This author has been a firm favourite since I first read one of her novels back in 2018 and discovered that she writes just the sort of family drama that I love immersing myself in.

' Treasures' is the first novel in The Sevenstones Trilogy, a multi generation family saga set around a very special house ' Sevenstones'. Following the lives of Alice Jansen and Tom Raven, it is not always an easy story to read as there are some traumatic themes dominant in both their lives.

To start with I found the story rather slow but eventually found myself fully immersed in this beautiful novel. The ending definitely left me wanting more, so am delighted this is the first in a trilogy. Highly recommended,

With thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books Ltd and Harriet Evans for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

Two stories about 2 different people who both collect ‘treasures’, Alice in America and Tom in England. Alice’s father buys figurines for her every birthday and Tom’s father gives him a miniature house which he treasures. Alice first heard from Tom by phone but I don’t remember why.

There are many strands to the 2 main stories in this book which include references of the misunderstanding of homosexuality, dangerous and cruel medical treatments, the Vietnamese war, ‘flower power’, racial prejudice and assassinations of Martin Luther King and Kennedy.

Both Alice and Tom are searching for something. Read the book to find out what and if they find it.

A big sweeping, decades-spanning family saga is very much my book jam. I’m also a big fan of Harriet Evans so when I heard about her new book The Treasures, it went straight on my wish list.

I was not disappointed. The book , the first in a trilogy, follows Alice and Tom, two people seemingly unconnected who have both experienced trauma in their childhood. As their stories unfold though it becomes clear that they do share a connection to each other and to the house, Sevenstones.

Beginning in the 1940s and moving to the 60s and from New York to Scotland it encompasses world events and attitudes as well as the individual stories, It’s beautifully written and though there are some tough topics such as suicide, these are handled with empathy and skill.

I liked the structure of this book getting to meet the characters as individuals before beginning to understand how their stories entwine.

A really engaging and entertaining read which could perhaps stand alone if a series is not your thing but I personally can’t wait for the next instalment.

Part One of the Sevenstones Trilogy.
Alice Jansen lives in the town of Orchard near New York. Alice collects treasures. Every year on her birthday her father gives her something made from ceramics or some other tiny keepsake.

Her father hides the treasure and gives her a clue to where to find the treasure, but before she can find her treasure on her 16th birthday her father dies and for years Alice wonders what the hidden treasure was.

In London in the 1960’s Tom Raven is living with his aunt, and his father is living in Scotland. Tom discovers a secret and sets out to find answers, ending up in New York, where he meets Alice.

This was about families, identity, secrets and a house called Sevenstones. I loved the way the stories of Alice and Tom are told and how they meet.

I liked the interactions between the characters and felt that Wilder Kynaston was evil and not to be trusted.

I look forward to finding how Alice’s treasures end up hidden in the wall of Sevenstones.

Thankyou NetGalley and Penguin for a chance to review this E-Book. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This is the perfect summer read: well plotted, evenly paced, quite compulsive. We meet Alice, living along the banks of the Hudson River, who on the eve of her sixteenth birthday in experiences a devastating loss. In the months following, her mother marries the wealthy author who has picked her brain for inspiration then tried to rape her. So she takes the decision to leave home and move to New York, joining a hippie commune. The only thing she takes with her from her past life is her collection of treasures, little figurines given to her by her father each year on her birthday. Her last treasure remains unidentified, with only a clue to go on - Sevenstones.
A parallel strand tells the story of the childhood and youth in Scotland and England of Tom Raven, taken from his father in rural Dumfries to be brought up by his wealthy but strangely detached aunt and uncle who pay for the best education but do not otherwise show any inclination to parent or nurture him. He too has a treasure, a delicately detailed wood carving made by his father of a house full of memories and secrets - Sevenstones.

This is the first volume of a promised trilogy, following the lives of Tom and Alice with Sevenstones the anchor underpinning it all. It is a riveting read in the vein of Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet novels, and I will be impatiently awaiting the sequels.

Found this really hard to get into, could be a case of wrong book wrong time.

Premise is there for sure, and I think I can see this being a really interesting and well liked novel!

I love Harriet Evans writing and The Treasures did not disappoint- it really is a treasure to read! So glad this is the first of a trilogy. Alice and Tom are strangers - yet linked by a big house. A brilliant family saga

I really enjoyed this book! The story follows two women from different times, connected by a collection of precious items that hold family secrets. I loved how the past and present are woven together, and that the story is revealed gradually keeping me invested until the end.
The characters felt very real and relatable, and I found myself caring deeply about their journeys. The writing is well paced, with a nice balance of tension and emotion. The settings, from bustling London, to more peaceful spots, added a lovely atmosphere. What also stood out was how the book explores connection and healing, showing how the past can shape us in unexpected ways. It is an emotional and engaging read that I would definitely recommend.

The Treasures is the kind of novel that quietly wraps itself around you. Harriet Evans builds a world so richly detailed - from the windswept estates to the warm, lived-in interiors - that you feel like you’re returning to a place you somehow already know. The atmosphere alone could carry the book, but there’s more: a deeply twisted, intergenerational story that keeps you compulsively turning pages. The secrets are revealed slowly, and the characters’ histories unfold with a sense of quiet urgency. It’s gripping, in that soft but touching way.

And yet, for all its promise, the novel comes into being overly sentimental. The dialogue is often too on-the-nose, the emotions told rather than felt. While the premise is dramatic, the characters’ reactions to truly life-altering events often lack emotional depth. Ironically, it’s the side characters ( the aunts, the old friends, the nearly-forgotten relatives) who sparkle with more life than the actual protagonists. Their quirks and wounds feel more fully realized.

Then comes the ending. For a long stretch, it feels like the story has naturally wrapped up, everything that needed to be said has been said (I wished more was said though in terms of details but still). And then, in the final two pages, the narrative twists itself into an unexpected, slightly unbelievable direction, opening the door to a potential trilogy. It feels a little forced, like an epilogue tacked on for drama rather than closure.

Overall, The Treasures is a compelling and atmospheric read that delivers on emotional tension and setting, but stumbles with execution. Beautifully built, but perhaps a little too dialogue and action heavy.


Although, I would like to mention the symbolism throughout the book, inescapable really, and the foreshadowing which made the twist expected but still exciting.

The Treasures is a great choice if you’re looking for family saga fiction. This first instalment in a multi-generational trilogy spanned the period from the 1940s through to the 1960s. Beginning in Spring 2024, we learn that a family home – Sevenstones – is being sold and from there we are transported back in time to meet Alice and then Tom.

I was initially sceptical about the premise of this novel. A collection of ornaments - which appear to be valuable for sentimental reasons only - are discovered at Sevenstones and the idea that they could be the key to unlocking a mystery about a family seemed rather far-fetched. However, as I continued reading, the execution of the novel caused me to re-evaluate my preconceptions and I read the story with increasing interest and enjoyment. When the narrative switched from Alice to Tom, I felt that I had to orientate myself in a new story, though ultimately I found myself enjoying both storylines equally and, as can be expected in this style of novel, the characters do meet. The narrative stayed interesting because of the changes that occur in the protagonists’ lives and because of unexpected plot twists. I didn’t feel that the blurb conveyed the richness of the setting and it also gave me the impression that the family’s story was predominantly inward-looking. However, the political and cultural context woven into the story, such as the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement, worked well in terms of grounding the novel in the time period.

I’m looking forward to continuing with the series and learning about the next generation. Thank you to Penguin, Viking and NetGalley for sharing this eARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

The Treasures by Harriet Evans

An English house, Sevenstones, is up for sale after being owned by the same family for many years. The first instalment of the trilogy is the story of Alice, a teenager living just outside New York in a house tied to a wealthy employer with a dark side, and Tom who was raised by his father in Scotland and then an aunt and uncle in London. The book covers their lives in suburban New York and post-war London, then the 1960s in New York where their lives become inextricably linked.

I absolutely loved this book and can't wait for the next instalment! The author is fantastic at depicting characters, locations and the era that the book is set in. I didn't want it to end and can't wait for the next one. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I’ve tried three times to read this book and can’t get beyond 25%. I’m sure there’s an audience for it but it isn’t me.

This book, by one of my favourite authors, combines some of my favourite thing;, a story across timelines, some doomed romance, and characters you can really invest in. I really enjoyed the first part of this planned trilogy, working out how the stories of Alice, in her orchard in the US, and Tom, in London, would link up. Alice is living with her mother and her father, in a home tied to a job with an author and wealthy landowner. Meanwhile, Tom is plucked from his home with his dad in Scotland and taken to live in London with some previously unknown relatives. We see both children grow up, and their paths collide in a story of hidden secrets.
The book ends in a proper cliffhanger, so here’s hoping it’s not long until book 2!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

An inter generational novel that spans time and continents. There are a lot of characters to take on board and there are a lot of serious issues to deal with within the content. A substantial read setting the tale of Alice and Tom to follow on

The start of a new trilogy from Harriet Evans, this book is told in four parts. Following two characters it has a lot of background story in it - probably a build up to the next books. However it is written really well, and like her usual novels it is a big read. Definitely worth picking up

Beautiful and lyrical. The Treasures is a story to wrap its arms around you and pull you into its pages.
The two stories weave and flow and then find their way together. I loved reading Alice and Tom’s stories - destined to meet, their lives drawn together with an inevitable pull. The different links of the treasures the loss the Hope of belonging
The descriptions of Sevenstones and St Marks Place were written about so vividly and clear and I loved how we got to know so many characters within the two settings.
A wonderful first instalment for the Sevenstones trilogy and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

I was happy to put my hand up for this Netgalley offering as I’ve enjoyed several Harriet Evans’ novels before. She often centres her novels around an atmospheric house (Keepsake in The Butterfly Summer; Vanes in The Beloved Girls; Fane Hall in The Stargazers), which I’ve always found appealing. A bit like Manderley in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.

