That Summer is a gothic time slip novel, traveling between 1849 and 2009. I'd say it is not, strictly speaking, a romance novel, for reasons that I will not go into for fear of spoilers. Honestly, I did not The most intense aspect of the book for me were the mysteries. What might the modern heroine find in the house? What exactly would happen to the 19th century lovers? I did not love the historical portion of the book quite as much as I did The Ashford Affair, mostly because aside from Imogene and Gavin, the characters seemed more thinly drawn, nor does Imogen seem to have a significant relationship (even a significantly complicated relationship) with anybody but Gavin once the book is truly underway. However, the modern heroine, Julia, and the modern supporting characters seemed more complex. Between them and wondering how everything would end, I had a lot of trouble putting this book down at the end of my breaks at work.
I'll be sad to see the Pink Carnation series come to an end after two more books, but I'll happily read whatever else Lauren Willig chooses to write.
Overall: A
That Summer will be available on June 3.