A Summer of Surprises by Jan Ellis

Name: A Summer of Surprises

Teaser

It is two years since Eleanor Mace said farewell to her lover Christophe and returned to Devon. Her bookshop in the sleepy seaside town of Combemouth has become the hub of the community and with the new love of her life, Daniel, everything seems to be blissfully plain sailing.

That is until Freya, Daniel’s ex-wife appears on the scene. Hired as an architect for a major celebrity who plans to build an enormous new complex in Combemouth, Freya seeks Daniel’s help to get her ambitious scheme approved. Outraged, Eleanor mounts a protest against the scheme – helped by some endangered local wildlife – that gets her noticed by the world’s media, but puts her at risk of losing Daniel.

As the campaign gains momentum, Eleanor is asked to speak at a conference in Spain, where she unexpectedly bumps into the handsome Christophe – a blast from her past. Surely this must be fate?

Will Eleanor fall for the charms of her French ex-boyfriend, or can she find it in her heart to forgive Daniel and return to Combemouth? Or is she set for 'A Summer of Surprises'?



My thoughts

I kindly received A Summer of Surprises in exchange of an honest review by the author.

A Summer of Surprises is a sequel novel to the novella An Unexpected Affair. We are back in Combemouth, the wonderful place were Eleanor had built a very nice life for herself in after her divorce. She had no regrets about leaving all that behind and opening her bookshop in a laid-back coastal town. As the owner of an independent bookshop in a small town she often had chores at weekends, as well as events to organise in the evenings. Putting in the extra hours was the only way to make the shop a success. The bookshop had been open for five years and Eleanor hoped that, having survived that long, she would be able to keep it going for many years to come. The Story is set two years later than An Unexpected Affair, Eleanor is in a relationship with Daniel. The couple is very happy until Daniel’s ex-wife, Freya makes an appeareance and turns their world upside down. While the story unfoldes, Eleanor unexpectly meets her old love Christophe. Some love lasts a life time. True Love lasts forever. What will Eleanor decide? Will she fall for Christophe again or will she go back to Daniel? Find out yourself ;-)

Smart, funny, and heart-warming. I loved Jan Ellis book A Summer of Surprises. This work of fiction has to be Ellis' finest to date. I literally could not stop reading. I’m so happy to say that I got everything I had hoped for while reading this lovely story, it was truly a joy to read. On top of that, there's a great cast of characters and the plot takes some unexpected turns which was a great surprise. I love small town stories. There's something so endearing about them. It's one of the things I loved about this story. Combemouth is a nice small town ... not too small, but not a bustling metropolis either. Everybody knows everybody, streets are quiet, you can have a wonderful walk on the beach. It's just such a great type of story to read and I thought Jan Ellis did a wonderful job with how she wrote the small town aspect of the story. Another thing I loved about this book was that you kind of get immersed in the town and the characters. You get to understand Eleanor job, you get to understand the town and the people, meet ones you'll be getting to know more about later, and just generally feel like a part of the town as you read. It’s the kind of read where you can put your mind on zilch and just read until you’ve reached the end of the book. It was most definitely very enjoyable and a great book to bring with you on holiday!

I'm really looking forward to reading upcoming books by Jan Ellis.