Thank you for the arc copy of spring, summer, autumn us. I found this book endearing if a little slow to start. I liked watching the story unfold between Rachel and her fiance and then the new American shebis drawn too. A nice easy read

What a stunningly beautiful book.

Well written with an incredible cast of characters, some more likeable than others. We follow Rachel, the protagonist throughout her adult life zooming in at key points al9ng the way.

A brilliant book with a beautiful cover. A romance story through years and seasons of Rachel and Gabe. Engaging till the end and beautifully written

I was hoping to love this book, it has the romcom vibe I absolutely adore and the premise sounded good: Rachel seems to have this perfect life with Jonny, who appears lovely and caring even if he's really concentrated on becoming the next big thing in spy thriller literature. They're about to get married and she will become the stepmother of his daughter who she loves. But she keeps finding her path crossed with Gabe, a charming American who is just perfect.

I really loved the writing. It was light and fun to read, even if I would have cut it a bit shorter (400 pages it's just too long for this story). It was mostly what kept me reading until the end, so if you want a romance story through time with beautiful writing this book is absolutely for you. Also, the cover is just so beautiful, I can't think of a better one to represent this story.

Now, I didn't like Rachel at all. She seemed a bit childish and too innocent for a woman in her mid-twenties in 80s England. I really wanted to see more of her relationship with her parents, something that clearly marked her personality given the toxic environment they created in her childhood, but we only get some memories and no flashbacks at all.
The coincidences started to become too much even for me. I get that they keep finding each other and that's the plot, but most of the time just seemed implausible and I got annoyed of pretending to be surprised.

I enjoyed the aspect of an American man being the outsider in the relationship as opposed to a British man, once again, being the object of attention. To me, it made the story interesting enough to finish.

Absolutely brilliant book, you’ll go though a whole range of emotions as you follow Rachel and Gabe’s journey through the seasons and their meet ups through the years. Wonderfully written and very engaging. One not to be missed.

The story begins in 1986 when Rachel starts a new chapter in her life with Jonny and his daughter Teddy.
When fate intervenes when she meets Gabe, an American artist and the attraction is instant.
But she will not let Jonny or his daughter down and says goodbye to Gabe.
Fate has other ideas and Gabe keeps coming back into her life just when she needs him the most.
Her marriage to Jonny is not a happy one and several time over the years in the book I was hoping that Rachel would leave and have a life with Gabe.
Wonderfully written with some great characters.

This is one of THOSE books; the kind that, when you reach the last page a little bit of you wishes you hadn't read it - so you could have the pleasure all over again!

Rachel has her life all mapped out; engaged to Jonny she will be step-mother to his daughter Teddy and run her own art gallery. Then she meets Gabe - an American artist with a candid manner about him and while there is no denying there is an attraction, Rachel has plans and is committed to her relationship. However, the art world is small -even on a world wide scale - and Gabe and Rachel's paths cross from time to time over the years and the more she sees of him, the less she can forget . . .

Oh, this is a novel with absolutely everything going for it. It's honest, realistic, and absolutely delicious. The setting, the characters, the relationships and all the bits that are going on that we're not aware of just kept me glued to the pages. The tension between Rachel and Gabe is palpable. The writing is incredible, keeping the readers attention and it all moves along at a good pace. I never really had the time to think ahead (as I couldn't bear to stop reading) but if I had thought about what ending I wanted, it would have been the one I got. Perfect, just perfect. This is definitely one I'll read again, when I have had time to forget all the little details which abound. I really cannot recommend this one highly enough and, of course, give it a full house of sparkling stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I wasn’t expecting to find myself so immersed as I read this story, but it didn’t take long for me to get hooked. The premise felt unique and the characters were easy to connect with and root for. I liked reading how they find each other over and over again. The characters were well fleshed out and the story moved along at a good pace. This was such a good read that I definitely recommend others check it out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

Right person wring time. Rachel is engaged and leading a pretty safe and predictable life I a small English town when she meets American Gabe. Set over 10 years Rachel and Gabe have four chance encounters and Rachel must decide to choose the love she's always known, or the love that pushes her into who she's meant to be. This book reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Love Rosie. You see two people who are obviously meant to be together when time and circumstances always get in the way. It's a little predictable, but overall a very heartwarming story. Thanks to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I managed to finish this over the weekend just in time for todays release date!

The story follows Rachel over the span of 11 years, her cushy life in the idyllic middle class life in an English village and her marriage to Johnny. Over the course of the 11 years she encounters a charming American named Gabe, and these encounters will have quite the effect on our fmc.

One relationship flourishes and one crumbles. It’s a perfect parallel.

This story is heartbreaking yet heartwarming at the same time!

I absolutely loved this, I was fully invested in the Rachel, Johnny, Gabe love triangle saga! The writing was incredibly emotive and had you feeling every little pinch of trauma and emotion! Fantastic read

I loved this book! I’m already sure this will be one of my favourite books of the year. It’s beautifully written , with many elegant, evocative sentences that really emphasised the emotional journey Rachel was on. There were great moments of nostalgia in reading the scenes from the 1980s and 1990s. I particularly loved the way that Rachel’s relationship with Gabe gradually developed while her marriage to Jonny slowly disintegrated in parallel. An absolute joy to read!

📚📖 BOOK REVIEW 📖📚

📖 Book - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Us
✍️ Author - Fiona Collins
📕 Publisher - Lake Union
🗓 Publication Date - 3rd April 2023

This is the first book I have read by this author. I’m so glad I managed to finish it before it is released tomorrow!

