Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

Summer's Lease is such a great feel-good romance, with likable and endearing characters, and a steadily-moving plot which kept me interested and invested in the characters' stories. It was entirely predictable from the very beginning, but most romance stories are! I loved Elks' writing style, with a nice varied use of vocabulary and she really set the scene well. The only thing that stopped me from rating it as a 5* read, was the sex scene halfway through; I'm not prudish by any means, but this was such a gentle, lovely read, that to find a rather graphic sex scene seemed slightly out of place and let the book down. That aside, I was so pleased with the ending and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm also very happy that this is the first in a series of four - I can't wait to read the rest!

Summer's Lease is a feel good romance that does wonders to the soul, with its words and its emotions.
I liked both Cesca and Sam, and I found the tension between them exhilarating. Their banter, their animosity slowly leads to attraction and love. It was fun to read both characters flirting and moving towards each other. Their slow developing love nicely written.
The author Carrie Elks has done a great job with her words of romance and it brought hope to my heart that love exists...
Sometimes, it is nice to read romance amongst the psychological thriller and I am glad I picked up Carrie Elk's book. A great summer/winter read

My first book by Carrie Elks and I really like her writing style. Captured Italy so well that I wanted to book myself a holiday there right away! Look forward to reading more about the Shakespeare sisters in the upcoming books.

I was utterly captivated by this lovely story from Carrie Elks. It was exactly the kind of book that's perfect to read whilst lying on the beach during the summer holidays.
Cesca was an unusual character with an unusual name. Although she clearly had talent, she was wasting away going through terrible job after terrible job until fate steps in for her and she ends up working in Italy for the summer. I must say, I thought the premise of the story was an utter delight. Sam's character was so different from what we expect of him in the beginning. Because of the way Cesca was treated in the early days, we expect him to be full of himself but he's not... as he proves throughout the book.
All in all, a really wonderful tale, beautifully written too. Highly recommended!

Easy summer read, very enjoyable and full of feels. Great characters and captivating romance

This is a good modern story which held my interest to the end. It's the love story of Cesna and Sam. I would recommend this book for a lovely summer-time read.

This was a typical enemies to friends story. Set in Italy the scenery descriptions jump out of the page due to the authors’ words. The slow burning feelings between the characters was perfectly done.

Summers Lease I believe is the first of 4 books Carrie Elks featuring the Shakespeare sisters and we kick off with Cesca Shakespeare.

Cesca is down on her luck, for the past 6 years she's gone from job to job and losing the latest one - working in a cat cafe of all places - really does make her hit rock bottom.
Barely able to feed herself or pay this week's rent, Cesca is persuaded by her godfather Hugh to head to Italy for the summer.
Her role there is to house sit a villa owned by some of Hugh s friends whilst the current housekeeper take a holiday.

No sooner as Cesca arrives there she quickly realises that the villa is own by the Carlton family. Assured they won't be coming this summer Cesca agrees to stay on.... only one night she is rudely woken by someone entering the property. Sam Carlton.

Sam is an actor making quite a name for himself over the last 6 years and becoming one of Hollywood's hottest heartthrobs - however some bad press has forced him to leave the hustle of L.A. an head for a summers break at his families private and secluded Lake Como villa.

Things get off to a bad start between cesca and Sam - he can't understand why a girl he thinks he's never met hates him so much but for cesca, Sam walking out as the leading role in her west end play all those years ago had left herblaming him for her unabiltoty to write causing her to flit from job to job.

After a few heated conversations the pair eventually find some common ground and agree to at Least be amicable to each other... but that, along with the Italian heat, wine and good food leads to flirting and eventually more.

The couple get closer and closer and cesca opens up to Sam but every time the tables are turned she gets pushed away again leaving her heart broken when the time eventually comes for her to head home. Only after she has gone does Sam realise his true feeling for her.

