Book When Summer Fades

'I really, really enjoyed this book: a great page-turning story taking you on a warm and wonderful romantic journey. It reminded me strongly of early Maeve Binchy novels - a lovely cast of rounded characters; gorgeous settings; "will they / won't they?" romance; gossip; tension; humour and family life.
Perfection!'

Called upon to help a friend, Staff Nurse Sophie Fuller reluctantly agrees to take care of youthful Portugese prima donna, Rosa Ramirez. When one nightmare weekend unwittingly becomes ten long months, Sophie finds herself drawn into a completely different world.
With her own world revolving around her tiny north London council flat, her job and her best friend Callie, Rosa's is the exact opposite. Determined to introduce Sophie to a more exotic lifestyle, not to mention her intriguing cousin Carlos, Sophie finds herself in the idyllic setting of the Algarve, completely embroiled in a sea of secrets and misunderstandings.

"Try looking at it from the bright side, " Celia suggested, cautiously moving to the door before Sophie changed her mind. "You've only got Rosa for two days. She'll be my responsibility until next July. This time next week you'll have forgotten all about her."
This time next week, Sophie thought miserably, when Celia's words returned to haunt her. For as long as she lived she'd never be able to forget Rosa Ramirez or her cousin Carlos!

WHEN SUMMER FADES : Taking a well-deserved break, Danielle headed off to the Algarve with her husband. Though not intending to write while she was away it wasn't long before she was seen making copious notes and taking lots of photos. Carlos (the hero in WSF) crossed Danielle's path while she was waiting at Faro airport, and the wonderful Volvo C70 he was driving became an absolute must. Val Kilmer drove a similar car in the film version of "The Saint".
Beckford, the English location for WHEN SUMMER FADES was based on Danielle's home town in Hertfordshire.