I’m going to be honest. When I started reading this, I wasn’t sure it was going to be for me …. But the more I read, I needed to know what happens. I loved the idea that this couple’s feelings grew so much, even though they had only met on 3 occasions, every 11 years. I did get a bit worried, as I thought the ending was not going the way I hoped. Thought it was the right ending for this story
.
The story of Rachel, Jonny & Gabe … love does not always run smooth …♥️📚♥️📚

Thanks #Netgalley for allowing me this ARC
Also #lakeunion #fionacollins #bookstagramshaz

I absolutely loved this book, it’s so beautifully written. I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end.
It follows the story of Rachel and her four chance encounters with Gabe. I loved both these characters. I was invested in them and their happiness, the constant will they, won’t they. Fate bringing them back together, the chemistry and the strong character development all helped make this book something truly special. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
A lovely read about love, relationships, family and responsibility. Highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGallery & Amazon Publishing UK for an arc in exchange for a honest review.

This book, told over several decades, is a sad, beautiful, tragic, fulfilling story of Rachel finding herself and her true love. It’s a slow burn that leaves you breathless.

Rachel’ s life in a rather cosy middle class English village is planned out - she will marry budding author Jonny, and hopefully have a family of her own., until she meets a charming American. They only meet a few times and this happens over a number of years and seasons. I quite liked the section set in Morocco. A bit predictable and perhaps a little overuse of clichés (flowers winking in the hedgerows etc). Although not to my taste, some may find this an easy and enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley for the free e-copy

Rachel is ready for the perfect life - to get married, start a family, own a gallery, be successful. And she is ready for this with Jonny. That is until she meets Gabe, an American artist by chance at a party. For the first time, she begins to wonder what if. Over the course of four decades, chance encounters with Gabe have her questioning her life and the path that's meant for her.

I've said this in previous reviews, but love triangles are typically not my jam. I decided to take a shot on this one as the premise really had me hooked. And I thought this book was winning me over the more I read. I was rooting for Rachel. I was falling for Gabe. I was contemplating life, love and relationships. The story brings up many interesting questions and forces the reader to self-reflect.

It's obvious to the reader as we visit Rachel for snippets of time each decade that she may be content, but she's not truly happy. The author dropped hints regarding Jonny's true character as the story progressed which made it increasingly frustrating when Rachel prioritized security over herself. Gabe challenged her, saw her as an equal, loved her, and chose her every time. Every encounter they had was serendipity, but never enough.

I think I would've loved this book if the 2008 encounter ended as Rachel intended. I would've been over the moon. She finally had a breakthrough and was ready to choose herself! When the next section started in 2019 and I realized what happened I was MAD. To make matters worse, Jonny basically became a full on villain (aka the real accident story) before Rachel took any action. Like come on - there were many reasons and clues before the final reveal which felt like it was pulled from a whole other novel. I so wish Rachel would've realized this sooner because it honestly felt like she never would've made the right choice. I get why Rachel longed for stability when we learn about her parents, but the 2019 jump was the final straw for me. Thank goodness my man Gabe played the long game because Rachel took way too long to come to her senses. While the ending made me happy, I couldn't help but feel cheated on the wasted years for Rachel and Gabe.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I had little idea what to expect from this book, but I enjoyed it hugely.

Spanning four seasons and four decades, this story follows Rachel, who we first meet in the '80s when she's in her twenties, about to marry aspiring author Jonny and become stepmother to his little girl. And that's when she first meets Gabe, a handsome American on a short visit to his aunt in their Oxfordshire village, and sparks a connection that will never quite go away, despite the many years between their meetings.

I think this is the first book I've read by Fiona Collins, but she writes very well. I liked Rachel's character a lot, and I also fell a little in love with "quiet American" Gabe.

The relationship between Rachel and her fiancé-later-husband Jonny, who becomes a very successful author of spy novels (though isn't Nikita a boy's name in Russia?) is really well drawn, too. Jonny was a believable if frustrating character. When you've built a life together for many years, is it really possible to walk away?

A story about the seasons and the passage of time, art (I loved Rachel's seasons-themed gallery), love of different kinds and the parts of ourselves that we suppress or allow other people to suppress. A really engaging and evocative read.

What an amazing book about a woman who chooses stability and safety over a crazy passionate true love. Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book! What a read. Collins' setting, whilst fictional, is totally recognisable and believeable; it was the perfect backdrop to this story!

Rachel and Gabe - star crossed lovers - the attraction is evident from the first moment they meet. The problem is that Rachel is already 'in love' with Jonny, and her back story which is intricately revealed throughout the novel, means that she is not prepared to take a chance on destabilising her life.

I wanted her to take a chance on Gabe, and it was not clear how this book would end. Rachel's life is safe and steady but it is all about Jonny and as the novel drew to a close his true character is revealed and he is far from all that he seems.

Rachel's trip to Marrakesh about halfway through the book is the most evocative, masterful storytelling I have enjoyed in a very long time. I have never visited Marrakesh but I could imagine myself there, so convincing are the descriptions of the streets, bazaars and restaurants. Such a romantic, claustrophobic backdrop for Rachel and Gabe's will-they. won't-they relationship to develop against. The dry humour of an unexpected visitor and the repeat visit to a famous restaurant...

Life is not unkind to Rachel in this book, more unfortunate - her compassion and need to love and be loved for herself shine through. Her relationship as step-mother to Teddy felt real and gritty and far from perfect, but true and genuine at the same time. There is an irony that one of Teddy's last gifts to Rachel is to show her what real love could be.

Wow! I could dive right back in and read it all again straight away!