What a delightful read! It’s been quite a while since I have read such a charming and heartwarming read!

After a decade away from her small town of Bibury in New Zealand, Isla finds herself back home after a career burnout in London and breaking up with her boyfriend. She isn’t sure what her purpose is anymore, but she is hoping she finds it again now that she is living with her grandmother, Bridget, again. Little do these two wonderful women realize they will help each other find their way again and possibly their HEAs.

I LOVED everything about this book. It really was two love stories ….Isla and Bridget. They really helped one another learn to enjoy life again, not just living day to day never seeing the joy each day. Both were truly remarkable women.

Kudos to Vernal on the aging process. It is something none of us can escape, and our physical bodies show it, but most of us never feel old inside. She proves that age really is a state of mind, and Bridget beautifully exemplifies that!
I loved the other aspects of the book. There is the backstory of Bridget’s romance as a young girl which is shown in flashbacks. It also shows Bridget’s love for her friend who died way too young. Through those stories, Vernal gave me the history of the town which really made me feel like I was a part of the story.

Isla loves her grandmother as much as her grandmother loves her. She takes a chance righting a wrong that could possibly give Bridget the happiness that has always eluded her. In the process, Isla finds her second chance a romance as well.

When I read the synopsis, I knew I would love this book. But, Vernal far exceeded my expectations. It has a little something for everyone…family, friendships, hope, a wee bit of a mystery, and of course, romance. Do yourself a favor and travel to the town of Bibury to get to know the people there. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

This story did take me a while to get into, I got confused over where the character was as she seemed to flit all over the world as the locations changed leaving it feeling a little disjointed, but then it settled just as Isla did and I started to get a feel of what the book was about and where it was heading.

There are a few characters in this book and I loved Bridget and she is such a wonderful sounding woman who made me chuckle on so many occasions. There is a time-slip element to this story as Bridget tells Isla of her life and some of the memories of the 1950's. You really get a good story from Bridget's perspective about the time, history of the town and life.

Once the plot started to make itself known you begin to get an idea of what it is all about. The community makes itself known in various ways as new plans and the way in which it rallies comes into play. I did kind of know where the story was going before I got there but sometimes it's about the journey and I was taken through some really heartwarming moments as family truths and secrets were revealed. Sometimes the past is best left there, other times it really does need to be confronted and accepted.

This is a heartwarming and enjoyable read that takes you through the lives of two women and is a story I would recommend.

3.5☆ A Feel Good Romance

(Rounded up to 4☆ for Goodreads, Netgalley and Amazon)

 Sweet Home Summer is a feel good read, that warmed my heart.

I enjoyed reading this delightful book but I just felt it took a long time to get into the storyline.
I couldn't connect to the characters straight away there was a fair amount of swapping and changing between time lines which I do enjoy.
However there was a lot going on and the characters kept being introduced throughout the time lines I got a little confused.

I found the flash backs for the grandmother Bridget made the story for me.
I found myself drifting off to memories that my nan shared with me. For example the dances. My nan used to go dancing and jitter bugging with the soldiers.
I enjoyed discovering Bridget's past.

Bridget is a big character and by far my favourite. She leads a busy lifestyle with playing Bowls, bingo etc.. I hope i have her energy and zest for life when I'm her age!
Bridget had me laughing out loud on many occasions throughout the book with her witty sense of humour and her fun personality.

I think Bridget could have a story just on her own she was such a strong character.

Overall this is a light hearted read that takes a fair while to get your hooks into.
It's about family, drama, relationships, love, romance, new beginnings, humour.

If you enjoy multiple time lines, chick lit reads, a slower paced read that comes into its own the more you read.
Then this is Definetly the book for you.
Plus the cover for Sweet Home Summer is gorgeous I was instantly drawn to it.

This book took some getting in to, and then when I did I really enjoyed it. I loved Bridget’s back story, I loved the fact we got it full detail and not just snippets here and there. I liked Isla, she was strong, stubborn, and determined. I like a stubborn person. She wasn’t your typical lost character, she found where she was supposed to be and found a way to make it work. She found a new life in her home town and it worked well for her.

I liked the fact that the story didn’t centre around Isla and her romance with Ben. It was touching to see an older, sod it an elderly, lady getting a second chance at love, and to top it off it was someone who loved her 100% back.

