Emma's Review: The Last Night by Cesca Major

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

In a quiet coastal village, Irina spends her days restoring furniture, passing the time in peace and hiding away from the world. A family secret, long held and never discussed, casts a dark shadow and Irina chooses to withdraw into her work. When an antique bureau is sent to her workshop, the owner anonymous, Irina senses a history to the object that makes her uneasy. As Irina begins to investigate the origins of the piece, she unearths the secrets it holds within...

Decades earlier in the 1950s, another young woman kept secrets. Her name was Abigail. Over the course of one summer, she fell in love, and dreamed of the future. But Abigail could not know that a catastrophe loomed, and this event would change the course of many lives for ever...

Amazon Links: Kindle or Paperback

Guest Book Review: Cesca Major - The Silent Hours

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Adeline, a mute who takes refuge in a convent, haunted by memories of her past;

Sebastien, a young Jewish banker whose love for the beautiful Isabelle will change the course of his life dramatically;

Tristan, a nine-year-old boy, whose family moves from Paris to settle in a village that is seemingly untouched by war.

Beautifully wrought, utterly compelling and with a shocking true story at its core, The Silent Hours is an unforgettable portrayal of love and loss.

Amazon links: Kindle or Hardcover

My top 5 books read this summer by Cesca

Today I've got an additional top 5 selection for you as chosen by the lovely Cesca who reviews for Novelicious, one of the first review blogs that I ever visited.  

The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell   

On a sultry summer’s day in 1980, five friends stumble upon an abandoned lakeside cottage hidden deep in the English countryside. For Kat and her friends, it offers an escape; a chance to drop out for a while, with lazy summer days by the lake and intimate winter evenings around the fire. But as the seasons change, tensions begin to rise and when an unexpected visitor appears at their door, nothing will be the same again.

Three decades later, Lila arrives at the same remote cottage. With her marriage in crisis, she finds solace in renovating the tumbledown house. Little by little she wonders about the previous inhabitants. How did they manage in such isolation? Why did they leave in such a hurry, with their belongings still strewn about? Most disturbing of all, why can t she shake the feeling that someone might be watching her?

A clever mix of fascinating characters, a gripping plot and a beautiful setting. I adored the weaving of an old story with a new and have completely fallen in love with Richell's writing.