Book Synopsis:
In this emotional novel based on Greece’s real history we follow three generations of one family, broken apart by secrets and war, as Olivia travels to the island of her mother’s birth to piece together a century’s worth of her family’s past.
On the Greek island of Castellorizo young Sofía must put her big dreams on hold to support her older sister Maria with her large family. But World War II is looming and while the idyllic island may seem far from harm at first, there are unspeakable dangers on the horizon – perils that will change the sisters’ lives forever . . .
Devastated by her divorce and the death of her dear mum, Olivia seeks solace on Castellorizo. Her Granny Sofía fled the beautiful Greek island during the war, but Olivia knows little else about her family’s history. The only link to the Island she has left is her elderly great-uncle George. As his memory begins to fail, Olivia feels her one chance at uncovering the truth about her grandmother start to slip away.
As a mother’s sacrifice echoes throughout the generations, will Olivia discover some things are best left in the past?
My Review:
I’m a huge fan of this author so I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for this her latest book. Once again the author has written an intriguing, emotional book that I thoroughly enjoyed!
Firstly I loved the beautiful descriptions of the Greek Island Casterllorizo which were strikingly vivid, often making me feel like I was actually there witnessing everything for myself. The author also includes a bit of information about Greek Culture and traditions which was especially fascinating to find out more about. I’d definitely like to visit the Greek Islands one day.
The story is told in two time lines one following Sophia through the second world war and the other following her grandaughter Olivia as she tries to find out more about her grandmother and her family history. I must admit to enjoying Sophia’s story a bit more as it was fascinating to learn more about the Greek Islands role during the war. I had no idea that they were occupied by Italy and that they weren’t allowed to speak Greek during the occupation. Some of the events described in this book are quite gruesome and really heartbreaking at times, more so because the reader know them to be true. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy Olivia’s story though. It was interesting to follow her connecting with and learning more about her family. I liked how Olivia finds out something in the present day and then the reader is taken back in time to learn more about it, I thought that was very clever.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it to others. The slow reveal of secrets was tantalisingly done and I soon found myself so wrapped up in the story that it was very hard to put down. It is much more then the easy beach read you might expect as some of the events are very hard hitting. There are some slower moments in the book, but do keep reading as things soon pick up again.
The ending and final reveal was brilliant and I closed the book with a happy, contented sigh. Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Zaffre for my copy of this read.
About The Author:
Patricia Wilson was born in Liverpool, has lived on Crete and is now settled on Rhodes. She was first inspired to write when she unearthed a rusted machine gun in her garden – one used in the events that unfolded during World War II on the island of Crete. The now elderly women involved in those events told Patricia their story, and her celebrated debut Island of Secrets (150k copies sold) was the result.
Over The Rainbow Blog 