I’ve read all of Erica James’ books over the years and Swallowtail Summer did not disappoint. She takes time for you to get to know all the characters so well and to understand the story from each point of view. Three friends who’d met at school, continued to be friends as they grew up, married and had families. But of course, nothing is as it seems with each relationship and the skeletons eventually appear.
Great holiday reading, would recommend.

Erica James has cornered the market in creating an array of different characters in contemporary settings.
Appealing to a fairly wide readership, owing to different types and ages of the friends and family members, there are a few protaganists that were too self obsessed to have any generate sympathy
A highly unlikely coincidence, of Blake being Jenna's neighbour and work colleague made that aspect, unbelievable. I thought their meeting could be engineered in a more convincing way.
However, it was an entertaining read with a surprise ending.
Fans of Erica James will not be disappointed.

I loved the Norfolk setting, and the descriptions of people and places are excellent. It would make a decent holiday read if you were going to the area. There is a large cast, some of whom I connected with, others are not very likeable. I found some aspects of the storyline quite annoying, and overall was disappointed with the book. It is not Erica James' finest.

A long novel told through each of the main characters and their points of view. The cast seemed too large for all these inner voices, and as a reader I never felt I therefore connected with any of them.

The plot felt very dependent on major outside happenings such as random accidents.

A novel that kept my attention but not one I'd overly recommend.

Erica James always writes about interesting people, people with secrets and stories that have layers of light and dark. This is no exception and despite the sunny cover, there’s some serious threads and issues in this book to think about.

Once it gets going, I enjoyed getting to meet the characters. Alaister who is back in Norfolk after travelling, following the loss of his wife. He returns, and decides to change his life and his house. His childhood friends realise this is going to affect them too. The past is coming back to haunt them and make each of them consider their lives in turn. I did feel a bit for Alaistair as his friends don’t exactly react as you think to his news. Change is hard for many people though and so I imagine this giving book groups a lot to mull over.

Norfolk does sound lovely! The canals, the boats, picnics…I’ve never been to the Norfolk Broads but I wish Linston was real! You can almost hear the water lapping, the birds singing and that butterfly of the title flutter around you as you read.

It’s sad and melacholy in places but that sun and Erica’s wonderful way with words makes it a character study with heart.

A wonderful tale about friendship, love and betrayal. I have read books by Erica James before, really enjoy them and this one didn’t disappoint. Picturesque setting in Norfolk makes you want to be there, likeable characters and a gripping storyline. Engaging, well written and highly recommended.

I usually enjoy Erica James books but I just didn't gel with this one. I found the beginning a struggle as I tried to absorb all the characters.

The main character Alaister inherits Liston End in Norfolk and he has enjoyed sharing his home with his childhood friends Danny and Simon together with their families. The three families have holidayed together in Liston End every year. Alaister goes travelling after his wife dies in a tragic accident and when he returns a year later he invites his friends over as he has news to share. The families try to guess what the news could be. How will the news affect each character?

Erica has the ability to paint pictures with words and it is the descriptions of the house and Norfolk that held my interest more than the storyline. Some of the characters I didn't like at all. I have to admit that I struggled to finish the book

I'm a massive fan of Erica James but I was a little disappointed by this one. It didn't have the usual magic and felt a bit bland. I normally race through her books but kept putting this one down and not picking it up for a while. I did love the Norfolk setting though. As always, Erica paints a lovely picture in her books.

Erica James books are amongst my favourite. However I did struggle with this one. It felt very bland in comparison to some others. I couldn't connect to the characters unfortunately and the plot was a bit predictable.
I did like the characters and the friendship that they had but the plot for me let it down.

I normally enjoy books by Erica James (my favourite is A Sense of Belonging) but this one was disappointing as I found it difficult to care what happened to most of the characters; they were a rather self-obsessed bunch with few redeeming features. The best thing about Swallowtail Summer is the sense of place. Erica James brings the Norfolk Broads to life – you can almost hear the birdsong and the lapping of the water – and you can see why it holds such great appeal for so many visitors. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, which I have enjoyed reading.
I enjoy reading an Erica James book, particularly the family saga storylines. This is a book about three men who form a friendship when they are children and stay friends throughout their lives. They and their families visit Alastair and Orla’s home every summer and they go one last time after Orla’s death before Alastair places it up for sale.
Things do not go to plan and all things change.
Highly recommended.

A tale of life, love and friendships, memories and life choices from Erica James. In a glorious setting, we see the impact of change on a group of close friends. An interesting and mostly enjoyable read although I found the characters, on the whole, rather difficult to like and the story threads rather sad and disheartening - not quite as light hearted and joyous as the glorious cover would have you believe! Perhaps, however, these things contribute to the realism of the storyline.

4☆ A Compelling and Poignant Read

Swallowtail Summer is a compelling story about friendships, Family, loss, love and changes.

I found the amount of characters to be a quiet confusing to start with and found I had to go back and forth a fair bit to work out who was who, which I normally find off putting but once I got used to who was who I soon settled into getting to know each one.

Alistair and his best friends Danny and Simon have always spent every holiday together with their families at Alistairs gorgeous holiday home Liston End.
They have treasured many a happy memory together, something which they thought would go on for generations.
But when Alistairs wife Orla passes away in a tragic accident, he feels like he can no longer spend his time at Liston End, so he goes travelling.

But when Alistair returns home it's not just adventures and memories he brings home.
Alistair has met someone (Valentina) and fallen in love.
But is this just a Holiday Romance?
What will happen to the friendships when a new person sets to rock the dynamics of the group.

I have mixed feelings about this book, I found the friendship between the men admirable but I did find there reaction to Alistar's news about the house frustrating, instead of being happy at his chance of happiness they was only thinking of themselves. It just shows how people and dynamics change.

Swallowtail Summer is very much a character driven story, the characters are a complex bunch and all very different.
The pace is a little slower and builds gradually which fits the plot really well.
It's a story that explores the value of friendships, the dynamics between friends,
loyalty, dealing with changes, new partners with a good serving of romance, drama, dash of mystery, secrets and lies.

If you are looking for a summer read, thats compelling and poignant set along the charming Norfolk Broads that features beautiful Swallowtail Butterflies
then you will really enjoy Swallowtail Summer.

Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Tours and Orion Books for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Okay, so I may have been a little impatient at first, wanting to be gripped from the get go. Erica James’ novels don’t work like that, and I don’t mean that negatively. ‘Swallowtail Summer’ is the type of read which takes patience for it to flourish, with the beauty of the authors words coming alive as the storyline progresses.

This is such a cosy, comforting and heartwarming read which made me sigh with contentment and apologise to the story for my lack of patience at the beginning. I’m being vague on purpose as I urge readers to discover the storylines beauty themselves, instead of me divulging too much.

Erica James is such a descriptive and magnetic writer, it was a delight being able to follow Alistair’s journey.

A good few years ago I'd read an enjoyed thoroughly a book by Erica James and always meant to read more, so when the opportunity to read her latest release, Swallowtail Summer, came up I was in!

Alaister spent his childhood summers at Linston End, then when he inherits it, it became the happy holiday home for his own and his friends families. Linston End became an important place to them all. But when his wife dies and he quickly meets someone else and decides to sell, his friends are not happy.

I think I expected a lighter read than this actually was. Swallowtail Summer examines complex relationships, secrets, resentments and lies. Erica James doesn't shy away from the darker side of human nature and her characters are flawed and not always likable. I really like this, it's extremely honest and raw.

The book is quite slow to begin with, where a lot of characters are introduced. However the pace picks up and I quickly found myself engrossed. I loved the setting, Linston End being a character itself and loved reading about the idyllic summers past. Erica James' writing is rich, with complex characters and shades of the light and dark emotions all humans experience. I think Swallowtail Summer would be a perfect holiday book and can recommend it!

I must say this novel ended up being nothing like I expected but a pleasant surprise.

Focusing on a group of friends, Swallowtail Summer is told from a multitude of perspectives and documents what happens within a group of friends when everything they take for granted is at risk of being taken away. Alastair, Simon and Danny have been best friends since childhood. They had the type friendship that continues into later life and is handed and shared with their children. But, like all friendships, cracks begin to appear when one of them makes an announcement that threatens to take away the foundations of their friendship.

This is very much a character driven story and Erica James builds up a group of characters and exposes their traits and flaws so brilliantly. Some characters are more likable than others and as each one tells the story from their perspective by slowly peeling the layers back, we come to find that not everyone is as they seem to others in the group. I love that each character is realistically written and despite finding them at times selfish and arrogant, their imperfections make them human and this is what really brings the characters to life.

Each chapter is short and reveals just enough to keep the pages turning but keeps a little back in order to create suspense. In addition to the main theme of friendship, there is also an underlying mystery surrounding the death of one of the group members previously which adds additional tension and an air of malevolence to the story.

If you like a luxurious slow burner, heavily focused on the characters and with a hint of suspense then I highly recommend this one for you.

