Publication: 6th June 2024 – Penguin Books UK
From the moment Lily Harper arrives at a remote retreat on the breath-taking Scilly Isles, she is itching to get back to civilisation – and her thriving business.
Slowing down simply isn’t in her vocabulary, and so she quickly clashes with the gorgeous but dour Sam who runs the retreat.
Just as Lily is about to give up and leave, disaster strikes, and she is involved in an incident that changes her perspective on everything.
Lily is no longer sure she wants to return to the life she thought she loved. But will she have the courage to give the retreat, and Sam, a second chance?
Lily Harper is a workaholic and high-achiever with her own company, that promotes hand-made products, and little time for herself and for her family. After passing out in her own office and urged by her personal assistant and her brother-in-law, Lily decides that maybe it’s time to take a break so she books a two-week stay in a resort on the Scilly Islands. Except, where she expected luxury, massages, and time to make the occasional phone and video call for work, she finds a work in progress. The cottage where she will be staying is the only one finished and the only person working at the resort is the grumpy yet handsome owner, Sam Teague. With no phone signal or internet on the island there is no way she is going to survive, yet alone relax, for two weeks. Except, as she spends time drawing the beautiful Cornish landscape and helping Sam decorate the cottages, she finds herself finally relaxing, and Sam may not be as grumpy and unapproachable as she initially thought.
Second Chance Summer is my first Phillipa Ashley novel and what initially attracted me to it is the setting. Cornwall is at the top of my bucket list of places to visit and I love reading about it in novels and the author’s beautiful and detailed descriptions only increased my desire to visit it (and probably stay there forever!). While the setting was my favourite part of the novel, I also really enjoyed the story and the characters. There is romance, of course, but also friendship, family, self-discovery and new beginnings, with also a touch of intrigue thanks to ghost legends and threatening messages. Lily and Sam are two wonderful and well-developed characters, both with past experiences that still torment them. The two weeks they spend together forces not only to face their problems, but also the attraction they feel for each other.
Second Chance Summer is a well-written, heart-warming, and entertaining novel and it introduces me to an author whose past (and future) books I am already planning to read!
A huge thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.
Phillipa Ashley is a Sunday Times, Amazon and Audible best-selling author of uplifting romantic fiction.
After studying English at Oxford University, she worked as a copywriter and journalist before turning her hand to writing. Since then, her novels have sold well over a million copies and have been translated into numerous languages.
Phillipa lives in an English village with her husband, has a grown-up daughter and loves nothing better than walking the Lake District hills and swimming in Cornish coves.
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