October 2019

 The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron

A mysterious painting by an unknown artist turns up at Framlingham Castle Estate in East Suffolk County in England. Keira Foley is commissioned as an Art Historian to research the history of the painting. Keira’s research takes us back through history to the Parnham Hill Estate in Framlingham in the 1840’s and to the 1940’s during World War two when the castle was home to officers from the nearby airbase and small group of children evacuated during the war.

The novel tells the story of the different people living at the Parnham Hill Estate.

It is a romance about artists, art dealers, World War Two. I loved the way the story was woven around the castle and Parnham Hill Estate and the lives of the people who loved there.

Lake Season by Denise Hunter

Set in a small lakeside town called Bluebell in North Carolina in the present time with flashbacks to the 1960’s. Levi, Molly and Grace Bennett are trying to fulfill their parents dream of renovating their family home into an Inn. Their parents were killed in an accident.

Molly gives up her dream of taking up an internship in a hotel in Italy to help run the Inn with her brother and younger sister.

Their house was historic and in earlier days had once been a post office. The builders find a letter that had managed to get caught between the post box and the timber cladding.

Molly sets out to find out about the sender of the letter. She is helped by a resident staying at the Inn. I loved this story.  It was written in the present time and the 1960’s. It is a romance about families, grief, relationships, secrets and identity.

We Met In December by Rosie Curtis

This was a slow-moving romance about ta group of people living in a share house in the present time in Notting Hill.

Jess moves to Notting Hill to live in a share house owned by her friend Becky. Becky inherited the house and invited four friends to live in the house with her.
Jess has a job in publishing. She loves taking photographs of interesting views for Instagram so she can share her life with her grandmother Beth who also has an Instagram account.
Alex also lives in Becky’s house, he gave up being a lawyer and is training as a nurse, on his weekends off he takes Jess on walking tours around London.
This was a nice romance about friendships, relationships and families.