Review - - Other People's Summers

Other People's Summers

by Sarah Morgan

Publisher: Canary Street Press

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

In school, Milly Beckett and Nicole Raven were as close as sisters. Now, years later, a gulf separates them, and not just because of the different spheres they inhabit. Nicole is a global superstar with the world at her fingertips, but when scandal breaks, she turns to the only person she trusts.

Fresh from a painful divorce and struggling to balance her work and raising her daughter alone, Milly is tempted to refuse her friend’s plea for help. Nicole wasn’t there for her when she needed her most, and that’s hard to forgive. But Nicole is desperate and Milly agrees to give her the sanctuary she needs.

Against a stunning Lake District backdrop, stilted small talk gradually gives way to soul-deep revelations as the two women slowly find their way back to one another. Living with Milly gives Nicole a glimpse of a different path for herself, and Milly starts to see a life beyond her divorce, including the possibility of a new romance. But Nicole can’t stay hidden forever—and neither can the secret she’s been keeping from Milly, a secret that threatens both her future happiness and the fragile bond between them.

PJ's Thoughts:

My summer reading list would not be complete without a new novel by Sarah Morgan. This talented storyteller never fails to take me on a heart-tugging journey with complex characters and complicated relationships.

One of the relationship types Morgan seems to enjoy exploring - and does so skillfully in this book - is friendship. It's a topic to which most of us can relate. I enjoy how she peels back the layers of the friendship between Milly and Nicole, exposing the nuances of the stretched but not completely broken bond between the two women, revealing the reasons behind their estrangement, and then inviting us along the slow, sometimes painful, but ultimately joyful journey to reconciliation. Sometimes, it's those personal potholes in life that, once repaired, forge a stronger, more durable future. It's a story facet that Morgan crafts exceptionally well.

The secondary cast surrounding Milly and Nicole provide texture that only enrichens the overall story. Milly's grandmother (who has some of the best - and funniest - lines in the book), along with her mother (who has her own personal journey), and her daughter are well developed and intriguing characters in their own right. Two men (I love them both) offer respect, understanding, and hopeful possibilities to Milly and Nicole. Even Milly's ex has a realistic redemption (she's still better off without him). 

If you're looking for a hopeful and heartfelt story about two women, the ties that bind them, the secrets that have kept them apart, and the summer that brings them back together, pick up a copy of Sarah Morgan's Other People's Summers. I highly recommend it.