☀️ Summer Reads ~ Blue Skies Ahead by Jessica Redland

It’s that time of year again when I choose books which would make the perfect holiday reading. The stories which are easy enough to pick up and put down and which lend themselves, both by plot and characters, to lazy afternoons in the sunshine.

I’ll be sharing a few of the books which I think are perfect escapism summer reading. 

Look for #SummerReads

Leaving behind everything she thought she knew, Grace arrives at Hazelwick Farm with her teenage daughter, Maddie, and her mother, Frances, ready to build a new life together.

Grace has dreamt of fresh air, open skies and days filled with taking care of the animals while building a family business together. But starting over isn’t as simple as she hoped.

Maddie has barely spoken to her since the divorce from her father and Grace doesn’t know how to fix what she doesn’t fully understand. Between strained silences at home, and the demands of getting the farm ready to open for business, Grace begins to wonder if she’s made a mistake.

Yet life at Hazelwick Farm has its surprises. Grace keeps crossing paths with handsome tenant, Caleb, whether she means to or not. Could this unexpected connection be the start of something she never saw coming?

☀️My Review..

What a pleasure it’s been to spend time at Hazelwick Farm, getting to know Grace, her daughter Maddie and her mother Frances, three generations of women who take a chance on finding a new way of life in the beautiful Northumberland countryside. Life hasn’t been easy for either Grace or Maddie and there are challenges along the way for both of them but gradually the peace of the countryside and their shared venture of creating an Animal Encounter experience at the once neglected Hazelwick Farm begins to heal their pain.

I found much to enjoy in this gentle story which doesn’t shy away from important issues but does so with a lovely light touch and this author’s unique trademark of making the ordinary into the extraordinary. I know that lots of research goes into bringing a book to fruition and this really pays off as I feel like I have spent the last two days on the farm. I’ve enjoyed learning alongside Grace, Francis and Maddie, delighting in their shared happiness whilst at the same time becoming invested in their problems especially the initial difficult relationship between Maddie and Grace which is explored in a sympathetic and realistic way.

Beautifully written, with an abundance of gorgeous animals and some really special characters this lovely opening book brings this new series to life. Reading Blue Skies Ahead is like being wrapped in a warm hug and I’m especially delighted that this is just the start of the adventure. 

About the Author

Jessica Redland is the million-copy bestselling author of novels, including the Hedgehog Hollow and Escape to the Lakes series. Inspired by her hometown of Scarborough and the Lake District, she writes uplifting women’s fiction of love, friendship and community. Blue Skies Ahead is her thirtieth novel.

Social Media Links 

Facebook: @jessicaredlandauthor

Twitter: @JessicaRedland

Instagram: @jessicaredlandauthor

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☀️Summer Reads ~ The Greek Guesthouse by Michelle Vernal

It’s that time of year again when I choose books which would make the perfect holiday reading. The stories which are easy enough to pick up and put down and which lend themselves, both by plot and characters, to lazy afternoons in the sunshine.

I’ll be sharing a few of the books which I think are perfect escapism summer reading. 

Look for #Summer Reads

Bookouture
23 July 2026

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Dropping my suitcase at my feet, I stare up at the Greek guesthouse with its faded blue shutters, clambering purple bougainvillea and wrought-iron balconies spilling pink and red geraniums. I haven’t felt truly at home anywhere since I lost my sister. But maybe Eleni’s is different. I have a feeling that anything is possible here…

Annie always has a plan, always knows where her life is headed. But this summer, heartbroken after her sister’s death, she just feels untethered and alone. An invitation to stay at her old friend Kassia’s family guesthouse on the island of Crete comes at the perfect time – an excuse to get on a plane and leave her crumbling life behind for a few weeks.

Before she even finishes unpacking, Annie is wrapped up in the noisy warmth of Kassia’s chaotic, loving family. She soon finds herself cooking with Kassia’s mother, playing with the children under the orange trees… and meeting Kassia’s handsome brother-in-law Alexandros over dinner. Romance is the last thing on her mind, but the night she spends with him, swimming by moonlight and gazing at the stars in the lavender-scented air, heals something in her that she didn’t know was broken.

