Book Review: Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello

Blurb: 'LEARN TO SALSA DANCE,' the card in the shop window read. 'Experience the red-hot vibes of Latin America right here in the Lake District. Beginners and singles welcome.' 

Lauren Scott lives in 'The most romantic place in Britain', but her love life is about as successful as her mountain climbing skills. The man she's obsessed over for two years has proposed to someone else - and her only solution is to save up for six months to go travelling, so she never has to set eyes on him again. 

But when her friends sign her up for a dance class - in the same historic hotel where her beloved dad worked and her most precious childhood memories were formed - Lauren makes a horrifying discovery. It's been sold to a faceless budget chain, which has depressing plans in store. Worse, the entrepreneur behind it all turns out to be among a group of guys her friend Cate roped in to join the very same salsa class they've signed up for.... 

Jane Costello's funniest book yet - a story of love, friendship and some serious hip action . . . Get in the mood to mambo!

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: Is it just me or are Jane Costello's books getting better and better with every new release? I mean, I have always loved her stories, they guarantee romance, lovable characters and lots of laughs but with every new book we get a bit more. I especially enjoyed her previous one, The Love Shack, as it was about so much more that a love story. But I think Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel might be even better.

During the first half of the story I was laughing non-stop. Lauren is such a charming character. She is prone to awkward situations and basically making a fool of herself, but you can't help loving her. Her love interest, Edwin, seems quite a nice guy, smart, great with kids and all in all a good guy. Shame he is taken. So Lauren's idea to save up for a while to be able to travel to Australia where her father was from and live her life a little seems like quite a good idea. But soon things start to get complicated. Edwin is leaving to work in Singapore and has actually asked Lauren to go with him!

But this is not the only dilemma going on in Lauren's life. When she takes up Salsa dancing with her best girlfriends, Emily and Cat, the last thing Lauren expects is one, Salsa is actually fun, and two, her beloved Moonlight Hotel, where the lessons take place, is being sold to some company who has no idea of the sentimental meaning it has for the community and Lauren herself. So she is ready to fight for it with all her heart... until she discovers the new owner is actually one of her new Salsa buddies, quite a gorgeous one for that.

As the story unfolds, it starts getting more serious as Lauren and her friends have to fight quite some fronts. Both Emily and Cate have their own stories and I ended up caring a lot for them too, especially Cate, who goes through a rough and really unfair patch. I was rooting for them until the end and it was hard to say good-bye. I am sure I'm going to miss them.

For me, Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel is Jane Costello's best book so far. It completely captured my heart and I think there wasn't a thing I didn't love. It is equally hilarious and fun as it is warm and moving. Highly recommended to enjoy during a warm summer night and dust off your dancing shoes, I'm sure you'll want to try Salsa after this read!

Rating: