Back of the book :

If you could change the past, would you ?

It’s only after her mothers death that Luna discovers the secrets she has been hiding for thirty years.

Now she and her sister must travel to their mothers childhood home and settle her affairs.

But, in Brooklyn something impossible happens to Luna. She finds herself in 1977, face to face with her mother as a young woman, in the week that changed her life forever.

To save a life, would you sacrifice your own ?



What I think :

Luna’s mum has just died. But before she died she told Luna a huge secret. This secret is as big as it gets. To find out some answers to a few of her questions, Luna and her sister Pia must go to Brooklyn, New York, the place where her mum grew up, and met their father Henry. Whilst there they also need to settle her mums affairs.

Amongst all of this, Luna is trying to cope with her sister, Pia, who is a recovering alcoholic and drug taker. But perhaps the biggest thing of all, is that odd things have started to happen, she’s started to see things that aren’t there, and it appears she can travel in time ! and somehow she’s found herself back in the summer of 1977 with her mum and all of her friends !

Can Luna change things for her mum at the biggest time of her life and possibly lose her own ? or should she just let nature take its course ?

I really love Rowans books, they hold a really special place in my heart – if it wasn’t for Rowan and her lovely novel “The Memory Book” I probably wouldn’t have started reviewing and blogging.

This is a wonderfully written, bittersweet story about families and the heartbreak that long hidden secrets can cause. I really love the way that Rowan builds her characters to really make them jump out of the page and become real.

I read this book in a matter of days, I just couldn’t put it down, however I did slow down a bit at the last few chapters as I really didn’t want this one to end.

I have never believed in anything ‘Supernatural’ or time travel etc, however the story was written in such a way that it had me believing in the impossible, and wishing that perhaps it might be nice to have this ability and go back and visit loved ones that have passed on.

This is a book that I really enjoyed, right from the first page to the last and its a book that will stay with me for quite a while, and yes I did cry at he ending !!

Go out and buy this book NOW !!

I give this brilliant book a very well earned 10/10 (5 Stars)

If you could change the past would you....and should you? This is the dilemma Luna finds herself facing after the death of her mother. It's only in her death that Luna learns of a traumatic incident in her mothers life, one that directly affects Luna herself. So Luna and her sister visit Brooklyn, where their mother grew up both to tie up loose ends and to learn more about the enigma she was. It's here something strange happens, Luna finds herself meeting her mother....in 1977. Against a backdrop of the fear and excitement of The Summer of Sam and explosion of disco Luna is given the chance to change the future, and maybe save her mother.

The Summer of Impossible Things is just a fantastic story. It has everything you could hope for - intrigue, romance and fantasy. Although it's main plot device is sci fi this isn't a sci fi book. It's a heartfelt and touching tale of how love affects us daily, whether that be a mothers love, a daughters or a romantic love. It's well characterised and kept my attention throughout. a great summer read.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC for an honest review.

This book is such an enjoyable read, engaging from the start and a clever combination of science fiction with romance. Luna and her sister, Pia, travel to Brooklyn to sort out their mother's affairs after her traumatic death, and it is there, in Bay Ridge, that they learn more about her past, the identity of Luna's father and extraordinary things start to happen. I was totally caught up in this wonderful tale, which is beautifully written and well researched for period detail, and although the ending was surprising and satisfying, I now miss Luna in my life.
I have already recommended it (on publication day) to a friend who wanted a good book to load on her kindle, and I'm happy to recommend it more widely.

This is a really special book; it's one that made me think and made me cry, ultimately leaving me pondering the story after I'd finished it.

From the brilliant characters - hugely likable Luna and sister, dad and mum, as well as those around her in both the present day narrative and the one situated in the past - to the poignant, wistful feeling of possibly being able to change the past... everything comes together in The Summer of Impossible Things to create a wonderful read.

