Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

Original title: Sommar på Villa Hilda

Author: Michaela von Kügelgen

Published: 2025

Publisher: Schildts & Söderströms

Genres: Commercial/Upmarket, Romance

Pages: 285

Part of a series: Villa Hilda series

Reading material:

English sample & synopsis, Swedish manuscript

Many people dream of a second chance in life, but how many dare to take it?

Far out in the Stockholm archipelago lies the island of Halsterö. Journalist Thomas and former celebrity chef Louise travel there to work at the Villa Hilda guesthouse. They are both broken after many setbacks and are hoping for a fresh start. But setting up a summer paradise is not as easy as one might think, not even on the idyllic Halsterö island.

One day Louise stumbles across a collection of old love letters. Who wrote them, and what stories does Villa Hilda hide in its dusty attic? And how will Thomas manage to take care of his dementia-stricken mother while setting up an archipelago guesthouse?

Summer at Villa Hilda is about how difficult it is to be human among other people, but also about how, with the help of others, one can find one's way back to life.

This novel is the first part of the Villa Hilda series and will be published in June 2025. The following titles will concentrate on the people living on the picturesque Halsterö island and will tentatively be published in February 2026 and September 2026.

Just before summer, what could be better than reading about the summery archipelago?

– Martin Welander, publisher, Schildts & Söderströms, Finland

Download reading materials

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Schildts & Söderströms (orig. Finland-Swedish), Schildts & Söderströms (Finnish), SWEDEN: Schildts & Söderströms
DENMARK: Lindhardt og Ringhof
ESTONIA: OÜ Hea Lugu
GERMANY: Aufbau Verlage

About author

Michaela von Kügelgen

Michaela "Kugge" von Kügelgen (1986) has three published titles under her belt. Her debut novel, Vad heter ångest på spanska?, was published in 2017. Her most recent work, Kickstarta ditt skrivande, is a non-fiction guide to writing. Since 2020, Kugge offers highly regarded online writing courses, which have attracted participants from both Sweden and Finland. Kugge has a master’s degree in communication and has been a freelance journalist for over 10 years. Her newsletters on writing and entrepreneurship have over 1,600 subscribers. In the newsletters she shares her journey, offering encouragement to others while candidly discussing her own challenges and triumphs. Together with author Anne Hietanen, Kugge is working on a crime novel series with book #1, The Last Word slated to be published in 2026.

In addition to her writing career, Kugge plays handball, has recently developed a passion for second-hand fashion, and slow travels to Berlin whenever she can — after having lived there for two years.

Bibliography


2026, Crime & Suspense

Michaela von Kügelgen

The Last Word


2025, Commercial/Upmarket, Romance

Michaela von Kügelgen

Summer at Villa Hilda