It definitely had a different feel than her flower spies series. This one had a darker and sadder tone to it. Much like her other novels, two stories unfold at the same time - one in the present and one in the past. Unlike the light and sometimes silly flower stories, "That Summer" has a darker and sadder feel to it.

I liked the main characters in both the present and past stories. Willig has a lovely way of telling a story. However, I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I'd still recommend it to readers looking for a good romantic story. ( )

Nicely done split narration between past and present and a mystery. ( )

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, courtesy of Lauren Willig? Yes please. I couldn't put this book down.

Fans of the Pink Carnation series will likely enjoy, and especially those fans who enjoy a bit of art history too. ( )

One of the best books I have read in a very long time. The characters are ones you will remember and think of days after finishing the book. I just wish I could read it again for the first time. ( )

That Summer: A Novel by Lauren Willig was an intriguing read but often got hampered by having dueling storyline.

The novel takes place in 2009 and in 1849 and focuses on two women.

In 2009, readers are introduced to Julia Conley. Julia was born in England, however, a car accident when she was a child left her motherless and living in New York with her father. Due to a layoff from her job she is rudderless trying to find her way when she is informed she has inherited a house from an aunt she knows nothing about. Deciding to go to England to ascertain the value of the home and get it ready to be sold has Julia learning more about the home and she has inherited, Herne Hill.

In 1849, readers are introduced to sixteen year old Imogen.Imogen is the daughter of a vicar and has not had much to do with others in her village. One day a man named Arthur Grantham comes to her father's home inquiring about a book that he owns. Imogen finds herself falling in love with Arthur and leaving home to live at Herne Hill.

The novel goes back and forth between the two time periods with the majority of the points of view being told in the third person either from Julia or Imogen. However, at one point the novel is told from the third person point of view of another character in the 1840s named Gavin.

The novel had another plot to keep my interest but I did not find it to be a particularly compelling read. I would say that this was a very fast read for me and the chapters were not overly long. The main reason for that I think is that initially the 1840s storyline was interesting but quickly just dissolved into a very sad storyline that I was able to guess at halfway through the novel. I also think that it really didn't help that based on the times of that day in the 1840s that I rather doubted that Imogen's character could have done the things she did undiscovered for as long as she did. The 2009 storyline focusing on Julia also started off interesting but seemed to lose steam the closer to the end of the novel that I got. One thing that I really didn't care for is that one chapter would start off with Imogen or Julia and then halfway through switch to the other character and the chapter would try to end on a high note and then the next chapter would begin again with the character we left off just reading about. If the author wanted to build more suspense I think it would have been better to start off with Julia or Imogen, halfway through switch and end on that high note and then the next chapter start off with the character we did not just leave off reading about. It would have built up the suspense for me while reading.

Please note that I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program ( )