GIVEAWAY & REVIEW: Love Always by Harriet Evans

Description

A compelling and heartrending tale of lost love, family secrets, and those little moments that can change your life forever . . . When Natasha Kapoor returns to her grandparents’ idyllic coastal home for her beloved grandmother’s funeral, her life is at a turning point. She thought by now she’d be a successful jewelry designer in London with a perfect marriage. Instead, she’s got mounting bills and a soon-to-be ex.
After the funeral, Natasha’s grandfather gives her the long-lost diary of her aunt Cecily. No one in her large and complicated family has ever discussed the tragic accident that took Cecily’s life as a teenager, and within the diary’s pages, Natasha finds a gripping and shocking tale of forbidden love, rivalry, and heartbreak.
Nearly fifty years later, will Cecily’s diary finally explain her family’s dark past and the terrible secret her aunt left behind? Is it possible it’s just the inspiration Natasha needs to take a fresh look at her future, and maybe even give love a second chance? Fans of Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin will get hooked on internationally bestselling author Harriet Evans’s warm, witty, and absorbing novel filled with original, rootworthy characters and complex family issues.

About the Author

Harriet Evans, a former publishing executive in the U.K.,  is the author of four novels.  She lives in London where she is writing her next novel.

Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Gallery; Original edition (June 21, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451639627
• ISBN-13: 978-1451639629

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Natasha Kapoor returns to Cornwall for her grandmother's funeral and learns that secrets in her huge, extended family have lead to some weird dynamics.  The truth begins to emerge when she is given her aunt Cecily's diary that documents some starling truths and sets Natasha on a road to personal discovery.  There are a lot of layers to Natasha's history and it is wonderful to see her grow as she discovers the truth about her very existence.  The main secret is that Natasha's grandmother, a famous painter, has stopped painting after her youngest daughter, Cecily, falls to her death.  Natasha looks enough like Cecily to be her twin.  There are so many entanglements in this family, you need a chart to keep track.  They aren't hard to follow and each page brings about a new enlightenment on just what it means to be related.

In a true mystery, the story about Cecily's death and the chaos it creates within the family is told through flashbacks and portions of her diary so you slowly begin to see all of the circumstance surrounding her death.  This story will really keep your attention as it did mine as you try to guess what really happened to Cecily.   I really couldn't put it down once I started.  Natasha is such a complex character and I really wanted to find out what was holding her back in her life, whether her jewelery designing business or her love life. I loved how the story pulls past and present together to create her personal history.  If you enjoy MadeleineWickham or Jennifer Weiner, you are going to love this one. I think this may be my favorite Harriet Evans book yet!  I would always try to get the UK versions as soon as they were released and I wish I hadn't waited on this one. Pure reading joy!
 

WANT TO WIN A COPY THIS BOOK?

 Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a US mailing address and ends 7.8.11
Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 7.9.11.  Only one winner per mailing address.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
This giveaway is sponsored by Gallery Books and supplied by the publisher for ONE WINNER!
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