I’ve long been meaning to read Bella Osborne because I’ve heard such good things about her writing so when El at Avon Books sent me a copy of The Promise of Summer in return for an honest review I was determined not to let it languish on my huge TBR. I’m delighted to share my review of The Promise of Summer today.

The Promise of Summer was published by Harper Collins’ imprint Avon on 22nd July 2021 and is available for purchase through these links.

The Promise of Summer

The Promise of Summer was originally published as a four-part serial. This is the complete story in one package.

Ruby’s life is about to change for ever…

After years of dating losers, cheats and one guy who did something unrepeatable to her kettle, Ruby has all but given up on romance. But then a stranger sits next to her on a train to London and explains his plan to propose to the woman of his dreams. Maybe true love does exist after all?

When the man accidentally leaves the engagement ring behind, Ruby is determined to save the day. But she hasn’t counted on fellow passenger Curtis stepping in and insisting he should be the one to track the stranger down.

As summer closes in, the unlikely pair make a promise to reunite the ring with its owner. But can they find their own happy ever after along the way?

My Review of The Promise of Summer

Ruby has a plan!

What an absolute treat of a book. I was expecting a light and uplifting read in The Promise of Summer and that’s what I got, but I hadn’t expected it to be so funny. I chuckled my way through many of the events and a considerable amount of the dialogue – especially that between Ruby and Curtis – so that when I finished reading The Promise of Summer I felt cheered and happy. It is enormous fun and I’d defy anyone reading The Promise of Summer not to be brilliantly entertained.

Certainly there are some weightier themes underpinning the narrative that add depth and interest, such as grief, friendship, marriage, ageing, relationships, trust and betrayal, not to mention various forms of parenthood, but it is the lightness of touch from Bella Osborne that makes The Promise of Summer such a wonderful read.

The plot simply romps along, returning the reader to their own childhood days, and reminding them of past relationships and of how to find fun in life as well as entertaining them thoroughly with laugh out loud moments, a tear in the eye and, for me, a feeling of total joy. Bella Osborne knows exactly how to create a vivid scene in the reader’s mind so that I could picture what was happening perfectly as if I were watching it on a screen or actually present. I genuinely felt as if I’d been transported from the challenges of life reading The Promise of Summer.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the subplot of Kim’s life and her relationships with Vince and Adrian, it was Ruby and Curtis who were so utterly fantastic. Ruby is absolute perfection. She’s vibrant, quirky, down-to-earth, and ever so slightly bonkers so that I felt I’d have loved to meet her in real life. Add in the conventional and emotionally stunted Curtis and they counter-balance one another wonderfully. I was desperate for them to develop a romantic relationship from the moment they met but of course, life doesn’t always go to plan does it? What I found so compellingly engaging was the way their friendship developed, illustrating that letting down our emotional guards and finding out about other people is no bad idea. Whether anything more develops between them needs you to read the book for yourself!

I could not have enjoyed The Promise of Summer more and thought it was wonderful. It is pure sunshine in a book. What more could you ask? I adored it and only wish I’d discovered Bella Osborne’s writing sooner.

About Bella Osborne

Bella has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel.

In 2016, her debut novel, It Started At Sunset Cottage, was shortlisted for the Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year and RNA Joan Hessayon New Writers Award.

Bella’s stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She likes to find the humour in the darker moments of life and weaves these into her stories. Her novels are often serialised in four parts ahead of the full book publication.

Bella believes that writing your own story really is the best fun ever, closely followed by talking, eating chocolate, drinking fizz and planning holidays.

She lives in The Midlands, UK with her lovely husband and wonderful daughter, who thankfully, both accept her as she is (with mad morning hair and a penchant for skipping).

For more about Bella, visit her website, follow her on Twitter @osborne_bella and Instagram or find her on Facebook.