★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
I've been apprehensive about picking up my next romance read, knowing that I haven't been reading any fantastic ones in a long time. The blurb of this book attracted me, though not so much the cover and the title. Looking at it again now, I honestly don't think that the cover and the title suit this book at all. Summer doesn't have a significance; I don't remember the season being mentioned at all.
After having dated so many men and not having any luck, Ruby has decided to take matters into her own hands to fulfill what she thinks her purpose is. To do so, she has to travel to London. While on the train, the stranger sitting beside her took out an engagement ring and regaled to her a story about how he intends to propose to his girlfriend. It makes Ruby believe in love again. But when he leaves the ring behind, she makes it a point to return it to him. How could she not, after spending time with this romantic man who helped boost her mood? Only, this other passenger she met on the train, Curtis, doesn't find her trustworthy. This begins their journey together to find him. Meanwhile, Ruby's friend Kim is also having a love story of her own written out for her.
I would say that the plot of this book did not disappoint. Several parts of the story caught me unawares, and I loved them. They really left me shocked for a good few seconds! And though the main story has already been revealed in the blurb, I was still impressed. Finding the man who lost an engagement ring on the train and finding love on the way... who could possibly think of this? Only this author.
What I am not so into are the characters. The story switches between Ruby and Kim. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of that. I'd much prefer if the whole book is written with Ruby as our one and only protagonist (along with Curtis, of course). Both of them are exactly the same: naive and tired of love. I understand that they are flaws, but to have two people's stories almost mirroring each other's in the same book where they are both considered protagonists, it does get quite annoying and a bit like 'what's the point?'. The build-up for the romance between Curtis and Ruby was quite boring too. I didn't feel anything. It was hard to know what Curtis was feeling. As Ruby mentioned, he's like a robot. But maybe he's too much of a robot to be included in fiction.
This review is written based on the ARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley.