Coming Home to Island House opens with Romily Temple flying past a coffee shop in her sports car, setting three of it's nosy, busybody inhabitants off gossiping about her living in sin with the owner of Island House - Jack Devereux.....

From this opener, I knew I was going to love Romily Temple! Romily has just returned from a tour of Europe where she was promoting her latest crime novel (being a rather famous writer in her own right), to find her newly wedded husband Jack Devereux gravely ill.

Before it is too late, Jack enlists the services of his lawyer friend Roddy to call all of his estranged children back to Island House so he can make amends before he passes.

What follows is a story of heartbreak, love, selfishness and selflessness - and amongst all of this, the outbreak of world war two, and the impact it has on the family.

This book is wonderful, and one which I won't forget for a long time. It breaks your heart one moment, then warms you and cuddles you in the next. It's a story of families, understanding, so many different things, and it did have quite an effect on me...

You won't regret reading this book I promise.

It has been a while since I have read an Erica James and I was pleasantly surprised. Different from anything she has previously written.
Jack Deveroux passes away and leaves his money split between his 3 children and niece. With a twist they have to spend a whole week at Island House together or they get nothing.
Under the loving care of their step mother the family slowly repair their relationship with more twist and turns to befall them.
Will they ever have the happy ending they deserve?
To find out I highly recommend reading this book.

The book did not initially grab me, but I'm so glad I didn't give up. When Jack Devereaux dies he stipulates in his will that his children must live together, in Island House, for a week in order to gain their inheritance. This seemed like an unoriginal story, but stick with it, it's worth it. The next part of the book, which tells the tale of that week, is reminiscent of a Noel Coward play (or an Agatha Christie country house murder) - in a good way. The period setting is excellent. The characters then develop, as do their stories. I expected the plot to be predictable: it absolutely isn't. There were many surprises, some happy, some tragic. By the end of the book I was entranced with it, I wish there could be a second volume to continue their stories.

Despite this not being my usual choice of book,I love Erica James so thought I'd give it a go. A delicious read, found myself totally immersed in the characters and the story. Centred around Romilly and her mission to reunite her family. Would highly recommend. A great read.

A different book from Erica James, but as enjoyable as any of hers.
The story centres around a wonderfully portrayed character, Romilly, who has to cope with an incredibly dysfunctional step family. Losing her adored husband, she tries to maintain a sense of stability amongst the family, always retaining her calm and measured approach. I found her the most fascinating character.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of the book.

Vivid characters and locations bring this family saga to life at an iconic time in the 20th-century. Set in 1939 and 1940, Britain at war is the setting for a dysfunctional family brought together by the death of their estranged father.

Romily marries Jack, an older man, soulmates they live the perfect life although Jack regrets his distant relationship with his children. Irreparably changed by grief after the death of his first wife, Jack distanced himself emotionally from his children. Their memories of him are of a strict disciplinarian, judgemental and never to be pleased.

Romily fulfils her husband's dying wish to try an unite his family, providing the story with conflict, laughter, poignancy and romance as she weaves her magic amongst Jack's emotionally damaged children. The character development and depth of connections forged with family members make this an absorbing read. The images of war and life in Britain are well-researched and give the story and enthralling authenticity.

The gently paced plot has many dramatic twists that add to the angst Romily faces. The characters are well-drawn and individual, there are many stories within this book, which are concluded well but with enough loose ends to make the reader want to know what happens next in their lives.

I received a copy of this book via Orion via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a lovely story based in 1939. Not my usual type of book and I'm not very familiar with Erica James as an author. I will say I'm very happy to have been given the opportunity to read this story and will definitely be reading more by this author!

This book felt long. I enjoyed some of it, but I wasn’t wowed. Some of the plot choices felt jarring, and I wondered how much of a modern feminist outlook was imposed on some of the female characters – would they really have been as freethinking as the author made them out to be?
Having said that, I did appreciate the protagonist and the unexpected development of her life at Island House.

I loved this book from start to finish. All the characters are so well drawn, even the trio who sit in the Cobbles Tea Room passing judgement on the people in the village, particularly Romily. I cared about them all. The story was absorbing, the characters and their relationships were fascinating and the descriptions were such that I could visualise the people and the surroundings. Not my first book I have read by Erica James, but I will read even more now. One of those books that you are disappointed when you finish it.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story and a well-written one.
Very many thanks to Netgalley/Erica James/Orion Publishing for a digital copy of this excellent tale. All opinions expressed are my own.

Erika James is an author you can trust to give you a good read.
Love her style or writing and the places it leads too. An easy sunny day read for the garden.

This was such a beautiful story, mainly set in a village in Suffolk around the time of the Second World War. Essentially it concerned Romily Temple and her husband’s estranged family. The way the characters were introduced and their backgrounds was captivating. This story also captured the essence of village life and the interaction between the characters who lived there. There are some very emotional moments. I loved the energy of Romily and how she endeavoured to bring the family together. This is a story that you will want to read again. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love this book! It’s utterly absorbing, interesting, well written and full of ups and downs. It starts just before the start of WW2 and tells the story of the devereux family. And what a family! Orphans, heroes, Europeans, children, evacuees. All that’s is true of that time comes to life in these pages. Make do and mend. Blitz spirit. Families pulling together and creating new families. It’s joyful. Which sounds strange given the setting. But it’s joyful! I loved it!

"Coming Home to Island House" is another lovely story from Erica James; a little different in that it's set at the start of WW2, giving an interesting slant to what she does well - relationships and small communities.
Set in a small Suffolk village, just before WW2 breaks out, Romiley Temple, the book's central, strong and unconventional, character, returns after a trip to her new husband, Jack, and his lovely home, the Island House of the title, only for Jack to suffer a fatal stroke. The story tells the part Romiley and the house play in bringing back together his estranged family.
It's a fairly typical Erica James book, in that it explores and develops characters. It's quite easy reading and great for a wet summer weekend.

Let me start by saying, whilst browsing the recently added section on NetGalley a strange thing occurred. Something reached out and pressed the request button on my laptop, of course it was my hand but it is true that I was drawn to this title, for reasons that are still unknown to me!

I am mainly a thriller, science fiction, and fantasy reader, for the most part, so this obviously didn't fit into any of those categories. I am also known for gaining no enjoyment from chick lit and romance genres. However, I was pleasantly surprised, Coming Home to Island House was a beautifully uplifting experience and one I don't usually get from the genres i'm more accustomed to. Nobody is more shocked by this occurance than me!

I absolutely adore the cover artwork as do many others, it is really somewhere most people would love to visit. The story is heart wrenching, thought provoking and, ultimately, uplifting. I was invested in the characters and Romily is a great peacemaker, bringing everyone together. A well written tale that is easy to get into and is a fantastic way to escape your world for a while.

In the future, I will absolutely be on the lookout for similar titles, that may brighten my outlook just as this did. I'm also going to have a nosy at James' back catalogue as well as checking out the authors touted as writing in the same vein at the bottom of the synopsis. I feel this is a genre I would like to dip in and out of dpending n my mood. It turned out to be a welcome relief from the murder and mayhem that seem to feature in most books I find myself reading.

I would like to thank Erica James, Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest and impartial review.

The book starts in 1939 and Romily, a celebrated author, is returning home to the island house and her beloved husband Jack. Romily is probably quite unusual for that era, she is very independent and many years younger than Jack but married him for pure love........ so when she discovers he is dying she is devastated.

Jack is estranged from his family and on his death it falls to Romily to try and reunite them, but his will stipulates that t they must all live together at the island house for 7 days for them to gain their inheritance....... surely that can't be that hard!

A great book, very different to previous books by this author, but I loved it and couldn't put it down, great storyline and characters...... even if Arthur had no redeeming features...... and comes highly recommended by me

I loved this book. It's so nice to lose yourself in a good story. Poor Romily is charged with the task of uniting an estranged family of three siblings and a cousin. These adults grew up at Island House but for various reasons their father didn't manage to hold his family together and has left his new wife to deal with them.
Romily is such a lovely character, a strong independent woman who laughs at the gossips who think she is a trollop. There are a few surprising and sometimes sad parts of this story which kept me up late at night reading it.
I would have liked to have known more about Jack so maybe a prequel would be a good idea. I also would like to know more of what Romily did during the war and what happened next. There is so much more to explore with this family that I'm also hoping for a sequel.

