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Sarah Morgan is one of my go-to authors, and this one didn’t disappoint. Cecilia Lapthorne, recently widowed, is unable to face the lavish 75th birthday planned for her by her daughter. Her husband was a famous artist, and his death has brought some shadowy secrets into the light. Cecilia makes her escape to her holiday cottage without telling her family. Once installed in the cottage she finds Lily, also an artist who works for the property management company, has been staying in it. The women strike up an unlikely friendship, and whilst a summer in the cottage offer both women the chance to reassess their lives, the shockwaves rippling through the Lapthorne family can’t be ignored. A great summer read, time spent with one of Sarah’s books is a perfect escape!
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A lovely summer read, Sarah Morgan never disappoints. Lily is running away from her life after ditching her studies to become a doctor she feels she has let her parents down. Cecelia Lapthorne’s artist husband died a year ago and she is also running away from life. She needs to confront the secrets that were in her marriage. Can the little cottage in Cape Cod help them both heal and confront their feelings. With a beautiful backdrop and characters you really root for this book is a must read
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This book follows 3 women at different stages of their lives over 1 summer. This is a heartwarming story of finding yourself, love and a new purpose in life in the picturesque setting of Cape Cod. This was the perfect summer read with interesting characters and a touch of mystery. The characters were relatable and enjoyed each of their POV's.
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I immediately connected with the characters and the story's themes as the complex, relatable protagonists drew me into their lives. It's a story with echoes of the past for Cecilia, who is still processing the loss of her famous artist husband and wondering how to make sense of the life she has now. Kristen, her daughter, idolised her father. Kristen's marriage leaves her feeling alone and unable to connect with her mother emotionally; her life is empty without her father and the focus he gave her. Lily has abandoned her career path, which her parents sacrificed for and feels guilty. She knows she has made the right choice but lacks the direction and emotional support to find her true path in life. I enjoyed this story of new beginnings and living life your way. Lily and Cecilia come together serendipitously in a life-changing way. I love the raw emotions that immerse the reader in the characters' lives until what happens to them matters. I like the women's courage and the friendship between Cecilla and Lily. I love the gentle romance that lightens the emotional turmoil and the self-discovery each experiences to help them live their lives as they wish to.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
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Firstly a big thank you to @netgalley & @sarahmorganwrites for this arc, I'm truly so grateful! My first read of Sarah's although I've got a collection of her other books on my shelf ready to read. I loved everything about this one! Such a perfect summer read, I could really envision the settings, I adored the little cottage! Take me there!!🥰 I loved the multiple POVs of the different generations. Lived for Lilys & Cecilia's friendship 🫶🏻 the secrets, the family drama and of course the romance was everything! I utterly adored this heartwarming tale of rediscovering dreams and finding yourself ✨ I cannot wait to dive into Sarah's backlist as I was hooked on this one, I would definitely recommend this beaut summer read! 💖
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I loved the writing and the description of the Cape and the cottage (definitely made me want to runaway too). I felt so calm when reading about the cottage and it's view. A fun summer read that touches upon more serious subjects like grief, relationships and family. A great summer read.
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I always look forward to reading a Sarah Morgan novel - and this one is fabulous!
Cecilia Lapthorne is turning 75 and there is a party - not what she wanted, but what her daughter decided she should have. On the spur of the moment she makes her escape, heading to her cottage that the family are unaware she owns and which she and her husband used to visit at the start of their marriage. It's been a long time since she's been back. Lily Thomas has escaped from her family too; with a summer job as a house cleaner, she's aware that Dune Cottage is unlived in and has been secretly living there so it comes as a bit of a surprise when the owner turns up ...
As always, this author has created a fine array of characters each with their own thoughts and issues and wound them all together into a very readable novel. I so enjoyed this one. Wouldn't we all love a seaside cottage to escape to? With many different threads coming together, there is lots going on in this one and it's a super read - just perfect for the holidays! Five sparkling stars from me and one I'm very happy to recommend.
My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.
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Another great summer read from Sarah Morgan! I was hooked on the characters from the start and loved how their relationships changed throughout the book, especially Cecilia and Lily. Lovely seaside romance with just the right amount of cheese.
