#Blog Tour #Book Review of One Summer Sunrise by Shari Low @Boldwood Books @rararesources

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting to participate in the blog tour for Shari Low’s latest novel One Summer Sunrise.

One Summer Sunrise
As the sun rises on a hot summer’s day, four lives are about to be changed forever…

Brand new from the bestselling author of What If?, What Now? and One Day In Summer.

Today, Maisie McTeer decides to track down the ex who jilted her at the altar. Today, she’ll find out that revisiting the past can also rewrite her future. 

After losing her husband, Harriet Bassett can no longer bear her lonely life. Today, a familiar face in a crowd will spark a quest to discover if there’s something and someone worth living for. 

Scott and Kelly Bassett’s daughter is leaving home. Today, Scott plans to tell Kelly that he’s ending their marriage to pursue his rock and roll dreams. 

However, Kelly, has a bombshell of her own. How will Scott react to the news that a new arrival is on the way to fill their empty nest? 

Between sunrise and sunset, there’s love, heartbreak, laughter and tears, but who will find happiness at the end of the day?

Purchase Link

Published June 3rd 2021 by Boldwood Books

My thoughts:

I am a big fan of Shari Low and her wonderful writing style. I really enjoyed her previous book One Day in Summer (you can find my review here), so when I found out that Shari has written the next book in the same format I was overjoyed. I was really glad to see a few familiar faces (Hope McTeer, Yvie Danton, Maisie) orhear about how the protagonists of the previous book were doing (Aggie and Aaron) and, of course, it was great to be back to the same location-Glasgow!

As in the previous book, the events unfold over 24hours, but  so many things happen to our protagonists that you can rest assured their lives will never be the same. 22 year old Carny Bassett has just graduated and is organising a fundraiser for her alma mater, the drama department,which is always short on funds. The party is to take place on the grounds of Lomond Lake House, where co-incidentally Maisie McTeer‘s ex-fiance proposed to her and later left her at the altar. Of course,this is the last place she would like to return to,but her best friend goes into labour and Maisie has tosupervisethe catering at the event. In the meantime, Carny’s parents Kelly and Scott Bassett are both contemplating some dramatic changes in their livesand their marriage. They got married at16, when Kelly found out she was pregnant and have always done their best to give Carny a stable family environment, but perhaps in doing so they have been neglecting their own feelings and dreams for too long. Our last protagonist Harriet is a lonely octogenarian who starts this day on the geriatric ward supervised by Yvie Dalton who has the biggest heart in the world and… a couple tickets to Carny’s fundraiser. Harriet’s surname also happens to be Bassett- perhaps she can find a lost relative or two on this summer day?

The narrative structure is very clear and it is very easy to follow the events, even though there are also quite a few references to past events. I realy liked this format which shows how important it is to live your life to the fullest, but also be thoughtful, kind and take into consideration other people’s needs, especially, since we aren’t always aware of them, when we make plans or introduce changes in our own life.

There are some very important themes discussed  in this book: doing the right thing for your children or for your friends, loyalty and honesty in relationships, dreams and ambitions that we often sacrifice for the sake of stability and other people’s happiness. What touched me the most was Harriet’s story, the moving description of her loneliness and the kindness of people around her who did appreciate Harriet and her lovely spirit.

I found myself raising my eyebrows at and arguing with some of the characters’ decisions and the epilogue, but I guess it’s a great sign when you feel so involved in the book that you want to do that. Honourable mention goes to my favourite secondary characters-Sonya (Scott’s mum), Jane and Janice (Maisie’s indomitable catering assistants)- you had me in stitches with your banter!

An enjoyable summer read with plenty of family drama- fans of Shari Low are going to be delighted. Looking forward to Shari’s next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Author Bio:

Shari Low is the #1 bestselling author of over 20 novels, including One Day In Winter and With Or Without You and a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. She lives near Glasgow and her first title for Boldwood was My One Month Marriage in January 2020.

Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharilowbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharilow
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharilowbooks/
Newsletter Sign Up Link: http://bit.ly/ShariLowNewsletter
Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/shari-low

Thank you for reading the post! Have a wonderful Monday!

If you would like to find out what other bloggers thought of Shari Low’s book, here is the full blog tour schedule: