A lovely summer read with the right amount of suspense, angst and romance. From the very beginning of the book I was hooked. As eighteen year old Alice journeys to Dorset for a summer holiday with her parents she is expecting a quiet time. Her best friend Lizzy has had to pull out and so she is on her own with her preparation reading! Upon visiting the local pub she receives a warm welcome from the bar tender Joe. The sparks between them fly until they are interrupted by his less than welcoming parents. The rest of the summer passes in a blur for Alice and Joe whose relationship intensifies quickly much to the distress of both sets of parents.
Things grind to a halt when Joe’s older brother Ryan re-appears and his prison past is revealed as well as his propensity for violence. It isn’t long before Ryan ruins the momentum building up between Joe and Alice and the family return to London without Joe, who promises to come and find her.
As Alice journeys to Cambridge to begin her university career she meets Jessie and Emily, becomes a punter and the spirit of Cambridge is captured in the wonderful descriptions of the city. Then the rich and slightly awkward arrives on the scene intent on capturing the still broken-hearted Alice. Lukas is German and rich but he too has a family with issues – he has an arranged marriage waiting for him in Germany, still he romances Alice, but is always intent on having his own way and his desire to control Alice can be slightly unsettling. Meanwhile everyone it seems is keeping secrets as Joe comes back into their lives in an unexpected way. Finally, nine years after the perfect summer they shared together Alice and Joe are re-united and there are some difficult decisions to be made.
Paige Toon has captured the teenage angst of first love perfectly as well as the spirit of Cambridge and friendship, a thoroughly recommended read. 5/5
For more information about Paige Toon check out her website;
http://www.paigetoon.com/
