Thank you Providence Book Promotions for allowing us this opportunity to participate in the book blog tour of The Last Weekend Of the Summer by Peter Murphy. What a fabulous book!

A little bit about the book before my review...

Synopsis
They have been coming to their grandmother Gloria’s lake cottage since they were babies. Now Johnnie and Buddy have families of their own and C.C. has a life full of adult drama and adventure. And this trip – the only stated purpose of which is to bring the family together for the last weekend of the summer – seems full of portent. Gloria has been hinting that there’s more on the agenda than grilling and swimming, and when the three siblings learn that their estranged father will also be in attendance, it becomes clear that this weekend will have implications that last far beyond the final days of the season.

A touching, incisive view into the dynamics of a family on the verge of change and filled with characters both distinctive and utterly relatable, THE LAST WEEKEND OF THE SUMMER is a rich, lyrical reading experience that will resonate in your heart.

Genre: Literary Fiction

Published by: The Story Plant

Publication Date: August 28, 2018

Number of Pages: 224

ISBN: 1611882575 (ISBN13: 9781611882575)

About the Author
Peter Murphy was born in Killarney where he spent his first three years before his family had to move to Dublin. Growing up in the verdant braes of Templeogue, Peter was schooled by the De La Salle brothers in Churchtown where he played rugby for “The Wine and Gold.” He also played football (soccer) in secret! After that, he graduated and studied the Humanities in Grogan’s under the guidance of Scot’s corner and the bar staff, Paddy, Tommy and Sean. Murphy financed his education by working summers on the buildings sites of London. He also tramped the roads of Europe playing music and living without a care in the world.

But his move to Canada changed all of that. He only came over for a while and ended up living there for more than thirty years. He took a day job and played music in the bars at night until the demands of family life intervened. Having raised his children and packed them off to university, Murphy answered the long-ignored internal voice and began to write. He has published five novels so far and has begun work on a new one. Nowadays, he lives in beautiful Lisbon with his wife Eduarda and their well-read dog, Baxter.



Connect with Peter at:
– peterdmurphy.com
– Twitter – PeterD_Murphy
– Facebook – PeterDMurphyAuthor


Review by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto
I have to begin by telling you I had no idea how this book was going to end. It was just like real life - funny, raw, edgy, filled with emotions, and completely unpredictable. The Last Weekend Of The Summer was a joy to read and I would feel comfortable allowing my teenage children to read the book as well. There wasn't anything that struck me as inappropriate for readers of all ages.

I finished this book weeks ago and still find the characters coming across my mind - they are well-written and each one has qualities I found myself loving and hating at the same time. What sticks with me most is the thought of what we all leave behind - what will our legacy be? As a young mother or a mother with young children (whichever way you prefer to look at it), it's hard for me to fathom our family dynamics in a few years when everyone is grown with relationships and potentially families of their own. I love how Peter Murphy explored family dynamics and relationships in this beautiful story - I would absolutely recommend The Last Weekend of  the Summer to friends and family (might also be appropriate for a book club read).

Thank you again Peter D. Murphy 

and Providence Book Promotions!

About today's reviewer

Crystal is a council secretary and musician at her church, birth mother, babywearing cloth diapering mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their five youngest children (Carmen 11, Andre 10, Breccan 4, Delphine 3, and baby Eudora), two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff here, and at WOW!Women on Writing - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!