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The author lives in Suffolk and is a keen gardener and this is clearly reflected in her descriptive writing.
A Secret Garden Affair Erica James 2023/2024 Release - Check A Secret Garden Affair Erica James 2023/2024 Release - Check
This enticing cover had me excited to read this new release from Erica James. The books I have read by this author (so far!) have all been really enjoyable, but I found that this one didn’t capture my heart in quite the same way. I wonder if it is because it is a little similar to a recent book I have read: following a family over decades with secrets being revealed along the way. Libby’s arrival at Larkspur House stirs up the past for its occupants Elfrida and Bess and they must eventually confront their secrets and tragedies. Staying with her aunt Bess and Alfreda, she starts to mend her broken heart, deciding what to do with the rest of her life. A dual timeline book between the 1980’s & 1920’s, a very well written book which drew me in from the start & had me devouring this engrossing read in two sittings. Dual timelines are not my favourite but the author certainly did a very good job of changing my mind. The characters have depth & were well portrayed &the pace is good. There was friendship spanning decades, tragedy & secrets as well as some twists & surprises. A delightful read which I recommend From the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James comes a captivating story that sweeps through sixty years of history, love, and family drama.
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In the present, Libby is learning to rebuild her life and to trust her heart to someone else. More than that, though, she is discovering the family she thought she knew isn’t what is seems. I have not read an Erica James novel for a number of years but I was soon engrossed in the storyline and anyone who enjoys a family drama with some twists will find this a compelling read. Another heartbreaking but glorious tale of secrets and love from the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James… Suffolk, 1981: whilst the entire country seems gripped by Royal Wedding fever, Libby, the heroine of James’s 25th novel, wants to get as far away from it as possible, for on the brink of marrying her fiancé, she has discovered him in flagrante with her best friend. Libby takes refuge with two eccentric old ladies one can imagine on screen played by Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. One is her great-aunt Bess, a former lady’s maid, and the other Elfrida, a society beauty in the 1920s but a deeply unconventional one, who eschewed marriage to build a satisfying career as a garden designer, in the footsteps of Norah Lindsay and Gertrude Jekyll. Its blurb describes the novel as a ‘love story from long ago’, referring doubtless to Elfrida’s clandestine relationship with a glamorous White Russian – for this novel is really her story, entwined with that of the loyal Bess, who being of a different social class has had to face threats of another kind. However, it could equally well refer to Libby’s emotional troubles.
A Secret Garden Affair: From the Sunday Times bestselling
But for lifelong friends Bess and Elfrida, Libby’s arrival has stirred up the ghosts of the past. And before they can help her rebuild her shattered future, they must confront their own secrets, lost loves, and tragedies…I always know when I open an Erica James book I am going to be charmed with a delicate and charming novel and her new release A Secret Garden Affair is no exception. For me as one of those readers I felt that after a little difficulty at the start Erica James’s writing style did allow me to get into working out where in the story the novel was both in time frame and whose perspective it was being seen through. Although I enjoyed the characters and their stories, it did take me awhile to get into the plot and found it to be a little meandering - in the first third of the book I wasn't quite sure what the main story line was supposed to be about. There are some great characters to get your teeth into in this tale, but my favourites are Elfrida and Bess. A wonderful closeness grows up between them over the years after everything they have been through together, even though they begin the story in very different places socially. Elfrida has always been the unconventional rule breaker, misunderstood by almost everyone except Bess, and their fierce protectiveness of each other is enchanting. Their interactions give rise to many humorous and poignant episodes.
A Secret Garden Affair – HarperCollins Publishers UK
We witness the passion for creating gardens that sees a character feeling at one with nature. And there is also a grande passion that not even death can break. Life is for living. We need to make the most of each day because we never know when life will be cruelly cut short. A sumptuous tale set over 2 timelines in history and centring around female characters and I became totally swept up in their lives and struggles and adored it!!Libby has discovered her soon to be husband has been sleeping with her best friend and flees to Larkspur House to stay with her great aunt Bess and her aunt’s friend Elfrida. Libby has gone to decide what to do with her life, but ends up finding out more than she expected. But for lifelong friends Bess and Elfrida, Libby’s arrival has stirred up the ghosts of the past. And before they can help her rebuild her shattered future, they must confront their own unspoken secrets, lost loves, and tragedies… A Secret Garden Affair by Erica James tells the story of Liby shortly before her wedding in 1981 she finds her fiance in bed with her best friend. However instead of going to her mum's house she escapes to her great-aunt Bess. Partially set in the early 1980s and with a timeline starting sixty years previous, the story follows several characters. Libby, a woman whose wedding plans are cancelled when she finds out her fiance is cheating on her, and her great aunt, Bess, who has worked for the third main character, Elfrida, for the best part of her life.
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