MWSA Review

Loving Summer by Carole Brungar is book number four in her multi-award-winning Nam Legacy Series. Loving Summer can easily stand alone, a testament to the author’s writing skills.

In 1967, a Christmas card project organized by Summer Bryant’s school to send messages to the soldiers in Vietnam. Lovable Summer Bryant is a flower child born into the transient world of hippies, communes, and free love. And she’s against the war that’s killing thousands of innocent lives in Vietnam.

Scott Taylor is the consummate leader of warriors and becomes the recipient of Summer’s Christmas card. He decides to answer with a thank you. Thus, begins a pen-pal relationship lasting years until the correspondence abruptly stops.

Scott returns to New Zealand to find that his wife is distant. Their relationship deteriorates despite a pregnancy about which they are both excited. He continues to write to Summer. When Scott finds out earth-shaking news, the marriage disintegrates and he stops writing to Summer. He finds solace in alcohol. In 1978, with the help of Army pals, Scott starts to get his life on track. Set up on a blind date, Scott Taylor’s broken life changes its trajectory, sending him on an unforgettable, poignant journey.

Carole Brungar skillfully takes you deep into Scott and Summer’s unforgettable love story with her detailed descriptions. She weaves a tapestry of two unlikely soulmates and knits it all together for the reader to feel the warmth and passion. Loving Summer is hard to put down and requires a box of tissues.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

It’s Christmas in the killing fields of Vietnam, and Corporal Scott Taylor calls his men together and hands out mail from a school back home, unaware the card he opens will change his life forever.

Everyone loves Summer Bryant. She’s a wild child born into the transient world of hippies, communes, and free love. And she’s against the war that’s killing thousands of innocent people and the soldiers fighting there.

Yet, through the pages of Scott and Summer’s letters, an unforeseen friendship forms that becomes a bond so strong, that neither understands the grip it has over them.

Home from Vietnam, Scott finds the world has moved on without him. When his life spirals out of control, he’s convinced even the letters from Summer can’t save him this time.

After years of silence, fate throws them together. Shocked to finally come face to face with Summer, Scott realises the attraction between them is stronger than ever. But the past is rapidly catching up to this beautiful free-spirited woman. Will Scott’s unconditional love be enough to save Summer? Or will this be another war that Scott has no chance of winning?

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 390

Word Count: 112800