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Clues are dropped throughout the novel so you know something terrible has happened, but you don’t know the details. At several points I believed I had figured out the mystery, only to be proven wrong. There are moments where some of the events are just too much of a coincidence, but I’m happy to overlook that when I love the story.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read. Ghosts are everywhere, not just the ghost of Momma in the woods, but ghosts of us too, what we used to be like in those long summers ... For the four Alton children, it's the perfect summer escape where not much ever happens - until one stormy evening their idyllic world is shattered.Chase deserves high marks for her atmospheric setting and vivid prose, and fans of old-fashioned gothic stories will find this a winner.” –-Publishers Weekly Each character was well developed - I was completely immersed in their emotions and situations. I absolutely FELL IN LOVE with the Alton family, especially the four children - Toby, Amber, Kitty and Barney. Each one of them captured a different piece of my heart throughout the novel. I admired the strength the siblings had with one another - they loved and protected each other fiercely. I adored their mother, Nancy, who seemed to have such a natural, maternal way of loving them. What this family endured threw my heart all over the place - was a bit of an emotional roller coaster.
This absorbing tale and family saga is full of dark secrets, betrayals, and manipulations, but as the two storylines begin to merge, the ghosts of the past will finally rest in peace, paving the way for healing and new beginning for all. The old house definitely is a trove of memories and untold secrets and stories. You can smell the dust, see the family’s comings and goings, hear the water dripping from the leaky roof, and visualize the people who lived there.This sentence, with its tone, its setting, its haunting foreshadowing, sets the rest of the book up perfectly. Decades later, Lorna is drawn to a crumbling Cornish manor house she hazily remembers from childhood - feels a bond she does not understand.
How gloriously gothic! There are hundreds more beguiling passages like these, but I don’t want to give anything away! You’ll have to read it for yourself. And while I don’t inherently consider inspiring ANY sort of human feeling as evidence of merit, I think in this case it sort of was. I felt stuff because I discovered I cared. And in another time, place, world I would have been moved and appreciated the bittersweetness of it all and any shifty tears I might have shed. Equal parts romance, mystery, and historical fiction. For readers who are interested in complex period drama such as Daisy Goodwin’s The American Heiress, or who enjoy a touch of the gothic such as in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebeccaor Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale.”– Library Journal(starred review) An enthralling and deeply moving novel about family secrets, loss, and love.”—Margaret Leroy, author of The Soldier’s Wife Beautifully, poetically written and reminiscent of everything from I Capture The Castle to Hansel And Gretel' Daily Mail
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A gorgeously written novel describing the love and affection that hold families together and the powerful forces that can tear them apart.”– Huffington Post Aglorious, beautifully written fairy tale for grownups.”–Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Girls in the Garden I liked the book very much. I was intrigued by the mystery of the Alton family and the mystery of Lorna's connection to the mansion. I think this book will appeal to those that like me like to read books about secrets, old mansions and the people that used to live there. It's a well-written book and I hope to read more from Eve Chase!
This book was recommended to me by a friend ages ago! It was sitting in my to-read pile for weeks, until finally I managed to sit down and begin. I was hooked from the start. The only thing I questioned was why had I taken so damn long to read it?! Before long, Lorna becomes involved with the matriarch of the house and the housekeeper, vowing to help bring in more clients by writing up an article regarding the history of the house, and its family legacy. Little did she know her vague memories of the house connect her in a direct way to its past and could possibly shape her future. stars (REALLY close to 5 stars)! I loved this book! It was published in early 2016, yet I hadn't heard of it until very recently - special thanks to my GR friend Frances. The blurb mentions a Kate Morton comparison which is what made me decide to read it (I love Kate Morton!). I am so glad I read it. And isn't this cover gorgeous?!? The basic set up here is that you have the Altons: owners of a rambly pile in Cornwall, the traditionally English father fell in love with a warm-hearted American heiress, because don’t they always. Anyway, they had four kids (two twins, Amber and Toby, then Barney, then Kitty) who had a pretty much idyllic childhood with their stupidly-in-love parents and their country house to spend their summers in. But then Nancy dies in a horse-riding accent and everything unravels from there.I love books with parallel storylines, especially those that involve grand houses, a mystery that has to be solved and skeleton in the closet. So, when I saw this book I just knew I had to read it. And, I wasn't disappointed. I was instantly hooked and couldn't wait out to find out more about what really happened in the 60s that could destroy a family so.
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