You are soon invested in Autumn's story. At first, it looks as though all her ambitions are bearing fruit. With the offer of a Deputy Headship, she seems to be heading for a new house and happy ever after. However, she soon realises that this is not going to happen. After a life-changing shock, she finds herself back home in her childhood home, with all her dreams in tatters. You then see all her great character attributes. She is hard working and determined to make the best of her opportunities. She also has close relationships with her mother and daughter and she puts them first. It is interesting how she slowly reconsiders her life's ambition and looks to the future.

There is plenty of humour in this light-hearted romcom. The villagers provide several light-hearted moments and the dialogue between Autumn and Jake does make me smile. I was also surprised at the choices which Autumn's daughter makes after the move back to Kent. This is an enjoyable fast paced story, full of starting again, new beginnings and family and friendship.

In short: New starts and family issues

I go in blind to every book I read, this often leads to great discoveries and alot of unknowns. I was genuinely shocked by the turns in this book in the best way possible, this book is the epitome of when your world collapses around you what are you going to do? Autumn was an amazing character to follow, she just didn't stop. She persevered at all costs and I love that in a main female character. This was such a great read and I enjoyed every twist and turn.

This is the second of Phoebe MacLeod’s books I’ve read, having previously enjoyed and reviewed ‘An (Un) Romantic Comedy’.

I was drawn straight into this one by the ‘16.5 years earlier’ opening chapter and warmed to Autumn’s character straightaway.

I hadn’t reread the blurb before reading so was gobsmacked by Marc’s behaviour and in total admiration of how both Autumn and Chloe took things in their stride, ably helped by Autumn’s mum whose pragmatic approach to life is a breath of fresh air.

I love Autumn’s strength of character throughout, from her confrontation early on with Sue over the deputy position, to her assertiveness with Joan in the village and when she takes the plunge with Jake after being egged on by her mum and Chloe.

Despite some difficult life moments for the characters, this is a light-hearted read with plenty of humour. It’s a fast paced, easy read and one I was reluctant to put down, eager to find out what happened next.

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

4.5 stars. Autumn and Marc had been high school sweethearts and became a couple early when she became pregnant. Chloe is almost sixteen and Autumn was beginning a new position of Deputy Head at the London school where she taught. She wants to buy a house and move out of the rental flat. Marc puts her off saying that they have to wait until she starts her new job. It's summer and one morning, when she gets up, she notices a letter by the front door addressed to her from Marc. He's gone, leaving behind everything except the clothes on his back, taking half of their savings. He felt trapped and needed to get away. This throws Autumn's and Chloe's life into turmoil. They end up moving in with her mother in rural Kent. The day they arrive, there is an accident and the local baker ends up in the hospital after riding his bike into Autumn's car. Trying to make amends, although it wasn't her fault, she offers to help in the bakery until he can run it himself. What happens next is a summer where both she and Chloe settle into the village. Can they find happiness in their new life?

This is a story of betrayal, family, new beginnings, community and romance. Everyone knows everyone's business in this village, but the gossip is like playing telephone. By the time everyone hears the news, it isn't anything like it was at the start. I really liked Autumn and Chloe. They have a great relationship, and although Chloe is a teenager, she didn't take out her father's abandonment on her mother. She wasn't happy about the move, but she moves on pretty quickly, perhaps because she had just ended a relationship in London. Jake was a character that had been through a lot and was pretty level headed. He was sure that any kind of relationship between him and Autumn had a lot of bumps and roadblocks they would need to get over. I loved Autumn's mom. I wish she had been my mom. She was refreshing, honest and not naïve in the least. As in any small town or village, there are a lot of quirky and eccentric secondary characters that add much to this story. As they all moved forward into a new beginning, I smiled and rooted for them to have a happy ending. The only thing that kept me from giving this one 5 stars is that Autumn moved on pretty quickly after being devastated by Marc's disappearance. An enjoyable story, with great characters, an engaging plot and an uplifting ending. If you enjoy women's fiction, romance and family stories, then I recommend this one to you.

My Not so Perfect Summer by Phoebe MacLeod

Published on May 7th, 2024

I love stories set in small towns and this one did not disappoint. In a town where everyone knows each other, their personal business, and essentially their life story, Autumn had a lot to navigate when she and her daughter moved to live with her mother.

Autumn and her daughter Chloe, are forced to move back home after Autumn's husband suddenly leaves them without an explanation.

