Prompt: a book set during the summer before high school or college

Another Paige Toon summer romance for this category. Found a copy of One Perfect Summer at a Little Local Book Hub book swap.

What it’s about?

‘And you still love him?’
‘Every second of every minute of every hour of every day…’

While on holiday in Dorset one summer, Alice meets Joe, a guy working at the local pub. She’s eighteen and on the brink of starting university, while Joe’s life is seemingly going nowhere. But despite their differences, the pair fall hopelessly and desperately in love. And then summer comes to an end and they are dramatically torn apart.

Alice heads off to university in Cambridge where she gets a part-time job punting on the River Cam and slowly picks up the pieces of her broken heart. One day Lukas – a gorgeous golden boy from Cambridge University – spies her and it’s not long before Alice falls for his charms.

Months turns into years, but then Joe comes back into Alice’s life again in a way that she could never have imagined. While Alice lives her ordinary life with Lukas, she has to watch from the sidelines as Joe’s life becomes evermore extraordinary. She never stopped loving him, but he’s out of her reach now, surely? And what about Lukas?

What I think:

I really enjoyed this book.

I thought the writer captured the magic of summer romance and first love well.

Their relationship is clearly more than a holiday romance but no one seems to take them very seriously. In fact, Alice’s parents try and discourage them for fear it will derail her university plans.

Alice’s heartbreak is really raw. As she starts to rebuild her life the reader is really rooting for her.

I wasn’t a big fan of Lukas. He was far too cagey at the beginning if their relationship for my liking and I was surprised Alice stuck with him.

There were a few nice twists alonv the way towards a very romantic happy ending. I was rooting for Alice all the way through and very satisfied with the end. This is my favourite Paige Toon novel yet.

Discover One Perfect Summer for yourself from:

Waterstones: click here

Amazon.co.uk: click here