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A review by jacqueline016
The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
4.0
This story happens on 3 alternating timelines with a garden connecting three women over time. In the first timeline, we meet Venetia Smith in 1907/1908 as she's planning and planting a garden for the Melcourt family at Highbury. In 1944, Diane Symonds is now the lady of the house and finds solace in her garden as her home is requisitioned for the war effort. In present day, Emma is hired on by the new owners of Highbury to restore the gardens to their original glory, which is a huge honor due to Venetia's rise to fame in the gardening world.
It's an interesting take, connecting women across such a vast time period with a garden. I found it enjoyable because it's a different take on WWII historical fiction, but I do think 3 different time periods was a bit much. There were a lot of characters in each whose names I couldn't be bothered to remember, and that's the only reason why this isn't a 5 star read. I think with a little more editing and focus, this book would easily be that for me!
Overall, this book was really great. As an unexpected bonus, I learned a lot about gardens!
It's an interesting take, connecting women across such a vast time period with a garden. I found it enjoyable because it's a different take on WWII historical fiction, but I do think 3 different time periods was a bit much. There were a lot of characters in each whose names I couldn't be bothered to remember, and that's the only reason why this isn't a 5 star read. I think with a little more editing and focus, this book would easily be that for me!
Overall, this book was really great. As an unexpected bonus, I learned a lot about gardens!