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Title: 'A book for the summer'

Author.

Rating (1 to 6): 5

I had mentioned this book to you last summer, but now is the time to tell you more about its power, the feeling it brings. Because summer is here, because it's time to read thick books, with lots of history in them - about the past, the present and the future. About families, friends, love and the sea. Summer has come, and with it the emotion of a world where sun and waves are not everything. And when the end of the book comes, you'll say to yourself, "One thing I don't like about summer, and that's that it starts to go too fast towards the end." Michelle Gamble's (author of The Paris Apartment) books have always been a breath of fresh air among the myriad books I usually read with much heavier subject matter. "A Book for Summer can totally put you in a summer mood, and it's not because of the title at all. It's like a warm breeze that makes you feel lazy, relaxed and smitten with characters who are flawed in their own way and that makes them more real and alive than ever. The feeling the book brings is engulfing and I highly recommend you read it.

The story begins with Bess Codman returning to her family's house in Nantucket, Cliff House, for the first time in four years. Her great-grandparents once built the mansion house, but due to erosion the now grand home is in danger of falling into the sea. Bess has rather purposely bungled her way there for years, but fate has its say. Now our protagonist is facing quite the ordeal. She has to deal with the house, the luggage, her mother who refuses to leave and her past. And like a compelling and true story, Bess Codman's past holds some interesting moments. In the midst of packing, Bess rediscovers a forgotten family guestbook. Bess's grandmother and the book's primary caretaker, Ruby, always said Cliff House was a home for women, and by the last day of her last summer at Cliff House, Bess will know the truth of her grandmother's words in ways she never imagined. Uncovering generation after generation of family secrets, all connected to an unforgettable summer home called Cliff House, is the focus of bestselling author Michelle Gamble's third novel. The Book of Summer is set over a two-week period in Nantucket, but also has its origins in pre-World War II. Gable cleverly weaves together fact and fiction to create a thrilling family story about three generations of women who passed through the doors of the summer home, Cliff House. "The Book of Summer is a novel based on the past and the present.

"A book about summer" is really about summer. The descriptions in it can transport you to the island, to walk along the shore and feel the water under your feet, the wind in your hair and the first rays of the sun heating the sand. To find yourself at sea while on the living room couch or while traveling to the next summer destination.