Gracie lives a quiet life with family and friends in Devon so when she decides to head off to Italy to do a cookery course everyone is surprised. What they do not know is that Gracie knows where she is going as she once lived there and has a secret history.
I loved this story from Santa Montefiore. Her books are always a good read but I specially liked the characters in this one. The descriptions of Italy and the castle, both in the present and the past, really draw you in.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for granting me an advance copy

This story starts in Devon with widow Gracie Burton making the decision to travel to Tuscany for a cookery course. Gracie has a daughter, married with a daughter, Anastasia, and for various reasons they accompany her on the trip. Gracie has had a secret past that she has kept well hidden and this trip enables these secrets to unfold. A thoroughly enjoyable story, lots of romance and beautifully evocative description. Thank you to Santa Montefiore, Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable read from a popular author. I loved the characters and the setting has made me want to visit Italy, not to mention the fact that the topic of cooking led me to want numerous snacks while I read :) Looking forward very much to more books by this excellent author.

Santa Montefiore is one if my favourite authors. The temptation of
Gracie was really enjoyable I found it hard to put down and was
disappointed when I came to the end. I look forward to her next book.
The dedication to her sister Tara was beautiful and really moving.

Ms. Montefiore is an excellent storyteller and it was very easy to get swept along on the current of this story. Gracie is such a lovable character and I warmed to her from the very first page.

This book deals with many issues and I was really involved in the changing relationship of Gracie, her daughter Carina and her granddaughter Anastasia. They initially present as a fairly dysfunctional bunch and I was fascinated to observe the change in their relationship as the story progressed.

Italy was almost a character in itself. I was lucky enough to take a holiday there the year before last so I was really able to place myself within this book quite easily. However, even if you have never visited Italy the author describes it in such vivid detail that you will feel as though you were there. She clearly has a real love for the place and it shines through in her writing.

The dual narrative moves in time from the present day to the 1950's when Gracie was growing up and I found myself impatient to move from one era to the next to progress the story in both timelines. In addition, the narrative also occasionally takes us back to Gracie's English village in order that we can keep up with the present day village story at the same time. For me, this elevated this book into something much more as the minor characters were pure gems in their own right.

The final chapter catches up with the self appointed village matriarch, Flappy Scott-Booth. She is a wonderful character and had me in fits of laughter and demonstrates the authors skill of being able to flesh out even her more minor characters.

I enjoyed this book very much and highly encourage you to read it for yourself.

What an absolute joy this latest book from Santa is

I must admit I am a fan and couldn’t wait to get my teeth into this one

Gracie is an old lady who wants to go back to her past and visit Italy where her life was changed. Her granddaughter and distant daughter go along for the ride and they all find out so much about each other and bond beautifully

The book switches from Gracie’s past and present and you get the feeling that Gracie has returned to put some ghosts to rest

This is a true feel-good love story which made me wish I had my feet up on a veranda in the beautiful Tuscany

A great read highly recommended

I loved the history of Gracie’s story and the present day narrative in Italy. The only thing that spoiled it for me was the nonsense character of Flappy. Other than that it was a great holiday read.

Another wonderful read from Montefiore, love put to the ultimate test in the romantic setting of the Amalffi coast.
Just goes to show that deceipt can make or break and you should never judge people on their looks or be ready to pre judge. Make you want to keep reading until it's finished.

Gracie is in her 60s and lives in a little village on the south coast. She decides one day to go back and revisit her past. When she was younger she lived in Italy. None of her friends can believe that she wants to go off alone and spend a week in a country they think she's never been to.
Gracie's interfering 'friend' tells her daughter about her going away and she is worried too. Her daughter Carina and granddaughter Anastasia decide to join Gracie on her holiday.
Little do they know but Gracie has a mysterious past and over the course of the week they find out about Gracie's life before she met her husband.

This is the sort of novel which makes a devoted reader's heart sing! Only what you would expect from a 5 star author like Santa Montefiore. I have read most of her books, and each one is believable, plausible, and has such wonderful plots and characters in them, that they are a pleasure to read, either on Kindle or in book form.
Several of my reading buddies are very jealous at me receiving this early, and I finished it in Guernsey on holiday.
It concerns Gracie who is a grandmother, with a workaholic daughter, and uninterested teenage grandaughter, and nosy neighbours, including the local "so called" big wig of the village bookgroup, who puts on heirs and graces, supposedly for the village, but whose group of willing helpers, rarely does very much towards events, but Lord's it over everyone else.
Grace is in the hairdresser one day, and in a magazine spots a castle, and villa that she recognizes from her youth. She immediately books a holiday, to learn to cook in an Italian style, and goes on a voyage of discovery for herself. Flappy,the bigwig, then rings Gracie's daughter, and complains that she has gone senile, and is neglecting her duty to the village, by refusing to help at a funeral for a former resident, who has been a war hero.
The redeeming features of this multi-faceted novel are|: the attention to period detail; the cooking (and recipes), the love story; the art forgeries; and the mysterious love story between the Count who owns the castle, and the villa, but refuses to meet any of his guests on holiday, and doesn't even recognize Gracie as his one-time lover. The problem is he is blind!.
The relationship between Gracie, her daughter and grand daughter grows apace, and the lovely ending is magnificent. - ties up all the loose ends, and is wonderful!!!!!

