This is the PERFECT summer read.
In The Summer Time isn't too heavy, but it's not light and fluffy. It's got a serious side to it, as well as the traditional capers you'd expect.
This book had me laughing out loud while trying not to cry. I was reminded of teenage summers and boy-troubles and Cold Feet.
But it's also a very grown-up book, even if Miranda makes some quite juvenile decisions and jumps to childish conclusions - but that's what this book is about, to me, it's about remembering being young and free and how different it was. Miranda regresses a bit while watching her own teenage children try to grow up. It's about remembering that the simple things in life are sometimes the best, whether it's a fried egg sandwich or cup of tea or simply being together as a family.
Miranda's comments about her children are hilarious, witty and sometimes quite dry. And the humour is definitely the best bit of this book. It really is laugh-out-loud funny and I must have looked like a loon when I was reading this on the bus.
The romance is great too - it's the slow rekindling of an old flame, with all of the confusion that twenty years, two children, and a divorce can bring.
I will definitely be reading more of Judy Astley's books. Starting with [b:Just For The Summer|2053888|Just For The Summer|Judy Astley|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348378898s/2053888.jpg|2059023].
Thanks to Random House via NetGalley for a copy of this for review.