The Temptation of Gracie

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Carina wasn’t my favourite character to begin with, I really felt like she needed to reevaluate her life, particularly where her daughter Anastasia was concerned. Would the beautiful Tuscan sunshine change her? This book is the perfect beach read. Set in Tuscany it really makes you think of holidays and sunshine.

The Temptation of Gracie - Santa Montefiore - Google Books The Temptation of Gracie - Santa Montefiore - Google Books

Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree is the unforgettable, evocative, and moving tale of forgiveness and love. It follows the lives of the Solanas family living in the tumultuous years of political turmoil in Argentina. Sofia Solanas is the lead character, a proud, resourceful, wilful, spoilt daughter of Argentine nobility. She lives on an expansive ranch and has been brought up under the spiritual practices of the gauchos, and the time-honored traditions of her highborn parents. Everybody seems to love Sofia except for Anna, her Irish mother who visits her sense of inadequacy and alienation on her daughter. When Sofia gets into a steamy love affair that her mother believes would disgrace the family if it ever came out, she banishes Sofia to Europe. By sending her away, she inadvertently exiles the daughter not only from her soul mate for over a decade but also from her family. First of all, let me tell you that I am a great fan of Santa Montefiore’s books. All of her books have alluring elements. Whenever I decide to read her books more than the story the setting of the book grabs my attention. The narration is so captivating that I often find it surprising that I am still at my own house. This book which I listened through audible was undoubtedly a great choice. In my opinion, h aving a great narrator for your audiobook enhances the beauty of the story.Having read all your books, I love Meet me under the Ombu tree most, for the pull on one’s heartstrings. I love all your stories, The Beekeeper’s Daughter would be my second choice, but they are all wonderful and it is hard to choose a favorite. Still, overall, I enjoyed the story. The Temptation of Gracie is a feel-good book that’ll make you emit a happy sigh and want to cook spaghetti with your family members. The conflicts and drama are heartfelt but fairly light, and you can just imagine what a beautiful movie this would make.

The Temptation of Gracie | Santa Montefiore - NetGalley The Temptation of Gracie | Santa Montefiore - NetGalley

Maybe the novel was a bit predictable in some regards, but it didn't honestly spoil the experience for me. I was *rooting* for my predictions to come true, expecting they would, but hoping they'd come faster.When Gracie Burton stumbles upon an advertisement for a week-long cookery course in the heart of the Tuscan countryside,she cannot resist, and ploughs her life savings into the trip. Once again with The Temptation of Gracie, Montefiore has written another skillfully plotted, multi-generational, family saga that has just the right amount of intrigue, colourful history, and enduring passion to be pleasing to both lovers of historical fiction and romance. This is my first book I have read by this author, so I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. I was listening to an audiobook and the narrator Rachel Atkins did good job. I enjoyed the setting and writing. The Temptation of Gracie is such an emotive read. With 68 year old Gracie’s stable and predictable life in Badley Compton a world away to the experiences she had as a teen/young woman, during the week at the cookery school in Castello Montefosco her past emerges as she confides in granddaughter Anastasia. From not knowing each other very well at all, they realise how similar they are (in more ways than one!). And as much as Anastasia is there for Gracie, Gracie is also the confidant for Anastasia. I adored the developing bond with these two. Gracie has been keeping secrets for over 40 years and it is only in the Tuscany sunshine that she lets her guard slip and begins to reveal her early life to her granddaughter.

The Temptation of Grace: A Witty and Steamy Regency Romance The Temptation of Grace: A Witty and Steamy Regency Romance

Okay. Let me say that I don't generally enjoy romance novels: novels dealing heavily with romance, or contemporary novels that are sort of unrealistic but whimsical. The present-day update on this romance also fell short for me. The conflict in the present-day hinges on a big reveal that comes courtesy of Anastasia and close to the end of the book. The problem was that this reveal was pretty obvious to me early in the book, and so it was more frustrating than anything that Gracie kept missing the signs and misunderstanding the situation. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Shuster UK for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review. Next, there was the relationship between Gracie, her daughter (Carina), and grand-daughter (Anastasia). At the core, this is a story about three generations of women. Carina is a rather uptight businesswoman who's married to her job, leaving her little time for her mother, husband, or teenage daughter. Understandably, Anastasia has some resentment toward Carina, preferring the company of her father or cell phone instead. There is obvious tension between the women at the beginning of the novel but when Carina decides to join Gracie for the trip to Italy, and Anastasia comes along, things slowly start to change. I adored their changing relationship and character arcs in general, especially Anastasia's.