This book was touching. It had heartbreak, second chances, new dreams coming true, and a very detailed back story. I love it when there when we get a complete back story to a book. I think I would have just read the book if it was just Bridget, her past, and nothing else. She took centre stage for me and I adored her. Bridget is definitely my favourite character in the book. I would adopt her as my Gran with her stories and what sounds like very delicious home cooking.

It was written well, as I said it took some getting in to but it didn’t take long for me to grow attached to the story. All of the characters as instantly likeable and I related to them all on some sort of level. The little town of Bibury sounds like the sort of place that I would love to visit, it sounds like a place I’d happily call home.

I happily give this 4 stars. With instantly likeable characters, a town that feels like it could become home, and a elderly lady who I would happily call Gran.

I love the cover for this book, it drew me in and the blurb sounded really good too!

I enjoyed the story but I did find it a little bit confusing at the outset as there were so many characters in the book but the more I read and the further I got in to the story it all clicked for me and started to make sense and it became a really enjoyable book for me.

It is a light hearted read and I have given it four stars - an enjoyable read!

4 Sweet Home Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book left me with a smile on my face and an urge to go visit New Zealand.... this is a book about going home, new beginnings, second chances, friendship, romance, and family.... all set in the quaint and charming small town of Bibury, New Zealand....

Isla has returned home after living for 10 years in London... she moves in with her grandmother Bridget who has a past that Isla knows nothing about..... The majority of the book is set in present time following Isla.... as she builds a new life in her hometown and possibly rekindles an old romance... or not? We also got little snippets of Bridget’s life in her late teens in the late 50s.... grandmother and granddaughter have more in common than they ever knew.....

This was such an enjoyable read filled with such lovely characters.... characters you would want to become friends with.... sometimes it is nice just to read a peaceful book and enjoy the characters and the setting.... although there was even a bit of a twist at the end of this book and it worked nicely and it didn’t alter my perception of the book or the characters....

This is a perfect summer beach read... although I spent half the time needing to remind myself that New Zealand’s summer is our winter.... I have such a hard time correlating Christmas with summer and I live in California... so no snow.....

Strongly recommend when you are in the mood for that fun beach read, with fabulous characters, and a lovely setting...

~~~ thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book ~~~

It actually took me a long time to get into this book, I don’t know what it was exactly but I found that for the first part of the book I was waiting for things to get going. I mean there is plenty happening but for some reason it didn’t quite capture my interest the way I thought it would in the beginning.

However, once I got past the halfway point things seemed to click and I felt a lot more involved in what was going on. I felt like I whizzed through the last bit and really enjoyed it.

I liked all the characters in this book but the one that really stood out was Bridget, she’s been through a lot but has such a can-do attitude and always seems to have a club or meeting to go to. I laughed at some of the words she mispronounced or misheard. Getting to see a little of her childhood was interesting as well and I liked how it revealed a different side to her.

Of course Isla was lovely too and I was rooting for her and Ben from the start but actually her relationship with Annie was the hidden gem, I loved how they were together and how they supported each other.

The setting of Bibury was brilliant, I love the small town dynamic in this book and the fact that it is a coal mining town with lots of history really added to the atmosphere. I won’t say too much about it but was really looking forward to seeing what trouble would be caused by the matchmaker festival.

Whilst it was a bit of a slow start for me, I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book, it’s a very light and fun way of exploring complex relationships and the writing flows, I would recommend it.

A warm, happy read which will leave you feeling good; this is a truly enjoyable story.

Isla Brookes couldn't wait to escape the small New Zealand town of Bibury and spread her wings in the big wide world. Having gained qualifications in Christchurch, she then spent several years living in London, enjoying city living and the rewards of her career. Following the end of a very unhealthy relationship, Isla takes time out and heads to a Californian Retreat to lick her wounds and recover her equilibrium. Realising that she wasn't getting the satisfaction she should be from her high flying life, she decides to return home to the bosom of her family and see where life takes her next.

This is a beautiful story, well told. Not only do we catch up with Isla's earlier life we also are party to a bit of a mystery involving her grandmother, Bridget. With brief flashbacks to her teenage years we discover the memories which haunt her. Captivating and with plenty going on, this is a novel I'm very happy to have chosen to read. If you enjoy a easy-going book packed with detail, then this is one I'm happy to recommend. A perfect read for this summer!

My thanks to publishers Harper Impulse for approving my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Sweet Home Summer is the first Michelle Vernal book I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be my last. Charming, uplifting and simply irresistible, Sweet Home Summer is a superb tale about starting over and second chances, I simply could not bear to put down!

Isla Brookes had been desperate to shake off the constricting and confining shackles of small town life and not be stuck in the same tiny village for the rest of her life like her mother and her grandmother, so she had waved good-bye to her family, dumped her childhood sweetheart and headed to London where for the past ten years, she has been climbing the corporate ladder and managed to become one of the most sought-after and popular interior designers in the country. Wealth, success and the hustle and bustle of the big city was meant to give her all the happiness and fulfillment which she had craved – so why does she feel so empty and futile? Sick of meeting and dating the wrong kind of man who breaks her heart into smithereens, Isla decides – after hours and hours of therapy – to do the one thing which she had sworn never to do in a million years: to go back home to the small New Zealand town she had left behind.

Back in Bibury after an absence of ten years, Isla finds herself living with her grandmother, Bridget, and she soon realises that things haven’t changed at all since she had packed her bags a decade ago. Perhaps the only thing which has changed is her childhood sweetheart, Ben, who seems to have grown even more handsome since she last clapped eyes on him ten years ago. Feelings which Isla had suppressed ten years ago come back to the fore with a vengeance, but has too much water flown under the bridge for the two of them to ever contemplate the thought of having a future together? Or is their relationship destined to be consigned to the past?

As she finds a stack of long forgotten Valentine’s cards, Isla – with Ben’s help – begins to realise that maybe the happiness which she has spent a decade searching for has been under her nose all along. But will she find the courage to admit the truth about her feelings for Ben? Or is she destined to spending the rest of her life wondering what might have been?

Sweet Home Summer is a delicious read I raced through. Funny, heartwarming and so addictive that you will put your entire life on hold as you find yourself completely and utterly consumed by this book, Sweet Home Summer is a first class romantic read you will read with a massive smile on your face. Wonderfully written, compulsively readable and a joy from beginning to end, Sweet Home Summer is not to be missed.

This is the first book that I have read by Michelle Vernal and I have to say I loved it! The cheerful cover enticed me away from the miserable March weather we have been having in the UK, and I was transported to the small town of Bibury in New Zealand.

Isla returns to the familiar town where time stands still and the home of her grandmother Bridget. We also meet Mary and Joe, Isla's parents and also residents of Bibury. Mary works as a Revlon consultant and sports a fetching orange tan which makes Bridget think of Oompa Loompas whenever she sees her. Her father Joe has a heart of gold and spends his spare time renovating his beloved Harley Davidson.

However, it is grandmother Bridget who I really connected with and I loved the time lapses back to when she was a young girl. Bridget understands her granddaughter's wanderlust and they have a special stubbornness in common, 'like peas in a pod'.

A warm, witty read with captivating characters, interesting location and a storyline which flowed effortlessly.

Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources, NetGalley and Michelle Vernal for organising the tour and supplying me with a copy of Sweet Home Summer in exchange for an honest review,

According to Isla, staying in the same town as her mother and grandmother is beneath her. She wanted more in her life and felt that the only way she was going to get that, was to move to the other side of the world. However, due to spending a lot of time running away from herself and her family, Isla finally realises that she won't ever find herself again unless she slows down and appreciates life for what it is. Plus, I think therapy in California may have swayed her decision as well.

