- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: RedDoor Publishing Ltd (16 May 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1910453811
- ISBN-13: 978-1910453810
Synopsis
When Allegra O’Brien discovers her husband s infidelity, her world is shattered and she seeks solace in the sanctuary family. Her Italian grandpapas s tales of legendary Mama Cosima and the mysterious Peacock Room reawaken her love of historic, interior architecture, inspiring Allegra to take a trip to Tuscany to learn more about her heritage.
While a dangerous encounter throws her off course, a handsome stranger helps Allegra discover there is more to her family history than she could ever imagine. With her new-found confidence, and in the wake of her grandpapa s illness, Allegra makes an unexpected discovery, and finally commits to fulfilling the promise she made to solve a family mystery.
Review
The Peacock Room is the first book I have read by Merryn Corcoran, but it won’t be the last. This book covers all my favourite topics, art, architecture and beautiful Tuscany. Allegra has been married for twenty years when her husband decides to leave her for a much younger woman. After originally being heartbroken, time passes and she realises how controlling her husband was and that now she can get back to her passion of art and architecture. After the death of her beloved grandpapa, she decides to look into a family mystery and find the Castello Sammezzano and the fabled Peacock Room her grandpapa told her about. Mystery, art, architecture, romance and the stunning landscape Tuscany come together to create a beautiful read.
What drew me to this book was the stunning cover that shows a woman in the most stunning room, an image of the Peacock Room with its different hues of blue that shimmer off the cover. What surprised me was finding out that the Castello Sammezzano is a real place, and the Peacock Room does exist, its just a shame it isn’t open to the public. This is simply one of the gorgeous Italian setting in this book, all of which can’t help but make me smile wistfully and dream of going back to Italy. A family is mystery is always interesting in a book as I love to be a voyeur in other peoples lives. This mystery surrounds Allegra’s grandpapa’s father who went missing at the same time as some art work from the Castello. His mother never believed he would have left her with a young son, and through her diaries, left to Allegra, we learn more about this period of time. Merryn Corcoran’s writing is colourful and descriptive, in setting and character, and brings the rooms of the Castello and the architecture vividly off the page and into the imagination.
Allegra was a character I really warmed to. She has never reached her potential as a person, being controlled by her husband who didn’t want her to work, but all this changes after the separation. There are many moments where a smile was on my face with Allegra’s cutting comments towards her husband as her confidence grew, and she became more independent. It’s not very often I say I hate a character, but in the case of Hugo, the husband, this was true. He was chauvinistic, arrogant, egotistical, condescending and smarmy; he doesn’t deserve someone as nice as Allegra. All the characters were well rounded, different and true to life, making them and their lives more believable; although Allegra’s new romance is a bit too perfect, but that is part of the charm of the book.
The Peacock Room is a beautiful book, in setting, story and characters. The mystery, romance and Italian culture perfectly combine to make this such a pleasure to read, and offers pure escapism. An uplifting, and easy read that will leave you with a smile on your face. Bellissima!!
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