Summers Lease is full of emotion. I felt like I was there with the couple as they fought and argues and Carrie wrote the sexual scenes with warmth providing just the right amount of details for your imagination.
The location and descriptions were stunning, forcing me again to Google holidays in Italy - much to my other half delight!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cesca and Sam's story in Summers Lease and hope it's not the last we hear of them as I look forward to more from the Shakespeare sisters.

Summers Lease is the perfect book for a summer escape!

Summer’s Lease is book one in a new series titled The Shakespeare Sisters by Carrie Elks. This is my first introduction to the work of Carrie Elks and I was in for a treat!

Cesca Shakespeare had spent six years in despair getting over the unexpected end of her play which was due to be played in the West End. A flop before the curtains were even drawn all because the leading man, Sam Carlton, upped and left without another word. Cesca had been unable to write another word without it making sense so she hopped from one dead end job to another to try and make ends meet. When the opportunity of a summer job arose house sitting in Italy she felt like it was her saviour.

The villa in Italy was beautiful beyond words and Cesca was soon feeling relaxed and was allowing her mind to refresh. However, her stress levels were soon to rise when an unexpected visitor turned up at the villa. The visitor was none other than the son of the owners of the villa, Sam Carlton. The same Sam Carlton that vanished from her play. The same Sam Carlton that was now a Hollywood heartthrob with millions of adoring fans following his success in the hottest chick flick trilogy to hit the screens.

As you can imagine Cesca was none too pleased to see Sam. Tempers flared and after much warring of words Cesca and Sam agreed on a temporary truce.

Staying at the villa had re-invigorated Cesca’s will to write and she soon got started on drafting a new screenplay.

Sam Carlton had fled to his family’s Italian villa escaping a storm in the media that had just brewed inciting much gossip about the actor’s personal life. When Sam arrived at the villa he couldn’t remember this young woman that was now shooting so much verbal towards him. When he eventually remembered the time six years ago when he fled from London he recalls the hurt he felt so deeply which he received from someone he thought loved and cared for him. Sam has spent the last six years avoiding as much as possible this time in his life where everything he knew and thought about himself changed.

However, Sam sees something in Cesca; he sees the love that she had back then in the play that she wrote. He sees how proud she was and as an eighteen year old girl it had mean’t the world to her and his unfortunate actions destroyed it.

Can the pair learn to live in harmony in the same villa whilst Cesca continues with her new job and Sam avoids any media intrusion? Can Cesca have the courage and determination to write again? Can Sam stop the demons from his past troubling his future?

This was such a beautiful story set amongst a stunning Italian lakeside villa. It’s difficult to remain mad or upset with anyone when you wake up everyday surrounded by a dazzling landscape. The ending was picture perfect, I felt like I’d just sat through the most sublime chick flick movie. A sexy, addictive romance worthy of big screen triumphs. I can’t wait to read more from Carrie Elks and The Shakespeare Sisters.

Cesca Shakespeare is at rock bottom - her career playwriting is down the pan which she blames on her play having to close after a week because the star playing the lead and upped and left - so when she is offered the chance to stay on a beautiful villa on Lake Como in Italy she jumps at the chance.....maybe she will be able to write again in such a lovely relaxing place

Sam is now a big heartthrob but that also brings publicity that can be unwelcome so when he needs a place to escape to he immediately things of his family's villa in Italy and decides its the perfect place to lie low

When Sam turns up at the villa Cesca is horrified this is the man that ruined her life and she has got to live with him.....you can ensure that the sparks will fly!

A lovely story in a perfect setting - there are great characters and although the story line is fairly predictable it is well written and I was sorry to finish the book.......but there are 3 more sisters to come!

I love Carrie's other books I have almost read them all so I was super excited to read this one.It was cute, an enemies to lovers story, a little more chemistry for me. I couldn't fall in love with the characters and this was my main reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted.The plot was great and the writing was good.

