A Sky Painted Gold - Laura Wood

Lou thinks of the Cardew house as hers. Sitting on an island of it's own, the house has been abandoned for some time when she decides to explore both the island and the house. Discovering orchards full of delicious fruit and a library full of books, she can't help going back and feels more at home there than at her own house. Eventually though, Robert and Caitlin Cardew come back to the house for the summer, to get away from London after losing both their parents.

As her friendship with the Cardew siblings grows, Lou is drawn into the life of glitz and glamour, parties and champagne, and she really doesn't want to go back to her sleepy village life. But everyone has secrets of their own and despite the easy way the Cardews live, even they have difficulties that Lou doesn't realise.

Lou is a wonderful character, I absolutely loved her slightly sarcastic humour. In fact, I'm a little bit in love with all the characters, even the ones I thought I would dislike at the start. Though some of the friends seem shallow at first, everyone has more to them than you think and the friendships and loyalties are deep. The descriptions of the parties made me feel like I was there, dancing and losing myself to the music. I enjoyed the book so much, I really hope the author will be writing more YA. Thanks to CHCCYA Festival for the proof copy. Hopefully I will be able to get it signed at YALC!

I started reading this book on holiday, with a jug of gin mojito next to me. A lovely neighbour made us a jug of mojito. It was full of fresh mint that was so tasty, I didn't want to throw it away away when we finished. So I refilled with gin, tonic and lemon juice, then left in the fridge to soak up all the flavours. So summery and delicious!