Caro Fraser

I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry - I don't think I have ever read a novel with such an incestuous (literally!), unlikeable cast of middle class moaners. Thankfully, I didn't pay for the honour, but received this random selection in a 'mystery book' gift for Christmas.

The promising blurb, about a post-war country house party involving a 'scandalous' couple and a dark family secret, is over in the first fifty pages, killing off one of the few bearable characters in the whole book. What's left, after more convenient deaths of the 'old guard', is a motley crew of 'young things', who are self-obsessed, pathetic and believe in keeping it in the family. Covering fifteen years, in fits and starts, we follow feuding half-sisters Avril and Laura, obnoxious orphan Max, random godson Philip and Max's dodgy mate Alec. After falling for a black musician, because of course she does, Beautiful Laura - her looks are her whole personality - sleeps with former evacuee cockney Sid, who makes her a modelling star overnight, Avril's beloved Philip, and then her Uncle Dan. Both she and Avril are obsessed with Philip for a time, and I could not figure out the attraction, for the life of me. Max ruins Laura's relationship with the black musician - called Ellis Candy, I kid you not - and then realises he doesn't actually love her and ends up shagging his cousin instead. It's suggested that he's actually gay, but I suspect the views of various characters that 'homosexuality' is 'disgusting' and 'a sin' actually belong to the author, so there is little positive inclusivity to be found here. Avril and Laura bicker over men and Laura's lost inheritance - Avril's father 'seduced' his daughter's seventeen year old nanny and Laura was the result, brought up by 'Aunt Sonia', Avril's mother. Max hates Dan for killing his father with the revelation of his affair with poor Meg, even though Max actually did kill his mother by throwing a tantrum and making her chase after him while heavily pregnant. Hey ho!

The writing is also terrible - Caro Fraser, daughter of George 'Flashman' MacDonald Fraser, is patron saint of tell don't show and lacks any kind of subtlety or nuance. Every character is analysed to within an inch of their life, and we get passages like 'She caught sight of her reflection, and the way she looked reassured her, reminding her of what he saw, what everyone saw. Sometimes her beauty felt like her only strength', instead of - oh, I don't know - letting readers deduce from actions and dialogue what motivates the characters.

From the narrow lives of the ten per cent, with their art galleries and misogyny, to the latent homophobia and distinctly male bias - are we sure that George MacDonald Fraser is actually dead and didn't write this himself? - I can't honestly believe I kept reading. Bonus point for not giving Laura her HEA with Ellis Candy in the end, though.… (més)

This is a historical romance set in upper class England beginning just before WWII. A variety of college friends and relatives meet at a summer party. The owner of the estate, a well-known artist, dies unexpectedly but not before impregnating one of the guests.

Within three years the war arrives and they scatter; the men into various government and military jobs and the women turn their country houses into supports of the war – as both the women and their gardeners raise fruits, vegetables and small livestock in former luxury gardens.

The war scenes and war-support efforts do turn this into more than the usual romance (the author, who wrote approximately eighteen books before her death, calls her books ‘romances for thinking woman’). Do not be fooled, though. This is romance with all it’s yearning, soft descriptions of sexual encounters, partner swapping and pettiness used to spoil others’ lives.

It’s just not the genre for me.… (més)

Summer of Love by Caro Fraser is a sequel to The Summer House Party. It is August of 1949 when Meg, Dan, Sonia, Laura, Avril and Max gather at Harry Denholm’s home, Chalcombe in Kent. Meg has spent the summer decorating the house for him. They are out enjoying a picnic, when Avril tells ten-year-old Max a secret about his mother, Meg and stepfather, Dan. This one events leads to a tragedy that will change their lives. Laura, Avril and Max grow up in the 50s where decisions and actions made by their parents and relatives affect their lives. Avril resents Laura and will do what it takes to achieve her goals. The lovely and ingenuous Laura is looking for love and finds it with someone unexpected and unaccepted. Max nurses his resentment and anger as he grows up. Discover what happens to them in Summer of Love.

Summer of Love is a sequel to The Summer House Party, but it stands on its own. The past is never really in the past. The actions of others as well as our own continue to haunt a person throughout their life (especially in this digital age). The story takes place from 1949 through 1963 in England. I thought the Summer of Love was well-written and an engaging book. The book has a steady pace and the transitions are smooth (as you switch between characters). The author created complex characters whose lives are interwoven courtesy of their parents. Avril is a resentful woman who dislikes the attention her mother pays to Laura. Laura is raised as Avril’s sister, but her mother was their nanny. Max is a happy kid until a cruel girl reveals a secret that forever changes his life. The characters are not necessarily likeable (they are relatable), but I was drawn into their stories and wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Summer of Love is a character driven novel. We follow the characters in their life’s journey as they face love, heartbreak, happiness, grief, success and failure. I like how the author worked in the happenings of the 50s and 60s into the story and into the characters lives. Some of the issues/events mentioned are racism, drugs, homosexuality, birth control, changing fashions, and unwanted pregnancy. I also liked the inclusion of music from the era. While many of the storylines are wrapped up in the book, the ending is left open. I wonder if Caro Fraser will continue their stories in another novel or has she left their outcome up to our imagination.… (més)