This was only supposed to be a temporary stay, but the longer Annie spends on Crete, the more she feels that this magical place might hold the key to her future. And as this life-changing summer draws to a close, can she leave her old plans behind her and find the courage to let her life make a map all of its own?

☀️ My Review

Even though Annie Rivers has a reasonable life with her fiancé in New Zealand she knows, since the loss of her beloved sister, that she just hasn’t been truly settled. So, still grieving her loss, Annie makes the spontaneous decision to make a new start and heads for the beautiful Greek island of Crete where she starts afresh with friends who soon become as close as family. With the Bikakis family, at their beautiful guesthouse, Annie finds a new sense of purpose and a freedom she didn’t know she needed until she discovered it in the glorious beauty of the island.

This is such a beautifully put together summer story, filled with family and friends, glorious blue skies and sumptuous Greek food, it made me quite nostalgic for the sights, sounds and lavender scented aromas of a Greek island summer. I loved getting to know the Bikakis family, from the matriarchal mama, so stern but with a heart of gold, the tiny children Mateos and Nickolaos, their lovely mama Kassia and of course the deliciously handsome Alexandros, all combine to form a single summer of Greek perfection in a delightfully immersive read which made me smile from start to finish.

About the Author

Michelle Vernal is a New Zealand author who writes stories that will take you onto the page with her characters and make you feel part of their lives. She writes with humour and warmth, and her readers describe her books as unputdownable, feel good and funny. Her writing has been likened to Maeve Binchy but with a modern-day vernacular. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the Love Stories Award. In 2020 she won the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit, and in 2021 was shortlisted for the Page Turner Book Awards.

Website

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☀️ Summer Reads ~ When You Looked Away by S M Govett

Penguin
Michael Joseph
9 July 2026

DI Helen Stratton #2

Thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read this book

 

Laura is ready to start a new chapter. Between her messy divorce with her ex-husband, and moving in with her new fiancé, her son Benjy and her successful writing career have been her only constants.

Until that fateful day. The afternoon starts like any other. Laura collects Benjy from school, then heads upstairs to write.

It’s not until the sun is setting that she realises the house is quiet. Too quiet.

It’s not until she sees the footprints in the garden that she knows something is terribly wrong.

One set is undeniably Benjy’s. It’s the other set that strikes fear in her heart – those of an adult.

Someone who took her son, right from under her nose…

DI Stratton is called to investigate. She must trust no one - and suspect everyone. Even Laura.

After all, doesn't her latest story follow a boy the same age as Benjy? One that takes a devastating turn.

☀️ My Review..

When You Looked Away hits the ground running with the tragic discovery that Laura Forrester’s eleven year old son Benjy is missing from home and with no signs of any disturbance in the house, the front door still locked, Laura heads out into the garden where she discovers two sets of footprints leading into the woods and with it comes the realisation that Benjy has left the house with someone. What then follows is a complex investigation and as DI Helen Stratton and her team of detectives start to unpick the less than obvious clues, so a twisty domestic drama starts to unfold.

What I enjoy about these crime novels is the believability of the characters especially DI Stratton who is both prickly and feisty in equal measure, she can be sharp and snarky and yet seems to get the job done without ruffling too many feathers. Intricately written, there’s a few clever twists I didn’t see coming and even though I thought I had the perpetrator sussed, there were so many red herrings that I was never quite convinced my theories were correct. The ending, when it comes, is entirely convincing and I’m pleased to discover that the story points in the direction of another DI Stratton story, hopefully, sometime soon.

There’s nothing better than settling down on a summer’s afternoon to read the latest crime thriller from this talented writer. To be back in the company of DI Helen Stratton in this second book in the series is a real delight. 

About the Author

S.M. Govett read Law at Trinity College, Oxford, before qualifying as a solicitor in the City. After realising that didn't suit her, she started tutoring before turning her hand to writing, which she discovered was her true calling. She has since authored several bestselling YA novels, including The Territory trilogy and We Go On Forever. She also co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film, T.I.M., which was the no. 1 film on Netflix upon release. Believe is her debut adult thriller.

She currently lives in London with her husband and three children.

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☀️Summer Reads ~ One Scottish Summer by Kate Frost

It’s that time of year again when I choose books which would make the perfect holiday reading. The stories which are easy enough to pick up and put down and which lend themselves, both by plot and characters, to lazy afternoons in the sunshine.

