This was a lovely surprise gem of a book! Set in three timelines from the 1940’s 1988 and then the present. The tale of family generations, Martha, Felicity and Clementine, Jenna and Senara and all the locals in the village. Set in Cornwall between Truro and Penzance with the beautiful backdrop of the sea during the summer months. This is a tale of secrets and cover ups over generations. A community divided by the people living at the castle and the locals. Fascinating characters with difference. Well written and set up, the perfect summer holiday read!! Loved this and will highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the early read! Loved it!

Cliff House stands empty for most of the year and has a reputation with the locals for being a ghostly place inhabited only by an old witch. Following an escapade in the gardens to rescue a drone, Senara is surprised to find herself forming an unlikely friendship with Martha who it turns out is not a witch, just a lonely old lady. The story unfolds over three different decades: the 1940's, the 1980's and the present day. Each time frame covers a generation of the family living at Cliff House. The one constant across the whole span of time is Martha who came to Cliff House as an evacuee in 1940 and now in her nineties still remains as the sole inhabitant apart from the family if they decide to visit for the summer. Against a backdrop of wealth and privilege, decades of buried secrets and lies gradually emerge, impacting on the current generation who unwittingly stumble into forbidden territory. There are very likeable characters as well as some really unpleasant ones, class conflict and regrettable decisions made at desperate times. I found this book to be a really engaging read and I enjoyed all the smaller stories intertwining with the main plot. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoy Emily Barr's young adult novels because the characters in them aren't all the angsty, self-absorbed, entitled kids you find in some YA novels, but they feel like real, well-rounded people. They also deal with adult themes and ideas, which means they're also very readable by not-young adults! This Summer's Secrets is a complex and satisfying mystery told through three interconnected time spans, involving a huge cast of characters that never blend into each other. It's a really well-crafted book with plenty of surprises and a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.