"Swallowtail Summer" is a story about three men who have been friends from their schooldays, and about their families. One of them, Alastair, owns a beautiful house in Norfolk, where the whole group - later with the wives and then with the offspring - used to spent every summer, enjoying their holidays and sometimes searching for the elusive swallowtail butterflies. They are all happily settled into their lives and enjoy them, until Alastair's wife Orla dies, and he goes travelling. After his return, he has some news for his friends, that turns out to be rather shocking for them, and that will affect them all.
The setting was absolutely beautiful, the picturesque Norfolk Broads vividly and colourfully described. The house that was the centre of the story was incredibly welcoming. I had, though, problems to get into the book, the beginning was really heavy for me. It was probably because of the great number of characters introduced to us and I couldn't keep track who is who and who belongs to whom and what has happened, often feeling confused about their relationships. However, later, it starts to fit and after I've worked out who, why and what, I felt myself really invested in the story - it is really worth persevering, as then we are more likely to understand them, their decisions and motivations.
Nevertheless, I've started to feel anxious to be honest, because, well, I haven't warmed to the characters, and I was scared that it's going to destroy the whole reading experience for me. I couldn't, for example, really understand why the guys, and then their families, put Alastair's on a pedestal, I found it a bit strange, to be honest, I mean, they were all adults but they still behaved like in their youth. What made him so special? Also, I can't imagine any of my friends - best friends - behaving like this should I tell them such news as Alastair - well, it's my decision, right? However, they had strength to them and their personalities were very well captured, they all were flawed and had their own problems and secrets.
"Swallowtail Summer" was a story with friendship in its centre, loyalty and with a depth to it, written in a very lyrical way, providing a very accurate and sharp look at the ways people work, how they see what they want to see, how they react at truth. It was rather a sad read, or maybe I should say a very realistic one, as reality is a bitch, we know this only too well. There was never a dull moment, and while I might have not understand some of the actions of the characters, I really appreciated all the emotions that were released after Alastair's announcement. I could never be sure where the story would lead and the few skeletons that came out of the closets were really surprising. It is a great picture of characters' interactions, really exploring different group dynamics, showing the effect of Alastair's news, how it affected them all and how they tried to work it for themselves, and making you also wonder. A story that had a substance to it. Recommended!
Copy provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Erica James and I enjoyed it enough that I will read more by her in the future. Very character driven, Swallowtail Summer wasn’t what I was expecting at all. A story of grief, loss and friendship, it is told from several different points of view. Some of the characters were extremely likeable and I found myself rooting for them from the outset, but there were others I really didn’t like at all.

An interesting and engaging book that moved along at a steady pace, with the setting of the Norfolk Broads really adding to the atmosphere of the story.

A good read that I would recommend. My full review will be posted as part of the blog tour very soon.

My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I also took part in a Blog tour for this title organised by Tracy Fenton.

Erica James has quite a back catalogue of books to her name and if you've not read any of her books yet, then why not pop your cherry with this one.

The story is more character driven and seems to be a little more in depth into the relationships between them, not in a romantic way more in the way that they all interact with one another as siblings, relations and friends.

Linston End is a property that seems to have a life of it's own, a holiday home set on the Norfolk Broads it appears as an integral character to the story and is responsible in so many ways for what happens in this story.

At the beginning of the story we are introduced to many characters all at once and it takes a little while to realise who is who and who is related to who and in what way. It's told from the perspective of several of the characters, so you need to be able to get inside their heads quite quickly.

As history almost repeats itself, an event that occurs one night is set to have huge repercussions on some of the characters. Will they ever get over the events of that night or not?

Alastair is one of the main characters, he is a widower who meets and falls in love with Valentina (in my opinion she's not a very likeable character for many reasons that I won't go into), as his plans for the future are set to create ripples on the Broads that the rest of them might find hard to swallow, as life in the future might be set to change for all of them.

Will Alastair's plans be for the better or for the worse for everyone concerned? To answer that you will need to grab a copy of this book and immerse yourself in their lives.

I quite enjoyed this story as it was a refreshing change to other stories by Erica James. I look forward to reading her next book to see if character driven stories are the way that she is going with her writing, rather than the more romance based stories of the past.

What can I say about Swallowtail Summer? It was a book of two halves for me. I enjoyed the multi-POV; I especially enjoyed the younger characters' storylines and perspectives. However, I didn't love the main characters and especially the (bordering on stereotypical) Russian gold-digging femme fatale character. There was an element of 'how the other half live' with their summers at the Broads but it was a great character study, with themes of grief, death anxiety and the importance of long-term friendships.
I've read Erica James before, and I will again, this just wasn't my favourite.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.