Rowan Hill means many
things to many people, but to Ellie Hesketh it represents new
beginnings. Putting her life back together after a break-up is going to
take time, but the crumbling country estate—as much in need of TLC as
she is—seems the perfect place to do it.
But Ellie is not the only person for whom Rowan Hill is a refuge. There’s Will, damaged and complicated, whose secrets almost nobody knows. And Finn, his brother, who’s finally decided to stop running from his own past. As Ellie is drawn further into saving the estate, she can’t help but try saving the brothers too—and she’s sure she knows just how to go about it. The trouble is, she’s been accused of meddling before…
By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this story of friendship, forgiveness and unexpected romance reveals the lies we tell to hide dark secrets—and what can happen when we let in a little light.
But Ellie is not the only person for whom Rowan Hill is a refuge. There’s Will, damaged and complicated, whose secrets almost nobody knows. And Finn, his brother, who’s finally decided to stop running from his own past. As Ellie is drawn further into saving the estate, she can’t help but try saving the brothers too—and she’s sure she knows just how to go about it. The trouble is, she’s been accused of meddling before…
By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this story of friendship, forgiveness and unexpected romance reveals the lies we tell to hide dark secrets—and what can happen when we let in a little light.
Oh, goodness. Where to start on this one. I've not had the chance to read anything by Emma Davies previously. This one was pretty good! Interesting characters, a great storyline and smooth flow is exactly what I look for in a great book and this one had it all.
Okay ... before I go any further ... there were some ... translation issues for me. Yes, this book is written in English but there were quite a few words and phrases that really stumped me. For example: I need to get a ripple on. What the hell does that mean? No clue. Don pinny was another one, what the hell is a conker and for the love of everything warm and fluffy ... please tell me that chocolate digestives are cookies because it sounds like medicine for a rumbly stomach. If that's the case, I would not want to live in that town because EVERYONE eats digestives. Yeah, you can figure out what the words mean just by using deductive reasoning ... most of the time.
I thought that the plot of the book was interesting ... a massive amount of time passes while in the book and even though there are large chunks of time missing from being explained or delved into, it wasn't a bad thing. Davies somehow accounted for these chunks and had the book flow steadily along. I really enjoyed the pacing of everything that happened within the book.
Some books you just speed through because you can't wait to see what happens next and you're just so caught up in what excitement is bubbling up that you just blow through it. This book is the opposite ... you go slow and by taking your time, the entire plot is really enhanced because it's almost as if you're on this journey with the characters and not just watching it from afar.
Basically, this was a great book. Until I got to the ending. For some reason, the emotions fell really flat for me. There were these earth-shattering revelations that the characters were going through and they just weren't as emotionally invested in the revelations or the outcome as they seemed to let on. I hope that made sense ... I didn't feel it from the characters. I didn't feel the despair or happiness or anything else that I would have thought would be a big character building moment.
Good book, I'll probably read another by this author in the future but I will probably shy away from it if it is over 500 pages again. That is just A LOT all at once. I think that it could have been broken into two books and played out beautifully. Just my opinion though.
* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *
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