The Forever Garden by Rosanna Ley

                                              

Ebook:  460 pages                                                                                 

Genre:  Historical Romantic Fiction 

Publisher:  Quercus 2020

Source: My Kindle

Review Quote: A luminous, sun-soaked delight' Woman's Weekly

First Sentences: It wouldn't be long now. Lara held on to the edge of the stone balustrade.

Setting: Puglia (Italy), Italy,  Dorset, England (United Kingdom)

My Opinion: I have read quite a few of Rosanna Ley's novels but would not say I am a regular reader, but when I do read one it is always a relaxing read. She often writes novels set in my beloved Italy which is always a bonus.

The Forever Garden is set in both Italy and the UK, a dual timeline story set in the present day and the nineteen forties, two delightful settings in Puglia and Dorset. The elderly Lara has created special gardens in both locations and she has passed on her love of gardening to her grand-daughter Bea. Lara needs to unburden herself of secrets in her past before she dies and with the help of Bea she is able to do so.

In conclusion, if gardening, Italy and some light romance are what you are looking for then you will find this a pleasure to read. 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:   Amid the sun-soaked hills of southern Italy lies the Romano family olive grove, where Lara lives with her daughter Rose and her granddaughter Bea.

Lara has spent a lifetime trying to forget the traumatic events that led to her desperate escape from Dorset seventy years ago. But when she sees Bea - a passionate horticulturalist most at home in nature - being swept off her feet by Matteo, a handsome and charismatic restaurateur, Lara fears her granddaughter is in danger of making the same mistake she did all those years ago.

Remembering a promise she once made, Lara asks Bea to travel to Dorset to restore her family's long-lost garden. Bea is torn. She would love to find out more about the mystery of her beloved grandmother's past. But if she leaves Italy, will Matteo wait for her? And when she arrives at the house in Dorset - what will she find?

Meanwhile back in Italy, an old flame from Rose's past reappears, threatening to expose a secret that could tear the heart out of the Romano family for good.

Previous Reviews:  From Venice With Love  The Villa   Bay of Secrets

Author Profile : 

                                                 

Rosanna has written numerous articles and short stories for magazines, and her novels have been published in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Norway, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Denmark, Bulgaria, Turkey, Israel and the Czech Republic. All Rosanna’s titles are also being published by Quercus in the US.

Rosanna has worked as a creative writing tutor for over 30 years. She has led courses for colleges and universities in England, and runs her own writing retreats and holidays in the UK and in stunning locations in Europe. She has worked with community groups in therapeutic settings and completed an MA in creative writing for personal development in order to support this. She has also mentored and appraised the work of new writers.

Travelling and cliff walking are two of Rosanna’s favourite things to do. She also likes tennis, swimming, reading, eating very dark chocolate and drinking Italian coffee (preferably in Italy…) She lives with her husband in West Dorset and her favourite writing place is anywhere with a sea view.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites: 

 Facebook - Rosanna Ley Novels  Author Official Website   Twitter Profile  

Instagram - Rosanna Ley Author   Goodreads Profile    Amazon Author Page

The Birdcage by Eve Chase

                                                          

Ebook:   400 pages

Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Family Mystery, 

Publisher:  Penguin April 2022

Source:  My Kindle

First Sentences: The snow is still falling, feathery flakes whirling in the golden light f the train window then sucked into the black. But the 14.04 London - Penzance keeps hurtling west, drawing Lauren closer to rock Point, the house she fled one summer's day twenty years before.

Review Quote: 'Daphne du Maurier for the modern day' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

My Opinion: 

This is the second title by this author that I have read and just like 'The Glasshouse' it is story of secrets centred around a family home.

Rock Point is the family home of the Finch sisters, Flora Kat and Lauren. They share a father, the artist Charlie Finch but they all have different mothers. It is 2019 and the girls have been summonsed to the family home by their father as he has something he wishes to tell them altogether.  It has been twenty years since they were all there together the summer of the eclipse when there was a horrendous event at the house. Ever since then the three girls have lived with the terrible memories and torment. It is now time for them all to learn from the mistakes the past and trust each other again.

Full of secrets, great characters and an atmospheric setting 'The Birdcage' will appeal if you are a fan of family mysteries.

Previous Review :   The Glasshouse

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Kat, Flora and Lauren are half-sisters who share a famous artist father - and a terrible secret.

Each has found their way of burying it. Over the years they've grown apart, and into wildly different lives. But an invitation to Rock Point, the Cornish cliff house where they once sat for their father's most celebrated painting, Girls with Birdcage, reunites them.