Early on in The Treasures we hear mention of a house called Sevenstones. I imagined a grand old English manor, full of secrets and mystery. In actual fact Sevenstones has more of a cottage feel, a country bold-hole where various members of the cast of characters arrive when they need a break. For some, including Tom Raven’s parents, it was a chance to take a break from the war – World War II that is – and where relationships were forged.

But we first meet Tom as a young boy, living in a two-room cottage with his much loved Dad in Scotland. At the age of nine, he is uprooted by his Aunt Jenny, leaving the simple life behind for more opportunities in London and public schooling, even though his aunt and Uncle Henry really have no idea about children or even running a house without staff. We’re in the 1950s, and there are bomb craters everywhere, and children from the upper classes aren’t to mix with the lower orders, or so Tom’s told.

There’s also another grander house in this book – Valhalla, the American home of the Kynastons. Alice is growing up as best she can, with a father battling demons and debts owed on his orchards. When he takes his life, it seems Alice and her mother are to lose their home on the grounds of Valhalla. Wilder Kynaston was a good family friend and offers them a lifeline, but there’s a price to pay.

We’re well into 1960s by now, and as Jack and Alice grow up on opposite sides of the Atlantic, another war has arrived, and with it the rise of the protest movement, women’s lib and the chance of new freedoms and ways of thinking. The novel takes you through these changes as our two young characters’ stories are set to intersect. But family secrets lurk, throwing roadblocks in their way.

Harriet Evans captures the time really well, and the dilemmas faced by young women like Alice who are trying to forge a new path for themselves, only to find they’re still chivvying for the boyfriends they tie themselves to. The men of the establishment still hold all the power, while choices for women remain limited. But there are others too, like the fathers of both Alice and Jack, who have been left haunted by the past, plagued by guilt or disappointment, also unable to be the people they want to be.

I was curious that the book starts with a modern day setting and a character, Emma, who doesn’t appear again, discovering the ‘treasures’ of the title. These are little mementos Alice has been given by her father on each of her birthdays. But I now see that this novel is the first of a trilogy – I’ll be intrigued to see how the story continues to fill in the gaps in the books that follow. The Treasures is a rich, immersive read with terrific characters you empathise with.

The Treasures is due for release on 12 June. It’s a four-star read from me.

Wow!! This is just epic!! What an absolute joy this first in a new trilogy from Harriet Evans including American culture of the 1950’s and 60’s then over to the wilds of Scotland and London in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The writing is intense intelligent astute tive yet it flows beautifully.
Alice has a collection of treasures mostly given to her by her beloved father but her life changes forever in the eve of her sixteenth birthday, growing up fast until she can make her own decisions and escape.
Tom Raven has grown up with his dearest father in a sheltered existence in Scotland when his life is changed completely by an aunt he has never known, taken to London for a new life school and upbringing.
The cottage of Sevenstones in Wiltshire unites Alice and Tom and draws them together from their pasts.
An ambitious heartfelt story spanning across the post second world war generations in the Uk and the USA, the culture, politics and community. Full of reminders of how far we have come in such a short time. The details and atmosphere is described brilliantly, at times I could feel the smog and grime of post war London with the bombed out houses. So too I could feel the oppressive heat in Alice’s world.
Beautiful intelligent moving and totally gripping from the first page!! This book is exquisite and relatable! I have treasures passed down too!!
Can’t wait for the second in this trilogy!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking books for the early read!

The Treasures is a slow burn read, which initially wasn't quite the pace I was expecting as the prologue is very catchy and instantly gripped me to know more about this collection of "treasures" and the house they're in. However, I slipped into the comfort of this pace and did enjoy the storyline very much, there are a lot of characters, location changes, and slips between stories that takes some placing, but I feel it is a well spun plot.
It is the first of a trilogy of stories centered around Seven stones, which is a house, but this book absolutely stands alone on its own without any cliffhangers so don't let that be a concern. Brimming with mystery, historical references, strong female characters and true love stories, I feel this is a book that grows on you and casts a spell.

The Treasures is all about Alice and Tom. They come from very different lives on opposite sides of the Atlantic but fate brings them together and through their own personal tragedies they slowly learn how much their histories intertwine.

This book is full of family secrets and revelations but I can tell there's much more to be discovered about these characters and their ancestors. It has definitely whet my appetite for the rest of the trilogy and now I wish I didn't have to wait!