A lovely cosy, feel good book to snuggle up with. Transported to Tuscany - you can almost feel the warm sunshine. Beautifully written,, great storyline. One to recommend. 4.5* from me. My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

Santa Montefiore at her best - a story set in the 60's and 2000's telling the tale of Gracie's young love and romance and now as an older widow. Set in a Tuscany village with glimpses of English village life, Paris and London.
Didn't want this book to end, so beautifully written the characters were all alive in my mind.
Can't wait for your next book.

I have read many of Santa montifiore novels and the ones I love the most are the ones that alternate between the past and the present. To me no other author, quite manages to perfect this style of story as well as Santa does. The temptation of Gracie is no exception and yet again Santa delivers an exceptional, wonderful and charming story set in a beautiful castle in Tuscany. You almost feel like your on holiday yourself.
Elderly Gracie lives alone in the village of badley Compton, estranged from her London based, career obsessed daughter and teenage granddaughter. Living a simple, uneventful (some might say boring) life, Gracies only highlight is being at the beck and call of the local ladies book club and WI, especially it’s self appointed leader the snooty flappy Scott booth.
Whilst having her hair done Gracie spots inside a magazine an advert for a cookery course holiday in a castle in Tuscany. Spontaneously and much to the horror of everyone around her, Gracie books up and declares she’s off.
What they don’t know is Gracie is hiding a secret . She’s been there before and is revisiting a past she ran away from.
As her daughter and granddaughter join her on her Tuscan adventure, they are about to discover a side to Gracie they never knew existed and a secret love story that tore Gracie’s world apart.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough, it’s stunning, beautiful and a real page turner that had me hooked from the beginning. Definitely up there as one of Santa montifiores best novels yet.

A perfect summer beach read. Rounded characters and a great sense of place, My next holiday will be a cooking holiday in Tuscany!

A sweeping saga from Santa Montefiore which takes the reader from Devon and into the beautiful Tuscan countryside with, the now elderly, Gracie on a quest to relive her past. As the story progresses emotions, high and low, unfurl along with secrets and truths. Characters are both credible and convincing. Enjoyable, engrossing, unexpected and compulsive.

Gracie leads a tranquil and lonely life in a small town in Devon. Her husband died eight years earlier and she barely sees her daughter and family who are busy with their lives in London. Carina is a successful woman with her own PR company, but her job means that she doesn’t have much time for her daughter, her husband, or her mother. Seventeen-year-old Anastasia knows that her mother doesn’t have time for her and that’s why she was sent to boarding school.
When Gracie decides to travel to Italy for a week-long cooking course, Carina and Anastasia decide to accompany her. This is the chance for the three women from three generations to finally spend some time together, reconnect, and bond, but Gracie is hiding the real reason why she decided to suddenly come to the small town in Tuscany. Between delicious food, hot Italian men, and a beautiful setting, Gracie’s past is slowly revealed as she tells her granddaughter of a past she has kept secret for the last forty years.
This novel is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, with many emotional moments, but also happy scenes. I liked the three women at the centre of the story, I found them realistic and warm. Beautifully written, atmospheric, and completely engaging, The Temptation of Gracie is certainly another book to add to your reading list.

The Temptation of Gracie, set in the beautiful Tuscan hills both in the present day and in the the 1950's to mid 1960's.  In both the past and present the plot centres around Gracie.  In the present she lives a quiet life with her dogs in the town Badly Compton, and is not seen as adventurous, as she has never been abroad since she moved there.  However, Gracie has a past not even her daughter knows about, so when she decides to go to Tuscany on a cookery course her daughter and the town residents are quite shocked.  Whilst on the cooker course Gracie relates her past to her granddaughter Anastasia, which splits the narrative between the past and present.

