I always enjoy Santa's books. ( )

Two colourless people meet in Argentina. Immediately declare how much they love one another & get off on keeping it a secret. Repeat this endlessly. Then they part, so they can yearn for one another, & regret, repetitively at a distance.

Unbelievable dialogue, with all the characters talking in the same humourless, explanatory way.

With decent writing, even limp characters, who give themselves unnecessary dramas can be made interesting and sympathetic, but no sign of that here. ( )

A beach read.

I had already read several of Santa Montefiore's books, three set in Argentina or Chile and two in Italy. Looking back, I was surprised to see what varied ratings I'd given them.
This book starts out in Argentina and I was hoping for another excellent read, but, although most of the events are set in Argentina, it is an expat version of the country; clubs, swimming and afternoon teas. I detected very little of the real country behind all the fluff.

The central character is Audrey, older sister to the vibrant Isla. When we meet them they are on the cusp of adulthood; Isla is not yet interested in men but Audrey finds herself attracted to one of the two brothers who come to work for her father. Cecil and Louis Forrester are two very different men; Cecil has been honoured for his successes in the war, while Louis did not fight and is more ethereal, a gifted musician. Audrey ends up marrying the one she doesn't love and the story evolves from there.

I was rather irritated by the repetition of various themes, particularly the idea that beauty is only skin deep and a nasty personality can show through no matter how beautiful you are. this was endlessly overplayed through the novel.
The book was a bit over-long, which gave plenty of time for character development. My favourite character was Audrey's third child, Grace, who could see spirits and read futures. However, most of the other folk in the novel had lost my interest by the time I got to the end. I do admit to shedding a few tears though, so 3 1/2 stars.

I have also read, by this author:
Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree (4 stars)
The Butterfly Box (4 stars)
The Swallow and the Hummingbird (3 stars)
Last Voyage of the Valentina (2 stars)
The Gypsy Madonna (5 stars) ( )

Blurb from Fantastic Fiction

The Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires is a little piece of England, home to the small Anglo-Argentine community where gossip is devoured as eagerly as the scones and Earl Grey tea. Here Audrey Garnet grows up and loses her heart to Louis Forrester, the talented, troubled young man who sets tongues wagging with his eccentric behavior and checkered past. Finding in Audrey the one woman who understands him, Louis composes especially for her a brilliant piece of music: the forget-me-not sonata. To the hypnotic melody of this magical tune they embark upon a secret love affair. But a family tragedy brings their romance to an abrupt end and Audrey, ever the dutiful daughter, thrills her parents by accepting Louis's successful, respectable elder brother, Cecil, as her husband. It is a sacrifice she bitterly regrets. Despite the pleasures of family life, and in time, beloved daughters of her own, Audrey hears the sweet, plaintive notes of the forget-me-not sonata echo through the years as a reminder of the love that she has lost.

My Review

I guess something has to be said for the authors writing ability when I can grow to despise each and every character present in the book.

This book was a real disappointment for me. I love stories of forbidden love and while I do prefer happy endings they aren't necessary for me to enjoy a book. Unfortunately, it didn't matter what the ending of this book was like it would never have been able to make up for the 500 pages of tediousness leading up to it.

My first problem was the characters. These characters were easy to hate. If they weren't completely self-centered and small minded they were absolutely perfect human beings who were 100% good all the time and could only see the good in other people blah blah blah blah blah. Seriously, it became tedious about 100 pages in.

The second problem was the plot like I said I enjoy forbidden romances even if they don't always end happily I like a bit of angst once in awhile and I'm even willing to suspend my disbelief as to why their love is so forbidden however, I can only stretch it so far. Apparently, Louis and Audrey can't be together because her parents would think he was unsuitable as a husband and besides her parents had hoped she would fall in love with his brother Cecil. Something I might add that Audrey doesn't discourage as she pretends to be in love with Cecil in order to see his brother more often. I really find it hard to believe that these people went through so much angst all because Louis was considered unsuitable when it wouldn't have killed Audrey to tell her parents she was in love with Louis and show them why he was worthy of her. Of course that didn't happen and the book continued on for 500 pages of all the characters either making one another miserable or being so saintly and good that they just became irritating.

Honestly, I just found this story tedious and I was just glad to be finished. I do have another book by this author in my TBR pile which I will try at some point since I don't like to base my opinion of an author on one book but it won't be for a very long time. ( )

http://printedpage.blogspot.com ( )