Author: Libby Page
I randomly found this book looking at some magazines. It had a small page of recommended books to read and this was one of them. I added it to my list of books to read and after a while I decided to give it a chance.
The story begins when a developing company, that has built flats around the area (in Brixton), decides to buy the lido, as it is struggling financially, and turn it into a private gym for its residents. Kate, a local journalist gets the story assigned to her as her first-ever opportunity to write a real ongoing situation for her community.
Then she meets Rosemary, the lido’s best costumer. She swims there every morning as she has been doing for almost eighty years. Her life has been literally the lido. She shared this passion with her late husband and after his passing this becomes the only place to her where she feels safe, where she is with George again. The two of them become close friends as they fight together to keep their lido open for the public.
I found some aspects of the book personally relatable. The story is centered around an outdoor pool, the lido, and as I always have enjoyed swimming, some of the descriptions felt very close to reality for me. The smells and the sensations are very well written by the author and very detailed. Also, Rosemary reminded me of my grandma, as an 86-year-old woman she showed a lot of strength and courage defending what she loved the most, I found her endearing.
This book is an easy read, is a story about developing strong friendship, overcoming your personal barriers, and how important a having a supportive community can be. However, I found the first half of the book extremely slow and a bit repetitive for my taste. I felt the story was circulating around the same points and it took a while to take off. The second half of the book was better, the characters started to get stronger personalities and the story finally started to progress.
If you enjoy easy reads that have over the top romance, I will recommend this one for you.