I love the concept of this book, especially as a lot of readers may relate to the 'losing yourself and finding yourself' theme to the book. What I did struggle with however, was the pace. It took me a very long time to find something in the storyline to hold onto. Instead of the pace being upped and the grit being entwined into the book, there seemed to be a constant addition of brand new characters and, whilst I usually don't mind meeting new people in books, if the pace isn't there to go with the new characters, I find myself becoming incredibly confused and forgetting who is who.

That said, the real star of the 'show' was Isla's gran. Her humour was on point, with the romantic element to her lifestyle becoming more evident as the storyline progressed. I actually think Gran needs to come back in a sequel as I feel that there is a lot more to her personality, with us only seeing the tip of the iceberg in 'Sweet Home Summer'.

Once I had gotten into the storyline, I did end up enjoying it, laughing along with several of the characters. Personally, I think that the overall concept of this book is brilliant, with the underlying message being one to take notice of, but I just think that it could be a little more defined in its delivery. Hopefully there will be a sequel so that we can find out what happens next with Isla and Gran!

Isla is back home in New Zealand having left her job and taken time in California on the way. She is living with her grandmother which does them both a favour as the elderly lady fell a while ago and no one was around. At times Isla remembers her past life and loves and time at a sanctuary along the way. Her old flame Ben has a new girlfriend and she thinks about what could have been. She begins to put down roots and life begins to flourish. (I did have to look up what a Neenish slice was, mind!). A story of life, of chances and of making the most of what we have around us and maybe don’t always appreciate. I took to Isla although it did take me a few chapters to get into this book. Once I did it was a cozy read with a smile along the way that I thoroughly enjoyed.
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Michelle Vernal has done a great job with this simple tale of life in small town NZ.
Transport yourself to the West Coast of the South Island where time seems to slow down. Where communities are tightly knit and old values still remain. ( I know I have been there and seen it for myself). It is a heartwarming tale that I devoured in one sitting on a long haul flight.
It is a well written, feel good book with characters you can relate to.

This was a cosy, lovely book to cuddle up with a cup of tea. This is about Isla, who grew up in a small town in New-Zealand (although I kept thinking about an English village), fell in love with Ben but left him and her family to go to London because she did not want to get old without having seen anything of the world. After she has lived in London for a few years her relationship with Tim (Toad) ends and she returns to her family. She lived with her grandmother Bridget, buys a little tea-shop and gets a lot of new friends. Nothing really happens, but it was such a lovely read I did not want to stop. From the beginning she arrives back you just know want will happen (indeed, she and Ben get together) but that does not matter at all. I just liked to read what happened to her, her parents, Bridget, her friends. I hope there will be a sequel, because I really would like to read more about her and her family!

I can't put my finger on it, but I just didn't gel with this book at all. I found it took over half the story before I actually started enjoying it, and from there on was where for me it became a good story.

I think part of it is there are a lot of characters, as there is a focus on Isla and her friends, Bridget her grandmother and her friends, and also the flash backs to Bridgets past with even more characters introduced, plus of course the rest of their family too.

So the elements of the story I did enjoy I can't really specify as they are far enough in that it would be considered spoilers, but I did like the various relationships and the potential relationships that were in the small town of Bibury.

The story that Bridget tells about her past is ultimately tragic but still shocks too, and I did feel for her a bit.

For me though the best character was Carl who just added an extra dimension to any chapter he was in, His friendship with Isla and Annie meant there was a friendship group of six that had a great dynamic to it, and I enjoyed that element of the story.

I really had no idea what to expect from this story, and I can see that there are plenty of people that will love this, especially the look at small town life in New Zealand in the 1950s, with the mining communities , but I think I just read this over a few days where I perhaps was in the mood for something different.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I enjoyed this book loved the storyline it took a while to get into this book but I was left on tenterhooks wanting to know what was going to happen next I

enjoyed the storyline the book depicted how a community comes together and was a feel good book.

Tired of both her work-life and her boyfriend, Isla leaves London to go back to Bibury, the small town in New Zealand where she grew up. Living with her grandmother Bridget, Isla has to figure out what to do with her life and her feelings for her first love Ben, who still lives in Bibury. In the meantime, Bridget receives letters from her own first love, Charlie, that bring back painful memories from her past.

The novel is romantic and well-written but it didn’t really captivate me and I found the characters not completely engaging. What kept me reading was the alternation between the past and the present that created a few twists. All in all, this is an easy-read with a few love triangles that will entertain you.

What I like about this author is her originality. I preferred this story to 'The Traveller's Daughter', possibly because the author of the historical element in the story was still alive and you could see the possibility of a happy ending for her. The story is well paced. The present interspersed with short flashbacks to an earlier time.
I also enjoyed the mystical element of 'the matchmaker'.
An unusual, heartwarming romance, which illustrates what's essential in life and emphasises that the path to true love is often convoluted and painful.
The characters are well-developed and give the reader a flavour of small-town life in New Zealand. An engaging plot, often poignant with interesting twists.
The perfect story, if you enjoy family, small-town romantic fiction with a unique setting and original plot.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Sweet home summer was brilliant with it's strong women and their fantastic attitude in life. A Kiwi story with a base of Irish roots, loved it.

This was such a sweet book. Isla returns to the small town she grew up in after reaching the end of the career road in London. After her nan had a fall it's felt that Isla can live there to make sure shes ok.. They have a great relationship and she helps her set up a fundraiser to save the hall and make it available to the community again. There is a real sense of community and some wonderful friendships and romances across the years. I loved the earlier years part to the story and the background it provides.