Just viewing the cover made me want to hit the water. I knew Jules Wake from the books she writes under her other author name Julie Caplin whose Romantic Escapes series has hit the bestseller charts around the world.
I was curious about this book too, especially after reading the blurb:
She’s trying to figure out her future.
He’s trying to forget his past.
But with the help of some unlikely friends, young and old, and a scruffy dog who just can’t help getting into trouble, a new community is formed – just when they all need each other the most.
Small hometown
‘She’ is Ettie who after school moved to London, going from job to job until her latest mishap pushes her back to her small hometown. She takes on a job as a temporary assistant at Hepplewaite Estate where her boss, the ‘he’ called Dominic is the one trying to forget his past.
I don’t want to give anything away but as the title already mentions the swimming club, I think I can safely say that this takes place in the lake of the estate. The people in the swimming club are fantastic characters, most have a lot going on in their lives. Slowly through the story it’s revealed why they act as they do.
What I love about Julie Caplin and, thus, also Jules Wake is that she makes her characters so real. They are not black and white. It feels like making friends when you get to know them and there’s usually a lot of humour around.
Switch off
The book also very much made me want to go swimming again because I too love to be in the water to mull things out, the repetitive movement helping with writing poetry, deciding if I should take that new job or just having a moment for myself away from any kind of distraction. This is how Ettie beautifully describes it:
“Her brain always seemed to be humming with ideas and thoughts, and a few lengths in the pool allowed her to switch off all the superficial, unnecessary stuff and drill down to the important things.”
Needless to say romantic developments bloom at the estate and people get to face their demons. I love how this all pans out, but no, I am not giving anything away only that I did laugh quite a bit, and when I’d finished I just wished I could go visit them all.
I’m sure you’ll feel the same, so why not dive in with Ettie and all the other wonderful characters in The Wednesday Morning Wild Swim.
PS I wrote this honest review after receiving an advanced readers copy.
Jules Wake?
After reading English at the University of East Anglia, Jules Wake worked in PR where she honed her fiction writing skills on press releases. She’s now a full-time author and what better job is there than making stuff up! It certainly beats housework. Jules says. You can find loads more info about her on her website.
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