I’m fast becoming a huge fan of Sarah Morgan’s writing (most recently I reviewed Sarah’s The Christmas Book Club here) and my enormous thanks go to Isabel Williams for sending me a copy of Sarah’s latest book The Summer Swap in return for an honest review. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.

The Summer Swap was published by Harper Collins imprint HQ on 23rd May 2024 and is available for purchase here.

The Summer Swap

A summer escape

When Cecilia Lapthorne’s 75th birthday celebrations take an unexpected turn, she seeks solace away from the festivities and escapes to Dune Cottage – without telling her family where she’s going.

A new friendship

Lily Thomas, a struggling artist, has secretly been staying in the unoccupied cottage. When Cecilia discovers Lily during a late-night visit, an unexpected bond forms between the two women.

A chance to start over

Then Cecilia’s grandson, Todd – and Lily’s unrequited crush – shows up, sending a shockwave through their unlikely friendship. Will it inspire Lily to find the courage to live the life she wants? Can Cecilia finally let go of the past to find a new future? Because as surely as the tide erases past footprints, this summer is offering both Cecilia and Lily the chance to swap old dreams for new . . .

My Review of The Summer Swap

Lily has a temporary cleaning job.

It’s only fairly recently that I’ve got round to reading Sarah Morgan’s books and I’m delighted that’s the case because it means I have a whole back catalogue waiting for me. The Summer Swap is just wonderful. 

The story is very much character driven with family, marriage and relationships at the heart of the story, ensuring that we get to know the people here so thoroughly. The Summer Swap works so emotionally well because as Lily, Cecelia and Kristen reveal their innermost thoughts, aspirations and insecurities, they are recognisable and relatable. Sarah Morgan writes with such sensitivity and understanding that on almost every page I found an aspect of Lily, Cecelia and Kristen’s lives that resonated with me. 

I loved the fact that The Summer Swap breaks away from the usual 30 somethings to characters in younger, middle and older adulthood. It’s glorious to find a woman in her seventies like Cecelia having autonomy over her life. I think it says something about the gorgeous quality of the writing that I really didn’t like Kristen at the beginning of The Summer Swap, but by the end I understood her as she gained both my sympathy and empathy.

With the focus on brilliant, layered and vivid characters that doesn’t mean there isn’t a compelling and riveting narrative here too. There are some very dramatic moments, but for me the absolute success of the story comes through the more ordinary aspects of these people’s lives. Cecelia’s reluctance at being bullied into a party she doesn’t want to attend, Kristen’s need to be proficient, noticed and to organise, and Lily’s guilt at not following the path set out for her as she develops her artistic talents is totally convincing. And whilst The Summer Swap is brilliantly resolved at the end as one might hope, there’s a true sense of these lives continuing far beyond the confines of the story. Much of the plot is precipitated before the story starts and will continue after this particular time frame is over. I found this such wonderful storytelling.

The themes of The Summer Swap are equally compelling. Our sense of self and what makes us who we are as we try to accommodate the demands of family, profession, marriage and so on, at the same time as we also strive to be true to ourselves, is at the heart of this warm, compassionate and understanding story. 

I fear there will be those readers who dismiss The Summer Swap without ever picking it up because they assume it is too lightweight for their intellect. They could not be more wrong. The Summer Swap is absorbing and diverting as a story, but it is also a sensitive, mature insight into what makes us human. Sarah Morgan teaches tolerance, empathy and acceptance even as she entertains us so fabulously. I’d defy anyone reading The Summer Swap not to love it just as much as I did. 

About Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She has sold more than 21 million copies of her books and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives with her family near London, England, where the rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office.

For further information, visit Sarah’s website. You can also find Sarah on Facebook or Twitter/X @SarahMorgan_ and on Instagram.