The Summer Season by Julia Williams

I have just finished Summer Season by Julia Williams. I have previously only read one of her books which was Last Christmas which I thoroughly enjoyed. Having seen this on the shelves in my local WHSmith store I decided I needed another Summer read to try and bring this great British weather to an end!

Plot

As summertime flourishes, it’s time for new beginnings…

Heartsease House is in desperate need of renovation. Its owner, widower Joel, is struggling to come to terms with life as a single dad. His plans to refurbish the house and garden suddenly seem like one burden too many.

Mum to twin girls, Lauren’s life is a constant juggling act. When her ex Troy turns up she’s determined to keep her distance while he gets to know his daughters. But it’s a lot harder than she imagined …

Then erstwhile guerrilla gardener Kezzie bursts into their lives with her infectious enthusiasm to restore the gardens of Heartsease. But who is Kezzie? And what is she running away from?

As the warm days of summer draw closer, Heartsease House and its beautiful love-knot garden are transformed. But will Joel, Kezzie and Lauren be able to restore their own hearts?

Kick off your sandals, enjoy a glass of rose and escape into a gorgeous novel this summer with Julia Williams.

My Opinion.

In my opinion what really makes Julia Williams books so enjoyable to read is her characters. The storyline of this novel is a joy to read but for me it is the characters that shine out for me in this book. Each of the characters in this book are so gentle in their own ways. They all have their own problems in life which are gradually brought to us throughout this book but at a gentle pace rather than bombarding us with all of the details in one go this keeps us reading as we are keen to know what each of their stories are. This is the first book I have read in a long time that doesn’t just have one but three main characters and this was a refreshing change for me. My favourite character had to be Joel his story really touched me.

The one thing I was a little nervous about reading this book was the whole garden and flowers topic. I have to hold my hands up and say my knowledge of flowers is very little I received a bunch of “pink” flowers 3 years ago from my partner and that is as much as I can give! I did worry that there were going to be parts of the book which would go into too much detail on the topic and that I would be skimming over but I am pleased to say this is not the case. We were given enough information without it being too overwhelming but enough to set the scene for the novel. The part where a different type of flower was planted for each child I found very moving.

The start of the book begins in the 1890’s with Joel’s great great grand parents. The book then continues swapping from the 1890’s to the present time. Julia dies this so well I have just finished a book which has a similar structure to this book but it didn’t quite work for me so you can imagine my thoughts as I started to read this book and realised it was a similar style. I am so glad that I actually enjoyed both the past and the present storyline to this book and I don’t think I could actually pick which I preferred I think both the past and present storyline in this book compliment this book beautifully.

What I really feel I have to mention is the additional parts to this book which in my opinion were perfect little touches just like the bow being placed on that beautifully wrapped present and that is the family tree, the map of the village and the design of the Knot garden. It just felt as though every detail of this book has had so much time and though put into it that there is just nothing missing from it.

I would defiantly recommend this book. It is an easy, gentle read which has an ending which is ended nicely not leaving you guessing what happens next and the book flows at a nice pace not having an low points to the book.