I love books about time travel, specifically being able to change what's happened before you and how that could impact the future, so I knew this would be an intriguing read. The whole subject is so fascinating, and whilst storylines like this can often be a little bit 'mind boggling' as you try to keep up with what will change what another element in the future, this book manages to keep it all understandable. It kind of makes sense, even if the story is all about something that (as far as we know right now) is scientifically impossible, because it's written so convincingly by Rowan Coleman.

There are some parts and some bits of dialogue which are very romantic and, some might feel, a little cheesy, but it all works with what is at stake for Luna and her family, even if not everyone else realises it. The writing is wonderful and the magical elements aren't too ridiculous to put me off - I'm not a huge fan of fantasy novels apart from the obvious popular choices, I have to say, but this was just right. I teared up, and indeed cried a little, at certain points and I felt the ending was just right for me. I don't want to give anything else away but just recommend that anyone looking for an emotional, smart and thoughtful read gives The Summer of Impossible Things a go.

Love this book! Luna can travel in time... can she persuade herself and her sister that this is really happening? If she can go back and tweak events, can she erase the trauma of her mother's past and therefore change the present day? If she can, will she still be here? So many questions - searching for the answers you'll power through this compelling read. It's been compared to The Time Traveller's Wife - a fair comparison but with a completely different story, if you enjoyed that you'll love this too.

Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.

I did struggle to get into Rowan Coleman’s The Summer of Impossible Things. I love the time travelling concept; I’ve recently finished Matt Haig’s How to Stop Time, and I adore Audrey Niffenegger’s Time Traveller’s Wife. The problem here was with over-writing. All sentences are conjoined, three parts linked together, in every sentence. It’s fine occasionally, it helps link thoughts and moods, but it does grate eventually. Writing should be the vessel carrying the story, it should be invisible, the reader shouldn’t be aware of it. I might be being finicky, but I kept seeing it, and it was a distraction. See what I mean!?

Another issue I had was with the descriptions of the 70s. Matt Haig’s How to Stop Time, despite its faults, was phenomenal at transporting the reader through time. He took you there, not just in the little details like the sights and smells, but the minutiae of every day life. With the Summer of Impossible Things, if you opened a random page it would be hard to tell where you were in time.

That’s the criticisms out the way. The good news is that I liked it. Yep, it was predictable: the twists were more like gentle curves than right-angle bends, the characters were all too trusting, but it was sweet. And sweet love stories can’t be a bad thing.

What to say ! I just really loved this book . A story of time travel and love , a daughters love for her mother and how powerful that love is that we would do anything for one more day .. and more ! Rowans expert and creative writing makes you question the "impossible " fabulous characters , amazing story and one that will no be forgotten 💞

I don't know how I've not managed to read any of Rowan Coleman books before. I've heard lots of great things about them THE Book Club but somehow never picked one up.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher I was able to read The Summer of Impossible Things and I understand what everyone had been talking about.

Luna, a somewhat awkward physicist & Pia, her recovering addict sister, are reeling from the death of their mother. They make a trip back to Brooklyn to visit the places where her parents fell in love during the making of Saturday Night Fever. They discover a dark side to their parent's story and Luna makes an even more amazing discovery- somehow she is able to slip through time, back to 1977. Can she change things so that her mother is not haunted by the dark events of '77? And if she can, what price will she have to pay?

Understandably with a story like this you need to totally suspend logic. I found this a bit hard at first, but soon I was totally beguiled by that characters and their stories. This is a great book & is one of my favourite reads of the year so far.

*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Rowan Coleman has created something unique and magical with this story. I’m still totally in awe and very mesmerized.

Luna’s and her sister’s journey takes us to Brooklyn after their mother’s death. What they find are a lot of mysteries. However, for some reason Luna can travel back in time. She meets her mother in 1977. Of course Luna is confused and thinks she is going crazy. Of course she wants to change things, but could that have consequences?!

Rowan Coleman really makes impossible things possible in this book and she does that in a fantastic way. Her writing takes you into the story immediately, it’s like watching a movie. I truly went through all the emotions in this book and I think the atmosphere is not to beat!

It’s about love and family and all this is included in the story in a beautiful way. This story is truly amazing!

