
One Lucky Summer
by Jenny Oliver
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Pub Date 19 Apr 2022 | Archive Date 10 May 2022
Harper 360, HQ

Talking about this book? Use #OneLuckySummer #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
‘A lovely read … leaving you with a warm glow and a smile your face’ Jo Thomas
‘The perfect summer read … I loved everything about it!’ Bella Osborne
‘Fresh and original, haunting and evocative’ Jules Wake
‘A delicious ice-cream of a book’ Josie Lloyd
With an air of faded splendour, Willoughby Hall was an idyllic childhood home to Ruben de Lacy. Gazing at it now, decades later, the memories are flooding back, and not all of them are welcome…
In a tumbledown cottage in Willoughby’s grounds, Dolly and Olive King lived with their eccentric explorer father. One of the last things he did was to lay a treasure hunt before he died, but when events took an unexpected turn, Dolly and Olive left Willoughby for good, never to complete it.
But when Ruben uncovers a secret message, hidden for decades, he knows he needs Olive and Dolly’s help. Can the three of them solve the treasure hunt, and will piecing together the clues help them understand what happened to their families that summer, all those years ago?
A glorious summer read with a delightful cast of characters from the bestselling author of The Summer We Ran Away.
Praise for One Lucky Summer:
‘A lovely read. A real journey, with wrong turns along the way and a delightful arrival at their destination. It's like a summer outing leaving you with a warm glow, and a smile your face’ Jo Thomas, author of Chasing the Italian Dream
‘This is the perfect summer read. Full of fun, mystery and warmth. I loved everything about it!’ Bella Osborne, author of The Promise of Summer
‘Fresh and original, haunting and evocative’ Jules Wake, author of The Spark
‘A delicious ice-cream of a book. Loved it! Essential holiday reading’ Josie Lloyd, author of The Cancer Ladies' Running Club
‘[A] must read’ Bella
‘A twisty, wistful novel perfect for long sunny afternoons’ New
Praise for Jenny Oliver:
‘You know you’re in for a treat when you open a Jenny Oliver book’ Debbie Johnson, bestselling author of Maybe One Day
‘The perfect summer read’ Sarah Morgan, bestselling author of The Summer Seekers
Available Editions
EDITION | Paperback |
ISBN | 9780008297572 |
PRICE | $16.99 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews

This was a fun feel good story with likeable characters, and who doesn't enjoy a treasure hunt around a huge estate by the sea? I'll be looking for more novels by Jenny Oliver.

I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about this read until about halfway through, but it was when I realized that I had started to root for the characters to find love and happiness that I knew I had it bad for this sweet, silly book. It's everything you want an escapist beach read to be, bringing a smile to your face & warm fuzzies to your heart! The protagonist, Ruben de Lacy, is written as somewhat of an anti-hero and although I was truly annoyed with him for much of the book, I ended up loving the way in which he finds his feet & owns up to his shortcomings, despite his best attempts to preserve his "ladies-man-about-town" persona. Jenny Oliver does a beautiful job of writing these characters, striking the balance between relatable, flawed and genuinely likable, and telling a story that deals with the way that shared past events have affected and continue to affect this group of people.

Thank you to HQ for the ARC to read and review.
One Lucky Summer by Jenny Oliver is indeed lucky on several fronts for the characters in this book.
Two are lucky for second chances. Two are lucky they reconnected and cleared the air. One is lucky she didn’t give up. All are lucky to work together to find a treasure.
Best character development in a novel I’ve read in a long time. A very enjoyable story of two sisters and their boy next door.

Three childhood friends, now grown and jaded. A feisty aunt who enjoys manly eye candy and gold lamé. A Shakespeare-quoting tween who’s wise beyond her years. One very determined aspiring house cat. And a treasure hunt that brings them all together. Will they find the treasure, or something else long since buried?
One Lucky Summer explores the bonds that keep us together alongside old wounds that threaten to force us apart. It’s a summer adventure with plenty of laughs, family drama, romance, and such an endearing cast of characters. Definitely one to add to your summer TBR!
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the complimentary advance copy of this work!

This is a perfect beach read or add for your staycation TBR stack. Charming and light, but with enough character depth and evolution and strong sense of place to make it meaningful. One Lucky Summer also weaves together friendship, romance, a fun treasure hunt, and a cat. This one checks all the boxes for a sweet summer story.