Book #96 |
Book: The Restoration Garden | Author: Sara Blaydes | |
| Source: Free First Reads download Format: Kindle |
Pages: 296 | Duration: 10/23/25 – 10/23/25 (1 day) | |
| Rating: ★★★★★ | Genres: historical fiction, mystery, World War II, British literature | ||
| 📕10-word summary: Landscape architect unearths the tangled history of a once-celebrated garden. 🖌6-word review: Compelling, fast-paced, dual-timeline mystery is solved. |
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| 💭A favorite quote: “It seems like everyone who sets foot on these grounds never truly leaves. It takes hold of you.” | |||
| 🎓Some new-to-me words: wych, parterre, fen, bergamot, florilegium, laburnum | |||
| Description:* Julia Esdaile is hired to restore the now-abandoned historic gardens at Havenworth Manor. For the enigmatic lady of the manor, 92-year-old Margaret Clarke, the reason for the restoration is the deeply private story of a promise made a lifetime ago, and a vow to keep it before she dies. In 1940, Margaret’s older half sister, Irene, an aspiring artist, dreamed of an exciting world beyond Havenworth. Her only escapes are James Atherton, a handsome officer in the RAF, and her sketchbook of flower drawings. Irene follows James to London, where she is forced to make a choice she never imagined. With that, Irene vanishes from Margaret’s life forever. Now, Julia is determined to uncover both the long-buried secrets of the past and the truth behind a heartbreaking mystery that only restoring the gardens of Havenworth can solve.*From goodreads.com’s synopsis. | |||
| Thoughts: This was another dual-timeline delve into family secrets, where both the past and the present storylines interested me, and where the storyline in the past is debunking all of the “theories” the people in the storyline in the present are devising while trying their best to figure out what actually happened. It was a quick-paced unraveling, and a book I’d consider as a future Mostly Social Book Club book. | |||
See the rest of the books I’ve read in 2025 and previous years: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019.