The title and the cover are perfect for this story and so beautiful!

Having read so many good reviews about this authors books, I was happy to be approved for The Summer of Impossible Things on NetGalley. I had no idea what to expect and was a surprised when I saw it involved time travelling and maybe a bit disappointed because this is new to me. Well I have been pleasantly surprised and have broadened my horizons.

The Summer of Impossible Things is a beautifully written story about Luna, her sister Pia and mom Riss, all great characters. It’s about a love that is greater than who and what you are and just what you are prepared to sacrifice for those you love.

A great read and something different for me and look forward to lots more from Rowan Coleman.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Publishing, for providing a copy of this book and this is my honest review.

This book is a completely different book from the one I was expecting, but it drew me in, filled me with wonder and satisfaction and left me feeling fulfilled and incredibly optimistic. I love love loved the setting of this book and purposely left it to read until I was in the area to read. I actually didn't read this book in Bay Ridge Brooklyn but read half on a flight to New York and the other half in Central Park so at least I was in the general vicinity. I haven't read many books that are set in that specific part of Brooklyn and there was the link with the film Saturday Night Fever too, which I will now have to go away and watch.

The storyline is just so intricate and interesting. Rowan has done a great job of weaving all the plot lines together and making sure that every questions you might have as a reader is, not necessarily answered, but is addressed in some way. I have no idea how she managed to juggle exactly where and when Luna was and what she meant to people wherever she was but it is amazing to see the story unfold and things we could never possibly think of happening happen before our eyes.

Luna was an interesting character and although she is travelling back to the place her mother and father met with her sister Pea, her sister isn't really the other main character in this book, her mother is and I just love the way this author manages to write these amazing mother daughter relationships. The relationship between the two of them is tested again and again and yet you get the impression that there is still this amazingly strong bond between the two of them. I loved watching this relationship change and develop over time and I loved Luna revisiting the person her mother once was and discovering that there was a lot to love back then too.

There is some beautiful romance in this book and a little it of intrigue and the storyline is very well balanced. You definitely have to suspend your disbelief going into this one but I definitely recommend that you do that b y letting yourself be absorbed by the book completely, give yourself time to enjoy this book and time to be able to finish it because you are not going to be able to let yourself get away from this storyline once you get started. This book has stayed with me since I finished it and it is definitely one to read this summer. I loved this read and I loved the way the whole thing was so cleverly tied together with such an intriguing plot, realistic, relatable character and just the right amount of mystery, romance and magic. Fabulous!

I haven't read a really good time travel book recently and it was a joy to read this one.It is a genre that when done well is something I love .I think it must be hard to get it right because it is rare that one stands out like this one does. This was moving and unpredictable and I liked Luna and felt engaged reading about her quest to save her mother, but that old quandary popped up if you change the past do you change the future.I'm sure all of us would like to go back in time and change some thing even some thing quite small but if we did we might find our future is not what we wanted its a dichotomy and I'm not sure how any of us would be able to handle it. Beautifully written book that is a stand out read.Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

After the death of their mother, Luna and her younger sister travel from England to their mother’s childhood home of Brooklyn, New York in a desperate attempt to unearth what happened to make her leave, and never return.

When they arrive though, strange things start happening, and Luna finds herself suddenly thrown back in time to her mother’s teenage years in the Seventies. Luna is a physicist, though, so she knows what’s happening is impossible – or is it?

Rowan Coleman’s latest novel is like a little slice of summer magic, and perfect for enjoying outside on a sunny day (which is exactly what I did!). Reading The Summer of Impossible Things, you’ll feel like you’re time travelling too – travelling through the pages to the sultry heat of Bay Ridge as disco sounds filter out from the clubs, while Luna tries everything to change her family’s past, and their present.

Wouldn't you risk it all to go back in time and right a wrong that would ultimately save your loved one?

