It's a story about love and friendship. Although this was nothing like 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞; the friendship element in the book made me think about how Rob's friendship (from Eleanor Oliphant) helped with Eleanor's healing process... How acts of kindness can change someone's view of life. International bestselling author Santa Montefiore continues the story of the Deverill family in the third book in her beautiful and moving Deverill Chronicles trilogy—perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Beatriz Williams I just loved this series, but could not continue as my library was closed do to COVID 19. I found that I could borrow an audio copy of this wonderful book from Overdrive. I have never read a audiobook and had no desire to do so. Santa heeft de levens van al de personages mooi in beeld gebracht. Je wordt meegesleurd naar een andere tijd met enerzijds de pracht en praal van de adel en anderzijds de arme bevolking die het beu is om onder de juk van de Britten te leven. Vriendschappen die worden gesloten en waarvan iedereen zo overtuigd is dat die stand gaan houden. Je leest alsof je er gewoon allemaal naar zit te kijken. Bridie Doyle, daughter to Castle Deverill's cook, cherishes her friendship with Kitty. Yet she can't help dreaming of someday having wealth, having glamour, having... more. And when she discovers Kitty's darkest secret, Bridie finds herself growing to resent the girl in the castle who seems to have it all.

There is nothing I love more than a big, historical fiction book to sink into when I’m faced with a rainy weekend. The only thing that could make it better is know that the book is the first of a trilogy and that if the other two are as good as the first I have a lot of great reading ahead of me. I have been on a wonderful reading run lately and I hope it continues.Songs of Love and War is an intriguing tale that sweeps you to Co. Cork in the early 1900s when Ireland is full of unrest and upheaval not only due to the Great War being waged on the fields of Europe but in their own countryside where the simmering anger and need for self-identity, patriotism, and independence from Anglo rule are about to come to a head. Inom familjen Deverill göms många hemligheter. Är egentligen Barton Deverill så oskyldig? Var har Digby fått sin stora förmögenhet ifrån? Orkar Harry hålla sin hemlighet för sig själv? When Martha Wallace leaves her home in America to search for her birth mother in Dublin, she never imagines that she will completely lose her heart to the impossibly charming JP Deverill. But more surprises are in store for her after she discovers that her mother comes from the same place as JP, sealing her fate. You will fall in love with the characters and wish you could join in the family fun at the castle in Ireland and in their homes in London. Naïef en volhardend als ze is, doet ze dingen die de ene na de andere gebeurtenis in gang zetten en zo voltrekt er iets dat verschrikkelijk is en waar ze geen vat meer op heeft. Hier moet ze een prijs voor betalen, eentje met verstrekkende gevolgen. Ook Bridies leven ligt overhoop en beiden zijn gedoemd om te vluchten. De ene naar Londen en de andere naar Amerika.

The Secret Hours (2019) – Arethusa Clayton has always been formidable, used to getting her own way. On her death, she leaves unexpected instructions. Instead of being buried in America, on the wealthy East Coast where she and her late husband raised their two children, Arethusa has decreed that her ashes be scattered in a remote corner of Ireland, on the hills overlooking the sea. Poor Kitty Deverill had a lot to deal with at her young age, but she was spunky, delightful, and resilient. The Deverill’s have lost their castle to Bridie Doyle now Countess diMarcantonio. She was the daughter of the cook at the Deverill’s castle. She is now the mistress to the castle. How did this happen? Lots of drama to come. Santa Montefiore born Santa Palmer-Tomkinson is a British-Argentine writer best known for writing romantic thriller novels. She had always wanted to write professionally ever since she was a child and would graduate from reading children short stories to naïve love stories as she aged. At age twelve, she attended the Sherborne School for Girls where she was terrible at practically everything except for English, in which she was always the best in the class. She would frequently write up stories pairing up her friends with the boys they fancied from the Sherborne Boy’s School just across the fence. Her friends loved the stories, and fancying herself one of the greatest novelists that ever lived, she submitted them to a publisher only to be rejected. When she turned 19, her mother organized a teaching job for her on an Argentine Pampa, where she was to be tutor to three young children. The time that she spent in Argentine turned out to be some of the best things that her parents ever did for her. She fell in love with the country and made it her second home, even setting several of her novels there.THE GIRL IN THE CASTLE is set around 1910 and ​lets us into​ ​the ​lives of aristocrats and the lives of servants in a castle. Martha llega decidida a encontrar a su verdadera madre y los motivos que esta tuvo para darla en adopción, solo que el camino es un rosal con espinas. There are some great characters in the novel. I liked Kitty very much. She seemed to be the sanest one of her family. Her mother is one of the coldest most unfeeling women I ever read. Kitty's grandparents are adorable even if her grandfather does go off the deep end from time to time. The Girl in the Castle takes place in Ireland in the early 20th century. It starts just before the Irish bid for independence and covers the war and its aftermath. The Deverill family is English and Irish and the baby of the family Kitty, is pretty much ignored by her mother. She has a governess but for a lot of her day she runs loose. Kitty has become good friends with Bridie, the daughter of the castle’s cook. She also finds a lot of love from her grandmother; she shares something else with her as well. They both have the ability to see the ghosts of the castle and talk to them. This bothers her mother and the look in her eyes makes other uncomfortable.