Fforde, Katie: A Rose Petal Summer. London: Arrow books, 2019
Brief summary:
Like any other novel written by Katie Fforde, one of the most number one bestselling authors, A rose petal summer is a unique romance novel. The novel kicks off when Caro and Alec meet in Greece. It is a dark evening when they can barely see each other. They felt unbelievably comfortable together, something that does not happen very often. Was it love? Or just a teenager romance? Were they meant for each other? The fact that Caro had to return to her home in London put an end to this marvelous acquaintance. How were they going to see each other? They had not changed contacts, so it would be almost impossible to reunite these two hearts.
20 years later, Caro recognized him the moment he entered the room. But did he remember her? “He smiled and Caro´s heart gave a lurch…” Could they be an item after all that time?
Analysis of the book:
The book is settled in England, Scotland, and France. Three very different but remarkable scenarios. The description of these is absolutely incredible, up to the point where I felt transported to that precise moment. The recreation of the scenarios in my mind took my breath away, due to the thorough details provided in the novel. Not to mention the main characters, which are appealing and true to life. The detailed but not boring explanation led me to draw the plot perfectly in my head without any inconvenience whatsoever.
Caro is a down-to-earth woman with a beautiful young daughter named Posy. This summer, Posy goes to Australia with her boyfriend and leaves her mother alone in the barge. Decided not to sit longing for her adult child, she is hired by a family in Glen Liddell, Scotland, to look after Murdo. He is an old man, who needs help while her daughter Lenny is away. Although the old man is not an easy person to handle, Caro starts to grow fond of him.
On the contrary, Murdo´s son, Alec, is not on speaking terms with him due to unending rows. Fortunately, this situation improves at the end of the book, bringing back together father and son. Other main characters in this book are Scarlet and David, a famous couple that the family gets to know right away. I also cannot forget to mention Rowan, the only child of Alec and Skie. She desperately wants to get to know the world, although her mother doesn´t allow her to. Therefore, she escapes to Caro´s barge in London, where she wants to study Art.
The book gives the reader Caro´s perspective of the storyline including all her emotions. She is head over hills in love with Alec, but he doesn´t know that just the reader is aware of it. The reader cannot figure out how the situation could end, because Alec´s feelings are not described in the book. We discover them thanks to the continuous narrative.
Taking into account that it is a romance novel and that it doesn´t keep you at the edge of your seat, I was taken aback in some precise moments, which were crucial in the plot. On the one hand, like any other romance novel, the plot is predictable right from the beginning of the reading. On the other hand, there were some key elements, which impressed me and made the plot a little more gripping than romantic novels are normally believed to be.
The language used by the writer is basic and easy to understand for internationals. Compared to other British novelists like Jane Austen, Katie Fforde succeeded in making this book memorable even with the lack of high weird English words. This leads me to believe that I would be perfectly capable to understand any of her other books without any previous knowledge about the story. Therefore, I would be thrilled to repeat this experience and truly recommend it to people, who enjoy reading romance books to relish a laid-back atmosphere.
A feature from the book worth mentioning is the closeness in which it is written. Katie Fforde accomplished to create a truly moving love-story where the reader is totally involved in, as well as engaged with the plot. She brings into prominence the fact of living the present and not worrying about what could happen in the future. Holding onto what makes us elated is what humans are longing for, so there is no need for negative thoughts that can ruin our present mental health. Uncertain remote future events may or may not happen. Therefore, living the moment is the best we can do to live our lives blissfully.
I have to acknowledge that Katy´s imagination goes far beyond the mere design of the characters. She comes up with new original ideas for love stories the whole time. In fact, all her books are kind of related to this topic. She has such a talent to convey her feelings that I couldn´t help to burst into tears in some parts of this beautiful novel.
If you would have the chance to read this warmhearted book, I would suggest you give it a go. Not only does it help you to disconnect, but also to see love from a whole different perspective. Love isn´t a transaction. Love isn´t a bunch of desirable traits we look for. Love is more than a mere feeling. The book puts forth the idea that this feeling can make us cross oceans and do anything we couldn´t even think of before feeling it. It is what our souls are looking for and what truly fulfills us as humans. That is the main reason why it is never too late to fall in love all over again.
AK Readings 