Now I know that time travel in a novel can put people off a book before they even turn the cover and having read some dodgy time-travel books I completely understand. But I am writing this review to fiction fans of ALL genres and simply saying, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS NOVEL! Because if you don't, if you dismiss it as a genre that holds no interest to you, you will miss out on a piece of writing that is wonderfully life-affirming, beautiful, and so unbelievably special that I struggle to come up with the right words to do it justice.

Luna is a scientist who returns to her mother's birthplace with her sister to settle her mother's affairs. But while they are trying to deal with their grief something unexplainable begins to happen to Luna, who tries to explain the unexplainable with every scientific fact and logic in her armory. But as she finds herself in the past that was her mother's, Luna is determined to fix what was broken and in that way save her mother's life. But the past is not always bright and there are elements of darkness that are waiting for her. Can she change the past without destroying the future?

Beautifully detailed, THE SUMMER OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS by Rowan Coleman effortlessly transported me from the past to the present, and like everything written by Rowan, I finished this novel energised and ready to conquer the world. This book had me feeling every emotion possible and I did not put it down from the moment I read the first line - there was no sleep for me that night! Like I said before, I'm actually struggling with this review as I don't really know how to convey just how amazing it really is, so I'll keep it simple. Superb. Outstanding. Inspiring. And now one of my favourite books of all-time.

Like most time travelling books this touches on the consequences of what happens if you change the past. Luna suddenly discovers that she has the oportunity to go back in time after the death of her mother. Can she save her mother, and what will be the consequences? I really enjoyed the character relationships and also the setting of the book which brought a fairly standard time travelling book into something more special. I would highly recommend this lovable, easy read book!

This is a lovely, hopeful book. I think, personally, it was a little twee for my usual reading taste, however it is very readable and I can see why many will find it a fulfilling read. I love books that play with time and so that aspect appealed to me, although I guessed the true rapist identity which slightly diminished the 'reveal' effect.

Beautiful and ugly, romantic and heartbreaking, possible and impossible. The Summer of Impossible Things explores it all.

This story has combined romance, fantasy and historical fiction in one huge pot and served it at once on a silver platter. Isn’t that amazing?

Set in modern day Brooklyn, Luna and Pia lose their mother and come to her childhood home in distant America to learn more about her past. Filled with incredible sadness and complex emotions, you will love the small hints of mystery here and there that made up the mood of the book.

Two worlds intertwined, we got to meet the same people twice in their teenage selves and then once again in their late forties, time-travelling made it so much more exciting. A wrong move in the past will cause the present to become completely different from what it was (is? will be??).

Full review will be posted on my blog closer to the publication date.

A slow burn story where you are taken into the esoteric world of physics gently so that you understand the concept of the multiverse and what happens when you kill your grandmother!

A multiverse is, apparently, a hypothetical collection of identical or diverse universes, including our own.

And of course there is Schrodinger’s cat to help us understand it – when you open he box he is there and dead, there and not dead, or not there at all and you don’t know which until you open the box.

.... the question commonly asked about your grandfather also apparently has many different answers –maybe as many the multiverses themselves!

You may have prevented yourself from being born and thus when you return to your own timeline you are an anomaly with no previous existence.
You can’t return as you no longer exist anywhere.
You haven’t made any difference as you killed your grandfather in a different universe
and so on...
In this book a different concept is proposed, that you can go not only to a different universe but also  to one that it is running at a different time, and thus the connection between the two keeps throwing you into a different universe with different  histories. In each universe you enter with your old memories but you gradually lose them and remember a new history.

So as you go back and forward between these universes you affect the one in which you end up until you are in one where the history you want is the correct one for that universe.

I just wish I knew more about theoretical physics before reading this book but I am fairly sure that time travel is less likely than universe hopping so I am doubtful that she really affected the timeline, merely that she ended up in the universe where she liked the timeline and family history.

I have to give this a 5 for stretching my brain uncomfortably!

Absolutely outstanding - this was a joy to read, even when it made me cry!!
I shall be recommending this to everyone, it's a beautiful story about the lengths people will go to to save the ones they love.
A little bit different in style than previous books by this author but still guaranteed to tug on your heartstrings.