After a terrible accident when she was ten years old that left her with a scar on her face, Alice has always played it safe. She’s been with the same boyfriend since college and never does anything dangerous to avoid upsetting her overprotective mother. Until she decides to go to Sri Lanka for two weeks to celebrate her thirtieth birthday with her two best friends. And here she meets Max. He has his own problems and demons to face, but he also wants adventure and fun. Will Alice follow her dreams and Max for a life full of adventures or will she keep living a safe and dull life?
Isabelle Broom always creates engaging characters and gripping and entertaining plots and I find her writing style clear and captivating. But what I really love about this author’s novels are the exotic and charming places where they are set. This time she takes the reader in Sri Lanka and thanks to her evocative descriptions you can imagine it. An entertaining and heart-warming novel that will make you dream. (NP)
Both Taggie and Lucy used to visit Lake Como in Italy when they were children and now they are back, but for different reasons. After five years together, Taggie’s boyfriend has announced that he doesn’t love her anymore, so a heart-broken Taggie leaves behind London and her PR job to move to the place she has been the happiest. In Como, she finds a new job, new friends, and a possible new love in the shape of charming Marco.
Meanwhile, Lucy has organised her first holiday with her new boyfriend Pete and they are going to celebrate the New Year in Como. Lucy hopes that this holiday will bring them closer and overcome her jealousies and fears about their relationship. But when Taggie and Lucy meet, it is not only a childhood in the lake that they have in common.
This enjoyable and charming novel has everything: well-crafted characters, an intriguing plot, and a beautiful setting. The main characters are two different women: Lucy is insecure and paranoid, while Taggie is determined and obstinate. I enjoyed how the author developed their characters and how both women come out stronger and more mature by the end of the novel. The setting of Lake Como during Christmas time is atmospheric and romantic. A novel about second chances and going after your dreams, this is my first Isabelle Broom’s novel and I am planning to read all her previous novels. (NP)
