The Butterfly Garden by Rachel Burton - #bookreview #blogtour

 

'But I don't have a great-aunt,' Meredith insisted. 'Not one that I know about, anyway. I've never heard of this person. Why would she leave me a house in Suffolk? I've never even been to Suffolk.'...

***

1963: When Clara Samuels buys Butterfly Cottage, she knows the scandal she’ll cause. A single woman buying property is not the ‘done thing’, especially not in a village like Carybrook. But Clara has been in love with Butterfly Cottage, and its garden, since she used to play there before the War. And when she reconnects with her childhood friend James, her decision feels serendipitous. But the true scandal is yet to come, because within six months, Clara will leave England under mysterious circumstances, and Butterfly Cottage will stand empty for more than 50 years.

2018: No one is more surprised than Meredith when she’s bequeathed a cottage by a great aunt she’d never heard of. She hopes, briefly, that the inheritance could be the answer to her financial problems. But when she arrives in Suffolk, she is shocked to discover a man is already living there. A young gardener, who claims he was also bequeathed half of Butterfly Cottage.

As the pair try to unravel their complicated situation, they unearth a decades old mystery involving Clara, the garden, and a stack of letters left unread for over 50 years…

A gripping and beautiful tale of love, loss and secrets. Perfect for fans of Rachel Hore, Lorna Cook and Kathryn Hughes.

***

I have been wanting to become better acquainted with the books of this author, ever since I listened to an audio version of The Tearoom on the Bay which I really enjoyed. Personally, I am not a huge fan of audio books but the book itself was good and it left me wanting to read more of her books. 

When this one popped up in a blog tour, I seized the opportunity with both hands and I am so very glad that I did. This book made for a really enjoyable read and I was gripped from the first page to the last.

I am very fond of novels which have a dual timeline. This one is set during 1963 and 2018. I felt the author depicted the historical setting of the 1960s extremely well. There was never any doubt about which part I was reading and the author moved seamlessly from the past to the present. The two voices of Clara from the past and Meredith from the present were very distinct.

I enjoyed getting to know these two characters very much. Both strong women, although it does take Meredith a little while to realise the inner strength that she possesses. We see Clara forging her own path as a woman in the 1960's. She had attitudes which challenged the supposed role of women during that time and I admired her for it.

As with most books of this genre, there are family secrets from the past which are solved in the present. As always, there are no spoilers here. Suffice to say it is worth reading to find out how the drama of this particular family secret is resolved.

It has been well written and appropriately paced for it's genre. It held my attention throughout and the characters were easy to identify with. Anyone who has ever doubted themselves will be able to relate to Meredith. 

I am delighted that there are many books in Ms. Burton's back catalogue which I can read and enjoy. This one is publishing today. It is a lovely book which I highly recommend.

ISBN: 978 1835337905

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  290 (hardback)

About the Author:

Rachel Burton is the bestselling author of historical timeslip novels and has previously written romantic comedies.

Rachel was born in Cambridge and grew up in a house full of books and records. She has read obsessively since she first realised those black squiggles on the pages that lined her parents’ bookshelves were actually words and it has gone down in family history that any time something interesting happened, she missed it because she had her nose in a book.

After reading for a degree in Classics and another in English Literature she accidentally fell into a career in law but her love of books prevailed as she realised that she wanted to slip into imaginary worlds of her own making. She eventually managed to write her first novel on her lunch breaks.

She is obsessed with old houses and the secrets they keep, with abandoned gardens and locked gates, with family histories and surprising revelations, and with the outcomes of those surprises many generations later.

She lives in Yorkshire with her husband, a variety of cats and far too many books. By writing novels she now has an excuse for her head being forever in the clouds.

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)