April 2015, Sphere, 384 pages, Ebook, Review copy,
Summary from Little, Brown
When Rosa and Bee get together in the run-up to Bee's wedding, they
reminisce about the holiday they took together as teenagers to the
beautiful Greek island of Paros. They remember the sandy coves, the
guest house in the converted windmill where they stayed with their
friend Iona, and the gorgeous local men. As memories of that
long-forgotten holiday resurface, they are forced to confront the turns
their lives have taken - and the guilt they both feel about letting Iona
slip away from them.
When they learn that the windmill guest
house is going bust they form a plan: why not go back to the island and
take it over themselves? And so begins a life-changing journey - because
it turns out that opening a guest house and reliving their teenage
dreams isn't that easy . . .
Nayu's thoughts
I enjoy novels
where life goes rather skewed (since this happens in real life) and
pushed the characters into a new venture which ordinarily they wouldn't
have considered. It was pure joy to read about Rose and Bee because
they learn so much through the windmill. They learn how to live with
each other's idiosyncricies. They make newbie mistakes, and at first
nearby residents aren't all that welcoming.
They are conspired
against by some people, which makes their dream of having the
windmill as a business put in jeopardy. Yet, like the good natured
people they are, they slowly win people around, ironing out
misunderstandings (which account for a lot of trouble), getting local
advice and help on making the windmill a success. It's their work
ethic, how they manage to laugh even when they had hardship, and see
the brighter side of life when everything falls down against them.
I
enjoyed watching the reactions of their friends and families to their
venture, which were true to life by being diverse and unexpected. I
hated how when everything was finally in place a massive disaster
happened which looked as if it would completely scupper their plans,
but I promise they pull through in a way that had me needing a
tissue. Definitely a book for my reread shelf – in fact I've just
gone and bought the audiobook version because it's that
good!
Find out more on Vanessa's website.
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