I’ll be sharing a few of the books which I think are perfect escapism summer reading. 

Look for #Summer Reads

Boldwood
February 2026

My copy

Tilly Fernsby’s happiest memory is the summer spent on the Isle of Mull with best friend Logan Wray and his aunt Joy, exploring the beautiful Scottish island and making plans and promises for their future.

Returning together nearly fifteen years later after Logan inherits his beloved aunt’s house is a bittersweet experience. Overcome with sadness, they both carry regrets and secrets from that summer.

For Tilly it’s a chance to right a wrong and learn to open her heart without the fear of getting hurt. For Logan it’s an opportunity to make good on a promise while being honest about his true feelings.

With the help of Aunt Joy's journal filled with lost love, heartfelt words and sage advice, a new dawn of honest emotions emerges to the breath-taking island backdrop of lochs and mountains.

Will Tilly and Logan endure further heartache, or can a summer promise pave a way to everlasting happiness?

☀️ My Review..

Logan and Tilly spent time together as teenagers on the beautiful Scottish Isle of Mull. Returning to the island after a fourteen year break is both poignant and special for them especially as they are mourning the loss of Logan’s aunt Joy, who was so important to them when they were growing up. The intervening years have brought their own challenges for Logan and Tilly and whilst they went their own way they never stopped caring for each other.

This friends-to-lovers story is beautifully evocative of time and place, I enjoyed watching Logan and Tilly’s new relationship start to develop whilst at the same time loving spending time on the Isle of Mull, a place I visited a few years ago, and which the author brings alive in her vivid description of island life. Logan and Tilly’s new relationship journey is not without its challenges however, the author shares these difficulties with a light touch and a lovely eye for detail. I especially enjoyed reading Aunt Joy’s personal journals which add an another evocative dimension to this lovely story.

One Scottish Summer is a light and easy romantic story. It’s a perfect accompaniment to an afternoon in the garden and a lovely summer read.

About the Author

Kate Frost is the author of several bestselling romantic escape novels including The Greek Heart, and The Love Island Bookshop. She lives in Bristol and is the Director of Storytale Festival, a book festival for children and teens she co-founded in 2019.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katefrostauthor

Twitter: @katefrostauthor #OneScottishSummer

Instagram: @katefrostauthor

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☀️ Summer Reads ~ Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune

 It’s that time of year again when I choose books which would make the perfect holiday reading. The stories which are easy enough to pick up and put down and which lend themselves, both by plot and characters, to lazy afternoons in the sunshine.

I’ll be sharing a few of the books which I think are perfect escapism summer reading. 

Look for #SummerReads

Michael Joseph
7 May 2026

My thanks to the publisher for the copy of the book

Two best friends. Seven days in paradise. One last chance to fall in love, or fall apart...

Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight. They’ve always clashed and come back together—it’s what they do. Until now. On the eve of her wedding, Frankie doesn’t know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.

As she loses hope, in walks George. For one glorious evening, Frankie’s life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancé dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note behind.

Crushed and confused, Frankie only wants to wallow. But George has a different idea. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.

Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. 

Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.

📖 My Review..

Frankie is celebrating the build up to her marriage to Nate and yet is desperately awaiting the arrival of her best man. George has been her best friend since they bonded as children when George came to live with his grandmother. Through good times, and bad, George and Frankie have been each other’s comfort but it’s only when Frankie’s fiancé unexpectedly jilts her on the very eve of their wedding that Frankie is forced to confront just what is going on in her life and how important George really is to her.

Unashamedly romantic, this best friends-to-lovers genre is done with the ease of a writer who knows how to blend her characters so that they gel together beautifully in an emotional love story. However, their togetherness journey is not all hearts and flowers and Frankie and George have a way to go before their feelings explode but when they do they set the book alight with a sizzling passion and a genuine feeling of two hearts, at last, colliding.

Our Perfect Storm brought the beauty of the natural world, especially the observations about Right Whales , which I’d never heard of before, and introduced me to the glorious West Coast of Vancouver Island in Bristol Columbia. So evocative are the descriptions that I felt like I was surfing in Tofino with Frankie and George. I devoured Our Perfect Storm in a couple of sultry, hot days and so for that reason I am sure this will make a perfect summer read ☀️📖 .