This is my first book by the author and I enjoyed it. It is an enemy to lovers book set in Italy.

a lovely easy read, excellent holiday/ wet day/bedtime reading. An enjoyable plot with likeable characters, i enjoyed reading the book very much.

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

Cesca Shakespeare is at a really low point at the start of this story. It’s been six years, since her play has fallen through, but she is still not over it. She has problems writing new things and paying her rent. Her three sisters live in another part of the world, so she is alone. Her godfather has the solution though: Looking after an Italian villa for the summer.

The villa is located by Lake Como and close to the city of Varenna. One night someone arrives and that someone turns out to be famous actor Sam Carlton, who left her play six years ago. The house belongs to his family.

The two of them hate each other and start fighting immediately. Sam Carlton needs some time away from his Hollywood fame and the rumours. His parents villa is the only possibility, but he is stuck at the house.

Well, somehow Cesca and Sam have to live with each other in this house and the more time they spend with each other, the more sparks fly between them. Cesca is writing again and seems happy. Sam can be himself and really enjoys it. There is the neighbour Cristiano though and then Sam’s family turns up.

I really liked the way Cesca’s and Sam’s relationship developed. They got to know each other, learned more about the other’s past and shared some pretty unique moments. I truly think that Carrie Elks captured this beautifully. I always felt really close to the characters and loved reading the story from both Cesca’s and Sam’s perspective.

The setting is absolutely stunning, I felt at home immediately and that’s also thanks to Carrie Elks’s descriptive, sweet and passionate writing. I was hooked from the start and never wanted to leave the story. I’m so glad this is a series, can’t wait for the next book!

I adore how this story touches different topics. Love obviously, but also family, self discovery, dealing with your job and dealing with failure. Both Cesca and Sam had to learn and grow in this story, which was always part of the smooth storyline.

A very thrilling, fascinating and sweet story, I loved every second of it!

Another spectacular book from Carrie Elks. Love the characters, love the setting, love everything about it. If I could I would give it 10/10

This is a book I was excited to read because it sounded like the perfect easy summer read. Woman with writers block escapes to Lake Como to housesit for a family and ends up trapped in a villa with a man she loathes. Who doesn't love hate to love romance set in Italy with a celebrity romantic lead? Ok, it does sound like a bit if a busy story but it still sounds fun

Fun it was. I enjoyed myself reading. I felt a strong urge to sit in the sun and drink wine and do something spontaneous. I wanted to travel Europe and have fun and also had a strong urge to go to the theatre and all the best summer reads make you want to do something fun.

Cesca is in a bit of rut with writers block and no job and little hope in her life until she escapes to Italy where she gets her reading mojo back. It's going great until Sam Carlton, famous actor and man who ditched her theatre debut, shows up and ruins things. The two argue and I enjoyed the spark between them. Seeing the banter progress from hateful jibes to cheeky flirtation was awesome. I love a good hate to love and Sam and Cesca's path to romance was difficult.

I did find myself rolling my eyes at a couple of things though. Cesca had a sexy Italian neighbour up on the lake and he was obviously a potential love interest for her. He was such a non characters and he felt very forced and two dimensional. So much so I can't even remember his name. He felt unnecessary and purely there to push the plot along. My other grumble is that Sam and Cesca's relationship obstacles seemed a bit ridiculous. Like they had issues bit they both really needed to just use their damn words. It wasn't the end of the world but it was a little frustrating.

If you're look for a fun romance set somewhere different then check this out. It is a really enjoyable read.

★3.5 STARS★

Writer Cesca Shakespeare's star is prematurely snuffed out even before the curtain rises for Act I. When the productions leading man goes AWOL, he takes with him any chance of the play she has written being a success. She's never recovered from the disaster that was once her fledgling career in theatre, and has for the last six year worked (and been fired from) a variety of dead end jobs.

When she finds herself at another loose end, her uncle and confident who can no longer bear to see her throw her talents away insists she take some time to become inspired once again. The theatre runs through her blood and as scared as she is, she agrees she owes it to herself to reconnect with her love of writing.

