The Temptation of Gracie

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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. Santa Montefiore in 2013Gracie Burton is an unassuming widow, living independently with her two dogs and keeping herself busy by involving herself in various village activities in Badley Compton in Devon. She has a reputation for efficiency and for getting things done and is relied upon by the unlikely-named Flappy Scott-Booth, who sees herself as the self-appointed lady of the manor – for which, read busybody. Gracie claims to have led an unremarkable life and no one has any reason to disbelieve her – not even her nearest and dearest.

The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore Book Review: The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore

Ideea de bază a romanului este aceasta – ca să fii fericit în prezent trebuie să fii împăcat cu cine ai fost și ce ai făcut în trecut. Greșelile nu se repară de la sine, iar timpul nu aduce întotdeauna cu sine uitarea. Trebuie să-ti faci curaj și să îți înfrunți slăbiciunile. The Temptation of Gracie is a lovely read, the kind of the book to enjoy while wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of tea. It’s the story of three women — Gracie, who has lived the past 40 years in a sleepy village in Devon, her high-powered and workaholic daughter Carina, and Carina’s 17-year-old daughter Anastasia — who travel to a castle in Italy for a weeklong cooking class. What Carina and Anastasia don’t realize is that Gracie has lived in Italy before, and that this castle is linked to a passionate romance from Gracie’s past. The Temptation of Gracie is a classic, magical tale that sweeps you away to Tuscany, Italy and into the life of Gracie Burton, as she revisits the past, repairs strained relationships, forges new friendships, and searches for love long lost.

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Primăvară în Toscana este un roman care fascinează prin imaginile feerice oferite asupra Toscanei, locul paradiziac în care orice persoană ajunge să se regăsească și să devină o versiune mai bună a sa, și prin povestea de iubire, care dăinuie în timp și spațiu, fapt care o face cu atât mai minunată, mai de basm. Santa Montefiore ne arată că nu e niciodată prea târziu să iubești, să trăiești totul cu patimă, să simți fiorii vieții pătrunzându-ți prin fiecare por al trupului, să te avânți în necunoscut cu puteri pe care nici măcar nu bănuiai că le ai, să te redefinești, să o iei de la capăt și să faci tot ceea ce îți stă în putință pentru a fi fericit. Uneori, viața ne mai acaparează în vârtejul său și ne face să uităm ce este cu adevărat important. Muncim, ne clădim palate, adunăm averi, dar uităm de cei dragi și de ceea ce contează pentru noi, iar asta se poate schimba printr-o resetare. Nu e ușor, dar, dacă îți acorzi răgazul necesar pentru a ieși din cotidian și pentru a te refugia într-un loc idilic, cum este castelul Montefosco în cazul personajelor cărții, uitând de orice mijloc modern de comunicare, atunci lucrurile se vor îmbunătăți și vei descoperi că totul trebuie trăit în armonie și deplină fericire. Sve vrijeme dok sam čitala osjećala sam toplinu Toskane, mirise lavande, i zamišljala okuse neprevaziđene talijanske kuhinje. The prose is seamless and lush. The characters are complex, independent, and memorable. And the plot moves between past and present effortlessly spinning a beautifully tender, beguiling tale of life, loss, family, friendship, revelations, secrets, guilt, forbidden love, art, passion, and food.

The Temptation of Gracie, Santa Montefiore - Literary Treats The Temptation of Gracie, Santa Montefiore - Literary Treats

Several years ago I was intrigued by Santa Montefiore’s first three novels, which I have never read as they never became available to me in sequence. This is Santa Montefiore’s newest novel, and my first reading of her work.If you like your stories to have drama, romance, secrets (oh what secrets!), humour and of course food then this is the book for you. A perfect summer read, in fact a perfect anytime read. One day Gracie stumbles upon a newspaper advertisement about a week-long cooking course of Mamma Bernadette, in Castello Montefosco, Italy. Immediately after, she decides to enroll for the course in Tuscany. One thing that fell short for me was the romance from Gracie’s past. I wanted to be swept away by this storyline, and I wanted to believe in a youthful passion so strong that Gracie still remembers it 40 years later. And to some extent, the affair was passionate. Gracie was certainly in love with a wealthy, powerful man, and he broke her heart (of course) due to external circumstances beyond his control. But I never quite bought into his love for Gracie (at least until the very end of the book, where it was a bit too little, too late). He makes Gracie do something that she feels conflicted about, and the way he convinces her to do it anyway made me wonder if he liked her for herself or for what she could do for him (in this case, have revenge on a greedy family member).