The house has soft, purple wisteria twining around the door. You step inside.
The hall is cool after the hot summer's day. The welcome is kind, and always warm.
Yet something makes you suspect life here can't be as perfect as it seems.
After all, the brightest smile can hide the darkest secret.
But wouldn't you pay any price to have a glorious place like this?
Welcome to Winterfold.
Martha Winter's family is finally coming home"
Rating: 5/5
You can buy A Place for Us as an eBook now.
I have to be honest and say that I'm generally not a fan of book serialisation. If I'm going to read a book, I want it to be the whole thing, not just part of it that leaves me in the middle of something I want to keep reading. However, when I was sent the first part of Harriet Evans' new book A Place for Us, I was intrigued enough to pick it up and start reading the first few pages, especially after I saw a few bloggers raving about it on Twitter. I hadn't expected to get stuck right into the story, almost forgetting that this was only the first part of four! However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the next parts now!
Martha Winter loves her family dearly, her son and daughters, and her husband too. She lives at their beautiful family home, Winterfold, and is due to hold her annual party, finally bringing all the Winter's back together again. However, this time Martha has a secret that she is sure will blow her entire family apart. Despite that, she's sure that telling them is the right thing to do. But will all the Winter's want to come back home, and face Martha and her secret once and for all?
Harriet Evans writing in this book is brilliant, and really draws you in. The book slowly introduces us to each of the members of the Winter family, beginning with Martha. I really liked her from the beginning, she's definitely the matriarchal head of the family and loves them all dearly. You aren't given much of a hint as to what Martha's secret is throughout the book, so I was guessing in my own head, wondering what on earth it could be that could blow a whole family apart. The other members of the family are widespread, and all a bit odd in their own way. There's their son David, a doctor, on his second marriage to a much younger woman that is not perhaps as happy as it seems. Their daughter Florence, an Art professor living in Florence, and living in a bit of a dreamworld regarding a certain colleague. There's the younger generation, Martha's husband, and lots of stories to keep up with but I didn't have a problem keeping up with who was who and where they were!
This is a great introduction to the story in my opinion. It really piqued my interest in terms of what the big Winter family secret is, and exactly who I think will bother turning up to Martha's party. They are certainly a strange family, and there were a few characters that I felt unsure about, but that just added to the mystery for me. I loved the sound of Winterfold as well, it sounds like a beautiful home set in a beautiful village. Harriet Evans has done everything to make part 1 of A Place for Us a capitvating introduction to her latest story, and I for one can't wait to read more of it. I'm so intrigued to read what is going to take place at the Winter family party, and exactly who is going to come back, and perhaps clash too! If you're a fan of Harriet's books, you'll want to read this one but if you'd prefer to wait for the complete book, it's out on 15th January 2015. But for now... roll on part 2!
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