The House Of Hidden Letters by Izzy Broom

 

My thoughts

If you read one historical this year this is the one. It's so good. It has it all. History of course. A love story. Two timelines. Possibly murder. An abusive(albeit not in great detail.) A Greek island. A lottery winner. A group of people who come together for each other. No. Matter. What.

This is a book that will capture your heart. It will also leave you on pins and needles in places. Things happen to make you think. To make you appreciate what you have. Always keep your friends close. Even the ones you might have just met.

When Skye wins a lottery she knows it's her chance. Her chance to get out of a horrible relationship. Her husband, Martyn, is awful. He is not who she thought he was. They had a whirlwind relationship and marriage. He wanted her and he got her. 

Skye wins a house on a Greek Island. It's an older place that needs a lot of repair. It only cost her the price of a lottery entry. There are a few others who won houses too. Skye doesn't share any private things with the new neighbors. She keeps it to herself. Skye and her mother have problems also. 

When Skye finds letters hidden in her house and starts reading them you get to know more about the history of the island. What happened to the previous owners. 

Then we go to 1940 and meet Katerina. Katerina and Stefanos. They lived on the Greek island as the war starts. When Mussolini started taking over and started wars it was coming to Greece. To their peaceful island. Stefanos had to leave. He had to go defend their country. Katerina's sister's husband goes with him leaving the women behind. 

A lot happens in both timelines. It's very easy to keep straight though. This is such a good book. It has so many things to keep you turning the pages. Some edge of your seat things too. A few mysteries. The love story was beautiful. 

This book gave me a few feelings. Tears. Anger. Expectations. Hope. Love. Loss. It had it all. The writing was wonderful. This story will hold your heart. 

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishers for this ARC.

Five stars 

About

“A joy from start to finish.”—Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient

A beautiful and escapist novel full of heart, for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and readers who love book club fiction.

For Greek cottage. One euro.

Skye MacKinnon is desperate for an escape. When she wins a lottery to buy a run-down cottage on a Greek island for only one euro, Skye jumps at the chance to get out of England and start over. As she unlocks the tattered blue door of her whitewashed new cottage, the sun-kissed sea glinting in the bay outside her windows, Skye immediately feels like she’s found her true home.

Skye and the other lottery winners—the first residents in these houses since the 1940s—form a tight-knit group, finding in one another the strong relationships they’d been missing in their own lives. When Skye and local contractor Andreas find a set of mysterious letters, they begin to unravel the history of the prior residents, and the truth about life on Folegandros during World War II.

Sweeping, escapist, and full of heart, The House of Hidden Letters reminds us of the importance of human connection. Izzy Broom has written a poignant and hopeful novel for those who have found love and family in unexpected places.