A delightful romantic novel with a very strong sense of place. Perfect for the beach!

I really enjoyed this book. There was an unexpected twist in the story of Kat, who travels to Italy to find her father after her mothers death. It was an emotional story and the description of the hotel and local area made you want to go and visit. I would have prefered a different ending for Kat, but maybe there will be a sequel!

Kit and her mother have been everything to each other - Kit's mother, Rosa, left her native Italy before Kit was born and has never wanted to return - she told her that she was the result of an affair and her father was dead - and that she hated him. When Rosa is dying from cancer however Kit decides to have one last try and her mother tells her his name and admits that he is not dead.

Devoted to her mother she is convinced that her father must be a bad man but determines to find him and this leads her to the Thousand Lights hotel on the island of Elba and not telling him who she is she gradually gets to know him - but how can she reconcile this man with the one her mother spoke of has there been some sort of mistake! As the secrets unfold both Kit and her father realise that there is a lot more to the story than they first thought

A lovely story with twists to keep you guessing and great descriptions of the island of Elba - perfect summer beach read that I couldn't put down

The tangled webs we weave …

Kit has been led to believe her father is dead and yet finding the courage to ask her mum Rosa one more time about him as her mum lies terminally ill, she finds out he didn’t. Leaving the hospital with the letters, she is able to trace him and using her job as a travel writer as a screen, travels to Elba to see if she can piece things together.

Valentino has been on Elba for nearly 30 years, in the beginning renovating a building that becomes the popular Hotel Mille Luci. His reason for being is looking after his guests. Knowing before they do what they want and then doing his utmost in providing it. His son, 30 yo Oliviero creates amazing dishes in the kitchen using local produce. He’s popular with guests but always keeps his distance.

There is so much to enjoy about this story. The setting is magnificent. The food, customs and guests of Hotel Mille Luci all combine to make you feel as if you’re pace of life has slowed down, having escaped from the daily routine. Fabulous characters and the intrigue and mystery … trying to figure out what Valentino and Oliviero are hiding and not acknowledging but powerful enough to have shaped their lives. And then there’s Kit with the legacy from her mum who didn’t believe in love and reinforced the message that they didn’t need a man in their lives. A lonely character who is trying to find roots and who needs to belong, to know the truth. Who needs that connection to ‘other.’

There are a couple of twists in the story too! The first one I didn’t see coming and to be honest, I only realised the truth of the second because of Oliviero’s dilemma. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind otherwise!

Emylia Hall’s writing is powerful – not the words themselves but how she uses those words. They give a reader everything they need to build that image, to become that person, to experience whatever it is alongside the characters. Effortlessly it seems I become involved with the story from the beginning until I am the story. That’s powerful. That’s what I call magic 🙂

The beginning of this story is extremely sad. Kit Costa, who was very close to her single parent mother Rosa, is at her bedside as she peacefully passes away. They have always been a loving unit of two and Kit is devastated by her loss. Rosa had always told Kit that her father had broken her heart and was dead, but on her deathbed she tells Kit that her father is actually alive. Kit is both shocked and intrigued. She traces her father to The Thousand Lights Hotel on the idyllic Italian island of Elba and decides to pay him a visit and reveal their relationship. She thinks he is a bad person but wants to find out her mother’s story.
She travels from Bath to Italy, taking the ferry over to the island and meaning to scatter some of her mother’s ashes en route, but something stops her from performing this act of love and honouring her mother’s homeland. The novel continues with the story of Kit’s summer holiday at the hotel managed by her father Valentino and of the discovery of Rosa’s early life in Italy and her love of Kit’s father. Secrets are revealed and towards the end of the novel there is a shocking twist that left me speechless.
Within this novel there are several different story threads that enhance the story of Kit’s visit to Elba, some highly personal and some folklore. I found it quite hard to relate to this story and was not captivated by it as I had expected to be. The pervading feeling of sadness was continued throughout the novel with little relief. I was not endeared to many of the characters although they were well crafted and the story was beautifully written. I loved the descriptions of the island, the food and the local way of life, but I was not gripped by the action, except the modern holiday romance which lifted the overall tone of the narrative. Overall, the themes of grief, betrayal, guilt, recrimination and the sad stories of the main characters made me feel very low. I couldn’t turn the pages for any great length of time because I felt weighed down and despondent; only the beauty of the island lifted my spirits because the sadness of the past was so depressing. However I felt compelled to pick up the story again because I was intrigued by how the story would unravel.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Review for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. I quite liked it, but nowhere near as much as I have enjoyed Emylia’s other novels.

Kit has lost her mother. She was the only person Kit had in the whole world, she was the focus of everything and it was always them against the world.

With this tragedy still very much in her mind, Kit suddenly decides that she wants to find out more about where her mother came from and more importantly who her father was or is.

This sudden need to hold onto something and ground Kit has brought her to the island of Elba and The Thousand Light Hotel, so-called because of a local legend which is celebrated in the year. It is this which gives Kit, a travel writer the opportunity to actually have a valid reason to be there and not to be just looking for something she has lost.

I was transported to Elba, to the beautiful hotel, the intense heat and warmth of the sun. The sea as it was calm in the morning as Kit went to break the surface, to wake herself up, to find what she was looking for. Even down to food and the welcome that hotel gives. It was liking reading a holiday brochure but one with depth, feeling and so much of a back  story. That is the beauty of the author's writing, you are immediately transported to wherever she chooses to take you and she weaves a story that I knew was going to capture me just as the heat of the island itself.

This is a book which is gentle, meandering if you will, in the heat of the day as you cool off in the pool, enjoy aperitif before dinner and beautiful fresh food to round your lazy day off.  However it delivered some unforeseen twists and turns which is why I kept reading the novel, I knew that this could not possibly be the end of the story for Kit.

A lovely read which transports you and also one that made me go and read more about a place. If there was ever a book that seriously made me want to go and visit a place, this was it.

Interestingly enough, I have covered very little about the plot in this review. I think that is because you need to know that Kit goes to Elba, to find out about her father, if I say any more I feel that the prior knowledge you have will impact your actually enjoyment of the book. Like an unknown destination when you go on holiday, I think this is a book where you need to discover as you turn the page with nothing to influence you.  

Enjoy as I did.

A lovely story. Really suitable for holiday reading. Somewhat predictable but feel good material.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a delightful but quick read. I really enjoyed the setting where the book is based.