#platkus

The Lost Daughter of Venice  by Charlotte Betts

Come to Venice. Please, Phoebe, do not fail me.

Venice, 1919

Seventeen years ago, the grand Venetian Palazzo degli Angeli was Phoebe Wyndham's home; now, the neglected walls of the palazzo are just a haunting reminder of all she has lost.

Arriving back in Italy after a plea from her estranged relative, the Contessa di Sebastiano, the recently widowed Phoebe is shocked to discover her aunt is dead and the palazzo now belongs to her.

All she wants to do is sell the property and return home. However, when a dark family secret is exposed, the shocking deception rocks Phoebe to her very core, and she vows not to leave the City of Water without first unravelling the truth from the lies.

As Phoebe searches for answers, she finds herself growing closer to two very different men. But, when her camera catches something more sinister than the faded grandeur of Venice, Phoebe begins to question who she can really trust and whether her aunt's death was truly an accident after all . . .

Book page: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/charlotte-betts/the-lost-daughter-of-venice/9780349432717/

My Review:

A good historical fiction set in Venice after the WWI, a compelling story that mixes family saga, secrets, miscommunications, old and new loves, and a lot of surprises

I was hooked since the first pages and I liked Phoebe, the girl who went away, and the atmospheric description of Venice.

There’s a story and there’s the big history in a moment when everything is changing and nothing what used to be.

Phoebe discovers her long estranged aunts left her Venice palace to her.

It’s a beginning of a story that goes back in time and makes us know what Phoebe’s she was past and how became a famous photographer. The eye of the photo machine is a way to discover things and It will play a relevant role in the story.

The characters are fleshed out and lively, I felt for Phoebe and found the other characters interesting.

The historical background is well researched even if there’s some details that made me wonder as I think it could have been very hard even if not impossible, the religion choice at the beginning for instance

That said I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I will read other by this author as I always liked her story

It’s strongly recommended if you want to read a well plotted and intriguing historical fiction.

Many thanks to Piatkus for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Author;

Charlotte Betts discovered a passion for writing after her five children had grown up and left her in peace. Demanding careers in hotel design and property force her to be inventive in finding time to write but she has achieved seven novels in eight years. One of her short stories was published in Scribble and others short-listed by Writers’ News and Real Writers’. She has won first prize in five short story competitions and wrote a regular column on interior design for The Maidenhead Advertiser for two years. She is a member of WordWatchers http://www.wordwatchers.net/ and the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Website   http://www.charlottebetts.com/

Twitter CharlotteBetts1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteBettsAuthor

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

My Review (5*): I should be one of the few humans beings in the first world that didn’t read Eleanor Oliphant so I can’t say if there are similarities or not. What I can say is that I never used the adjective “gripping” for a women’s fiction and this a way I would described this book. Because it’s a women’s fiction but it’s also an excellent thriller and the mix of the genres works very well making this book a page turner you can’t put down. The story is poignant, emotionally charged and it moved me to tears more than once as I know a hoarder and I can say that the author did an excellent job in describing this type of persons. Amy sees beauty in discarded objects but she also use the objects to collect to avoid being hurt again. We can read about her past, about what she was and we can read about her current life and what she became. She try to avoid human contacts and she’s stuck in the moment when her world fell down. She starts to heal the moment some of her objects are destroyed and part of the barriers fall down. The moment Amy starts to heal is also the moment when she starts investigating the disappearance of her fiancee and her best friends. This is also the moment when the story becomes a thriller as she’s collecting clues and discovering that not all is what it seemed. The solution to the mystery part came as a surprise and I was satisfied by it as it’s also the moment when Amy can leave the past behind and starts living again. I loved the excellent character development: Amy is a complex and interesting woman. We learn she’s very beautiful but this is just an element as the plot is more about what’s going on in her mind. All the characters are fleshed out and interesting, some are lovely as Richard and the children. Some are quite hateful, excellent villain in this story. The plot is tightly knitted and the dual timeline helps the reader to understand what happened and who were these persons whose disseverance hurt Amy so much. I think this is an excellent debut and this book is strongly recommended. Many thanks to Piatkus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Book Description: When Amy Ashton’s world fell apart eleven years ago, she started a collection.

Just a few keepsakes of happier times: some honeysuckle to remind herself of the boy she loved, a chipped china bird, an old terracotta pot . . . Things that others might throw away, but to Amy, represent a life that could have been.

Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves – soon there’ll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery, and Amy’s carefully curated life begins to unravel. If she can find the courage to face her past, might the future she thought she’d lost still be hers for the taking?

Buy Link: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/eleanor-ray/everything-is-beautiful-the-most-uplifting-heartwarming-read-of-2021/9780349427409/

The Author: Eleanor Ray has an MA in English Literature from Edinburgh University and works in marketing. She lives in London with her husband and two young children. Eleanor was inspired to write Everything is Beautiful by the objects her toddler collects and treasures – twigs, empty water bottles and wilting daisies. She is currently working on her next novel.