All three women have ghosts they must lay to rest but she’s the one most in need of a strong resolution. It’s my first read from James and I hope it won’t be my last, because this book was such a good novel. Despite being sisters, Willow and Martha are opposites in how they live their life and what gives them enjoyment.

This one just kept in delivering, it had everything I enjoy in a book, sadness and happiness and a happy ending. This is a multi-layered and engaging story filled with interesting and diverse characters, all hiding behind their secrets and for very good reasons. This was such an easy book to read, and the setting made it a perfect summer read to get stuck into! I enjoyed seeing Willow and Martha come together as sisters, and then become accepting of their mother’s decisions. Furthermore, events that happen in the novel link to Naomi’s past and I think this makes the family even closer still.As a woman the same age as Naomi, it’s she I feel the greatest empathy for, and I must admit that at first I did not take to Martha at all. Some I felt so much sympathy for and I was so hoping that they wouldn’t sabotage their own chance of happiness. Easy-going drifter, Willow, has finally met a new boyfriend in Rick, whom her family seem to approve of, so why doesn’t she too feel convinced by his obvious overtures to settle down? I’ve been reading Erica James novels for over 20 years – hers were the first adult books I ever read, and.

By contrast for the first time Willow has a boyfriend in Rick, who her family approve of as charming, steady and dependable. Martha and Ellis both have their doubts about Rick, unfortunately it’s a case of history repeating itself, Naomi needs to protect Willow and she must tell her daughters the truth about their father and they will be shocked. That said a perfectly good read - it’s not the first or last book I’ve ever read where the author finds a convenient solution to the complex picture that’s been painted. Having decided the time is right for a baby, Martha is dismayed that after ten months of trying she still hasn’t conceived and it’s starting to feel like failure to a woman driven by perfectionism. Although I found there was a certain degree of predictability in the storyline in this family saga, I thought that all the characters were well-portrayed and, with the gradual revelation of long-held secrets as the.Just over two years ago, Naomi’s husband, Colin, and the father of both her daughters, died suddenly leaving her a widow in the Tilsham cottage the family once shared. Erica is one of my all time go to authors, one whom my mum used to love and one of the first adult authors I ever read. Well written and enjoyable family saga that addresses some serious themes of fertility problems, domestic abuse, and finding love in middle age. She is a real ‘people person’, full of empathy, very kind hearted but is without any real focus or ambition.

These are changing times for all of them and the author has done a wonderful job of capturing the different emotions that each family member goes through, and the impact on the other people in their life. I think this symbolises the different pace of life that the characters lead and reinforces Naomi’s more laid-back approach to decisions.Martha, whom we meet first is the elder of two siblings and is desperately trying for a baby with her husband Tom.