About the Author

Carley Fortune is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After, Meet Me at the Lake, This Summer Will Be Different, and One Golden Summer and One Perfect Storm. She is also an award -winning Canadian journalist who has worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and Toronto Life. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons.

Website

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☀️ Summer Reads ~ The Glass Key by Amanda Geard

It’s that time of year again when I choose books which would make the perfect holiday reading. The stories which are easy enough to pick up and put down and which lend themselves, both by plot and characters, to lazy afternoons in the sunshine.

I’ll be sharing a few of the books which I think are perfect escapism summer reading. 

Look for #SummerReads

Headline
18 June 2026

Thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read this book

In Ireland, Maggie has grown up hearing her mother tell her the bedtime story of The Glass Key. It's a Nordic fairytale passed down by Maggie's grandmother Anna Swan, who mysteriously left her home one stormy night years ago, never to return. Now Maggie's grandfather has died and going through his things, Maggie is shocked to discover a faded wartime letter, asking him to take in a baby. In that moment she realises that Anna Swan was a woman of many secrets.

Only by travelling to Norway and discovering the story of four brave young women whose lives were forever changed by the occupation of their tiny islands, can Maggie uncover the shocking truth about her family - and finally unlock the mystery of the glass key...

☀️ My Review..

The German occupation of Norway during WW2 is a subject I knew absolutely nothing about and so to have such a descriptive story, about a group of heroic young women who lived on this remote Norwegian archipelago, has been a real treat. 

Following her grandfather’s death Maggie returns to Hellebore House in County Kerry only to be confronted by a family secret which has been hidden for years. Determined to discover the truth about her maternal grandmother Maggie’s quest leads her to Norway and the remote archipelago north of the Arctic Circle where Anna Carlsen once lived. With a fascinating glimpse into life on the islands during the German occupation a complex family drama of hidden secrets, tragedy and betrayal emerges.

Beautifully written and teeming with an emotional depth, this is one of those stories which takes you by the hand into a long forgotten world where danger was never far away and as Maggie starts to uncover more about her family history so the ties which bind her to the past become even stronger. Moving effortlessly between the war years, and 2005, we gradually learn more about life under German occupation and of the perils that living under the shadow of oppression brought to the islanders. 

Emotional and engrossing from start to finish, The Glass Key is a story which lives on long after the last page is turned and for that reason I think it would make a perfect, immersive summer read.

About the Author

Born in Australia, Amanda Geard has lived all over the world, from a houseboat in London to a tiny island in Norway before settling in County Kerry in Ireland. Her debut novel The Midnight House was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection and her novels have been translated into multiple languages.

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🌞 Summer Read ~ Same Time Next Week by Milly Johnson

Simon and Schuster 

27 February 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Welcome to Spring Hill, home to a square of independent shops and cafes, a thriving local community and nearby the newest venture, Ray’s Diner. Here a group of women meet once a week over a cup of something warming.

Amanda is primary carer to her elderly mother and one of the only women in a male-dominated company. Used to being second-best all her life, is this her time to finally break ranks and shine?

Sky works at the repair shop, patching up old teddy bears, and their owners’ hearts. But her heart beats for the one man who is strictly off-limits.

Mel has been a loyal and loving wife to Steve for thirty years. Then when he goes to his old school reunion, life as she knows it will never be the same again.

Erin is trying to get over a traumatic loss where her guilt weighs more than her grief. Can she find the first step to healing lies in sharing an hour with strangers once a week? 

Astrid is feeling in need of a change and a challenge. But when a fantastic opportunity presents itself, who is around to convince her she is worthy enough to take the risk?

Can these women find the answers to their worries, acceptance, courage, support here? Join them at the same time next week to find out…

🌞My Review..

For the past couple of afternoons I have spent time with a group of women who could so easily have been my best friends and thanks to this lovely story they remain with me long after I closed the book with a satisfied sigh. There is something really special about this author’s stories and it’s not just the amount of heart and soul she pours into them, or about the snorts of laughter which erupt as I’m reading them, it’s that she just gets inside characters, and brings to the page their hopes and fears, their faults and flaws, their small joys and their whopping big insecurities. They’re all there on the page, relatable people who steal their way into your heart, well the good guys do, the seriously bad ones tend to get their comeuppance in the most perfect of ways.

