Review: 'Waiting for Summer' by Anna-Maria Athanasiou (2013)

Sylvie has it all - a beautiful home, two adoring sons and a successful husband - until a simple action knocks Sylvie's world off its axis. Her perfect life is turned upside down and her heart is broken. Unable to accept heartache again she decides, for once, to be bold and take control of her life.
Sylvie's road to rediscovery begins. With the help of her close friend and business partner Zach, Sylvie's professional life starts to turn around. Julian, a successful architect and admirer, helps to guide her, and Sylvie's own fledgling interior design business flourishes. Sylvie starts to move forward, still battling with her own insecurities, until an unexpected, chance meeting.
She finds herself faced with a difficult choice; does she risk an involvement which could potentially affect everyone she loves and cares for? Or should she take the moral high ground and deny herself a second chance for happiness and love?
We're already halfway into February and very slowly we're allowed to start thinking about Spring and warmer days. In the meantime, we luckily have lots of novels set either in the summer or at gorgeous locations to keep us warm. Anna-Maria Athanasiou's novel 'Waiting for Summer' promises a great read for those of us who are longing for those long summer days (which fits the title of the novel perfectly!) as the novel is set on the island of Cyprus. I straight away was intrigued by the blurb, and looked forward to giving the book a chance.
Forty-something Sylvie seems to have absolutely everything she ever wanted: a loving family consisting of her handsome husband and two wonderful sons, a beautiful home on the island of Cyprus, and a successful business. However, trouble arrives in paradise when Sylvie unexpectedly discovers some messages from another woman on her husband's phone. Suddenly, Sylvie's whole life is turned upside down and she's not sure what to do: she knows she has to confront her husband and ask him to explain himself, but at the same time she wants to protect the happy life they have built together. When another attractive man walks into Sylvie's life and makes her feel all kinds of things she's not supposed to feel, things only start to get more complicated, and Sylvie is forced to make some important decisions. 
This really is a great read to pick up when you're longing for that summer holiday feeling or looking for a light read to take with you on holiday yourself. As a reader we are invited into main character Sylvie’s Mediterranean world on the island of Cyprus, and next to a simply stunning setting the novel also has an interesting mix of characters and a good storyline. At the beginning I was really intrigued by Sylvie’s life and I honestly felt for her when she discovered the messages from her husband’s mistress on his car phone. I was really curious to find out how she would eventually deal with this (would she confront her husband and take the risk of possibly ending their marriage) and what it would mean for all the characters involved, including their sons and the people around them. I thought this part of the story was really interesting and the tension was convincing and had me in its grip, wondering what would happen next.
I do not want to give too much away about the book, but as the storyline progressed I felt the pace wasn’t as quick and the events not as gripping as the first half of the novel. I also personally noticed that there were still quite a few mistakes in the novel here and there, which is something that grabbed my attention over and over again, which was a shame. However, this is a personal thing and might not bother other readers. There is a second part of the series and I am quite curious to find out what will happen next to Sylvie, so I look forward to reading it. Overall, ‘Waiting for Summer’ is an enjoyable escapist read filled with passion and betrayal; great for romance fans who are looking for their next (holiday) read!

Rating:8/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.