In the years that her career had stalled, the man she attributes her failures to has much success in Hollywood. Never would be too soon for Cesca were to hear the name Sam Carlton again, so you can imagine her horror when she comes face to face with him instead.

Set in the gorgeous background of Italy, this enemies to lovers romance has all the right ingredients for a delightful pool side read. It's humorous and light, with a generous helping of swoons.

It seems like ages since Carrie’s last novel ‘Fix You’ was released so I was excited when I saw that this book was releasing this summer. It sounded exotic, excitingly romantic and the ultimate book to relax with in summer.

The opening scene is in London where Cesca gets fired from another job, mind you maybe a cat café isn’t the best place for waitressing when you’re not an animal person, but most of us have had a job we’ve had to take for money, while looking for something else I’m sure. Anyway she manages to get a job house sitting a villa for the Carltons, who are quite a famous family. The start of the book is quite humorous when Cesca is talking to her cat café boss but you soon start to feel for Cesca when you realise there is some deeper than just laziness or uselessness at keeping a job.

The book is mostly set in Italy though on the aforementioned house sitting job. Near Lake Como, it truly sounded one of the most relaxing places on earth. You could easily waste away a week in one of the café’s, piazza’s or anywhere by the lake, even better on a private beach at the end of your luxury villa. Add that with the friendly and kind locals, the rustic and delicious food and of course the local wine, and you have yourself the perfect summer destination, and it’s so easy to imagine yourself there with Cesca. One of the best things I liked about the books is the ability to transport you anywhere with just words, and this book does it incredibly well.

Cesca was certainly a feisty character, never scared to let you know how she felt. As it happens she was also quite insecure, and while she had every reason to be mad at Sam, her extreme reaction was a clearly a reaction that masked her annoyance at herself as much as Sam, if not more, but then you’re always your own worst critic aren’t you? When relaxed though, you could see Cesca was lots of fun, and her exchanges with Sam while they were sparring were great to read, as was the scene where she had too much to drink and Sam found her.

Sam was obviously handsome and fairly self assured, not in the arrogant way Cesca accused him of. He was also sensitive though, especially with family so it was easy to like him. However I felt at times he was far too possessive at times, I don’t always like people telling people ‘You’re Mine’, it can be romantic, but the tone in which it sounded was like Cesca was a possession, not a human, meant to be loved in return as well. Generally though, Sam was incredibly likeable if you over-look this.

Christiano was charming as well, but at times he came across as too enthusiastic, though maybe it was just me. He was very passionate, and the attention he lavished on Cesca would embarrass me, as I don’t like to be the centre of attention to that extent, but that’s a personal thing, and maybe if I met someone like him, I would like to be told how amazing I am.

This book was definitely a summer scorcher. It’s got lots of fun moments, with just enough drama that makes you want to keep turning pages long after this book is finished. The epilogue is the picture of perfection, just like ‘Fix You’, which also had one of my favourite epilogues, this one’s ending satisfied my appetite to know what happens to our hero and heroine.

When Cesca Shakespeare was 18, she wrote a brilliant play that never made it to opening night because the lead actor, Sam Carlson, left London for the bright lights of Hollywood. Six years later, Cesca still hasn’t got over the disappointment and she has abandoned the theatre. She can’t hold a job for long so when her godfather offers her the chance to spend the summer in Italy, housesitting a villa by Lake Como, she is delighted to get out of London and maybe get some writing done. What she doesn’t know is that the villa belongs to Sam’s parents and the man himself turns up unannounced one night.

The novel is very-well written, with vivid descriptions and delicious food, and as a Shakespeare fan, I appreciated the quotes from his plays and sonnets at the beginning of each chapter. This is the typical story of two people who first hate each other and then fall in love but, even though I knew exactly where the story was heading, it is still an entertaining and romantic novel with witty dialogues and likable characters.