Rock Point is a beautiful, windswept place, thick with secrets, electrically charged with the one subject the family dare not discuss. And there is someone in the shadows watching the house, their every move. Someone who remembers the girls in the painting. What they did.

The sisters must unlock the truth to set themselves free - and find each other again.

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of  Clare Borg-Cook

The following is what Eve has to say about herself on her Website.

I write from a studio/shed in my townhouse garden in Oxford. A small space, it's perfect for cooking up bigger ones. I love to write about sprawling, dysfunctional families in curious, characterful settings. A crime usually beats at the heart of my books. As I love stories that envelope you in their world but also read at a page-turning pace, I try to write them too. 

Married with three children. Owner of a very hairy golden retriever called Harry. 

Studied English Literature at Manchester University and went on to do a post-grad in journalism. I once edited a street fashion magazine, Scene (no longer on the scene, or in existence) and wrote for many publications including Dazed and Confused, Punch, InStyle, Red, Marie-Claire, You and national newspapers.
​
I read all the time, happily hopping between authors and genres. My ever changing list of favourite authors include Maggie O'Farrell, Liane Moriarty, Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Strout, Diane Athill, Donna Tartt, Lisa Jewell, Raymond Carver, Jane Austen, Kate Morton, Hilary Mantel, and Barbara Vine.

I love hearing from readers. You really make all the hours writing away on my own worthwhile. Please drop by on Insta/Facebook/Twitter and say hello.

Thank you so much to those of you who've taken the time to read my books, review and blog about them. 

Happy reading! 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Instagram Profile  Author's Official Website  Eve Chase - Facebook Profile

Twitter - EvePollyChase   Amazon Author Page  Eve Chase - Goodreads Author Profile

The Glass House by Eve Chase

 

Hardback:   387 pages

Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Family Mystery, 

Publisher: Penguin, Random House, 2020

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentence: The forest looks like it'll eat them alive, thinks Rita.

Review Quote: 'A captivating mystery: beautifully written, with a rich sense of place, a cast of memorable characters and lots of deep, dark secrets' Author - Kate Morton

My Opinion: I have only just discovered Eve Chase’s writing and finding her style very appealing in ‘The Glass House’ have added her to my list of favourite authors as I definitely want to read more of her novels.

A dual timeline this story is an emotive one and the setting in an old house on the edge of a forest adds tremendously to the atmosphere. A riveting read full of family secrets with appealingly portrayed characters, that the reader cannot fail to become emotionally attached to. The past and present stories link together well which keeps up the intrigue and the reader engrossed.

Devoured in a couple of days, which is hopefully a recommendation. This one should certainly appeal if you are a fan of family mysteries.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Outside a remote manor house in an idyllic wood, a baby girl is found.

The Harrington family takes her in and disbelief quickly turns to joy. They're grieving a terrible tragedy of their own and the beautiful baby fills them with hope, lighting up the house's dark, dusty corners. Desperate not to lose her to the authorities, they keep her secret, suspended in a blissful summer world where normal rules of behaviour - and the law - don't seem to apply.

But within days a body will lie dead in the grounds. And their dreams of a perfect family will shatter like glass.

Years later, the truth will need to be put back together again, piece by piece . . .

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of  Clare Borg-Cook

The following is what Eve has to say about herself on her Website.

I write from a studio/shed in my townhouse garden in Oxford. A small space, it's perfect for cooking up bigger ones. I love to write about sprawling, dysfunctional families in curious, characterful settings. A crime usually beats at the heart of my books. As I love stories that envelope you in their world but also read at a page-turning pace, I try to write them too. 

Married with three children. Owner of a very hairy golden retriever called Harry. 

Studied English Literature at Manchester University and went on to do a post-grad in journalism. I once edited a street fashion magazine, Scene (no longer on the scene, or in existence) and wrote for many publications including Dazed and Confused, Punch, InStyle, Red, Marie-Claire, You and national newspapers.
​
I read all the time, happily hopping between authors and genres. My ever changing list of favourite authors include Maggie O'Farrell, Liane Moriarty, Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Strout, Diane Athill, Donna Tartt, Lisa Jewell, Raymond Carver, Jane Austen, Kate Morton, Hilary Mantel, and Barbara Vine.

I love hearing from readers. You really make all the hours writing away on my own worthwhile. Please drop by on Insta/Facebook/Twitter and say hello.

Thank you so much to those of you who've taken the time to read my books, review and blog about them. 

Happy reading! 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Instagram Profile  Author's Official Website  Eve Chase - Facebook Profile

Twitter - EvePollyChase   Amazon Author Page  Eve Chase - Goodreads Author Profile