This is a modern day story of trying to 'keep up with the Jones' or in this case Lexi Warrington and her Instagram perfect life.. Julia is desperately trying to fit in with Lexi & her group of friends until a WhatsApp message falls into the wrong hands and turns her life upside down.
 I found the first couple of chapters total cringeworthy and made me squirm on Julia's behalf however as soon as she decided to escape it all with Amber, another neighbour who definitely didn't fit into the group by choice, I found the tone of the book changed.
As we travelled on the two ladies' adventure through France it was an enjoyable feel good read of positivity, honesty and being true to oneself that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.
Thank you to #NelGalley for allowing me to read and for giving me the chance to provide an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. A really lovely story about taking chances, being brave and appreciating what you have rather than what you think you might be missing out on. I loved the friendship that develops between the two main characters in particular.

Amazing how one set of what's app messages that were meant to be private, when shared to a group what's app, can change the course of a person's life forever. 

Which is exactly what happens when Julia's messages about having erotic dreams about a married neighbour, who's life she is lusting after, are shared at the big summer party on their road.  Julia's husband struggles to understand, and Julia decides to run, and ends up on an adventure with next door neighbour and friend Amber. 

I loved the story from the moment they were on the run, off to France for a few days on an antiques buying trip, which then turned into other sorts of a trip too, and one that ultimately alters the course of many people's lives. 

Amber is sort of reckless, whereas Julia worries about most things, so putting them together in a campervan, is rather amusing, and seeing how they rub off on each other is great. 

This was such an enjoyable story, I couldn't get enough of the turns it takes, the various subplots and just how it all came together.  I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this story. It really took me on a virtual journey which given we are in lockdown is the only sort of journey I'll be able to take for a while. 

It's another fabulous book from Jenny Oliver, who is an author I'm always eager to read. 

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

A funny, warm-hearted and thoroughly entertaining book.  Yes, the characters are cliches, and the plot is a bit silly, but it is a real joy to lose yourself in this fun joke about contemporary life.  The perfect book for self-isolation!

Just the read you need at the moment.
Julia is obsessed with her neighbour, Lexi, and husband. following them on Instagram and copying everything they do - albeit a lot cheaper.
When she , and her down to earth, husband, Charlie are invited to their summer party she is over the moon. 
Unfortunately she has been Whats Apping her best friend with intimate descriptions of  Lexi's husband and to her horror they fall into the wrong hands and are shared with everyone at the party.
Julia is mortified and Charlie non to pleased. So Julia runs away and has an adventure which will change her and Charlie's life together. But will it be for the better and what secrets will unfold.?

I enjoyed reading this relaxing fun read with a touch of much needed escapism and humour in these lock down times.  Totally identifiable characters who I'm sure we've all come across at some point in various guises.  A little bit of sunny France thrown into the mix so we can all dream on.  Jenny Oliver has totally captured that the sights and sounds of a French flea market, together with the magic of the Isle of Noirmoutier.  It is a story about relationships and friendships and how some people can easily trip up by relying on the on-line world, but underlying is the warm feeling of true friendship and rediscovery.  An ideal read for holidays or when one just requires a bit of time out.

In Cedar Road, all the residents are getting ready for Lexi Warrington’s annual summer party. A night to be spent sipping Prosecco under twinkling fairy lights and gathering around the hot tub marvelling at Lexi’s incredible and glamorous life with husband Hamish.

For Julia, it’s a chance to pry husband Charlie away from his potting shed and their horrendous house renovations. A chance to pretend her life is just as exciting and perfect as Lexi’s.

That is until WhatsApp messages of Julia’s get leaked onto the Cedar Road group, messages that reveal the steamy dreams she’s been having about Hamish.

Running out of the party, Julia ends up on a trip of a lifetime…one that will change her life.

I can’t quite believe I’ve never come across Jenny Oliver before, I requested this title on NetGalley on a bit of a whim. It sounded like it was going to be a light-hearted rom-com, and it was that but also so much more. It was a sun-soaked story of self-discovery.

I found the first couple of chapters quite slow, and I thought perhaps I had made a mistake selecting this book, but once Julia sets off on a somewhat haphazard journey with Amber I was hooked.

