8 Jun 2025

Summer at the lake (by Erica James)

Summer at the lake by Erica James
(Amazon UK link)
On the whole, I very much like Erica James’ novels, and am glad I decided to reread them. I last read ‘Summer at the lake’ in 2015, and had entirely forgotten it. But I knew that I liked it. I always like rereading a book which I know I’m going to enjoy - assuming my tastes have not changed too much. 

The first person we meet is a young woman called Floriana. She is feeling quite agitated over an unexpected invitation to ‘save the date’ for a wedding. We don’t learn who Seb, the groom, is, exactly, until rather later in the book. But it’s clear that he and Floriana had a strong connection in the past. They haven’t spoken in a couple of years, and she really doesn’t know how to respond. 

And as she walks home from her tour guide job in Oxford, pondering about her family and about this unexpected invitation, she walks blindly into the road… and the next thing she knows, an ambulance is approaching.

Two of the people who come to Floriana’s aid when she has her accident are a young man called Adam, and an elderly woman called Esme. Adam, who is a property developer, is just going through a possible breakup with his long-term girlfriend. So he’s feeling quite stressed. Esme is a bit of a hermit; she lives alone with her cat, and rarely goes anywhere other than to the local shop. But Esme feels quite drawn to Floriana, and Adam is a thoroughly likeable person who usually wants to do the right thing. 

Adam and Esme exchange phone numbers, and even manage to visit Floriana in hospital, pretending to be relatives. And so an unlikely three-way friendship begins. The two younger characters bring some life to Esme’s rather predictable, safe existence. And she starts to tell some of the story of her past…

The second part of the story happens when all three make a trip to Lake Como in Italy. Floriana is there to attend Seb’s wedding. Esme is there because she wants to find out what happened to some people she knew when she travelled there with her artist father as a young woman. And Adam is there because they need a driver, and because Esme wants to do a bit of matchmaking. 

They’re all distinct, three-dimensional characters, nicely drawn and realistic. Then there’s some well-written and believable conversation as they get to know each other. Seb is an important person in Floriana’s life - or was, until he cut her off. But when they meet in Oxford, she isn’t entirely sure what to expect. So there are several subplots running alongside each other: does Floriana love Seb, or is she ready to move on? Will Esme learn anything about the people she is looking for? Will the three of them manage to get along well, staying in lodgings together? Will Seb be happy married to the rather self-centred Imogen?

It’s quite a long book, nearly 400 pages in my hardback edition, and it was a busy week so it took me several days to finish it. But when I had the chance to sit down to read, I found the story engrossing. The three main characters started to get under my skin; since I had entirely forgotten the story I had no idea whether Adam and Floriana would get together eventually, nor whether Esme would find anything or anyone from her past. 

The scenes set in both Oxford and in Italy feel entirely authentic, without being overtly educational. The author makes it clear in a brief introduction the beginning that she is familiar with both places, and did quite a bit of research too. 

There are some surprises in the novel, including two quite dramatic scenes that I was not expecting, as well as some more relaxing, somewhat predictable parts of this book. The balance works well, and as someone who appreciates character-driven novels, I liked it very much.

As a bonus, I don’t think there was any bad language at all, and there are no explicit scenes. Overall I thought this a lovely book, one which would make a good introduction to Erica James’ writing, even though it isn’t quite as enjoyable as my favourite of her novels (‘Precious time’). 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's Book Reviews

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