Review: One Last Summer at Hideaway Bay by Zoe Cook

Lucy, hi. It’s Tom. How are you? It’s been a while. I’ve been meaning to get in touch but it’s hard to know how to after so much time. I hear you’re doing really well up there. I knew you would be.
You should come here, you know, back to Hideaway bay. Come and see everyone, see how little it’s all changed. Feel the sand between your toes, the Cornish sea breeze on your face. When the sun hits the surf in that way it does, it’s as magical as ever.
That’s why I’m writing to you, actually. I want to get the gang back together again, one last time before…well…just one last time. You should come too. The four of us, a summer on the beach, like old times. We all want you here for it. I want you here for it. It’s been so long since I saw you.
I still think about you.
Tom.

Secrets lie waiting beneath the Cornish waves in this moving and unforgettable love story. Perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Jojo Moyes.

Shona's review 4 of 5 stars

This book opens with Lucy living her life in London, on the surface it looks like she has everything, but scratch beneath the surface and you realise it's not as fab as it first looks. She's working for a boss she doesn't like, a boss who makes fun of everyone especially if they don't fit her idea of perfect, her partying is getting out of control, between the drinking and her recreational drug habit she barely remembers the night before, and lets not forget the boyfriend that she just cant bring herself to love... When Tom emails her out of the blue she instantly dismisses his invitation, but it plays on her mind, and when her work life blows up in her face she decides to take the time out of her city life and retreat to the Cornish coast to revisit her childhood friends.

I didn't always like Lucy especially when she was in 'London mode', her attitude towards Tara when she first meets her reminded me so much of her boss, that it genuinely made me wonder what her issue with her boss' behaviour really was. Thankfully London Lucy doesn't hang around for long. and we get to see the real Lucy.

From reading the blurb you get a rough idea of the ending and I had been warned I would need tissues for reading this, despite all this I was still caught up in the moment and I did shed more than a few tears.

Overall this is a great debut novel and I look forward to reading more by Zoe Cook in the future.