The Summer Escape: An uplifting romantic summer read

What a charming book, with its excellent storyline, characters and above all sunny location of Crete. There is a mystery at the heart of the story, but yet I wouldn't define it as a mystery book, just as a romantic comedy, with a side helping of intrigue, and a very brave main character.It takes guts, or for you to be at the end of your tether, to one day instead of going into work, finding yourself at Heathrow airport with just your passport and handbag (and its a fluke that Ria even had the passport), and ending up slightly drunk but on a plane to Crete for you don't know how long. With my current frame of mind, I probably shouldn't have read the first section of the book, as the idea of jumping on a plane for some sun (and quitting the more troublesome of my jobs) is highly appealing!Ria had been an obituary writer for the past few years, despite suffering a couple of bereavements herself, so when her boss is particularly nasty yet again, and wants to turn Ria into a story, she quite rightly snaps and thankfully we end up with a fantastic story because of it.Ria finds a job working for Caroline Murray who is trying to put together her memoir, and desperately needs and assistant. Caroline's story is fascinating as her some of her tales about what she has been up to with various celebrities in the past. She is a tonic of a person for Ria to be around and I always knew scenes involving her would be interesting.As I have said there is a mystery in the book, and that is to do with Tom's vineyard. Someone burnt it down 10 years ago and everyone thinks it was Tom, but Ria is not convinced. Tom is a handsome man, who seems to like spending time with Ria, and they do grow close.There are is lot of mention of Greek food, but apart from that I didn't get the strongest sense of being on a Greek Island. There was only one trip to a beach and most of the time Ria spent her days in the library, vineyard or working for Caroline. That being said the initial descriptions of Chania, when Ria lands in Crete were wonderful and do conjure the sights and smells of the old town.The Summer Escape, is a story of hope and healing, of being able to turn your life around, the courage to make a massive change in your life before it grinds you down and above all of a slow to form romance. The writing is engaging and I found The Summer Escape to be a wonderfully quick and easy read, and one that I loved every second of.Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.

I totally fell in love with the Greek village and loved Lily's description"The honey coloured town is like something out of the Cotswolds, with it's picture postcard quaintness, little shops and cobble lane paths."It sounds so idyllic and I wanted to be there sitting outside one of the cafes trying some Greek coffee.Ria has suffered personal tragedy and after losing her Greek Grandma, one day she decides that she is going to catch a flight rather than go into work as the obituary writer for the local paper. She just turns up and finds a room in a lovely house. Then answers an advert to help a travel writer with her memoir.I loved her relationship with Caroline and her delight in discovering the stories behind the photos in the old trunk. Caroline was such a wonderful character with an amazing life to share.They were both really enjoying spending the time sharing stories- the work element was just an added bonus.I just loved the whole idea of taking time out and spending a year in Greece and getting to know all the locals and taking life at a much slower pace, enjoying the sunshine, the coffee , wine and friendships.The romance with Tom, who owns the local vineyard is just lovely aswell. They are attracted to each other- but both have issues to overcome. She's also keen to solve the mystery around the vineyard and that adds a great extra element to the book.I totally lost myself in this book and was sad to come to the end. I was delighted to read that Lily plans to set her next book in Cornwall.With many thanks to Bookoutre and Net Galley for the chance to read this one.

When it's that type of day that the sun is out and all you want to do is lay out in the garden with a iced drink and a perfect little story to escape the crazy hectic life of London for just a few hours, this is the perfect book to lose yourself in. Although it is a story of lost love and new beginnings it is also almost like an advertisement of the beautiful island Crete in Greece. The Greek people, the Greek cuisine, the Greek architecture and most importantly the Greek beaches! All of it sounded absolutely mesmerising and kept me wanting to learn more about Greek island life.Ria has lost the love of her life and her dead end job writing literally about death it seems she is stuck in a vicious cycle of death. But one day fate intervenes and she ends up in her Yaya's home land of Greece! Here she meets Tom who is riddled with his own demons of the past. Unravelling secrets and unanswered mysteries takes these two wounded souls on a beautiful journey of letting go of their pasts and maybe just maybe they find each other along the way....who knows (read it to find out!). I loved how this book was not solely based on romance and describing just the intimacy between the characters but you also learn stories of all the other characters involved and the mysteries that need to be solved which ultimately brings all the characters together. Mystery, drama and romance the perfect combo and set in the perfect location! Its been a while since I've found a book like this.As they say in greek Efcharistó! Thank you for this perfect escape. Already planning my trip to Crete!