Ellie never stopped loving Jackson. She’s just learned how to live without him.
Seventeen years after the summer that shattered everything, Ellie has built a life she can control. She runs The Beach House Café on the Dorset coast, keeps her world small, and tells herself she’s fine. Love, motherhood, and the future she once imagined all feel impossibly out of reach, buried beneath years of guilt.
Then Jackson walks back into her life.
He’s not the lanky schoolboy she remembers. He’s all grown up now with broader shoulders and striking hazel eyes shot through with gold, but he has that smile that makes her forget to breathe. Despite having every reason to hate her for what she did, he still looks at her like she’s the only person in the room.
The connection between them is impossible to ignore. As old feelings resurface, so does the secret Ellie’s been hiding since they were teenagers – a secret that sent their lives spiralling in opposite directions.
Now Ellie must decide whether she’s brave enough to risk everything for the man she never stopped loving.
Sometimes love isn’t about getting a second chance. It’s about finding the courage to take it.
What did I think?
What a fabulously heartwarming book this is! The Summer That Changed Us isn't a hearts and flowers love story; it's a romance that deals with some serious issues with grit, sensitivity and warmth. This is Billie Swann's debut novel and I'm delighted to see that she has more books planned in the Changing Tides series.
Seventeen years ago, Ellie and Jackson were childhood sweethearts but they are driven apart by a shattering event that shaped their lives. Ellie shies away from relationships and concentrates on running her beach café but when trade starts to fall off she discovers that there's a rival café close by and running it is none other than Jackson.
Oh it's really painful to see Ellie and Jackson skirting around each other as if they are strangers. The chemistry is clearly still there but they have been hurt terribly before and it looks like neither of them are willing to take the risk of having their heart broken again. It's like they are both wearing magnets though and as much as they pull away from each other, they are drawn back together.
The history behind Ellie and Jackson is so sad and I struggled to hold in my tears as events played out during their teenage years. It's a shame they were so young as they might have reacted differently and got through it together rather than alienating each other and working through their pain separately. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though and you can't turn back the clock.
Whilst this is a romance novel, there's a lot of angst and difficulties for the characters to overcome. It makes it quite realistic as life is all about the ups and downs and I really warmed to both main characters and others in the periphery.
Compelling, heartwarming, poignant and uplifting, The Summer That Changed Us is an accomplished and flawless debut novel from Billie Swann and I'm excited to read more in the series. A very highly recommended read.
I chose to read a digital ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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