- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (12 July 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1471169588
- ISBN-13: 978-1471169588
Synopsis
When Gracie Burton stumbles upon an advertisement for a week-long cookery course in the heart of the Tuscan countryside,she cannot resist, and ploughs her life savings into the trip.
Her only family – daughter Carina and granddaughter Anastasia – are hesitant about what has prompted this seemingly random venture. But they have no sense of Gracie’s past; of what could possibly be calling her to Italy. They have no idea that Gracie is harbouring the secret of an extraordinary life that preceded them . . .
Review
My regular followers will know that apart from books my other passions are Italy and Art so when all three come together I am in heaven. So, I was very excited to be given the opportunity to review The Temptation of Gracie, set in the beautiful Tuscan hills both in the present day and in the the 1950’s to mid 1960’s. In both the past and present the plot centres around Gracie. In the present she lives a quiet life with her dogs in the town Badly Compton, and is not seen as adventurous, as she has never been abroad since she moved there. However, Gracie has a past not even her daughter knows about, so when she decides to go to Tuscany on a cookery course her daughter and the town residents are quite shocked. Whilst on the cooker course Gracie relates her past to her granddaughter Anastasia, which splits the narrative between the past and present.
The characters in this book are wonderful and diverse. Gracie really captured my heart; she was such a warm and caring character with a past that surprises everyone. Her quiet demeanour hides an early life of passion and art that she left behind and never returned to or spoke about. Her daughter Carina is very career focused to the detriment of her relationships with her mother and daughter, but a week away in Italy starts to melt her heart and open her eyes to what she is missing out on. Relationships are at the centre of this book, familial, platonic and amorous and their importance in our lives.
Santa Montefiore is a beautiful writer who has a great understanding of her characters that makes them feel like friends, and make you warm to them and care what happens to them; this is an important part of the success of all her novels. She is also a very descriptive writer, she brought the warmth of the sun, the colourful flowers, the smell of the artists studio and the taste of the food to life. I could picture the Castello Montefosco and its beautiful gardens, and the villa Colomba; I really wished I was back in the beautiful Italian sunshine. As in most of her books Santa Montefiore includes important issues such as suicide and homosexuality in the 1950’s and 1960’s. There is some light relief though with Flappy Scott-Booth, the Hyacinth Bucket of Badly Compton, who looks down on everyone and is full of her own self importance.
The Temptation of Gracie was a delight to read for me. Beautifully written, an engaging plot and some wonderful characters made this such a captivating and enjoyable experience. I really fell into this book and lost myself in the story of art, love and Italy; I didn’t want the story to end.
Thank you for reading my review of the wonderful The Temptation of Gracie, I hope I have inspired you to read it for yourself . All your comments, shares, likes and follows are greatly appreciated.