The characters in this book are wonderful and diverse.  Gracie really captured my heart; she was such a warm and caring character with a past that surprises everyone.  Her quiet demeanour hides an early life of passion and art that she left behind and never returned to or spoke about.  Her daughter Carina is very career focused to the detriment of her relationships with her mother and daughter, but a week away in Italy starts to melt her heart and open her eyes to what she is missing out on.  Relationships are at the centre of this book, familial, platonic and amorous and their importance in our lives.

Santa Montefiore is a beautiful writer who has a great understanding of her characters that makes them feel like friends, and make you warm to them and care what happens to them; this is an important part of the success of all her novels.  She is also a very descriptive writer, she brought the warmth of the sun, the colourful flowers, the smell of the artists studio and the taste of the food to life.  I could picture the Castello Montefosco and its beautiful gardens, and the villa Colomba; I really wished I was back in the beautiful Italian sunshine.  As in most of her books Santa Montefiore includes important issues such as suicide and homosexuality in the 1950's and 1960's.  There is some light relief though with Flappy Scott-Booth, the Hyacinth Bucket of Badly Compton, who looks down on everyone and is full of her own self importance.

The Temptation of Gracie was a delight to read for me. Beautifully written, an engaging plot and some wonderful characters made this such a captivating and enjoyable experience.  I really fell into this book and lost myself in the story of art, love and Italy; I  didn't want the story to end.

Another fantastic book from one of my favourite authors! I really enjoyed the story line and the characters. Highly recommend this read!

When Gracie sees an advert for a cooking course in an Italian castello in a magazine she instantly books it.
Her friends in the Devon village where she lives are amazed..... Gracie has never gone anywhere or done anything in the 40 years that she has lived there! Flappy the village queen bee is distraught who is going to do all the jobs that Gracie carries out at such a busy time of year and so she phones Carina, Gracie' s neglectful daughter, but as nothing is going to stop Gracie Carina decides to go as well and take her own daughter Anastasia. When they arrive we soon find our that Gracie had a secret past and lived in Italy for 10 years just after the war with her unscrupulous uncle Hans who had trained her as an art restorer.... and more........ but what had happened that had caused her to flee the country and leave behind the man she loved!

Another great book by this author. I loved the characters and the storyline and it was definitely a book that I couldn't put down. Highly recommended

A wonderful, enriching story of love and family relationships

I just love Santa Montefiore, I have read quite a few of her books, and her style of writing is always so enjoyable to read. She brings her characters to life and is able to describe places and scenery so well that you can almost feel as though you are there as well.

This book is no different. Gracie is a 68-year-old widow living in the small village of Badley Common in Devon. Her only daughter Carina, living in London is married to the easy-going Rufus, and they have a 17-year-old daughter Anastasia. Carina is a modern woman, running her own business, always working, always stressed and not having the time for her daughter let alone her mother.

Gracie seems contented with her life, she is part of the community and is always willing to help out with the village events organised in the main by the self-termed leader of the community, Flappy Scott-Booth. This woman manages to boss everyone around without actually doing anything herself. She is a brilliant character, organising dinner parties for the community, pretending to cook them herself but in reality hiring the local catering company.

Gracie suddenly decides to enrol on a cookery course at Castello Montefosco in Tuscany. This sudden and unexpected decision throws everyone connected to Gracie into a flap, in particular, Flappy! Gracie is her main dogsbody in the village arrangements, and Flappy is so put out by this decision that she contacts Carina herself to enrol her help in preventing this as she calls it ‘ridiculous decision’.

Gracie, however, has made her mind up to go and is extremely pleased that at the suggestion of Carina’s husband Rufus, her daughter and granddaughter decide to accompany her.

We then learn about Gracie’s early life that has been a secret from everyone else in her family and community. She had lived close to Castello Montefosco from the age of 14 working as an artist and eventually as a forger of masterpieces under the tutelage of her uncle, Hans. She had fallen in love with Count Tancredi Bassanelli, an affair that ended sadly. We learn little by little of her early life, often through her granddaughter, Anastasia, whom Gracie confides in. They become firm friends which upset Carina and makes her realise how much she has neglected her daughter and mother.

The magic of Tuscany and the wonderful cooking that they are all learning gradually works its magic with all the characters. I particularly enjoyed the way Carina, once she has succeeded in turning off her mobile for a day, realises that there is so much more to life than work.

This book encompasses a perfect story interspersed with family relationships set amidst the magical area of Tuscany and the pleasant ambience of the cooking school. I have been lucky enough to live in Italy many years ago and have visited Tuscany myself, and it is indeed a beautiful place.

The author combined an excellent story with the development of the relationships between Gracie and her family and made me think about how we could all do with taking a step back from modern life and start to enjoy the simple things in life from time to time. To my mind, one of the simple things is taking time to read a good book, and I would recommend this one to anyone; I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review