BLOG TOUR REVIEW – One Summer’s Night by Kiley Dunbar

It’s the start of the blog tour for this absolutely delightful book, that I would recommend to everyone as a fabulous feel-good read!

Kelsey Anderson finds herself in a bit of a rut. She’s just lost the dead-end job that she loved in a camera emporium that’s been forced to close down, and her long-term relationship with the staid Fran (Francis) seems to be heading down a long winding road to nowhere.

She’s blessed to have a lovely mom, a grandad that she adores, and a quirky, nerdy teenage brother, Calum who she’s extremely protective of, mainly because she knows he has no memory of their father who died in a tragic accident when Calum was still a baby. She, however, still holds fond memories of their dad, having been in her early teens when he died.

Her fondest memory is of their last holiday together in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, where her dad, being a keen amateur photographer nurtured her own love of photography, which she’s continued through to her adult life, using her dad’s camera which was passed down to her.

So at a bit of a loose end, when she sees an advert for summer tour guides in Stratford-Upon-Avon, she impulsively applies and is shocked when she almost immediately receives an affirmative response asking how soon she can get there! Her family is thrilled, as is her best friend Mirren … Fran, not so much. Sorry, I found him to be a foppish, selfish git!

Armed with her trusty camera and her well-worn book of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Kelsey bravely heads off to Stratford-Upon-Avon and into a summer of tourists, romance, jealousies, rivalry, a fair amount of confusion, sweltering heat, and loads of all things Shakespeare! It’s all just fantastic to be honest – but I have to own up to my own adoration of the area that I visited last year. I’d be at a loss to explain how anyone could fail to fall in love with the place. It’s so quaint and ‘Olde English’ and truly everything one could want for a holiday escape.

Kelsey is an adorable character. She’s been lovingly sheltered by her family, due to their circumstances, but also quite stifled by a selfish boyfriend who she’s believed has had her best interests at heart. When one is a genuinely good-hearted person like Kelsey is, one fails to see when others have less than altruistic motives. All she needs is a good dose of self-belief and she’ll be good to go. Thankfully there are a couple of people waiting in the wings to help her along her way.

Kiley Dunbar has created some lovely characters here – and they’re not overly saccharine sweet. They’re believable and authentic and I wanted to climb into my Kindle and become a part of their world!

Five sparkly stars for this gorgeous, upbeat book! I can’t wait to read the next instalment!

About the author:

“I’ve spent the last decade teaching English Literature at a University in the North of England. This involved researching and writing for academic publications (stuff that only a handful of fusty boffins will ever read). I’ve finally turned my hand to writing the romantic fiction I’ve always dreamed of and I hope my readers enjoy my sweet and feisty characters and dreamy locations.

The heroine of my first novel One Summer’s Night works as a tour guide in the beautiful theatre town of Stratford-upon-Avon. I too spent a working summer in Stratford where I found my very own leading man. We got engaged four days after we met. This tells you that I’m A) not exactly risk averse and B) a true romantic.

Twenty years on we live in Cheshire with our kids and Bedlington Terrier.

I’m a proud Romantic Novelists Association Member and in 2019 I’ll graduate from the New Writers Scheme which really helped me shape my debut novel.”

Kiley recently won ‘best transatlantic love story’ in the RNA’s ‘tweet a love story’ competition.

Thank you so much to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers, Hera Books and Netgalley for adding some sunshine into my life with this one.

Follow the blog tour and see what others have to say about One Summer’s Night …