The House by the Sea: A Novel

The story of Floriana and the constant let downs from the adults in her world was heart wrenching at times. However, the characters described in Marina’s life were quite amusing. Reading their stories in parallel was interesting because you kept wondering what would eventually bring their stories together. I also appreciated the happy ending and the comical twist at the end.

Yes, there is a Santa! Wonderful description, character development, and a plot that isn't so obvious. This is the second of her books that I have read. Montefiore very effectively uses flashback to blend a second story that eventually merges with the present. She keeps me guessing and reading which is great! Also, I feel like the characters are real people that I have met. She reveals their thoughts and emotions as they evolve through their life struggles, never judging but leaving the reader to respect their choices. This "garden" gives the reader a delightful "walk", not only in an English countryside but also in a small Tuscan village and estate. Want to travel to Europe? Read Santa Montefiore!

Santa Montefiore is a talented writer. The house By The Sea takes you from Italy to Cornwall and, strangely enough seems plausible. I enjoyed it because the story flows well and is a page turner. It does have twists and turns and is written with a lot of passion. It follows a young girl with no money who falls in love with the wealthy scion of a billionaire industrialist father who is ruthless. The girl also falls in love with the gorgeous gardens surrounding the villa of these wealthy folk. Yes, I could imagine it all. It is beautifully presented to us. When she meets the rich young man she is only 10 and he is about to go to University.If I tell you more, I will spoil the plot. I enjoyed this very much.

Enter into a world of beauty and love, then get your heart broken only to have it healed again, but not as you expected. With characters so deeply developed, and a surrounding storyline that makes you want to read straight through, this is a book for all ages who love beautiful love stories. Bellisimo!

This author has become one of my favorites, and this book was another story that really held my interest, so much so that I had trouble putting the book down at night so that I could get a little sleep! Even after finishing this book, I was stil thinking about the story for several days after. Excellent read. Recommend.

Santa Montefiore is my very favorite author. She writes from the heart. She develops her characters so beautifully you get to know them you feel their joy, you feel their pain; you wish they were your friends in real life. Ms. Montefiore's elegant touch in explaining the food, the landscape is makes me want to be in the book at that moment....I feel I am there.The only problem is there is not another new book for me to read right now as I own all her other books.......a gem.

Reading this book was genuine escapism during the pandemic and the election madness. It was easy to get lost in the lives of the characters and also in the places that were described in the book. The book had a touch of magic to it.

What a awesome story. Laughed, cried. Just loved it and will definitely reread this book.

I hope other people will enjoy this more than I did. The problem is that you guess the ending very early in the book and then take 5 hours to reach the obvious conclusion. There are also quite a few errors in Devon topography, flowering times of plants and errors in hotel management which are really just common sense. You would expect the hotel manager to know if the hotel was running at a loss! The protagonists, knowing there is a financial crisis, spend much of their time pottering about in boats instead of actually doing some work.Not a book for readers who like correct detail but for the non critical a pleasant enough daydream!

I have read and reviewed a number of Santa Montefiore's novels and one thing that can be guaranteed if you pick up one of her novels, is a relaxing read about families and love set in a beautiful environment. She writes in a very atmospheric style and this time I was whisked away from the cold November weather to Tuscany and Devon. Please note this book has also been published with the title The Mermaid GardenRecommended to : Fans of Rosamunde Pilcher, especially as she is often referred to as the author who took over her place in writing contemporary fiction. By coincidence Rosamunde Pilcher retired from writing in 2000 not long before Santa Montefiore's first novel was published, she has published many titles since then, so if you have not yet discovered her writing and are a fan of contemporary romantic fiction, do give her novels a try.

I did enjoy this book very much, although I thought the ending was a bit trite and not up to the author's usual style. My moan about the ending is that it was so much a settling of odd ends, more or less a list of how things panned out for the main characters, as if the author was in a hurry to finish the book without leaving any loose end. This was a shame, because the rest of the book was wonderfully well plotted and the descriptions of Italy and Devon were extremely evocative. The characters of the women in the book were also well observed and the reader felt completely drawn into their lives, wanting things to work out for them.A couple of things in the book were a bit unbelievable - here I can't say too much without giving the plot away, but let me just remark that the reconciliation between two of the main female characters happened far too quickly - one minute no understanding or compassion at all, the next moment a total change of heart and one becoming overnight the champion of the other's cause. I believe in reconciliation, but I have never experienced it being so rapidly accomplished, after just one conversation. From an accomplished writer this was a bit disappointing.I like this author's writing style, the characters she creates and the plots she devises. Although she is full of praise for her editor and agent, I think that had the editing of the book been more observant, the above weaknesses would have been strengthened and the whole book would have profited from the exercise.I hope the author goes on to write many more books and I'm sure I'll read more of her work.

This is the second book by this author for me and I found it so enjoyable. It spans two time frames one present day in Devon, the other in Tuscany 1960 onwards. Floriana, a young peasant girl from a Tuscany village dreams of the big house with it's breath-taking gardens and beautiful people, far away from her life of poverty with her drunken Father and errant Mother. Spotted by Dante, son of the wealthy Massimo family, he invites her to look around and from then on, for a while at least, Floriana's world is turned upside down as she has a taste of the good life.Present day and Marina is struggling to keep her dream afloat; a beautiful castle converted to a hotel high on the Devon cliffs overlooking the sea. She employs an artist in residence to come for the summer, hoping to attract more customers but what she gets is a mysterious figure who seems to know quite a lot from her hidden past.I loved this. It's pure escapism, not an in depth read but perfect to curl up with and devour in a day. Whether you enjoy the past story of little Floriana or present day with Marina you will want to reach the conclusion to see if they have shared any memories and to find out just what their secrets are. Descriptive passages galore here with wonderful images of both the character's beloved gardens. This author certainly knows how to pull at the heart strings too so if you're after a light read with a romantic twist, this is for you.

A pleasant book, nicely written, with generally full and interesting characters, most of them believable and likeable. I've only deducted a star or so (I would have given it 3.5 if possible) because the 'twists' were in all cases completely obvious from the start; there were no surprises at all. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant holiday read and nicely written enough to keep me interested. I read this because I've recently quite enjoyed the Summer House by the same author. Again, the twist in that book was obvious from the first pages, so I think it's no coincidence. I won't go out of my way to find another book by Montefiore but then again if someone gave me one I'd read it happily enough.