Oliver’s writing style is effortless to read, full of delightful descriptions that painted the French countryside in my mind to perfection. Every sound and smell, especially at the antiques market, came alive and off the pages.

The characters are all perfectly imperfect, but for me the stand-out character was Martin, his dry humour and quick wit had my laughing out loud. I often find characters relatable, but I very rarely see myself in them. However, I found echoes of my own personality in both Amber and Julia, making both protagonists much more real for me.

If you’re looking for an easy going summer read, with a little more than the usual hearts and flowers, this is definitely the book for you. I will most certainly be reading more from Jenny Oliver in the future.

I like Jenny Oliver books and this one didn’t disappoint. It is a good fun story about friendships, love and reconnection with some travel adventure thrown in too! 
Julia longs to be like her neighbour, Lexi who appears perfect in every way. She fantasises about Lexi’s perfect husband. When she is invited to a garden party for the neighbours it all goes horribly wrong!
Julia ends up running away and going to France with Amber, a local antiques dealer who is sourcing items for a local country club/hotel.
What follows is a funny story through France involving different family members and old friends. 
It  is well written and is fun to read!

Lovely easy going. Fun to read. The book was very well written. So sweet I didn’t want it to end. Perfect read for the summer months. Loved everything about this one.

Most of us have known a Lexi at school and if we're lucky that's the last time we met a Lexi, but sometimes they turn up in our adult life and once again we're trying to be one of the cool kids and not quite getting it right. The fact is you can't get it right with a Lexi or her tiny cohort of BFFs because they are mean girls and mean girls need someone to pick on and use in order to feel better about themselves.

Julia thinks Lexi is her friend, but she isn't and at one memorable summer party everything comes out and Julia is humiliated, her husband is hurt and she unexpectedly finds herself in a van with another neighbour, Amber, on her way to France to an antiques' fair because it seems like a good idea to run away for a couple of days and get away from the embarrassment of it all.

Julia is sort of uptight, definitely not confident and has forgotten how to have fun. Amber is a woman with not a f**k to give. Apparently. They couldn't be less alike, but they are both living with secrets and not being honest with anyone least of all themselves. On a long weekend in France, they both teach each other about honesty and how to live your best life even if what's best for you doesn't seem to be the best to others. In short, the Lexis of this world are not all they pretend to be and who wants to be a carbon copy of a mean girl anyway!

This was a really light, sweet and delightful read and I think it's going to bring a little bit of joy to many people as a summer read. It definitely made me want to go back to a French antiques fair or the Marché aux Puces de Clingnancourt (the best flea market in Paris). It's also just the thing I needed while we're all stuck in Lockdown!

what a fantastic read!
 As soon as we meet Lexi Warrington (the stuck-up leader of the "popular girls" despite  not actually being at school and being old enough to behave better) and see the way she treats her so called friends it is really easy to despise her. 
Just as easy is to like Julia, even though she wishes she was one of Lexi's gang and desperately tries to fit in. 
A set of predictably cringeworthy circumstances lead to Julia disappearing off to France with Amber- neighbour and friend and definitely not one of the Lexi-rati. 
From the minute she steps into Amber's van the adventure is most definitely on, as is a gentle journey of self awareness, introspection and discovery but with none of the cliche that so often accompanies such a journey. 
Instead there is cleverly woven love, humour, strength, friendship and just a bit of chisel-jawed eye candy.
Plenty of beautifully written characters with strong, defined personalities, a bit of French countryside and plenty of appalling driving all the while on a rip-roaring adventure!

Loved it! A light, funny, warm hearted read that had real characters who were well written and developed throughout the plot. The relationships were well explored and I think the undertone I’d lesson around social media is a valid one. A great summer read - made me want to visit France!!

Quite a fun book, and an easy read. 
A page turner, with an uncomplicated plot for when you just need a relaxing read.

