Joined in 2023 
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The author of nineteen bestselling novels, and the winner of the 2006 Romantic Novel of the Year Award, Erica divides her time between Suffolk and Lake Como in Italy.
She was also her father’s clear favourite whilst younger and more empathetic sister, Willow, was happy to drift along. For as mothers, daughters and sisters, they must always consider the effects of their plans and actions on each other. Martha is in a stable satisfying marriage and Willow is finally with a man that is viewed as perfect boyfriend material by the rest of the family. All three women have ghosts they must lay to rest but she’s the one most in need of a strong resolution. Perhaps because Naomi is presented as so caring and selfless, in contrast to Willow and Martha’s sometimes selfish or erratic behaviours.She and Tom are trying for a baby but things are not going as Martha planned and this is causing a little stress for her. Easy-going drifter, Willow, has finally met a new boyfriend in Rick, whom her family seem to approve of, so why doesn’t she too feel convinced by his obvious overtures to settle down? Martha and Ellis both have their doubts about Rick, unfortunately it’s a case of history repeating itself, Naomi needs to protect Willow and she must tell her daughters the truth about their father and they will be shocked.
These are changing times for all of them and the author has done a wonderful job of capturing the different emotions that each family member goes through, and the impact on the other people in their life. Willow is sweet but had always been considered to be lacking in many areas by her recently dead father Colin and sister Martha.
I just adored the interaction between the family and the discovery of things that happened in the past that the mother kept from the girls really added to the drama.
The novel never strayed into twee territory despite the reader feeling relatively safe in the knowledge of an ultimately happy ending, regardless of the upheaval along the way. Naomi’s daughters are very different: Martha is determined and driven like her father, while Willow is a free spirit. The author also convincingly captured the range of emotions and tensions which can arise when a widowed parent begins a new relationship, only to find their happiness threatened by disapproval from adult offspring. Despite being sisters, Willow and Martha are opposites in how they live their life and what gives them enjoyment. I thought the author did a perfect job of blending all the different personalities and showing how they each reacted to change and personal challenges – as well as focusing on the difficulties that arise when someone wants to reclaim their own life in the face of opposition from others.I’ve been reading Erica James novels for over 20 years – hers were the first adult books I ever read, and her books are always fun and enjoyable. Ellis’s relationship with his mother gives the reader insight into his character, as does Rick’s recollection of his own unhappy childhood with his parents. Erica is one of my all time go to authors, one whom my mum used to love and one of the first adult authors I ever read.
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