This is a great story dripping with intrigue, lies and envy I loved it !!
I love a story that is set around a group of young people, and my immediate thoughts were to A Secret History when I read the blurb. Although their is also an Agatha Christieesque air about it too.
Ada, I am afraid did not endear herself to me at all, she has a huge chip on her shoulder as her father was not her birth father and although he loved her dearly. When he dies her and her mother have to sell the family pile, ‘Garreg Las’ where she lived and her father wrote. They have to move and she feels like the life she aspired to have has passed her by.
Then she gets rejected by Oxbridge she thinks her chance to socially climb is over. Then her Godmother Deliah, offers to pay for Ada to go on a mini Grand Tour to Italy to experience culture and Art. Ada has never really shown much interest in either but sees this as an opportunity to mix with fellow Dilettanti students who all come from wealthy and aristocratic families.
When she arrives and meets the other students she feels a little out of her comfort zone but she is very determined and throws herself in the activities. One of the things I really like about a book with a group of people is the sometimes vicious undercurrent that people have with other. This group is no different, snobbery, racism and jealousy are just a few that pop up. Then add in a bit of sexual tension and you have the perfect storm and this is just what happens. The group itself is made up a quite unlikeable bunch of people but I loved this. I think it makes a book all the more interesting if the characters are flawed and this group are certainly that. Oliver really sees through Ada and her charade and she avoids him as much as she can.
Nate who is one of the tutors starts an affair with one of the group Annabelle and then his wife Clemency arrives for a surprise visit and things take a devastating turn.
Ada likes Lorcan and she thinks if she can befriend him and Petra then all will be well, as with all groups one member is on the fringes and in this group that is American, Mallory she has not bonded with the group, then a accident happens or is it murder ?
I love art history and I really enjoyed the tour around Italy and the book is well written and really engaging and it really does give such a interesting view into relationships, infidelity and loss. I was hooked and after the death things get really interesting. This is a great story dripping with intrigue, lies and envy I loved it !!
4.5 stars ****
Ada, I am afraid did not endear herself to me at all, she has a huge chip on her shoulder as her father was not her birth father and although he loved her dearly. When he dies her and her mother have to sell the family pile, ‘Garreg Las’ where she lived and her father wrote. They have to move and she feels like the life she aspired to have has passed her by.
Then she gets rejected by Oxbridge she thinks her chance to socially climb is over. Then her Godmother Deliah, offers to pay for Ada to go on a mini Grand Tour to Italy to experience culture and Art. Ada has never really shown much interest in either but sees this as an opportunity to mix with fellow Dilettanti students who all come from wealthy and aristocratic families.
When she arrives and meets the other students she feels a little out of her comfort zone but she is very determined and throws herself in the activities. One of the things I really like about a book with a group of people is the sometimes vicious undercurrent that people have with other. This group is no different, snobbery, racism and jealousy are just a few that pop up. Then add in a bit of sexual tension and you have the perfect storm and this is just what happens. The group itself is made up a quite unlikeable bunch of people but I loved this. I think it makes a book all the more interesting if the characters are flawed and this group are certainly that. Oliver really sees through Ada and her charade and she avoids him as much as she can.
Nate who is one of the tutors starts an affair with one of the group Annabelle and then his wife Clemency arrives for a surprise visit and things take a devastating turn.
Ada likes Lorcan and she thinks if she can befriend him and Petra then all will be well, as with all groups one member is on the fringes and in this group that is American, Mallory she has not bonded with the group, then a accident happens or is it murder ?
I love art history and I really enjoyed the tour around Italy and the book is well written and really engaging and it really does give such a interesting view into relationships, infidelity and loss. I was hooked and after the death things get really interesting. This is a great story dripping with intrigue, lies and envy I loved it !!
4.5 stars ****