You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by thegourmetbookworm
The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
4.0
Present day: Emma Lovett, is given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she uncovers secrets that have long lain hidden.
1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to the high society set. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, her life is changed forever.
1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she wants is to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand house, is trying to cling to her pre-war life now when the war department requisitions her home. Then tragedy strikes.
This was a delightful summer read. The Land Girls meets Downtown Abbey with some Hallmark Channel thrown in for good measure. A little sappy in parts, you know, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl again, but it was a pleasant change of pace. The Last Garden in England is the kind of book that makes you sigh when you read the last page. Sometimes books set in multiple time periods stumble, but Julia Kelly connected the separate storylines well. The gardening detail was too much for me, but if you are a flower gardener, you are really going to love it. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to the high society set. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, her life is changed forever.
1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she wants is to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand house, is trying to cling to her pre-war life now when the war department requisitions her home. Then tragedy strikes.
This was a delightful summer read. The Land Girls meets Downtown Abbey with some Hallmark Channel thrown in for good measure. A little sappy in parts, you know, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl again, but it was a pleasant change of pace. The Last Garden in England is the kind of book that makes you sigh when you read the last page. Sometimes books set in multiple time periods stumble, but Julia Kelly connected the separate storylines well. The gardening detail was too much for me, but if you are a flower gardener, you are really going to love it. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.