Releasing 30th July 2025
Four women. Four loves. Four life-changing stories. At a little salon by the sea - on the windblown coast of 1980s Australia - four different women with intertwined lives will find themselves through love, heartbreak and learning to love again.
Lost love: Trudy, 57, owns Summertime Salon in the sun-soaked Central Coast town of Terrigal. She loves her job and her clients. Her colours, perms and Princess Di cuts bring joy and confidence to regulars and tourists alike. But since Laurie died, life hasn't been the same.
Love on the rocks: Anna, 42, brings her mother to Summertime Salon every Monday morning but never gets her own hair done. With two children and an absent husband, she doesn't have time for vanity. When Anna kicks Gary out, will she also rediscover the joys of caring for herself, starting with highlights?
Unrequited love: Hairdresser Evie, 33, has never had much luck with men. As a single mother, love is the last thing on her mind. Then, new hire Sam joins the salon - he's handsome and kind, and he and Evie hit it off immediately. But is their relationship all that it seems?
First love: Apprentice Josie, 19, is seeking independence. She's determined to make her own way in the world, especially when she meets sweet surfer and mechanic Brett, who she can't quite believe is silly over her. How long can she keep him a secret from her overprotective parents?
Uplifting and heartwarming, Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon follows four women on their journeys for love - in all its beautiful and bittersweet forms. Sophie Green is the bestselling author of The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle and Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society.
Copy received from Hachette Australia for an honest review
Well, I have read a few Sophie Green stories in the past, and this was definitely my favourite.
There was nothing I didn't like about Love Lessons.
I enjoyed the setting, I enjoyed the time setting - helloooo, shoulder pads! - and I really enjoyed all the women's stories.
Four women at four different places in their lives, but all lacking... something in those lives. Whether it be love, respect, companionship, they are all missing.
I adored how their friendships formed. Loneliness creeps up on all of them, yet they find friends at the Seaside Salon, and their lives are all the better for it.
It was refreshing having a tale told back when, really, lives were a bit simpler. No phones, going out in the sunshine and fresh air was the best thing you would do in your spare time. No phones having our constant attention, just, living.
Trudy, Evie, Josie and Anna are so different in many ways, but are so similar in others. I enjoyed each and every one of their stories. All of these women are likable, and so, so relatable - no matter what stage of life you are at, you are going to connect to one of these women.
I look forward to what Sophie Green brings us next.
Sophie Green is an author and publisher who lives in Sydney. In her spare time she writes about country music on her website, Sunburnt Country Music. Sophie's debut novel, THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE FAIRVALE LADIES BOOK CLUB, was a Top Ten bestseller and was shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards for General Fiction Book of the Year 2018, and longlisted for both the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year 2018 and the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction 2018. Sophie Green is internationally published, and THE SHELLY BAY LADIES SWIMMING CIRCLE, THURSDAYS AT ORANGE BLOSSOM HOUSE, THE BELLBIRD RIVER COUNTRY CHOIR, WEEKENDS WITH THE SUNSHINE GARDENING SOCIETY and ART HOUR AT THE DUCHESS HOTEL were also Top Ten bestsellers.