Due to an unfortunate accident, Autumn (literally) runs into Jake, a local baker. How is Autumn to make it up to him? By offering to work in his bakery, with his guidance of course.

The story works through family relationships, heartache and loss. All the while working towards finding oneself and being open to the possibility of new beginnings.

Thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books, and Phoebe MacLeod for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Autumn never envision being a teenage mother. Luckily, she had a supportive family and partner by her side. At the age of 36 she is about to embark upon the life she always dreamed of with a successful career, thriving family, and becoming a homeowner. But things get turned upside down when she discovers her partner has abandoned their small family and left with half their life savings. Will Autumn be able to get things back on track, or will she crumble at the first sign of trouble?

I loved this book!!!!

Phoebe MacLeod has a knack for taking storylines centered around loss and turning them into lighthearted, entertaining reads.

I found Autumn and the rest of the female characters to be inspirational. They were the true embodiment of rolling with the punches. As someone who likes to plan, organize, and control everything the story served as a reminder that life has a way of working things out.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books, and Phoebe MacLeod for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and the author for the chance to read this book.

Phoebe MacLeod's writing style is easy to follow, and the story moves along at a great pace. The characters are all likeable, and you really feel for them with the upheaval they're thrown into. I love the way the three generations of women stick together and support each other. A quick and easy book to read.

Autumn’s life is really looking up! Except then it all falls apart… Her husband has disappeared, her teenage daughter is in a rebellious phase, and she’s going back to her mother’s house for the summer. An accident leads her to meeting Jake, and offering to help with his bakery for the summer. While she works on figuring out how to turn her life around, she has to balance with making sure Chloe is ok, and managing her new responsibilities.

For a book touted as a rom-com, there were a lot of sad moments! One disaster after another for Autumn was just a little too much drama for what I’d consider a rom-com. But overall, I really enjoyed Chloe’s growth the most.

In this charming modern romance novel, readers follow Autumn and her teenage daughter Chloe as their lives turn upside down when Chloe’s father and Autumn’s partner Marc disappears from their London flat. Moving to the country to live with Autumn’s mother, these two city women have to adjust to the new small-town life. For Chloe, this means meeting Ollie, a local farm boy, and starting a TikTok account about farm life, and for Autumn, that means working at the local bakery to help out Jake, who she met during their car accident. Both trying to recover from the damages of their past relationships, Autumn and Jake’s friendship changes as the novel goes on, but whether something will come of it is up to them. With charming characters in a simple, cozy rural English town, readers get to experience this change in fate with Autumn and Chloe and grow and change with them. MacLeod’s characters are the star and heart of this novel, and readers will love watching multiple romances blossom over the course of this novel. With its whimsical characters and setting, this fun summer romance novel in the English countryside is a fantastic, straightforward, and enjoyable read for fans of the genre looking for a fun summer read.

When everything feels like it is falling apart… maybe it is exactly what you need! I loved this story of having to put together the pieces after everything falls apart. It all came together in a way Autumn didn’t know she needed. Being forced to move and change direction with her life was exactly what she needed - and what her daughter needed. I loved the 3 generations under 1 roof, the small town, and the bakery. I want to move there and live with all of these people.

Phoebe MacLeod does it again! I honestly love Phoebes book. I think this book is so well written, its funny and its a good read. I will say the beginning threw me off as I had forgotten the synopsis of the book so thought it was going to turn into a murder mystery lol. However the cuteness between our two love birds was really what made the book for me. I loved how natural and easy paced the romance was in this book, its was too little but not too full on.

If you love friends to lovers I would recommend this book or even if you dont and want a good read then I still recommend this book.

Autumn has a promotion at work so everything should be going well, but then when her husband disappears she is forced to change her life. After a run in with Jake, life changes even more. A fun read.

Phoebe MacLeod is one of my favourite romance writers and this book didn’t change that. I think was just pure escapism that I was lost in from the very first chapter. I love a second chance, slow burn romance, the connection between Autumn felt so genuine and authentic and I love the family between Autumn, Chloe and her mum was perfectly pitched too. I would highly recommend reading this book as it’s heartwarming and just beautiful!

