Summer Read 2017...The Thousand Lights Hotel by Emylia Hall

Headline Review
July 2017

What's it all about..

When Kit loses her mother in tragic circumstances, she feels drawn to finally connect with the father she has never met. That search brings her to the Thousand Lights Hotel, the perfect holiday escape perched upon a cliff on the island of Elba. Within this idyllic setting a devastating truth is brought to light: shaking the foundations upon which the hotel is built, and shattering the lives of the people within it.

A heartbreaking story of loss, betrayal, and redemption, told with all the warmth and beauty of an Italian summer.

What did I think about it..

For Kit losing her mother is devastating but to then learn that her beloved mother has kept a huge secret from her makes that loss doubly difficult for her to rationalise. Escaping to the Italian island of Elba in search of clues to her identity takes Kit not just on a journey of personal discovery but also opens up a whole new world of possibility.

A Summer Read master class springs to mind in this wonderfully evocative story which takes the reader effortlessly to the delightful island of Elba and into the best room of the house in the gloriously named Hotel Mille Luci.

I was utterly entranced by this novel from the start, not just because its glorious Italian setting is just so perfectly described that you feel like you are sitting on the terrace with Valentino and his guests, gently sipping Aperol spritz in bowl shaped glasses, but also because the author captures so perfectly, Kit's feeling of grief and loss. Her sense of betrayal when she learns the secret of her past is both poignant and memorable.

There is so much I want to say about The Thousand Lights Hotel but to do so would completely ruin the joy of discovering this truly lovely story. However, what I will say is that this author's writing just continues to go from strength to strength, not just in terms of character and description but also in the way the reader becomes part of the novel, so that the emotional bond between writer and reader is one of complete ease. There are no jagged moments when the story doesn't work and the world that is so lovingly created shines through with every well written word.

A few years ago, I remember being completely bowled over by Emylia Hall's debut novel and still treasure my special copy of The Book of Summers.  I knew then that I was seeing the emergence of a wonderful talent which continues to shine just as brightly as the thousand lights of this very special hotel.

About the Author 

Find more about the author on her website

Follow on Twitter @EmyliaHall #ThousandLightsHotel

Headline @headlinepg

My thanks to Headline for my review copy of The Thousand Lights Hotel

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