Book Synopsis:
Fortune favours the fraud…
When she was thirteen years old, Ada Howell lost not just her father, but the life she felt she was destined to lead. Now, at eighteen, Ada is given a second chance when her wealthy godmother gifts her with an extravagant art history trip to Italy.
In the palazzos of Venice, the cathedrals of Florence and the villas of Rome, she finally finds herself among the kind of people she aspires to be: sophisticated, cultured, privileged. Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set.
But everything hidden must eventually surface, and when it does, Ada discovers she’s been keeping a far darker secret than she could ever have imagined…
The Favour is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
The Favour is a wonderfully atmospheric, absorbing read which was completely different from what I was expecting.
Firstly I’ve always loved stories set in Italy. There’s somethings so wonderfully opulent and exciting about books set in Italy with all of its rich history that I alway enjoy. This book was no exception and I loved following the characters on their adventures, living precariously through them.
The character’s in this book were great creations, who I wasn’t sure I liked. They are very privileged, spoiled people who I didn’t feel a lot of sympathy with though that might be down to jealousy. I both wanted to be like them and included in their group but I also didn’t as I think I would find them too annoying. The main character Ala wasn’t a likeable person and I found her attempts to fit in quite cringey at times. I found myself wishing she would realise how desperate she seemed and hoped that the others wouldn’t take advantage. It was interesting trying to work out what type of person everyone was. Whether they were here for their own gain or whether they were innocent and just caught up in the moment. I liked trying to guess who I thought had an agenda and who was trying to be a real friend.
The story develops nicely and I liked how the mystery part of the story wasn’t the only thread to the story as it gave me a chance to understand the characters more. The story develops at a steady pace and gives the reader time to get to know the characters better. I did guess part of the ending half way through but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment and I found I had to keep reading to discover if I was right. This is the authors first adult book and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the blog tour and to Corvus for my copy of this book. I think this would be a great bookclub read as there would be lots to discuss.
About The Author:
Laura Vaughan grew up in rural Wales, and studied Art History in Italy and Classics at Bristol and Oxford. She got her first book deal aged twenty-two and went on to write eleven books for children and young adults. She lives in South London with her husband and two children. The Favour is her first novel for adults.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
LikeLike