Grateful for the ARC! <3
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Sarah Morgan writes perfect seasonal books, whether summer or winter. This is no exception. Lily has dropped out of medical school, finally acknowledging that she must do what she wants and not what she feels obliged to do to keep her parents happy. Lily is a talented artist, but has hidden herself away, cleaning holiday homes. She's squatting in Dune Cottage, a beautiful beachside house, when her best friend's grandmother turns up one night. Cecilia, despite her obvious upset, insists Lily stays, and both set out to help the other. Cecilia has run away from a party to mark her 75th birthday and her late husband's life. As more family members begin to arrive, more secrets are revealed. It's never to late to go for the life you want and it's wonderful to see Cecilia, Lily and more family members do just that. #netgalley #The SummerSwap
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The Summer Swap is a story of old and new - friendships and love - and reiterates the importance of understanding.
Cecilia escapes her 75th birthday party by fleeing to Dune Cottage, where she finds Lily secretly staying. When Cecilia's grandson Todd arrives, can the women explain their feelings to him?
A fabulous summer read, with beautiful imagery and wonderful descriptions. I perhaps would have liked more detail on the characters, a bit more depth, but a great read nonetheless.
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Another great book from Sarah Morgan, told from the perspective of three different women, each at different stages in their lives and with different experiences of love. This is a story of grief, romance, hurt, and betrayal, as well as forging your own path, living for yourself, and finding comfort in friendship and family. Cecilia’s heartache was particularly poignant, having experienced lies, betrayal, and grief that are proving difficult to overcome. Lily is lost, trying to pursue her dreams but also lacking the confidence to do so, and Kristen is lonely and hurting. There’s so much meaning in this book, and so much heart. We see the highs and lows of love and relationships, and are given a sense of hope for the future - in the different forms that hope can take. I enjoyed learning these women’s stories and seeing them navigate difficulties. I did find Lily and Todd’s story a little rushed, and would have liked to understand more about them, and their history, but there was so much in this story that it’s hard to include everything so that’s really more personal preference than anything!
I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.
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Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.
I enjoyed reading this book.
Cecilia’s daughter Kristen has organised her mother’s 75th birthday party, and she’s spent a lot of time getting everything just right. But, she feels her mother doesn’t appreciate the effort she’s made.
Meeting lots of people and showing them that you’re happy is the last thing Cecilia wants to do. So she leaves, and travels to a place that she thought was no longer owned by the family, and that place is Dune Cottage.
When she arrives, Cecilia finds her granddaughters friend Lily has also come to the same place to get away from what her family expect her to do.
Throughout the story, we read about the past lives of Cecilia and her husband, and that of other characters.
I highly recommend this book.
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Sarah Morgan has done it again. I absolutely adored The Summer Swap and for me was the perfect summer read. I found myself becoming enamoured with Dune Cottage and this multigenerational story. Sarah has this amazing way of writing stories that are realistic with relatable characters. While light-hearted and romantic Sarah's books also deal with darker topics such as grief and loneliness which are always done with so much care and love.
I loved getting to know our main characters more and loved reading their POVs (which if you've read my reviews for a while know that is something I just love in books). I loved the friendship that developed between Cecilia and Lily and really enjoyed their conversations and the amount of support that had for each other. While at first I struggled with Kristen's character she definitely grew on me as more of her story was revealed and I quickly found myself feeling more sympathetic towards her situation.
Overall this was a beautiful book with stunning imagery and fantastic characters who quickly found a place in my heart. I honestly recommend picking this one up, especially if you're new to Sarah Morgan's books! I cannot wait for her Christmas book this year!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I enjoy all of Sarah Morgan’s books and this is no exception. The summer swap tells the story from the perspective of Lily, Cecelia a Kirsten whose lives come together following the death of Cecelia’s husband who was a well renowned artist. Lily has been earning a living as a cleaner following her decision to end her doctors training. She is secretly living in an empty beach house that she is helping keep clean . The house has been empty for years. It contains a number of paintings by Cameron Laptnorne. Cecelia is recently widowed following the death of her husband. Her daughter Kirsten has organised a big event for her birthday. She cannot face the party and decides to go away to the beach house without telling her family. The story follows the three women over the course of the summer. Each having a big learning curve and realising things aren’t always what you assume. This latest novel from Ms Morgan doesn’t disappoint.
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It has become a yearly ritual for me to read Sarah Morgan's summer and Christmas releases, so of course I wasn't going to miss reading this year's summer book. I found that this book was a good mix between romance and a story about general human behaviour and the ups and downs of life. Nearly every character in this story went through some sort of learning curve (some steeper than others) and made life choices on the back of that. It was refreshing to read and hammered home the message to me that it's never too late to make a change for the better. I also really liked that every character had support in their decisions; because this is real life. Sometimes those closest to us in life think that they know what's best for us, when in actual fact, we all must live for our own happiness because otherwise, how are we supposed to make other people happy?