Same Time Next Week focuses on the lives of five women who each have their share of life’s problems. Finding friendship and support at a weekly meeting, pouring their hearts out to each other over copious amounts of coffee and plates of delicious cookies. They learn how to be strong, how to take a long hard look at their lives and be brave enough to take that second chance when it’s offered especially when they realise that they should never settle for anything less, especially when they deserve so much more. 

Beautifully written, with great dollops of northern humour and laugh out loud funny bits, but also with some really poignant moments which made me shed a little tear. Same Time Next Week is a perfect read for anytime of year but even more so when the sun is shining, we’re in the middle of a heatwave and I have a long cold drink close to hand.

About the Author

Milly Johnson was born raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. A Sunday Times bestseller, she is one of the top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK, and with millions of copies of her books sold across the world, Milly’s star continues to rise. Milly writes from the heart about what she knows and highlights the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience and celebrate love, friendship, and the possibility of second chances. She is an exceptional writer who puts her heart and soul into every book she  writes and every character she creates.

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🌞Summer Reads ~ Ten Poems from the Lake District

Candlestick Press
July 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this poetry pamphlet 

This addition to Candlestick’s series of UK regional titles brings the drama and beauty of the Lake District landscape into glorious focus. We encounter dry-stone walls, sublime heights, lakes (of course) and experience an evening dip in the cooling waters of a tarn.

The selection wouldn’t be complete without a poem by Wordsworth who captures the tranquillity of a quiet valley in a moment of typically blissful contemplation:

“A soft eye-music of slow-waving boughs,

Powerful almost as vocal harmony

stay the wanderer’s steps and soothe his thoughts.”

from ‘Aira Force Valley’ by William Wordsworth

The double-edged sword of tourism is also present in a sonnet which imagines what this most famous of Lakes Poets would make of the world of postcards and car parks. The poem’s conclusion is a reminder that the sublime will outlive any human interference.

Polly Atkin is a poet who lives and works in the Lake District.

Poems by Polly Atkin, Rachael Bates. Paul Farley, Katie Hale, Matthew Hollis, Eileen Pun, Tom Rawling, Reshma Ruia, William Wordsworth and David Wright.

🌞  My Review..

The brooding nature of the Lake District is never in doubt and as you view the hills and crags an overwhelming sense of majesty abounds. Dark shadows race across the skyline altering the colours from pinks to dark purples, and from green to grey,  as wind and rain sweep across the horizon. It is a place of fickle shadows which can change in the blink of an eye. It is part of my northern landscape, its beauty undimmed by time.

This fine anthology of ten poems capture the magical spirit of the Lake District, bringing its natural beauty to life by the power of expression:

“ Who treads above the mountain-top should die 

Of that pure exultation; he is shriven

By the immaculate wind, the cleansing sky.

From Above Hawkshead by Rachael Bates

The criss cross nature of meandering stone walls are captured in this lovely poem: 

“ See here by the holly tree

Above the highest meadow,

This Eksdale dry stone wall

A warted lichen covered caterpillar

That clasps and humps the how,

Shuffles across the scree’s frost litter

Creeps around the shoulder of the fell,

A line of beauty

Not made to please the eye.”

From Eskdale Dry-Stone Wall by Tom Rawling 

Beautifully written, with a gloriously Illustrated cover, and emotionally evocative of a place caught in time, Ten poems from the Lake District would be a wonderful gift instead of a card for anyone who loves this part of the country or is a perfect introduction to a very special place.

About the Publisher 

Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Mountains, Clouds, Walking, Birds, Wine and Happiness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

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Website 

🌞 Summer Read ~ River of Stars by Georgina Moore

HQ
3 July 2025

Thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read this book

Jo hasn’t seen Oliver since that magical, life-changing summer when their idyllic island paradise was shattered. Growing up on Walnut Tree Island, they were everything to each other, defying a feud that fractured their families decades before. If first love runs deep, Jo and Oliver’s ran like the river itself, fast and true.