It's a while since I read a family saga but I'd heard lots of good things about this one & thought it might make a nice change from blood & guts & gore which seems to be the norm for me!

Set just before the second world war the story revolves around Island House. Romily Tempe- a crime author is a lady ahead of her time. Caring nothing for gossip & convention she is unconcerned that her husband Jack is many years her senior and that she is nearer in age to his children. She is deeply in love with him.When events throw her in the midst of this dysfunctional family she does her best to create a safe haven for them all- something that becomes very necessary as the country is thrown into the chaos of war.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I really liked the characters and I thought Erica James captured the atmosphere of the times very well. I would love to see a sequel as I was left wondering what would happen to the characters next!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and THE Book Club for giving me the chance to read & review this book.

What a real treat to have a new book published by Erica James with such a gorgeous cover. Her last book The Song of the Skylark was published back in 2016 so it has been a bit of a wait for Coming Home to Island House but I can assure that wait was very much worth it. I have always enjoyed Erica's books but this one has to be her best of all, I loved this book right from the opening chapter until the very last page. I feel it is a real mature book so vastly different from the author's earlier books as this is very much a character driven story in which I quickly became invested in each of the different characters even if all of them weren't to my liking. There was one in particular whom I think readers will dislike the entire way through the book no matter what said character goes through.

This book is an exploration of a family who at last must confront everything that each individual has been keeping secret for a long period. The family have become disconnected and aggrieved with the way things are. Now is the time for truths to come to the surface and for a family to attempt to reunite. Unfortunately the circumstances which have gathered the family together, some under duress admittedly, are tragic as the patriarch Jack Devereux has suddenly passed away. His will must be read and loose ends must be tied up. His adult children believe this will be very clear cut but that turns out not to be the case.

I especially loved the opening and closing pages of the book as they really connected back to each other considering all that had occurred in the intervening chapters. In August of 1939, author Romily Temple is returning home to Island House after a brief tour of Europe. She can't wait to return to the love of her life, her soul mate, the man who allows her to be the woman she wants to be – Jack Devereux. He doesn't feel threatened by her character or her success and she admires this in him. Their romance may have been a whirlwind but Romily knows Jack is the one for her and now after undertaking something dangerous while on book tour she knows she is coming home to her refuge, her sanctuary, her island - Island House.

It was evident from the opening pages that the couple had such a deep love for one another and that they are looking forward to their future together. Romily is a person filled with confidence and grace but the events occurring in Germany see the beginnings of the Nazi's vile regime extending their control and people around the world are on tender hooks awaiting what will happen. Up until now, Romily would not be classed as your typical woman of the time, content to stay at home and raise a family. She has had a wild side in the past and also enjoys her writing career but now one senses this is the time to settle down and enjoy her marriage. So when she arrives home and discovers what has unfolded, her heart is broken, all hopes and aspirations gone out the window. How will she continue on? How can she deal with adult stepchildren who may detest her on sight? Adult children who have deep resentments towards their father? Will the spirit of adventure and independence be forever quashed in Romily through unbearable grief?

When the children return to a house they have not been to for a very long time, it is not a peaceful, pleasant reunion given the circumstances especially as so much anger, pain and exasperation bubble away beneath the surface waiting to come to the boil. Kit, Arthur, Hope and Allegra are each battling with their own worries and tribulations. They are not happy to discover they must stay together at the house for seven days in order to have any chance of claiming their inheritance. Such stipulations may seem dramatic to some but given the unrest that abounds within the family this will be no easy task. I felt deeply sorry for Romily. She had found happiness at last only to have it cruelly ripped away from her. How could she grieve in peace giving warring children were present who really should have known better? Why would Jack leave such a task to be undertaken with Romily at the centre when she barely knew what had gone on? He must have had faith in her abilities and time and time again she proved she was a strong woman but also someone who was very wise and who would always step into the breach no matter how challenging it was for her.

