#BlogTour: Her Mother’s Secret by Rosanna Ley @QuercusBooks @RosannaLey @annecater #HerMothersSecret #RandomThingsTours

Book Synopsis:

Escape to the heart of enchanting Brittany with the bestselling author of The Villa and The Little Theatre by the Sea. The perfect treat for fans of Santa Montefiore and Veronica Henry.

For many years Colette has avoided returning to her homeland – the magical island of Belle-Île-en-Mer in Southern Brittany – afraid to confront the painful memories she left behind. She is living on the Cornish coast when she hears about her mother Thea’s failing health and realises that the time has come for her to go home. But can Colette ever forgive Thea for what she has done?

Despite Colette’s wariness, romantic Belle-Île still fascinates her. She takes on the running of her mother’s flower shop and makes friends with Élodie from the Old Lighthouse where Thea once worked as a nanny and with the enigmatic Étienne who shares Colette’s mixed feelings about the island. As Thea opens up to her for the first time, Colette finds herself softening and being drawn back into the landscape of her past. But can Belle-Île also be a part of her future?

The ghosts of that past still linger. What happened all those years ago and how did it cause the rift between mother and daughter? It becomes clear that the beauty of Belle-Île hides a devastating family secret – one that Colette is determined to unravel at any cost.

Her Mother’s Secret is available now in ebook and hardback.  It will be published in paperback on the 14th June.  You can purchase and pre-order your copy here.

My Review:

Her Mother’s Secret is a fantastically atmospheric, summery novel about hidden secrets and discovering yourself.

The descriptions of Belle-Île were wonderful and made me want to visit there immediately so I could visit all the places mentioned in the book for myself. The brightly coloured houses, the light house and the beautiful sea were very vividly described and I felt like I could really imagine the Island in my mind’s eye.  The lovely community feel of everyone knowing and looking out for each other helped give the book a cosy, warm feel that helps the reader relax into the story.

The story is told from the point of view of different Island inhabitants which helped add to the story and intrigue as it gives the reader a more holistic view of what happened.  I was very interested to find out how the different threads of the story would come together and if the awful events mentioned by the different characters were the same ones.

The reader is aware from the beginning that something dreadful happened on the Island a few years ago though not much is revealed immediately.  Instead the author cleverly builds up the reader’s knowledge of the characters and the Island, giving them the chance to make their own assumptions about what happened.  This gives the reader a chance to understand the characters and what makes them tick, which means you become more involved in the story and what happens.

The secrets of the Island are gradually revealed as the characters get to know one another and the Island.  I had a few ideas about what it could be but was only half right which made for a fantastic end to a fabulous book. The secret aspect of the book wasn’t what made the book for me however, it was the great descriptions of the Island and reading about the characters finding themselves and the gradual healing of their broken relationships which made this such a beautiful book.

Huge thanks to Quercus Publishers and Anne Cater for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  This is definitely the perfect book to read in the sun this summer!

About The Author:

Rosanna Ley has had six novels published by Quercus Books. She has worked as a creative writing tutor for many years and has written articles and stories for a number of national magazines. Her writing holidays and retreats take place in stunning locations in Spain and Italy. When she is not travelling, Rosanna lives in West Dorset by the sea.

Visit Rosanna: @RosannaLey / http://www.rosannaley.com

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