Cecilia was the star of the show in this book for me. To begin with, I felt like she had lived a life that she had regrets about and it wasn't until her later years in life that she was able to make decisions that were solely for herself. On reflection, I think that she actually lead a happy life (albeit with some bumps along the way) and she had no regrets. However she did reach a turning point where it was no longer feasible for her to live for others and keep secrets from her family. I really liked Todd and Lily and their little dream team was one of my favourite plot lines to read about. I understand that they weren't the main focus of this story, but I would love to read more about the two of them; from both before the start of this book and afterwards.
Overall, I had a good time with this book. I found it to be very relaxing and there was a sense of warmth and comfort throughout. Although I liked the characters, I think I could have loved them if they had a touch more depth and I was able to get a little deeper into their backgrounds and motivations. That didn't detract for me enjoyment though and I would recommend this book for a lazy summer day read.
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Sarah Morgan is one of those authors whose books I will always read without even finding out what the book is about. I know that I’m going to love her books, she’s a real go-to author for me. The Summer Swap was no exception.
As is Sarah Morgan’s usual style, the book is told from the perspectives of different characters. In this case they include Cecelia, a 75 year old widow who has had enough of her family and taken herself off for a while to Dune Cottage, her beautiful cottage in Cape Cod. It’s a place which holds many memories for her and they’re not all good. Kristen, is her daughter, still devastated by the loss of her father and has begun reassessing her marriage. Kristen and Cecelia have always had quite a prickly relationship and the loss of Cameron hasn’t brought them any closer. The third main character is Lily, a friend of Kristen’s daughter, a would-be artist who has also run away from her normal life and the expectations of her parents. Having dropped out of medical school, she is working as a cleaner/caretaker and looking after Dune Cottage.
I really enjoy reading a story told from multiple viewpoints and Sarah Morgan does this so well. Having different generations means there is someone that every reader is likely to be able to relate to. I thought it came across very well that each generation had something of value to teach or learn from the others. Cecelia in particular was a great support and encouragement to young Lily, encouraging her to follow her dreams and to live life as she wanted, not to feel beholden to her parents’ aspirations for her.
The Summer Swap is a fantastic read showing it’s never too late for new beginnings. I raced through this one and found the stories from all the different perspectives equally engaging, even if Kristen didn’t seem too likeable a character at first. With themes of friendship, family, secrets, second chances and being true to yourself with a healthy dose of romance thrown in, this is a perfect book to read this summer.
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This is a perfect holiday read. This is the stories of three women of different generations and at different stages of their lives. We have Lily a young woman unhappy studying to be a Doctor but who dreams of being an artist. Her parents don’t understand her giving up medicine for something they see as their daughters hobby. Next we have Kristen who is the mother of Lily’s best friend Hannah and her brother Todd who Lily has secretly loved from afar since they were children. Kristen is married to a busy surgeon and feels neglected and wonders if having an affair is the answer. Lastly we have Cecelia who is given a fancy big birthday party that she really doesn’t want so she leaves when nobody is looking. We follow the rollercoaster of emotions with all three women as they try to find the right paths for their lives at this point in time. A fab read well done Sarah.
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I received this arc in exchange for an honest review. 🤍
i absolutely love sarah morgan novels and this was another brilliant one! i adore how her books follow individual characters on intertwining journeys. the female relationships portrayed in this novel and her other work draw me into the books and the romance is the cherry on top. sarah morgan has definitely become a comfort author for me and i will always pick up a book by her no matter what.
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Another great book from Sarah Morgan. I so love reading this author's books - nothing complicated or taxing, just a great storyline and characters that you so get into. A great read for the holidays!
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When Lily Thomas dropped out of medical school, she fled to the coast to escape her parents’ disappointment. Working as a cleaner Lily has been staying in an empty cottage that she is paid to keep clean.
Cecilia Lapthorne is dreading the party her daughter has organised for her 75th birthday. Deciding she can’t face it Cecilia flees to Dune Cottage, simply telling her family she needs some space and will be in touch.
When Cecilia and Lily meet at Dune Cottage they quickly become friends.
Thinking no one knows where she is, Cecilia is shocked when her Grandson Todd arrives. Not quite as shocked as Lily though. She has been in love with Todd for years, not that he knows it.
As the summer unfolds, Cecila and Lily evaluate their lives and work out were they want to go next.
Will they move forwards and grasp new chances with both hands or will they return to their old lives and give up their dreams.
This is a funny, moving story of two women from very different generations and backgrounds who meet and form an unexpected friendship. Characters you will connect with, a beautiful setting and a great storyline will have you captivated from the start.