I really enjoyed this book. It has everything, humour, drama, relationships, both past and present, families, characters you can definitely warm to, and characters who you’d Never want to be friends with.
A great deal of the book is set in small towns and villages in France, which are beautifully and evocatively described .
It’s a perfect holiday read (or a self isolation read)

I do not usually pick these lightweight "feel-good, uplifting" summer reads, but something about the description of the plot caught my interest. I immediately found it to be silly and unrealistic so I skim-read it until I had understood the main plot. The characterization was actually quite sound and it had a certain charm, but I am not fond of this sort of novel, preferring something more literary.

I can always depend on Jenny Oliver for an excellent book - she's the queen of the perfectly structured, paced and funny novel. The Summer We Ran Away is the story of Julia, who is desperately trying to keep up with the Jones' and has lost sight of what really makes her happy. After an embarrassing WhatsApp message gone awry, her whole street thinks the worst of her, and her husband's feelings are hurt.

So she runs off to have an adventure with Amber, her older neighbour who is a buyer for a members club, and is off to France to find some excellent antiques.

This is primarily a story of friendship but there's some great tension here, with Julia and Charlie's marriage trying to find it's fun again, to Amber and Lovejoy, the charming womaniser that she'd loved as a teenager. With a cast of fun, lovely characters, it was exactly the book I needed to read at the moment! Uplifting, fun and completely satisfying.

The Summer We Ran Away by Jenny Oliver is a wonderful tale about Julia, a woman completely lost in her own life and trying to find a way out of her boredom. She and her husband Charlie have purchased a house that they can't afford to finish renovating, both work jobs they aren't fully satisfied with, and live on a street full of instagramming, brand shaming, yummy mummies with perfect lives, perfect houses and perfect cars. Julia longs to be in their gang, and be just like them no matter what the cost.

When a mishap at a street party almost costs Julia her marriage she escapes with Amber, a neighbour who refuses to be part of the trend. A feel-good, life affirming story - brilliant.

This book is mainly based around two characters. Julia is trying to fit in and "keep up with the Joneses" in the street where she and her husband have moved to. When she is highly embarrassed during a garden party at her neighbours she runs away. She is picked up by a neighbour, Amber, who is on her way to France on a buying trip.
This story grew on me as I read, I sympathised with Julia at the start with her flight but found Amber a bit more difficult to understand, although this changed as the story progressed.
Initially unlikely the storyline developed into a mixture of farce, humour and emotion that finally kept me engrossed until I finished it, so if you start reading it persevere, it is worth it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, although this didn't influence my review.

I loved this novel. It was sophisticated, well written and I really struggled to put it down! The cover is simple but I love the design, the swimsuit with all mini pictures around it that give you an idea what the novel is about. It's colourful and summery and I love it.

The story itself mainly focuses on Julia and then nearer the middle of the book looks into Amber's life too. I liked both characters, although both of them had characteristics that were a little annoying. Like for example Julia was basically walked all over but Amber was the complete opposite. I loved their road trip, it was exciting and I loved reading about all the antiques at the market. It was just a really enjoyable novel and I really liked reading about the two women who were basically polar opposites.

It was a great, unique plot and I'm glad with how it finished. I love a book with a happy ending! This novel is a fun, summer novel and I urge you to give it a read. The location sounded idyllic and I loved the plot. There's a fun aspect to this novel but it also has a more serious note to it too which I quite enjoyed.

Overall, a nice, easy read. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read an advance copy of this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

Julia has descended into a life of envy and copying her neighbours. She and her husband Charlie have over-extended themselves buying a house which they can't afford to redecorate to their own tastes. Their neighbours are yummy mummys who shop at Whistles, granite worktops, hot water taps and hot-tubs. In comparison Julia buys her clothes at H&M and TK Maxx, arguably she buys things that look just like their more expensive rivals but really she's just copying whatever the cool kids are wearing/doing. Julia thinks she's one of the gang, until a mix-up at a party with mobile phones shows that she is very much an outsider and some of her very personal texts get shared.

This was such a sweet, fun, summer read. I think we've all felt a little like Julia, trying to fit in with the glamorous people and not realising that we have started ape-ing them a little too closely and have lost our individuality. When Julia flees the party she has no idea where she's going but her journey is emotional as well geographical. Can running away really help you discover what's real?

Loved this, loved the characters, loved the plot, loved everything about it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.