Author: Emily Madden
ISBN: 9781743693117
RRP: $29.99
Debut author Emily Madden does more than just tug on the heartstrings in Summers with Juliette, there are moments I think she managed to rip it out and stomp on it.
Summers with Juliette is a beautiful story of small towns, friendship, missed chances, scandal, redemption and new beginnings. It is told from three different perspectives so the shift in point of view gives us an in-depth look into the characters and we get to know them in a way you simply couldn’t from anyone else’s perspective.
Juliette Cole is descended from the founding fathers of small town Ellesmere on the New South Wales coast not too far from Coffs Harbour. She inherited the local bookshop from her grandmother and has expanded it into a bookshop cafe, taking over the property next door. Juliette is the centrepiece of the story but we learn a lot about her friends and her town throughout the book.
Teenaged best friends make a pinkie swear on a coastal cliff at the end of a summer that if ever one of them was in need and called the three of them would be there for each other; almost 20 years later Juliette calls them back to Ellesmere to honour their promise.
Anna Kendall is also descended from the founding fathers of Ellesmere and she grew up in the town. Unfortunately a few years after the pinkie promise Anna’s father was caught up in a scandal that saw him disappear leaving Anna and her mother to be run out of town. Anna has never been back, and she never intended to. Juliette has needed her in the past and Anna always found a reason not to return; this time Juliette called in the promise and she has to go back.
Sera DiMaggio spent her summers in Ellesmere growing up, until the year of the scandal. She is an Australian soap star with a long running character on an iconic soap. She keeps her true self hidden behind her makeup armour. Sera has kept in touch with Juliette but not spoken to Anna in years. The call from Juliette sees her make arrangements for leave from the soap so she can be there for Juliette.
There is a lot going on in Summers with Juliette and it all tied in beautifully. Juliette called Anna and Sera home to spend one last summer with her before she loses her battle with ovarian cancer. Anna and Sera may not be on speaking terms anymore but they were once the best of friends and they soon realise that working together may be the only way to give Juliette the will to fight.
I needed the tissues a few times throughout this one and my heart broke for Juliette. I have to admit it was not what I was expecting, there were times were I thought she would have a change of heart and get a happily ever after but she didn’t.
Juliette was the peacekeeper in the town and a brilliant mediator, as had always been the way with the Cole family, and her last summer with Anna and Sera was a touching demonstration of that as she brought the girls back together to rekindle their friendship and work through their past hurts.
The main story is Juliette, Anna and Sera but no story would be complete without at least a hint of romance; so there are men on the scene as well – gorgeous men of course. Mayor Patrick Shepherd who moved to Ellesmere from Coffs Harbour, Jack Harper the relative newcomer to town from Sydney and the elusive Noah.
Juliette is a caring and wonderful woman, loved by everyone in town but carrying more than her fair share of heartache. Anna and Sera are both carrying excess baggage that see them creating brick barriers around themselves so that no-one can get close, so that no-one can hurt them.
I loved Summers with Juliette, it was poignant and beautiful demonstrating the strength of the bonds of friendship. If you make a vow to your best friends that you will be there then you will be there. Anna worded the vow and then moved on to become a contractual lawyer but she had the most trouble returning to the town that shunned her and ran her out. She was worried about the reception she would receive, and it turns out she was right to be worried. The small town memory remembers the scandal and is prepared to shun her again.
I think the men being new additions to town, and the arrival of a few others, is a great illustrator of how welcoming the small town can be. Jack was embraced from the beginning and fast felt like he’d found home; okay he was still nicknamed cityslicker but it was done goodnaturedly. It is a sharp contrast to the treatment Anna recieves on her return.
If you love tales of the bonds of lifelong friendship read Summers with Juliette, you won’t regret it. It shows the importance of making the most of your time and your friends because we never know what tomorrow will bring.
Summers with Juliette is book #70 for the Australian Women Writers’ Challenge 2016.
Emily Madden can be found on her Website and Facebook.
Summers with Juliette is available through Harlequin, Angus and Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
20 of our lucky readers will be reading Summers with Juliette so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Love the sound of this book Michelle. Definitely sounds like a tissue box needed.
Sounds perfect, Michelle, especially after The Heart of the Sea, which I’m more than half way through! Love your description of it and a debut author too! Perfect!
Summers With Juliette sounds a super book, and Juliette sounds a lovely person, it seems as though it would be sad but the friendships sound interesting. A good read I think.
“Summers With Juliette,” by first time Australian author, Emily Madden is going to become one of my all time favourite books! I LOVED IT!!!!! Michelle has done a wonderful job of reviewing, as always, so I’m just going to give my overall impressions.
It was pure genius the way the subject of cancer and death didn’t become morbid or depressing, but instead, uplifting. The beautiful way sadness was mixed with love, in all its forms and wonderful, lifelong friendships, is a tribute to an incredibly talented author. The way Emily Madden tugged at my heartstrings but over rode the sadness by the love everyone had for Juliette, and she for others, was beautifully handled. I loved the way all the relationships developed and the interaction of all the characters. The way the small town treated long term residents and ones new to the area was so true to life. The way beautiful people were thrown together with people we’d prefer to stay away from, was also wonderfully handled. There was not one part of the story I didn’t love.
