Apologies for the late night post due to my dog in the vet today, so thank you to Bookouture for their patience and understanding. A huge congratulations to Lily Graham on the publication of ‘The Island Villa’, and thank you (again) to Bookouture for the blog tour invite, as well as the ARC of the book. Here is my review:
When Charlotte’s husband James tragically dies, he leaves her an unexpected gift – her grandmother’s beautiful villa, Marisal, on the Spanish island of Formentera.
As she begins to explore her new home, and heal her broken heart in the warm golden sunshine, Charlotte discovers that her grandmother Alba has been keeping secrets about her life on the island. Intrigued by her family’s hidden history, Charlotte uncovers a devastating love affair that put many lives at risk and two sisters torn apart by loss.
Can the heart-breaking truth of the island’s dark history finally be laid to rest? Or will the secrets of the past shake the new life and love that Charlotte is close to finding?
What does TWG think?
Oh my goodness me! I LOVE the change in direction that Lily Graham has taken with her latest release!
At first I thought that ‘The Island Villa’ was just going to be about the villa that Charlotte’s husband bought her, but after reading several chapters I came to the conclusion that there was going to be a lot more to this storyline than I originally thought. Complaining? Hell no!
Charlotte knew that the villa was part of heritage, she just didn’t know why or how it got there. With James, her husband, sitting in an urn that follows Charlotte everywhere, she knows that he would have wanted her to move forward in life without him, however hard that may be.
Split between the past and present, ‘The Island Villa’ tells a story about a life once lived, and a life that needs to learn to live again, allowing Charlotte to realise that unearthing the truth to her heritage is the only way she is going to move forward without her husband.
I have been a huge fan of Lily Graham’s novels from the word go, with her majestic story telling taking me on journeys which filled me with love, joy, and belief. I had no concerns about ‘The Island Villa’ before I read it, because I knew that the author would deliver the story in her flawless, soulful and magnetic manner. What I didn’t expect, however, was the storyline to make me feel as though I was playing pass the parcel with myself, unwrapping multiple layers whilst reading such intensely thought-provoking chapters. My only question about the entire novel is; why on Earth did Lily Graham not change direction and include historical elements in her storylines with such strength as this one?
I thought that ‘The Island Villa’ was a beautiful, beautiful representation of finding life after loss, and being able to find the right key to unlock a part of you that you never knew existed until that moment. Every character in this book had their own story to tell, yet when they were all together they became a force to be reckoned with. I am in awe at how many finer, intimate details the author included in her references to the past, combining them with the truth in the present in such a seamless way.
‘The Island Villa’ allowed me to feel excitement from the tips of my toes, to the top of my head, and I cannot recommend this book enough. Full of beautiful descriptions and characters who will no doubt take your breath away, ‘The Island Villa’ is both heart-breaking and thought-provoking, whilst also filling me to the brim with joy. If this is the direction that Lily Graham has now chosen to go in with her future stories, I cannot wait to get my hands on her next book if this read is anything to go by. Outstanding.
The Writing Garnet 
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