39712117Goodreads blurb:
When Charlotte’s husband James tragically dies, he leaves her an unexpected gift – her grandmother’s beautiful villa, Marisal, on the Spanish island of Formentera.
As she begins to explore her new home, and heal her broken heart in the warm golden sunshine, Charlotte discovers that her grandmother Alba has been keeping secrets about her life on the island. Intrigued by her family’s hidden history, Charlotte uncovers a devastating love affair that put many lives at risk and two sisters torn apart by loss.

Can the heartbreaking truth of the island’s dark history finally be laid to rest? Or will the secrets of the past shake the new life and love that Charlotte is close to finding?

My Review

I don’t know about you but I do love a good dual time story about families and secrets, and this is one fabulous read full of them.

Set on the Spanish island of Formentera, near to Ibiza this book tells two stories. Charlotte’s in the present day and Cesca’s and Esperanza’s her ancestors, set three hundred years earlier.

This was such a lovely read just perfect for this time of year. I really liked Charlotte and could identify with her all the way through the book, she felt so real . I loved the way her character developed from a grief stricken widow, to acceptance to learning to live with again without her husband. I enjoyed her story the most as I loved reading about her new life on the island, meeting long lost relatives and making new friends.

The second story set in 1718 was fascinating, truly drawing me into life back then on the island. The two sisters Cesca and Esperanza came alive on the page with their completely different outlooks on life and you could feel that something ominous was sure to happen.

I won’t say anything else as it will spoil this wonderful story. I definitely recommend it as the perfect dual time read this summer.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for my digital copy.
The Island Villa by Lily Graham is available to purchase now.