It is lovely to see the cover illustration as our copies are plain, being Advanced Reading Copies. The book will be released in January, 2016. I am incredibly pleased I was selected to review this beautiful book. I loved the way “Sometimes facing the past is the best way to face the future” from the cover, kept resonating throughout the story. There is no doubt that I will be thinking back to the wonderful relationships that formed throughout the story, the relationships that were fractured but managed to heal and the incredible effect the beauty of the writing had on me, for a long time to come.
Thank you so much, Beauty and Lace and Harlequin Mira for the opportunity to read and treasure this beautiful book. I will definitely be looking for more from Emily Madden.
“Summers With Juliette” is a moving novel. Sure, some aspects of it are a little clichéd, but Madden avoids the most obvious clichés and handles the rest with grace, so that in the end you feel that if you’ve seen it before, it’s only because life is, in fact, like that.
Anna and Sera have returned to their childhood home (holiday home in Sera’s case) to support their friend Juliette as she dies. Naturally, it’s been years since either returned, and years since Anna and Sera spoke. Old hurts and enmities are quickly revived, and both find their adult successes overshadowed by their teenage failures.
Madden avoids the maudlin tone which could easily ruin the novel, and avoids dwelling too much on the medical details of Juliette’s decline. That’s not what the novel is about, and helps to keep the focus on the emotional dramas.
In some places the expression is a little awkward, which may betray the fact that Madden is a first time author. Although some of these are a little jarring, they don’t strongly impact on enjoyment of the novel. Apart from this, Madden has a very readable style that will engage most readers and keep them involved till the end of the novel.
One thing that did trouble me a little about this novel is the way that women unquestioningly gave up their lives to be with their partners. Quitting jobs, or even careers, giving up fabulous opportunities, moving house…and no-one even discussed whether it should be the “hims” or the “hers” that made these sacrifices. I was a little uncomfortable with this.
There aren’t any big surprises here. Madden telegraphs many of the resolutions very early in the novel. Still, Sera and Anna’s tales are entertainingly told and convincing. Juliette’s story strand is deeply moving and produces the most unexpected moments. I enjoyed reading this, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
Summers with Juliette is a beautifuly written book Emily Madden has excelled with this book the friendship of the three girls is amazing they all came together for Juliette in her time of need and both the friends found love and happiness as did Juliette with Noah even for just a short time she was happy was sad she passed away I thought her doctors might have found a new miracle drug but no this book is one I would highly recommend was a pleasure to read
I have just finished reading my advance reading copy of Summers With Juliette, and I must say that I’m a little sad that it’s over!
This book really touched me; especially as I have lost a relative within the last year to cancer.
But what I loved about this story was that the focus was on love and life, not on illness and death.
The female characters are all great in their own ways, and I liked the male characters too. Jack was my favourite male character; Sera my favourite female.
The story delves in to the past on more than one occasion but ties in beautifully and flows nicely with the present story.
I wouldn’t have guessed that this was Emily Madden’s debut novel. It was very well written.
I’d recommend this story to those looking for an uplifting and entertaining book with romance and sadness added to the mix.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to readingore of Emily’s work in the future.
Wow – thank you for such a wonderful response! I am really humbled. I loved writing Summers With Juliette and while I loved each and every character – Sera and Patrick were my favourite 🙂
Wow, Wow, Wow. Australia, we have an exciting new voice in Australian Women’s Fiction. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book for review. Emily Madden is a debut novelist which did surprise me after I read this book, as the character development, plot, and sub-plots of this book show maturity beyond a first time writer.
The story centres on Juliette, who is dying, she calls upon her two best childhood friends to make good their “pinky swear” and return home to help her. Sera and Anna have not spoken since family circumstances drove them apart, but they both come back to help Juliette, despite having demanding lives of their own.
Yes, there is romance, there is sadness, there is humour, but overall there is a great story that will appeal to readers of Womens Fiction or Life Lit as another popular author describes.
Please do yourself a favour and read this book, you won’t be sorry!!
This is such a beautiful, inspiring novel about long friendships that start from younger days and follow you throughout your life.
The book follows Juliette, and her cherished best friends of Anna and Sera. Although the story is about Juliette, there are chapters about Anna and Sera and how they have become friends and where their lives took them before Juliette sends out the message, that she needs them back at Ellesmere where they all grew up.
I loved the witty bantering of Sera and the Mayor that actually starts on the plane and the following of their relationship is just beautiful. I found myself giggling a lot throughout the book.
I always know when I am reading a book that I really love because I can visualise the character’s faces, locations and sounds. We do know that Juliette is fighting cancer for the second time and it was lovely following her journey but definitely tears towards the end. If you are an emotional reader, then have some tissues on the ready.
I loved this book and it will forever be a treasure to have read. I really loved Emily Madden’s style of writing. It’s beautifully written and I look forward to reading more from Emily. Yay for another Australian author to be added to the already grand list.
Although the cover is different to the release of the actual book in January as it is an advanced reading copy, I feel that the cover is exceptional for what the book is about and for the characters that are entwined in the story.
I can thoroughly recommend reading this book – it truly is such a beautiful read that you won’t be able to put down from the first chapter to the last.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin Mira for again giving me such a wonderful book to read from another great Australian author.