My enormous thanks to Rachel Kennedy at Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of Seven Summers by Paige Toon. I’m delighted to share that review today.

I love Paige Toon’s writing so imagine my horror when looking back over my blog posts featuring Paige to discover I haven’t actually reviewed her for a few years.  You’ll find my posts featuring Paige here.

Published by Penguin imprint Century on 28th March 2024 Seven Summers is available for pre-order through the links here.

Seven Summers

Two epic love stories. One impossible choice. The stunning new novel from Paige Toon.

Six summers ago

Liv and Finn meet working in a bar on the rugged Cornish coastline, their futures full of promise. When a night of passion ends in devastating tragedy they are bound together inextricably. But Finn’s life is in LA with his band, and Liv’s is in Cornwall with her family – so they make a promise. Finn will return every year, and if they are single they will spend the summer together.

This summer

Liv crosses paths with Tom – a mysterious new arrival in her hometown. As the wildflowers and heather come into bloom, they find themselves falling for one another. For the first time Liv can imagine a world where her heart isn’t broken every year.

Now Liv must make an impossible choice. And when she discovers the shocking reason that Tom has left home, she’ll need to trust her heart even more . . .

My Review of Seven Summers

Liv’s life is about to change.

I didn’t so much read Seven Summers as completely inhale it. It’s quite, quite wonderful and I loved every moment sharing Liv’s life. Told in the first person, her story feels emotional, intimate and intense so that Liz’s emotions become those of the reader, making for a highly charged and affecting story.

There’s such skill in the plotting as past summers intersperse with the present summer and Liv’s life with Finn and Tom becomes entangled. As I read I found myself becoming more and more enmeshed in the story, desperate to know what would happen and equally not wanting this spell-binding narrative to end. It’s no exaggeration to say I felt the emotions of the story literally and physically.

The setting is beautifully depicted and somehow intimate. With Finn’s LA life happening ‘off screen’ as it were, and a limited series of settings such as the Seaglass bar and Liv’s cottage in Cornwall, Seven Summers is intense and achingly compelling. Similarly, there is a reduced palette of characters too so that we get to know them thoroughly and live and breathe their lives with them. I loved the inclusion of Michael as he adds lighter moments and is also Liv’s anchor, but his Down’s Syndrome is never patronised or romanticised by Paige Toon. Michael is simply Michael and an important part of Liv’s life.

Liv is wonderful. Whether it is her first person voice that makes her so vivid, or whether it is Paige Toon’s unerring ability to show the reader right inside Liv’s mind, heart and soul that makes her such an appealing character I’m not sure, but I loved her unreservedly. Similarly, both Tom and Finn engender the same sense of attraction that Liv feels. The enormous strength of the novel is that both men are right for Liv and the reader feels her agony of choice with her. I confess I was completely undone by this fabulous storytelling. You will need to read Seven Summers for yourself to see quite how Liv’s relationships pan out!

Alongside the most gorgeous exploration of romance, the themes in Seven Summers are immensely engaging. Grief is very much part of the story, along with loyalty, friendship, family and happiness. It’s so hard to review Seven Summers without revealing too much and spoiling the read for others, but I’d defy any reader not to be hugely moved and affected.

I’m aware this review is somewhat vague, but I don’t want to reveal too much. I adored Seven Summers. I felt a personal connection with the characters so that they were real people to me whom I keep thinking about. I thought Seven Summers was sheer, emotional perfection and cannot recommend it highly enough. But be prepared to have your heart broken on more than one occasion.

About Paige Toon

Paige Toon is the Sunday Times bestselling author of eighteen books that have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Paige writes sweeping, emotional love stories – filled with characters you’ll never forget and incredible settings – that take you on a unique journey. She tells nuanced stories with big, thought-provoking themes at their heart which leave you uplifted and believing in the power of love. You will laugh, cry and feel like you’ve become part of a new family. Get ready to feel it all with Paige Toon! She writes her novel from a converted camper van in the garden of her Cambridgeshire home.

You can find out more by following Paige on Twitter/X @PaigeToonAuthor, visiting her website or by finding Paige on Instagram and Facebook.