On Walnut Tree Island, love affairs and secrets come and go like the tides. Once the pulse of a flourishing 1960s music scene, it’s where Mary Star fell in love with a young musician about to hit the big time, only to be left with a baby and a broken heart. Mary has made the island a haven for two generations of Star women, raising her daughter and her granddaughter, surrounded by the river, supported by a bohemian, artistic community.

But Oliver’s return to the island after years away throws everyone into a frenzy. The threat of change is coming to paradise. And for Jo, Oliver’s return opens the wounds of a love she thought she had lost for ever…

📖 My Review..

There’s a thriving group of artisans who live in houseboats on the River Thames side by side with Walnut Tree Island. Their living arrangements help to form a tight knit community who guard the place with fierce determination, reluctant for any change to spoil the ambiance of a place locked in time. 

Back in the 1960s Walnut Tree Island was home to a thriving music scene and sixteen year old Mary Star was very much part of this world however, when we meet her, in  the present day, she is old lady with her only her memories of times gone by and a fierce protective instinct towards her fiery granddaughter, Jo. Inevitably, with a new landlord, change must come to the island and for Mary and Jo Star old memories will be stirred and emotions, long buried, will have to be faced.

The novel is slow and steady, exploring the tangled relationships between the boat dwellers, the minutiae of their lives and their desire to keep Walnut Island safe from any changes which might destroy their bohemian way of life. The island, is beautifully described and is so much a character in its own right, that the whole place comes alive, from its heyday in the 1960s, to its rundown modern day appearance. However, as we move forwards and backwards in time so we come to realise the importance of this beautiful place not just to Mary, Jo and the boat dwellers but also to Oliver Greenwood, the new landlord, who has his own emotional connection to Walnut Tree Island. 

With its quirky characters and beautiful setting, River of Stars captured my imagination in a lovely story about love, loss and the value of friendship. 

About the Author

Georgina Moore grew up in London and lives on a houseboat on the River Thames with her partner, two children and Bomber, the Border Terrier.

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📖 Book Review ~ The Figurine by Victoria Hislop

Headline 
1 August 2024
Paperback

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air of mystery swirls around these statuettes from the Bronze Age and they are highly sought after by collectors - and looters - alike.

When Helena inherits her grandparents' apartment in Athens, she is overwhelmed with memories of the summers she spent there as a child, when Greece was under a brutal military dictatorship. Her remote, cruel grandfather was one of the regime's generals and as she sifts through the dusty rooms, Helena discovers an array of valuable objects and antiquities. How did her grandfather amass such a trove? What human price was paid for them?

Helena's desire to find answers about her heritage dovetails with a growing curiosity for archaeology, ignited by a summer spent with volunteers on a dig on an Aegean island. Their finds fuel her determination to protect the precious fragments recovered from the baked earth - and to understand the origins of her grandfather's collection.

Helena's attempt to make amends for some of her grandfather's actions sees her wrestle with the meaning of 'home', both in relation to looted objects of antiquity ... and herself.

📖  My Review..

In 1968, Helena is eight years old when she travels alone to Greece for the first time to spend a holiday with her maternal grandparents and whilst she adores her grandmother, she finds her grandfather a rather cold and distant figure. Gradually over the time we spend with Helena, both as a child, and later as an adult, we understand more about her grandfather and of the politics which influenced him. We also learn more about the rift between Helena’s mother and her grandparents which adds another interesting dimension to this family drama.

There’s a definite sense of time and place which the author describes so vividly that it feels scarily realistic especially when the volatility of civil unrest in the  nineteen seventies curtails Helena's visits to Greece. The author explains the history of the time well and allowed a picture to emerge of a country at war with itself. For me the story really began when Helena becomes an adult and is able to discover more about her Greek heritage. I found the archaeological aspect of the story interesting, especially in the way that antiquities had once been looted for personal gain. Helena learns some unhappy truths about her family and has to come to terms with the sins of the past.

As always this author delivers a good story, The Figurine is a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten time in history. It’s a great holiday read made even better if you read it on a warm, and beautiful, Greek island.

About the Author

Victoria Hislop is the multi-million copy bestselling author of eight books, including The Island, The Return, The Thread, The Sunrise, Those Who are Loved, The Last Dance and Other Stories and Cartes Postales from Greece. Her books have been translated into forty languages.

The Figurine is out in paperback on the 1st August 2024

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