Cesca Shakespeare has hit rock bottom. Six years after the play she wrote bombed at the box office, she’s unable to hold down a job, keep an apartment, and worst of all her family have no idea how far she’s fallen. So when her fairy Godfather offers her the use of his friend’s Italian villa for the summer, she grudgingly agrees to try writing a new play. That’s before she finds out the house belongs to her arch-nemesis, Sam Carlton.

When Hollywood heart-throb Sam Carlton sees his name splashed across a gossip rag, all he wants to do is hide. That’s how he finds himself travelling to Italy, deciding to spend the summer in his family’s empty villa on Lake Como. Except when he arrives it isn’t as empty as he’d hoped.

Over the course of the hot Italian summer, Cesca and Sam have to come to terms with their pasts. What begins as a tentative friendship quickly grows into an intense attraction – and then a scorching fling. But they can’t hide from reality forever . . . as their different worlds collide, Sam and Cesca face a choice: is this just a summer romance, or could their love weather even the coldest winds?

Cesca Shakespeare had always dreamed of being a script writer, so when her play took centre stage, she was ecstatic, that was until the leading man Sam Carlton disappeared, and her play became a disaster overnight, leading her into a dark place and consequently, writers’ block.

After six years, Cesca still hadn’t written another play. She had gone from job to job, never lasting more than a few weeks, while Sam had become a big Hollywood superstar. When her latest employment came to an abrupt end, her godfather offered her a lifeline. House sitting in Italy.

Not long after arriving Cesca discovered that the property belonged to Sam’s parents, but with the assurance that none of the family would arrive at the house, she agreed to stay. Unfortunately, Sam Carlton needed somewhere to lay low after he made the front page of the tabloids, and not for the right reasons.

How would the pair survive living together, when they couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as one another?

Summer’s Lease is a tantalising story of two people having to learn to put their differences to one side and at least try be civil to one other, if only for their own sanity. Cesca and Sam are both fiery characters who are not afraid to speak their minds.

The relationship between the two main characters was thrilling to read, and for the first half of the book you do wonder whether they will ever manage to find a truce, but when the truce does arrive, it comes in spectacular fashion.

The setting of the story, Lake Como, Italy, is beautifully described. I could feel the sun warming my whole body, whilst the scent of the delicious array of Italian food caressed the senses.

I would have to say that this book is high up on my best read’s of 2017. I was mesmerised the whole way through, and looked forward to spending time with Cesca and Sam each time I picked the book up. I was sad to see them go when I reached the final page.

The book is witty, fun, poignant, and heart-warming, all rolled into one. The plot is superb, and the subplots are elegantly, and effortlessly weaved into the main, to make for an irresistible read.

If you’re after a book to get lost in, to step inside a world of gorgeous blue sky, artisan food, fine wines, and of course characters you will adore, then Summer’s Lease is the book for you.

Carrie Elks lives near London, England and writes contemporary romance with a dash of intrigue. She loves to travel and meet new people, and has lived in the USA and Switzerland as well as the UK.

An avid social networker, she tries to limit her Facebook and Twitter time to stolen moments between writing chapters. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can usually be found baking, drinking wine or working out how to combine the two.

www.carrieelks.com
@carrieelks
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