A Secret Garden Affair: From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes the most captivating new historical romance and family drama of 2023, perfect for fans of Sally Page!

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Erica James does this by having the main story take place during the Summer of 1981 at a time when the then Prince Charles was marrying his first wife Lady Diana Spencer, which gave the novel a fixed period in time. Staying with her aunt Bess and Alfreda, she starts to mend her broken heart, deciding what to do with the rest of her life. We are introduced to three strong women whose stories are all entwined, we have Libby who was a bride to be until just before the wedding she walked in on her fiancé and bestfriend. Libby needed to escape and she knew the one place she could find comfort and support would be at Larkspur House with her great aunt Bess and Elfrida. This enticing cover had me excited to read this new release from Erica James. The books I have read by this author (so far!) have all been really enjoyable, but I found that this one didn’t capture my heart in quite the same way. I wonder if it is because it is a little similar to a recent book I have read: following a family over decades with secrets being revealed along the way.

Bess herself lives with Elfirda the woman she became a maid to when she was a teenager, although now it is more of a friendship, than master and servant. Though Liby may be running from the present she may find a lot more about their past and how it affects her.Ali Anderson is determined to stand on her own two feet -- even if it means spending Christmas alone. Because for Ali, Christmas is not the season of good cheer but a poignant reminder of the tragedy that not so long ago tore her life apart and des... Another heartbreaking but glorious tale of secrets and love from the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James…July 1981. As the country prepares to celebrate Prince Charles’ wedding to Lady Diana, Libby wants to be as far away from royal weddi... Where the magic happens. I have a lovely booklined study where I write, it’s a room that has a very ‘blingy gold’ theme to it and with a hint of Japan to remind myself of my youngest son who lives in Tokyo. Having caught her own fiancé in bed with her best friend just weeks before they were due to marry, she’s fled London for the comfort of the Suffolk countryside.

Hilary Parker is very happy: she has a kind, caring husband, David, two lively children, and she immerses herself in both family life and life in the village of Hulme Welford, which has been her home since childhood.A sumptuous tale set over 2 timelines in history and centring around female characters and I became totally swept up in their lives and struggles and adored it!! There is a beautiful friendship between two ladies that has lasted almost a lifetime. Over the years they have shared each other’s confidences and kept each others secrets. The story is set in the summer of 1981 when the country was gripped by Royal Wedding fever, and also in the 1920’s moving forwards. We see the action in both the first and third person from alternating points of view. From the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James comes a captivating story that sweeps through sixty years of history, love, and family drama.

I always know when I open an Erica James book I am going to be charmed with a delicate and charming novel and her new release A Secret Garden Affair is no exception.Erica James, née Sullivan was born in 1960 in Surrey, England, UK and she grew up on Hayling Island, Hampshire since 4 years. She began writing after attending a creative writing course at the Arvon Foundation, and published her first novel in 1996. In 2006, her novel Gardens of Delight won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association. Running to Larkspur House, where Bess works, and a place filled with happy memories for Libby, she tries to make life easier for the two older women who mean so much to her but unearths truths and secrets she had no idea about. A glorious summer story which sizzles with passion: idyllic location, compelling characters and lives so ... A Secret Garden Affair for me is the type of novel that I enjoy reading as it allows you to see Elfrida and Bess as two old ladies which Libby sees them as now, Then Allows both the reader and other characters to find out about their lives and the decisions they made during events and the repercussions that comes down the generations. Erica James is an award-winning British author of romance, contemporary, and general fiction stories. She has written several bestselling single novels in her career, including Love & Devotion, Airs & Graces, Hidden Talents, A Breath of Fresh Air, Gardens of Delight, Act of Faith, etc. In addition to these, she has also penned an anthology called What A Woman Wants in collaboration with Maureen Lee and Donna Hay. In 2006, Erica won the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Novel of the Year Award for her book, Gardens of Delight. After that, she won a lot more success in her career as readers all over the world began noticing her work and reading her novels with more interest. Author Erica was born Erica Sullivan in Surrey, England in 1960. She was brought up on Hayling Island, Hampshire, where her family had relocated when she was 4 years old.

Although I enjoyed the characters and their stories, it did take me awhile to get into the plot and found it to be a little meandering - in the first third of the book I wasn't quite sure what the main story line was supposed to be about. It was very timely with the coronation taking place earlier in May and I loved hearing about all the gardens in areas of England where beauty abounds. This new story from Erica James is enthralling. Written in both the past and the present, which is a departure for James, it tells the stories of Libby, Elfrida and Bess and the intricate nature of their relationship. Another heartbreaking but glorious tale of secrets and love from the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James…

At 30, Katie Lavender thinks she is better than most when it comes to dealing with life's surprises. But when she gets a request to visit a solicitor, she's not expecting the dramatic turn her life is about to take. There, she receives a letter from ... July, 1981. The country is working itself into a frenzy in the run-up to the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, but the last thing Libby wants to think about is weddings. Having just discovered, three weeks before their wedding, that her fiancé Marcus has been sleeping with her best friend Selina, Libby heads for the comforting presence of Larkspur House, the home of famous garden designer Elfrida Ambrose and Libby's great-aunt Bess - the only place where she has ever felt truly at home. Partially set in the early 1980s and with a timeline starting sixty years previous, the story follows several characters. Libby, a woman whose wedding plans are cancelled when she finds out her fiance is cheating on her, and her great aunt, Bess, who has worked for the third main character, Elfrida, for the best part of her life. Angel Sands is a traditional seaside resort of bed and breakfasts, cottages to rent, and teashops, and the place with the best views of the tiny beach and surrounding coastline is Paradise House, home to the Baxter girls?or the Sisters of Whimsy as t...