Sam had everything worked out: a job she liked, a wonderful husband and frequent visits with her parents. Until the day Kev had an accident with his motorbike and was killed instantly. Aside from the grief at all she had lost, Sam was also feeling guilty about the night before Kev’s accident – they had been up all night planning their future, and the possibility of a baby. In the past eight years, Sam has done little but build a shrine to Kev in her thoughts: relocating from her small Cotswolds village to London, pushing forward in her career, making new friends but wholly discounting and dismissing any suggestions of finding a new relationship. Her focus has been the 3 month ‘job exchange’ where a team from the UK is sent to Boston to work on a project. She’s wanted this ‘getaway’ and opportunity for years, and with it finally a reality, she’s ready to take on a new challenge at work and spend some time in the US.

But all is not simple: she’s discounted and dismissed at work, sent for coffee and donuts and not heard when her input has merit. Frustrated and sick to death of the 3 colleagues she’s travelled with from London, not to mention the new team leader, she’s decided to head off to the beach for the weekend: and the ferry from Boston to Provincetown catches her eye. Arriving in Provincetown, she’s charmed by the weather, the views and a lovely couple that are body painting on the boardwalk. Harry and Barney take to her instantly and fold her into the social whirl they’ve built for themselves, with a few suggestions for her to try.

This was a lovely story: from Sam and Ethan first meeting in Boston while he was having one of the worst days, to their undeniable attraction and the continued push-pull of her friendship with Barney and Harry. But through it all, Sam is still clinging to “how she wants” things to be rather than how they are, and her determination to not forget Kev and her love for him is actually stunting her enjoyment and life. When she learns that Ethan has experienced a similar loss, and her feelings for him get ‘confusing’ and more scary, she pushes everyone away, until her very unique perspective on a major client’s project becomes “the” go to option, and Sam has to face both her shame at hurting and running from Harry, Barney and Ethan, but the choice of giving up her life in England to move to Boston for a career-changing opportunity. Lovely descriptions, a clear emotional punch from both Sam and Ethan’s stories, and her circuitous and often challenging path to working through her grief all felt plausible and honest, and is sure to strike a chord with many. It’s a chick lit with surprising depth and emotion, that has light, summery and romantic overtones that bring the story full circle.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-auA/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I did enjoy this one but I have read better chic lit books this year. The story was nice and easy to follow it was simple but worked well. The first half was better than the second. Just an ok read for me enjoyable but nothing ground breaking.

This is a good book it has left me with a warm happy feeling.
It took a while to get into but then I couldn't put it down.
I'm so happy it had a happy ending and all the twist and turns in it made it so much better.
The settings where brilliant I can see in my minds eye everything Sam got up to from kayaking to renting the car.
Thank you for a brilliant warm loving book

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
A very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
I could not put this down.
Thoroughly enjoyable with an amazing cast of characters that you cannot help but engage with.

A cozy beach read!
Sam is assigned to work in Boston for the summer. But her summer assignment isn't everything she hoped it would be, so she escapes to Cape Cod for the weekend and encounters delightful new friends. A light hearted story with lots of laughs about love, loss, family and starting over.

This book was so beautifully written it dealt with tragedy, the heart break that follows and the strength it takes to move on. I got all the feels with this book I laughed, cried and swooned as Sam and Ethan went from a strong dislike for each other to bonding over heart break and becoming closer then they ever thought possible. A great summer read that will leave you with a huge smile on your face at the end ❤

An uplifting romance from Victoria Cooke. An enjoyable Summer holiday read encompassing love, losses and generally the ups and downs of life - coupled with touches of humour, credible characterisation and a swiftly moving storyline this is an engaging read.

Magical! I have never read a Cooke book before but I will definitely look out for more of her work. This book had everything I could want- loveable characters and delightful setting, loss, life and love. Simply gorgeous.

This was my second NetGalley read and my goodness was it exactly what I was after at this time of the year! The writing was easy to read but not repetative or dull. The characters were delightfully colourful and the plot, whilst simple, was intriguing, frustrating and delightful in equal measures.

I particularly enjoyed the vivid description of the scenery in Provincetown which sounded so beautiful; lively and peaceful at the same time. I particularly enjoyed the variety of settings; not too many but there was enough movement that I wasn’t bored for a moment.

Beaches, cocktails, love and a Sophie Kinsella vibe? What more could I ask for at the beginning of summer!

Sometimes books take you completely by surprise. A Summer To Remember was such a book. I admit I was drawn in by the comparisation with Holly Martin. But honestly I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did.

A Summer To Remember is more than just another romantic, beachy, holiday read. It is more than that.
It is a very emotional read which deals with difficult topics like grieve, letting go, self-love, and forgiveness.
Our main character Sam is a damaged heroine, eight years ago she lost the love of her life in a car accident and has been grieving ever since. She has focussed mainly on her career and this summer she is finally getting the reward she worked so hard for. She gets the chance to spend 3 months working in the Boston Office on a really important international campaign.

Of course this is a romantic contemporary. So yes, there are romantic scenes. But there is also much more. It is about Sam standing up for herself at work, making new friends and opening yourself up to life and the possibility of becoming happy again.

Sam is really struggling with her past and letting go of Kev, her departed husband. The inner turmoil she is experiencing felt very real to me and I loved how it wasn’t all wrapped up neatly with a bow. You see Sam making huge mistakes, just because she is scared. But you also see her grow and I absolutely loved the evolution she went through. Even the romance was spot on. In a book were grief is such a huge topic it would have felt completely wrong if it was love at first sight. Again the struggle with romantic feelings felt very realistic and well thought trough.

