Lauren Beck is thirty years old, but her mother has always done everything in her power to keep her safe because she is afraid something would happen to Lauren. And, that means that Lauren has never really been able to live her life and do as she wishes. But now she has moved away from home, taken a job at the Blue Mountains café. She has also met Tomas, a Danish architect that is overseeing the Evergreen Spa Hotel's renovations and through a series of events she finds in the hotel steamy love letters from the 1920s.

I have a weakness for books with parallel storylines, so when I saw this gorgeous book on Edelweiss and read the blurb was it an easy decision to request the book. The book made me think of Kate Morton's books, with a secret in the past that is being revealed. I did find the story a bit predictable, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed reading the book.

I preferred the present time when it comes to the two different storylines. I just found Lauren's relationship with Tomas more interesting than Violets with Sam back in the 20s. Mostly because Sam was just a very weak character and Violet deserved someone better than him. Most of the time Sam just made me annoyed with his love declaration for Violet, I can see why she was so taken with him because she was swept up in his passion. But a future with him, with him being rich and her poor was really just a big dream. But I think that for a moment, for some time she just closed her eyes for the truth and let her be swept off her feet. In the end, I think everlasting worked out for the best for her.

Lauren storyline was more interesting, yes I guessed most of what she discovered before she did it, but I liked her, I liked that she was for the first time standing on her own two feet's, finding love and defying her mother. And, I love the ending, Lauren confronting her mother and father about a past misdeed against her brother.

So, in the end, I want to say that the book was good, predictable sometimes, but nevertheless enjoyable to read.

I received this copy from Touchstone through Edelweiss in return for an honest review! Thank you! ( )

This is a very nice, lighthearted read.
1926: Violet Armstrong is one of the remaining staff members working at the grand Evergreen Spa Hotel as it closes down over winter. When a snowstorm moves in, the hotel is cut off from civilisation & no one could have predicted what would unfold.
2014: After years of putting her sick brother's needs before her own, Lauren Beck leaves her home & takes a job at a Blue Mountains cafe, the first stage of the Evergreen Spa Hotel's renovations. In a wing of the old hotel, Lauren finds a series of passionate love letters dated back to 1926.........
This is a lovely story that plods along at it's own pace. It's not a particularly exciting story in itself until the very end but that's kind of what I like about it. I enjoyed the story but I wished I'd read it when I was younger as I kept on thinking 'oh dear Violet!' in those sections of the book. I've read other stuff by Kimberley freeman before in her other guise as Kim Wilkins & in some ways I enjoyed that more but overall this is a good book that will keep you entertained :O)

As in her other novels, Freeman weaves her narrative between past and present and ties it all together in the end. I enjoyed the story but unlike Freeman's other novels, felt it dragged a bit in the middle. Review based on an ARC from Edelweiss. ( )