Book Review: Swimming Pool Summer by Rebecca Farnworth.

Product details:
Publisher: Arrow.
Paperback, 448 pages.
Release date: July 18th 2013.
Rating: 4½ out of 5.
Ages: Adult
Source: Netgalley.

Frankie hasn’t had a proper relationship for years. But though she tells everyone this is how she wants it, but secretly she’s in love with her best friend Patrick.

Tor didn’t think she could have a baby, but now she is pregnant by her younger lover. Could this mean the end of a romance that has started to mean more to her than she expected?

Leila seems to have it all – a happy marriage, a beautiful daughter and a successful career. But Leila is harbouring a secret that could destroy her marriage forever.

On an idyllic Greek island, the three women try to keep their secrets hidden. But emotions are running high, and when an unexpected guest arrives, events start to spin out of control…

Friendships full of secrets and a glorious Greek island setting provide the essential ingredients for a perfect beach read in Swimming Pool Summer by Rebecca Farnworth.

Told by her doctor that she was unlikely to ever fall pregnant, Tor is surprise to learn, on the day she’s about to set off on holiday with her best friends Leila and Frankie, that she is, in fact, just that. Accompanying her on the holiday is her boyfriend Ed. Smart, sweet and selfless, Ed is the perfect boyfriend, but he’s younger than Tor, so she’s not so sure if she should tell him about the pregnancy. After all, Ed is just a bit of fun – nothing but a fling.  But five months in, Tor thinks she might be falling in love with him. Not that she can think about that now. She’s pretty sure that Ed doesn’t see kids in his future just yet. After all, what twenty-four year old guy wants to be tied down with kids and a years-older-than-him girlfriend? No, Tor will have to deal with this on her own. She won’t tell anyone the news for now - not Leila, not Frankie, and especially not Ed.

To her friends, Leila seems to have the perfect life. Smart, beautiful and successful, Leila is happily married to Tom, and they have an adorable little girl called Gracie.  Leila would like more kids, but the truth is that things haven’t been right between her and Tom for a while now. In fact, they haven’t been right for a long, long time.  Added to this, Leila recently did something very stupid, something that, if Tom ever found out about it, Leila is sure would spell the end of her marriage. All Leila wants to do is forget about her stupid one night stand, but the guy she hooked up with doesn’t want to forget about her. He wants them to be together. Leila lives every day in fear of Tom finding out about her mistake. Getting away from it all is just what she needs. A holiday at her parents’ villa in Greece will be good for her and Tom – just what they need – Leila is sure of it.

Frankie doesn’t do relationships. She’s just not that kind of girl. But Frankie has a secret – she’s been in love with her best friend Patrick for years, and this holiday, she decides, is when she’ll finally confess her feelings for him. Frankie knows that Patrick is the one for her – she knows they’d be great together. But she lives in fear of rejection. And when Patrick shows up in Greece with his new girlfriend, a twenty-two year old beautician called Candy, Frankie’s dreams are crushed. But maybe Patrick isn’t the guy she thought he was. Maybe he’s not the one for her after all. Maybe there’s someone else on the horizon for Frankie…

Swimming Pool Summer was such a pleasure to read with its fabulous setting, great characters, romance, relationship drama and pure holiday fun.  Sure, there may not be all that many surprises here, but I became fully engrossed in the lives of these characters and I couldn’t wait to see how things turned out for them all. I have to say that Frankie took a little bit of warming to, but when I found out about her past, my heart kind of broke for her. Candy was my favourite character – what a great girl! And I totally fell for Ed – such a good guy!

If you want fun, page-flipper of a beach read, look no further than Swimming Pool Summer. Highly recommended.