One day, Gracie encounters an advertisement in a magazine, announcing that Castle Montefosco, in Tuscany, is currently open to the public. Strangers can come and stay for a few days and learn how to cook authentic Italian food. Although everyone knows Gracie as someone who hates leaving the comfort of her small town in England, she makes the seemingly crazy decision to travel to Italy. The Temptation of Gracie is romantic – in the broadest sense of the word – although there is definitely romance in it as well. Mostly, it is about love – between men and women; between uncles, nieces, and nephews; between fathers and children; between mothers, daughters, and grand-daughters. I really enjoyed this book. It is essentially a feel-good story where the reader has a feeling from the start that all will end happily ever after, they are just not sure how. It is a light and easy read though not trivial. There is a good plot that works well and great characters many of which I recognise from life! I raced through this book as it had all the ingredients for a good read - good characters, a sound plot, a bit of history, some light amusing bits and an ending that worked well. Jedina mana Santinih romana su naslovi koji na prvi pogleda asociraju na neke jeftine romane sa erotskom tematikom: Francuski baštovan, Grejsino iskušenje - ako neprivlačni nazivi kriju lijepe i interesantne radnje. This was an easy read. It definitely makes me want to travel to Italy - which has always been on my list of places to see.

Review: The Temptation Of Gracie By Santa Montefiore Review: The Temptation Of Gracie By Santa Montefiore

When Gracie Burton stumbles upon an advertisement for a week-long cookery course in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, she cannot resist, and ploughs her life savings into the trip. Although there were some predictable points in the storyline, I felt that there was enough material in the story to keep me interested. The relationship between Gracie and her granddaughter, Anastasia was beautifully written and made me miss my maternal grandmother very much. As well, just like so many other books set in Italy- I finished this book very hungry. As well, I will always remember that garlic and onion divorced and that is why we don't cook them together. Haha! R.F. Kuang, Sue Lynn Tan, Rebecca Ross, Kate Heartfield, N.E. Davenport, Saara El-Arifi, Juno Dawson and Sunyi Dean This is a relaxing read, perfect for long Summer days on the beach. The characters were well drawn and likeable, even Carina, who softerns as the book progresses. The compelling element of the book was Gracie’s past. Instead of a shy woman, we see a new Gracie, an ambitious and immensely talented painter!

Table of Contents

Most of Montefiore’s novels touching, magical and remarkable as they are, are a combination of real life experiences/stories and some fiction. The stories, plots, and characters that she writes about from the first novel Meet Me Under Ombu Tree and the other novels that followed are a sum of her experiences. Most of the characters in the novels have to deal with many painful experiences that the author asserts are important as a nostalgic way of reliving the past and making sense of the present. Nonetheless, the books are written to touch people on a spiritual and emotional level even as they entertain. While her very first novel was set in Argentina, her preceding novels have been in Chile, France, and Italy, countries that tend to have the same herb scented, balmy, and warm breezes just like Argentina. She has also done one of her novels in the wild beaches of Connemara, Ireland for its melancholy, gothic, and haunting tone that were missing in the other novels. Santa Montefiore born Santa Palmer-Tomkinson is a British-Argentine writer best known for writing romantic thriller novels. She had always wanted to write professionally ever since she was a child and would graduate from reading children short stories to naïve love stories as she aged. At age twelve, she attended the Sherborne School for Girls where she was terrible at practically everything except for English, in which she was always the best in the class. She would frequently write up stories pairing up her friends with the boys they fancied from the Sherborne Boy’s School just across the fence. Her friends loved the stories, and fancying herself one of the greatest novelists that ever lived, she submitted them to a publisher only to be rejected. When she turned 19, her mother organized a teaching job for her on an Argentine Pampa, where she was to be tutor to three young children. The time that she spent in Argentine turned out to be some of the best things that her parents ever did for her. She fell in love with the country and made it her second home, even setting several of her novels there. In 1998, she married Simon Sebag Montefiore the writer and historian in a Jewish wedding. They met through historian Andrew Roberts, who believed they were made for each other, given that of all the people he knew, they were the only two that could recite the Evita by heart. Santa Montefiore believes that they complete each other even as they are so different. Simon is more of a philosophical man with no interest for the outdoors, while Santa has always been enchanted by the outdoors and never saw herself settling with a man who could not even contemplate skiing. They now write from the same house with Santa on the top floor and Simon on the ground floor. Just like his wife, Simon is a critically acclaimed writer with his historical novels such as Jerusalem, Young Stalin, and the Court of Red Star receiving some of the highest accolades in the literary world. Besides being the sister to the socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, the couple is also fast friends with the Queen of Netherlands Maxima, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales. Montefiore lives in London with her husband and two children, Sasha and Lily, but the family also frequents a cottage in the Hampshire countryside where she grew up. Her house, which features on many of her novels, is a seventeenth century farmhouse with lovely ancient bluebell trees and stunning gardens that burst into a blaze of color during spring. Widow Gracie decides to book a cookery holiday in Italy after seeing an advert in a magazine. Her friends in her Devon village and her London family cannot dissuade her and in the end her daughter Carina, a self obsessed business woman who rarely visits, decides to accompany Gracie to ensure she is ok as her mother is not used to foreign travel. Anastasia, Carina’s daughter, also goes and she gradually gets to know her grandmother on the trip- this is a touching family story as well as a romance. Sve vrijeme dok sam čitala osjećala sam toplinu Toskane, mirise lavande, i zamišljala okuse neprevaziđene talijanske kuhinje.