Brace yourselves! This is going to be a long one… This blog entry is about Mary Alice Monroe’s ‘Lowcountry Summer’ series – which consists of five books (the latter of which I haven’t read as it’s set around Christmas and I’m saving it.) I’ve already reviewed the first book here – but here’s a roundup of my thoughts on the whole series.

Firstly – an overview…These books were read in very quick succession because I loved everything about them. The Southern living that’s described throughout very much reminds me of my (English!) upbringing and in particular of my Grandma who absolutely loves America and introduced lots of bits of heritage and traditions over my three decades of life following every trip she made there. The excitement of growing up and spending Summer’s on a little Island was also very familiar to me and so these books provided an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

That’s what I love about these books – I wasn’t looking for a deep-seated psychological thriller, lots of family drama, murder mystery’s or anything of that kind. I needed a dose of Southern charm, hints of romance, insecurities, real life problems and lots of sunshine and beautiful settings. I thrived on how normal this series was – an escape from a busy life and hectic job!

If you’re looking for a series of Summer reads then I definitely urge you to buy these and read them in order – but equally if you want to just dip in and out it doesn’t particularly matter. You will get the gist of the main stories and characters throughout as Mary Alice Monroe weaves their lives together carefully in each book – without repeating herself but so that you never feel lost. The fifth and final book – A Lowcountry Christmas – I’m saving until the end of the year and so that one will be pending review until then.

1) The Summer Girls

2) The Summer Wind

3) The Summer’s End

4) A Lowcountry Wedding

5) A Lowcountry Christmas (Review coming December 2019)