Ebook: 411 pages Kindle Edition
Genre: Romantic Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Quercus, 30th January 2025
First Sentences: Prologue: Have you ever dreamed of getting away from it all? The Ionian Escape is a luxurious family run hotel on the beautiful island of Kefalonia, and it might be the very place you're looking for.
Review Quote: A slice of escapism ... temptingly conjured up' THE TIMES
My Opinion:
Lucy Diamond is an author whom I have been aware of for many years as a writer of great escapism novels. A genre I do read, but not so often, I have to admit this is the first of her books I have read and it is her twentieth.
Set in the fictitious hotel ‘The Ionian Escape’ on the real Greek islands of Kefalonia and Ithaca. The protagonists are the mixed group of latest arrivals at the hotel, who are all looking for reasons to escape from the outside world for awhile and enjoy some peace and quiet. Of course it is not that simple and the characters and their stories are ones that will find the reader either annoyed or routing for them. As the stories evolve the protagonists all learn the importance of friendship and second chances.
This novel certainly put me in a holiday mood and transported me, (if only), to the Greek islands. Great escapism, perfect for reading on a grey winters day or for that beach read on your next holiday.
With thanks to NetGalley, Quercus and the author for the opportunity to read and review.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
The dream holiday just got complicated . . .
On the sun-drenched island of Kefalonia, the new arrivals at The Ionian Escape hotel are hoping for a break from everyday life. But some of them are bringing a lot of baggage . . .
Disgraced TV star Miranda Vallance feels like the worst person in the world. Her sister won't speak to her and her job's on the line. She's desperate to put things right, but how?
Eighty-two-year-old Evelyn Chambers has come to fulfil a promise to the love of her life. If she can steel herself to go through with it, that is . . .
And when celebrity chef Frank Neale checks in, rumours swirl around the hotel. But is it his wife, Leonora, who has more of a reason to escape to Greece?
Author Profile:
Courtesy of Goodreads Profile
IN HER OWN WORDS FROM HER GOODREADS PROFILE:
First of all, a confession. My name isn’t really Lucy Diamond at all, it’s Sue Mongredien. I’ve used a pen name because ‘Diamond’ is a lot easier to spell and pronounce than ‘Mongredien’ and also because I’ve written lots of children’s books too and wanted to keep the genres separate. (There is actually another Lucy Diamond on Amazon who writes religious children’s books. That isn’t me, though.)
I was born in 1970 and grew up in Nottingham. I read English at Leeds University then moved to London and worked for various publishers before I packed it all in to go travelling around the world for a year and a half. When I came back to the UK, I worked in publishing again, then moved to the BBC. I now live in Bath with my husband and three young children and divide my time between writing and looking after them. You can have a look at my children’s books here.
Favourite things: beaches, holidays, chocolate, wine, reading, Green Wing, bubble baths, sunshine, hearing my children laugh, babysitters
Favourite books: The Magus (John Fowles), The Edible Woman (Margaret Atwood), The Secret History (Donna Tartt), The Colour of Memory (Geoff Dyer)
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
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