It is a lonely life for single ladies in the quiet village of Tilsham by the sea and she has met up with her former friend from years ago when he moved in next door to her family home. Martha, on the other hand, has other ideas and wants her mother to sell her house and move closer to the daughters, which disrupts the natural flow of family life with them. The writing in this book is so good and it’s full of characters I loved however the triggers in the book meant I had to take regular breaks.

This is a wonderful family saga and Erica James has the ability of getting to the heart of families with an honesty I’ve long admired.Naomi has also never revealed the full details of her life when married to their father, fearing that this would destroy their happy memories. As a daughter and the mother of a grown-up daughter, the title of this new Erica James novel made it particularly appealing to me.

I really liked Willow best of all the females and Ellis was a splendid role model who was level headed and noble. Even happy families have their secrets… A sweeping family drama of old secrets and new beginnings from the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James. She was also her father’s clear favourite whilst younger and more empathetic sister, Willow, was happy to drift along.She’ll want her mum around when her planned-for baby arrives – though Martha is not actually pregnant yet! The author also convincingly captured the range of emotions and tensions which can arise when a widowed parent begins a new relationship, only to find their happiness threatened by disapproval from adult offspring.

Without introducing any spoilers by giving examples, there were moments when I found myself feeling furious with Martha’s controlling, manipulative behaviour as she attempted to derail her mother’s relationship with Ellis! Her two adult daughters Martha, who is determined, bossy, organised to the nth degree and her father’s favourite and then there is Willow.Her characterisation is excellent, the setting beautiful and the slow reveals are delicately and sensitively handled.