Autumn has defied the odds. A teen mum, she stayed with her boyfriend and they have a stable happy home life. Now she has successfully applied to be a deputy head teacher. Things couldn't be better, but then she wakes to find her partner Marc has vanished taking half their savings with him. She can't afford to stay in their rented property so she has to move in with her mum, forfeiting her dream job...
My (Not So) Perfect Summer is a gentle but emotional romantic comedy set in Kent.
This one's a bit of a rollercoaster! Autumn and Marc bucked the trend and stayed together after their teen romance and pregnancy. But the feelgood doesn't last. Marc walks out on his girlfriend and daughter and I was incandescent with rage at his selfish behaviour. Poor Autumn is left to pick up the pieces and make the most of a bad situation.
Thankfully there is light relief. Autumn finds herself helping local baker Jake after an accident and falling in love in the process. Her mum and daughter are also healing their hearts with new love opportunities. Then there is the cantankerous busybody Joan and the wider village gossip machine which springs into action frequently.
I found myself completely absorbed by the lives of Autumn and her family. She has so much upheaval to deal with but doesn't dwell on the negatives. Her pragmatism and energy see her through difficult times but she also has a fantastic family to support her. Marc doesn't have a single redeeming feature as far as I could see while Jake is trapped in the past and I was eager for him to break free.
My (Not So) Perfect Summer is a warm and emotive romance with bucketloads of family drama and a light hearted tone.

Autumns life partner up and leaves with half of their life savings, abandoning her and their teenage daughter. They had their child very early in life and it seems it became too much for him and he leaves without a hint or a word. Even though Autumn just received a new job title and a raise, she cannot afford to live in London on her income alone, so her and her daughter move to the country with her mother. She’s lost her love, her job and her home, how much worse can it get?

More of just a story, than a rom com or even rom, Autumn attempts to move onward in a new place after a big hurt. Nice female relationships between three generations of a family. The characters were all okay, they were good but just missing some sort of oomph to get me to fully love them. The timeline was also a little off, was it 6 weeks or 8? And had it been a few months or a year? So the title of the perfect summer was a little confusing. Predictable and just a little slow or my liking.

Autumn and Marc have been together since high school, after having Chloe when they were just 16. And life seems to be going well for them, they’ve been saving for a bigger house and Autumn just got a promotion to deputy head which will definitely help.

That is, until Marc disappears. Frantically, Autumn contacts the police after discovering a disturbing note telling her not to look for him. Why would he have walked out on their life without taking anything? Well apart from half their savings…

Now Autumn has no option, other than to give up her dream job and move back to the little town her mother lives in with Chloe. Things don’t start off well for Autumn, after an accident makes half the town hate her… but she’s determined to make it work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved My Not So Perfect Summer, I thought the relationship between Autumn and Chloe was great (very Gilmore Girls ish) and I loved how the bond between Autumn and her mother grew as they were together more. The story has a real mix of humour, romance and growth which I thought was written so well and realistically!

Thank you Phoebe MacLeod, Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. If you haven’t already I would definitely recommend getting your hands on this fun summer romance!

This is a great light hearted holiday read!
Autumn and Chloe's life is turned upside down which results in them moving in with their mum/gran Leanne - who was my favourite character. On moving day Autumn makes quite the impact to the quaint villagers. I found this story flowed easily, characters were likeable (the sourdough name made me have a wee laugh) I would like to have read a wee bit more about Chloe and Ollie (maybe a future book?!) Another great read form Phoebe MacLeod.

#Boldwoodbooktourreview

Autumn's life takes an unexpected twist when her boyfriend disappears with their savings, forcing her to move into her grandma's rural home in Kent. Despite facing challenges and becoming a local outcast, Autumn finds solace in helping the village baker, Jake, in his bakery. As they work together, sparks fly, and Autumn discovers there may be more to Jake than meets the eye. With its charming setting and delightful romance, this novel reminds us that sometimes life's detours lead to unexpected joys.

To be honest, I found this book very...simple. It's not a revolutionary book or one that has major events, but none of that stopped me from liking it, on the contrary, it was precisely because of this "simplicity" that I liked it. He is competent in everything he proposes, I really liked the development of the protagonist, I think that is the main point of the book, the novel doesn't have much focus, so maybe if you look for it for that, you won't like it, but I found it very cute and helped the narrative unfold. It was a very pleasant read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Having previously read and enjoyed several of MacLeod's other works I knew this one would be a winning read too.

It's a sweet, summery read and had so many of my favourite tropes - second chance romance, childhood sweethearts and friends to lovers - so obviously it was going to be a hit!

The pace of the book was perfect, and I was captivated from the first few pages. It was the perfect read for a sunny afternoon in the park, with a strawberry tart or two.

I found the characters to be very likeable and they were definitely relatable in places.

A highly enjoyable read by an author I wouldn't hesitate in recommending.