Gently romantic story set in Oxford and Italy.

Would you try another book written by Erica James or narrated by Antonia Beamish?

Yes, I would read rather than listen to one of her books.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the fact that there is more than one main character but that their lives overlap.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Antonia Beamish?

Sadly, I thought that Antonia Beamish's halting style was extremely annoying - she seemed to add her own punctuation to the prose making the narration clunky and difficult to listen to.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

May be.

Any additional comments?

Well, I wont download anything read by Antonia Beamish again unless it's a reference book!

5 people found this helpful

Escape to Lake Como

Lovely descriptions of Venice and then the Lake, 2 stories winding through each other. The story had me captivated and the end was perfect.

3 people found this helpful

Lovely story, questionable narration

This was a lovely, easy to follow story with believable characters who were well described by the author. The tale flowed well and was good to follow. I won't spoil your enjoyment of the listen by going over the story itself. However, for me it was spoiled by the narration. Antonia Beamish has a lovely voice, but it seemed to me that in her desire to speak clearly and enunciate each word she lost the flow of the phrases and sentences, thus giving the story-telling a spiky feel rather than a smooth, unobtrusive way of getting the words into the listeners head. A shame as the story itself deserved better.

3 people found this helpful

Disappointing!

What disappointed you about Summer at the Lake?

The story was so slow, so little happened, that after forcing myself to listen for three hours in the hope that it would liven up I gave up and turned it off. Not one of Erica James' better stories.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Sadly, the name Esme was mispronunced. As this is my name I should know! It is french and spelt correctly the last "e" has an accent above it like the name Andre and the word cafe so the correct pronunciation would be Esmay. Unfortunately the narrator did not do her homework and pronunced it "me" at the end instead of "may", made me cringe.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was set in Oxford, I like Oxford and am a Morse and Lewis fan, the main character Floriana is a tour guide in Oxford.

Any additional comments?

It is a waste of money, don't bother.

6 people found this helpful

Just lovely

Great listern, narrator good, lovely story , kept me captivated, didn't want it to end.

2 people found this helpful

Predictable

I did listen to it all but didn’t come to be engrossed or that bothered by what happened to the characters. It was ok, not one I’ll go back to.

1 person found this helpful

I left my world and lived in this one for week

What made the experience of listening to Summer at the Lake the most enjoyable?

The characters built by the clever uncover of each of their pasts. I really enjoyed esmes past set in Italy the beautiful love story. I really enjoyed the unlikely joining of the 3 main characters .

What other book might you compare Summer at the Lake to, and why?

It's hard to compare the book as it isn't like another story I've read. In terms of writing style and depth of research it's similar to Marian Keyes. Not like any of Marian's story just style and the way the characters build.

What does Antonia Beamish bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The accents were good and her Italian was amazing. She really brought the story alife I didn't notice she was a lady when reading male characters

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Would of liked to read in one sitting but too long think my ears would have fell off. The bulk was listened to over Saturday and Sunday while sunbathing.. Infact buy this for a holiday listen on the beach

Any additional comments?

I don't usually give five but for the fact I haven't stopped thinking about the story. I'll have to search for a discussion group of readers echo have read the story and want to discuss.

1 person found this helpful

What a good listen.

Would you listen to Summer at the Lake again? Why?

Yes I enjoyed this story, great to get to know the characters and they are all interesting. It crosses many years and you feel through each period of time you know what has happened

What was one of the most memorable moments of Summer at the Lake?

When the older characters finally get to meet after such a long time, it would be great for lots of people to clarify earlier misunderstandings.

What about Antonia Beamish’s performance did you like?

Easy to listen to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes actually it was but I don't have that much spare time in one go but found it very easy to pick up where left off.

Any additional comments?

I have enjoyed nearly all Erica's books and do look forward to new ones in the future.

1 person found this helpful

Not as absorbing as most

Would you try another book written by Erica James or narrated by Antonia Beamish?

Yes; despite not loving this one and finding the previous listen (The Real Katie Lavender) not quite as fantastic as some; Erica James has written some of my favourite audios ever ( and there have been a lot) for me, this was a blip, not a blooper and I look forward to more.

Any additional comments?

I have listened to many, many Erica James audiobooks; I've enjoyed them all and absolutely loved several. This was her most disappointing to date. The switch between present day and the salad days of one Esme, now in her eighties, did not work for me.I'm usually so absorbed by a current day story that going back in time is often a slightly frustrating plot device. However it can work brilliantly and two parallel time-separated,yet interwoven stories can become equally thrilling. Sadly this was not the case here and I just couldn't hold my concentration when we moved away from the present. I appreciate without it the plot would have been thin and this is a subjective reaction. But this is not James' finest work and does not do her justice. It's nice enough and well-read - just a bit 'meh.'

3 people found this helpful

Narration made it difficult to enjoy the story.

Gave up after eight mins. Its clear that Antonia Beamish is not the right narrator for this. I'm sad because I've heard that Erica James was a good writer, but the irritatingly wooden performance of Beamish was just impossible to tolerate, as other reviewers have pointed out.