Lexie and her husband Sam have spent years lovingly restoring No. 3 Cashel Square to its former glory. So imagine Lexie's delight when a stranger knocks on the door, asking to see the house she was born in over sixty years ago.
Kathleen is visiting from America, longing to see her childhood home... and longing for distraction from the grief of losing her husband.
And as Lexie and Sam battle over whether or not to have a baby and Kathleen struggles with her loss, the two women realise their unexpected friendship will touch them in ways neither could have imagined.
In Caracove, there's more than a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
In The Summer Guest we meet Lexie and Sam who have built a great life for themselves restoring their dream home and even overcoming adversity in Lexie's case to change direction in her career to now run a successful art gallery but that could all be threatened by Sam's sudden decision that he now wants a child as they'd both agreed previously that they didn't want children.
One day they get a surprise letter through their letterbox from an American tourist Kathleen saying that she used to live in the house as a child and asking if it would be possible to have a look around the house. We soon discover that her husband had booked the holiday for her but that she'd come back to Ireland alone to take a trip down memory lane.
Despite the gap in their ages Lexie and Kathleen build up a strong bond and as soon as Lexie discovers that Kathleen is here on her own she invites her to stay in their granny flat downstairs and together they work on Kathleen's things to do which gives them both food for thought as to what they want from their lives in the future...
I loved Kathleen's spirit and hope that when I'm a pensioner I have her get up and go to do these sort of things on my own. At the moment I'm a wuss and would never dream of going on holiday on my own let alone fly half way across the world!
Although Lexie, Sam and Kathleen are the central characters we also meet a diverse cast of secondary characters including Amelie, Lexie's niece who all play their part. I loved the close bond that Amelie and Lexie have and how even when her recklessness puts herself in damage she knew the one person she could totally rely on was Lexie who would be there for her no matter what.
There were some serious issues dealt within the book such as grief/moving on with your life and the decision to have a child but don't let that put you off as the underlying and strongest theme I would say that runs through this book is friendships, between couples, family and friends. The Summer Guest was the perfect read from start to finish but then I might be a little biased as I've loved reading all of Emma Hannigan's books.
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