I am kind of hoping we will be visiting this cast of characters in a future novel. Because well… everybody should have a Barney and Harry in their lives! Can we get a whole book with them as the main characters, please?
And yes I am talking about another book, because Victoria Cook has skyrocketed herself in my top 3 favourite contemporary authors. I can’t wait to explore more books by her hand.

A Summer to Remember is a beautiful, emotional story. It is a heart-warming and completely addictive read. I was sucked in from the very first page and couldn’t put it away. Bulls-eye for me!

Review was also posted on amazon, but is waiting corfirmation. I will add the link to my review there later!

It took me awhile to get into this book. But when I did I could not wait to finish. Sam is starting out fresh after 8 years and go to Boston for work and decide to head to provincetown for a weekend and finds out she loves it. She meets several people and one she finds a new future with.

Sam, a widow for the last eight years is afraid to give her heart to anyone else. Afraid that if she does, she will lose the memory of her husband and could never find anyone else as wonderful as Kev was to her. Not only is her heart in limbo, so is her career.
Given the opportunity to leave England for three months to work in the states, Sam jumps at the chance.
She learns a lot about herself in those three months and if she is willing, she may just learn that friendship can lead to love; but only if she is willing to let her heart feel again.
This was a very enjoyable book and I thank Netgalley for the advanced reader copy for my honest review.

Perfect chick lit! I loved the premise and the characters were well developed! I recommend this for anyone looking for a light and fun read!

A Summer to Remember by Victoria Cooke is a wonderful and sweet contemporary romance, and my first book by this author. Sam is a widow, who lost her husband several years ago, and is struggling to move forward. Sam throws herself into her work, and gets sent to Boston for the summer, she lives in England. I really enjoyed this book, and watching Sam blossom was exciting. I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys the genre. I am looking forward to reading more books by Ms. Cooke.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

After the tragic loss of her husband, Sam built a new life around friends in London and a career she loves. Fending off frequent set-ups and well-meaning advice to ‘move on’, Sam is resolutely happy being single.
But when Sam gets seconded to her firm’s Boston office for the summer, it is more than her career that is in for a shake-up. A spur of the moment decision to visit the idyllic beaches of Cape Cod brings new friends who challenge her to change her thinking.

Sam's grief is treated with the respect that it deserves in this book. Being that it is first person, I do wonder if anyone suggested counseling to her. She needed it. Well written and I really enjoyed the relationship between many of the side characters, although from Sam's point of view, I'm not sure why they liked her. Also at times it felt a little long.

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

I'm a sucker for a cute romance story, so this was great. Sam hasn't gotten over the death of her husband and is solely focused on her marketing job. There's an opportunity to go to Boston she's been dying for, and she finally gets it. However, it isn't what she was expecting and after some R&R she meets this great couple (Barney and Harry) who make her feel at home. Of course, she meets Ethan and their relationship has some interesting turns. While sometimes I found Sam's logic annoying, their story is nice. I also enjoyed the mixture of past and present stories. Overall, 4.5/5

I had a problem with this story in that I couldn't warm to Sam, the main character. She wasn't very nice to her friends and she treated her parents very badly. The fact she couldn't commit to Ethan was dragged out. I know she lost her husband, but it was eight years ago. I liked all the other characters, and the descriptions of Boston (and nearby areas) were good. I think some of Sam's issues were due to her time at school, and being overweight at that time, which was hinted at, but never really drawn out. Perhaps if a bit more time had been spent on this, it might have helped explain Sam's behaviour, and softened her edges.

Great summer read!
This book is about love, loss and being able to begin again. Sam comes to Boston for the summer for work. Ethan does not make a great first impression when Sam asks him to take her picture. Can Sam and Ethan get past a bad first impression? Can Sam move on after the loss of her husband? Will Ethan and Sam find common ground since both have lost a spouse?

Advanced copy read for honest review.

I am no stranger to grief and although I have never lost a partner, I have lost close family members and it cripples you and defines your life for years to come and nothing but time heals.
I related to the protagonist Sam so much that even at her most stubborn, MOST frustrating, I could not stay mad at her. This was not your average light at heart chick lit, romance. This was a book where the main character is dealing with the loss of the love of her life in the most tragic of ways and is punishing herself for his death by forfeiting any love and happiness in her life. Of course she faces obstacles in that department when her job temporaily transfers her to Boston and she meets a man she likes.

This book was hair pulling but beautiful at the same time. Sam is a complex character and you want to yell at her, tell her to stop doing these things and sabotaging herself but at the same time you get it. She's hurting. Grief isn't something that somebody just snaps out of. My therapist told me that if it still hurts than you are grieving and that is the realest thing that anybody has ever told me. Life isn't something so minisucle that you snap away (haha) it's a life and people mean a lot to us.

This book made me want to travel to Boston and Provincetown as well! I am TERRIFIED of whales but the way the author played up whale watching sounded gorgeous and uh, hello. I am from Long Island, I grew up on seafood. I'm ready to book my trip now.

What I loved most though was the friendship. From London to Provincetown. Harry and Barney were amazing friends who also took NO shit from Sam. Lexi was adorable and reminds me of my very talkative 7 year old. Bridget is that friend that supports you but is also like girl, get it together. This is a lovely book. And I admit, I haven't read chick lit for awhile. I just had a rocky breakup, I wasn't ready for ANY romance. I've been sticking to murder mysteries and thrillers. But this was lovely and I'm back on my romance.

Thanks very much to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC. Please check out my blog for more reviews:
http://aelilyreads.home.blog

Well, the first chapter erupted off the page in a short, sharp burst of emotion, and the book unfolds from there into a delightful Bostonian adventure. Cooke writes confidently and reading one of her books feels like you are being navigated by a dear friend. The cover is beautiful, the characters wonderfully drawn and engaging, and I really enjoyed this hot summer read. Grab yours now from a master writer.