Transported back to the last gasp of the 1970’s...
Summer In Mayfair by Susannah Constantine, the sequel to After The Snow, takes the reader back to the scorching days of 1979. Now in her twenties, Esme leaves her unhappy home life behind and heads to London to start a new life. She begins work in her Father’s friends Art gallery and is keen to impress and find friends. Entering a world of artists, parties and colourful characters she tries to leave the past behind and reinvent herself. Of course, she makes mistakes along the way and in her naivety doesn’t spot the dangers waiting in London’s social scene. It’s all part of her journey to find herself. One final family secret will change everything…

This novel showed me London, through a young woman’s eyes, the clothes, the stars, the culture. The characters she met were rich and vividly painted. I felt myself getting swept up in Esme’s daily life and her predicament. Towards the end of the novel, eager to find out what would happen, I could not put it down. I felt Esme went through an emotional journey and further development of her relationship with her Mother left scope for a sequel. I thought it was an enjoyable, engrossing summer read.