which sounds divine, especially to someone who's never been. Karen's scene building of the gorgeous beach house,  interiors, the fashion is fabulous and you are transported there with the characters. Its in Cornwall things come to a head as while Henry is away an old lover of Cassie's appears. Its at this point you really want to scream at her! Surely Cassie can't be that stupid ? Well you'll have to read the book to find out as I don't do Spoilers!

Really LOVED this book. I was feeling a bit poorly when I started it and it really provided some much need escapism. I was totally smitten. The overriding message in this book is the importance of friendship, living in the moment and grabbing happiness while you can. Definately something to remember!

ENJOY!!

If you like this you will love
Christmas At Tiffany's by Karen Swan. (You don't have to read this first but I would)
The Summer Without You by Karen Swan

If you want to follow Karen Swan find her on
Twitter @KarenSwan1
Facebook Karen Swan

Cornwall

Book Review The Summer Without You by Karen Swan

Synopsis

Rowena Tipton isn't looking for a new life, just a new adventure; something to while away the months as her long-term boyfriend presses pause on their relationship before they become engaged. But when a chance encounter at a New York wedding leads to an audition for a coveted house-share in the Hamptons - the beach scene for Manhattan's elite - suddenly a new life is exactly what she's got.

Stretching before her is a summer with three eclectic housemates, long days on white-sand beaches and parties on gilded tennis courts. But high rewards bring high stakes and Rowena soon finds herself caught in the crossfire of a vicious intimidation campaign. Alone for the first time in her adult life, she has no one to turn to but a stranger who is everything she doesn't want - but possibly everything she needs.

My Musings
Romance in the Hamptons, a perfect Summer read but as usual Karen Swan blends a richer story of friendship, loss, intrigue and murder set against an idyllic setting.

Ro is left in the lurch when her long term boyfriend decides to go off for 6 months with 2 days notice. By chance she ends up sharing a cottage in The Hamptons, play pad for the rich and famous, with Hump, Greg and Bobbi who's own stories interweave and evolve throughout.
Does Ro stop moping after her boyfriend, she she learn to be more independent and will she ever stop wearing his clothes? At first you feel sorry for Ro left in the lurch  then irritated she can be a big clingy and wet. You want to give her a kick at times.

Enter her gorgeous neighbor, Longstory who commissions Ro to put together a film of his family from old footage. This part of the book is the most poignant and heartrending as the description of the footage comes in diary form and you feel like your spying on their life as does Ro. She also warms to him through these snippets of his life as does the reader. This growing relationship between them is really endearing and a little tinged with sadness but the chemistry between Ro and Longstory is there for all to see.

Drop in some environmental issues, treachery and murder and you have the makings for a sparkling summer read that ticks all the boxes.

If you like this you will enjoy
Christmas at Claridges by Karen Swan +Review
Prima Donna by Karen Swan

Christmas at Claridges by Karen Swan

 

This was where her dreams drifted to if she didn’t blot her nights out with drink; this was where her thoughts settled if she didn’t fill her days with chat. She remembered this tiny, remote foreign village on a molecular level and the sight of it soaked into her like water into sand, because this was where her old life had ended and her new one had begun.’Portobello – home to the world-famous street market, Notting Hill Carnival and Clem Alderton. She’s the queen of the scene, the girl everyone wants to be or be with. But beneath the morning-after makeup, Clem is keeping a secret, and when she goes too far one reckless night she endangers everything – her home, her job and even her adored brother’s love.Portofino – a place of wild beauty and old-school glamour, and where a neglected villa has been bought by a handsome stranger. He wants Clem to restore it for him and it seems like the answer to all her problems – except that Clem has been there once before and vowed, for her own protection, never to return . . .

My Musings
Another huge romantic novel from Karen Swan with larger than life characters we would( ok me) all like to meet set in impossibly glamorous places. A truelly escapist novel to curl up with in the holidays.  I adored Christmas in Tiffanys (remains one of my favourite of this genre) and this one does not disappoint. I found Clem, the heroine , at the start unbearably annoying, spoilt and selfish, which I suppose was the point. (She does improve) I also like you were thrown a red herring in the shape of the first hero on the scene. The man with no name! I was quite partial to him though and the romantic first scenes were delicious. All the characters are endearing and there are twists galore. My only niggle, and this is on behalf of Karen Swan, is that by adding Christmas to the title it will only be stocked in bookshops in Christmas which I do understand due to the success of the Tiffany book  but being that a majority of it is set in summer in Italy it also makes it a very good summer read. Its just a thought as I would definately read this all year round!
Regardless I am sure this will be as popular as her others and definately one for the Christmas stocking.

Published Nov 7th 2013

If you like this try
Books- Jilly Cooper, Jackie Collins, Destiny by Sally beauman, God Children by Nicholas coleridge.
Films- Thomas Crown Affaire (pierce Brosnan), Breakfast in Tiffanys, Meet Joe Black. To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, High Society with Grace Kelly.

Trivia
Follow Karen on Twitter KarenSwan1
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.