Julie Ryan

Is it bad that the first thing that drew me to this book was the cover image? I'm seriously coveting that hair! But a very close second was the blurb which intrigued me so much. I thought the idea of a man on his deathbed, possibly reliving his lives as a Tudor monk and as a WW1 soldier, sounded fascinating.

We have three sisters, Ginny, Sally, Molly. There are the usual sibling dynamics, with Ginny, as the eldest, being quite dominant. Molly, the youngest is fairly submissive, whilst Sally, as the middle child, ends up trying to please everyone. When the book begins their dad, Eddie, is in hospital and is expected to pass away fairly soon. But it's clear something is preying on his mind and his final words are that the sisters should "find Rose".

This present day storyline is the most prominent but we also follow the story of William and Rose in Tudor times, and Matthew and Rosie in 1916. The first half of the book is scene setting, introducing all the threads and letting them run alongside each other. It's only later that they are weaved together and we get to know how they are all linked, and it's only then that the sisters set about finding Rose.

I thought this was an excellent read, a story of family with an ending that surprised me. I read it in a day and found it such an easy read, and a compelling one. It's much more about the sisters and their lives than I expected. I did expect the three strands to be more linked, but it all came together in the end quite splendidly.

If you're after a time slip or historical novel then this isn't it. What this is is a book about relationships, finding yourself, repairing fractured connections, with hints of the past coming into play. I thought it was warm-hearted and a really satisfying read.… (mehr)

This was the first book in a new series by Julie Ryan. The book is set in Greece and the author does a fantastic job of describing Greece so that it comes alive for the reader. The story itself is a bit more complex but has an interesting twist. Part 1 is the story, part 2 and 3 are alternate endings to the story. It was an interesting way to set up the novel but I'm not sure that I liked it.

Jenna and her husband are not getting along and on the spur of the moment, she decides to take a trip to Greece. There she meets a new man who seems very interested in her but is he interested for the right reasons? Jenna becomes involved with some bad guys and some Greek antiquities and is fairly oblivious to everything going on except for the beauty of Greece.

Despite a few inconsistencies and a bit of confusion in the story, I enjoyed this novel and will look for the next book in the series. I loved the Greek setting and I like the main character - I found her very true to life. It was a good read and I highly recommend it.… (mehr)