Hope, Allegra, Kit and Arthur are not without their flaws. Their lives are complicated and as unity and accord does not abound within the family, having to stay at Island House is not the most ideal situation. Arthur was a character who I abhorred throughout the book. The author wrote his character so well, he was meant to come across as the baddie in the situation and that's how I felt about him. Even though towards the end the reasons and the thought process behind the way he acted became clear and were very well justified, I still didn't like him at all. The way he spoke to people his own wife included was disgraceful. He showed no compassion for anybody or what each individual was personally dealing with. He was eaten up with hatred,anger,mistrust, uncertainty and suspicion. He was always out to upset and alienate people and he succeeded. A particular incident had me wanting to choke him and I couldn't understand why his siblings allowed him to carry on the way he did. Why did no one stand up to him? Were they just too afraid of him and fearful of the repercussions if they did so? Was he capable of feeling any love at all?

Poor Hope came across as very vulnerable given the recent events connected with her husband but she too similarly to Romily had qualities to be admired. She was estranged from her father for reasons which some people still find very much in place with certain relationships in this day and age. What was required of her by others was a very demanding thing to ask and I felt she was brave to take it on. But in doing so when she had to return to Island House maybe what she was bringing with her would force conversation to take place and people would have to change their viewpoints. To open up and partake, to share and to talk.

Kit seemed very much like a lost soul and similarly he was estranged from his father. He was always made to feel inadequate and inferior as in Arthur took prominence and his ways and abrupt manner overshadowed all. Kit couldn't have been more different from Arthur. Kit I believed would have wanted to reunite with his father given half the chance. Although Kit to me was slightly adrift in his own world of problem, he was very upbeat and positive when things got tough and I admired the way he supported his sisters. If only he could do the same when it came to Arthur. With world events encroaching further upon Island House I wondered would Jack have to enlist and if so, what fortune awaited him? The later part of his storyline was very emotional and heart wrenching for all involved. I hadn't expected this outcome as it looked as if things were clear cut. So it was nice to be very much surprised. As the story moved passed the seven day period as outlined by Jack, I felt it allowed for further exploration of each of the individual characters. If the book had solely focused on the week in question it would have become stilted and not allowed much room for manoeuvring within the various sub plots. Instead this period became what evoked the catalyst of change.

Allegra was perhaps the one who felt the most isolated from Jack and her siblings. I say siblings because in fact they are cousins as Jack adopted Allegra when she was very young. Maybe the calling back to Island House came at the time when Allegra needed it most, although she wouldn't have admitted that to herself. She is in a situation she would never have thought possible for her. Her hopes and dreams of making it as an opera singer have been crushed due to her placing too many eggs in one basket, too much trust in one person has let her down enormously. She returns to Island House looking for a safe haven and a refuge. Can Romily offer her this? Or will things be too insurmountable?

After we had gotten to know all the characters the story moved along at a nice assured pace. It was realistic to see that everything wasn't a bed of roses because I don't think life is like that for anyone. Romily and the house became a focal point but I never felt she was pushing herself on people who wouldn't readily accept help or advice. Romily grew too and knew when was the time to step in and when things were best left alone. For a woman who loved adventure she certainly stepped up to the mark and showed all the various sides to her character. I didn't know how anything was going to pan out with this story and that's the way a book should be, keeping you in suspense until the very last moment. There were several times over I felt completely broken that such a thing happened but I am glad too the other side of the coin as in happiness was shown too.

Coming Home to Island House was a deeply satisfying read with beautiful, heart wrenching, thought provoking storylines woven through from beginning to end. Erica James at her best and I can't wait to see what she brings to us in the future.

Erica James has written an engaging and entertaining historical family drama that begins in the summer of 1939 and takes in the declaration of the World War 2 and its early beginnings. Romily Temple returns to Island House after promoting her book, and the man she loves, Jack Deveraux. The married couple are unusual, attracting much attention from the local villagers. Unexpectedly Jack falls ill, and his estranged family are sent for. Jack's children, Kit, Arthur, Hope and the adopted Allegra, are bursting with resentments, feeling hard done by and defined by their poor relationships with Jack. As war begins, they are forced to deal with death and examine themselves more closely. Romily finds herself having to take on more than she ever expected, not welcomed, and an outsider. It is a long hard road before she is accepted. This is a family saga, that takes in the good times and the bad, the heartbreak, loss, the horrors of war and love. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

An interesting book with a wide range of characters, some you like more than others. At times I wanted to flick to the back of the book just to check that everyone would still be alive at the end of the book!