A lovely summery read, with fantastic locations described in the book.

A perfect holiday book, with lovely likeable characters.

I really enjoy Rosanna Ley's novels and this was great. As with all of Rosanna's books, this is beautifully written with vivid descriptions setting the scene. Excellent characterisation and a fantastic location. I loved this book and highly recommend it. A story of family relationships, an emotional journey and a beautiful flower shop.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really great read. It takes you on a really great journey of different emotions. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

A pure delight to read!
I liked the flow of this book as I read it. Beautifully written with great thought to the characters viewpoints and getting their meanings across. A great selections of characters who really make this story come alive. Loved this read.
A full review to follow.

A copy of this book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review. This is the first book of Rosanna Ley's I have read but the blurb interested me.

The story is about Colette who has to return home to the small island off the coast of France she grew up in as her mother is terminally ill, it is the first time she has been back to the island Belle-île since she left years previously.

The story is beautifully written, told by several different characters as well as some diary entries from Collette's mother Thea. It is soon clear to the reader there have been secrets hidden.

The descriptions of the island were beautiful and made me want to visit the island, i even had a look on the internet of pictures off the island.

It is a perfect summer escape, mystery read. I will be looking out for more books written by Rosemary.

Having never read a Rosanna Ley book, I was thrilled to get a copy of ‘Her mother’s secret’ from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Collette has a letter from her Mother’s neighbour Francine in France, saying she needs to come home as her Mother has Leukaemia. Collette now lives in Cornwall and hasn’t been home in 15 years!!

This book is so beautifully written, I really do want to visit the Island of Belle Lie en Mer, the descriptions of the sea, food and locals really capture you’re heart.

This amazing story is told through several people’s point of view, they all have secrets and have dealt with tragedies in their lives.

This is a must read book. It will keep you hooked, it’s a compelling read where you come to love the characters, and after reading it and they will stay with you long after completing this book!!

What a gorgeous book, loved reading it and enjoyed how the story unfolded. Characters you could really relate to

This is a large novel about family secrets, past mistakes, and the power of love.Colette returns to find her mother, The, dying from leukemia. She is anxious about the flower shop she owns, and Colette tries to help, whilst wanting not to stay too long, or get stuck there.
She meets lots of the locals, including Francine, the next door neighbour who has been caring for her mother, and a local girl who makes sculptures out of driftwood and sea-glass. And she meets a man who has returned to sell his mother's house after her death.
The characters in this book are written very vividly, and you can almost smell and hear the sea, and the flowers.
During the course of the novel, several people find release from problems that have been haunting them, and several people find redemption through knowing others.
The plot is well crafted and very believable and I found my self reading the last few chapters very slowly, as I did not want to say goodbye to the characters. Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for giving me the chance to read this splendid novel.

Colette has not been back to Belle Ils her home island for years, she has always had a difficult relationship with her mother Thea, especially after her beloved father died, and so moved to Cornwall and her grandparents. When they both died she was devastated but got on with her life there and met Mark. So when she gets a phone call from her mother's neighbour to say that Thea is dying of cancer she had very mixed emotions.... She needs to go over there to see her but can they ever make things right between them and are there too many secrets holding them back! Then there is Mark should she take their relationship further...... or what about Etienne lurking in the shadows!

A great book, full of secrets to be uncovered and working really well being told by the various different characters. The setting was lovely and their were some great characters all with their own issues and storylines linking into the main one. Rosanna Ley is definitely becoming one of my favourite authors

A story set in 2 very beautiful places with lots to capture your attention. There are sub plots running through, with a family issue, romance and emotional turmoil which keeps you entranced but also with a degree of feel good to it.

Fabulous story of a such for the truth. Had me reaching for the tissues. Excellent story from a weaver of tales. Strong writing style from the start

A great holiday read. I couldn't put this book down and read it in 2 days. As good as her other books.

Rosanna Ley has such a beautiful wrtiting style, that as soon as you open a book you know you are going to be transported into another beautiful world. You will be engrossed with the wonderfully descriptive setting and the intriguing characters and won't want to put the book down until you have discovered more.
Collette has to return home when her mum's health fails and she meets up with people and runs her mum's shop. She has to face up to painful memories from the past and relationships need exploring.
I now want to visit Brittany because I feel that I can picture it in my mind so well. I loved every page of this book.

Her Mother’s Secret is a fantastically atmospheric, summery novel about hidden secrets and discovering yourself.

The descriptions of Belle-Île were wonderful and made me want to visit there immediately so I could visit all the places mentioned in the book for myself. The brightly coloured houses, the light house and the beautiful sea were very vividly described and I felt like I could really imagine the Island in my mind’s eye. The lovely community feel of everyone knowing and looking out for each other helped give the book a cosy, warm feel that helps the reader relax into the story.

The story is told from the point of view of different Island inhabitants which helped add to the story and intrigue as it gives the reader a more holistic view of what happened. I was very interested to find out how the different threads of the story would come together and if the awful events mentioned by the different characters were the same ones.

The reader is aware from the beginning that something dreadful happened on the Island a few years ago though not much is revealed immediately. Instead the author cleverly builds up the reader’s knowledge of the characters and the Island, giving them the chance to make their own assumptions about what happened. This gives the reader a chance to understand the characters and what makes them tick, which means you become more involved in the story and what happens.

The secrets of the Island are gradually revealed as the characters get to know one another and the Island. I had a few ideas about what it could be but was only half right which made for a fantastic end to a fabulous book. The secret aspect of the book wasn’t what made the book for me however, it was the great descriptions of the Island and reading about the characters finding themselves and the gradual healing of their broken relationships which made this such a beautiful book.

Huge thanks to Quercus Publishers and Anne Cater for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour. This is definitely the perfect book to read in the sun this summer!

This is such a beautiful story. Very well-written, with an idyllic setting and likable characters, HER MOTHER’S SECRET is an enjoyable, fresh, and moving novel that I couldn’t put down.

One small island full of secrets. Belle-Île-en-Mer is a small island off the coast of Brittany with a beautiful sea and a characteristic landscape. Colette left the island when she was eighteen years old and she hasn’t been back since then. But when she receives a letter informing her that her mother Thea is dying, Colette forgets everything about her resentement towards her mother and her secrets and goes back to the French island. Étienne, a writer of thrillers, hadn’t been on the island in years, but after his mother’s death he is back to take care of his mother’s house. On the other hand, Élodie is the one who has never left Belle-Île-en-Mer as she is too busy with her sculptures and taking care of her mother, Mathilde. Everyone of these characters has a secret, a secret that ruined the relationships with their loved ones.

I found the characters realistic and likable and I loved seeing them develop and confront their past. The character that I liked most of all is Colette. I found her sensible and real and she didn’t think twice about giving up her life, her job, and her boyfriend to be at her mother’s side in the moment of need. The characters’ stories are very intriguing and absorbing and the tension was high as their secrets are slowly revealed.

What I loved most about this book is the setting. The descriptions of Belle-Île-en-Mer are very detailed and atmospheric and the island is the perfect idyllic place for this beautiful story. HER MOTHER’S SECRET is a gripping and heart-warming summer read and I’d like to thank Anne Cater and Quercus Book for providing me with a copy of the book and for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.

This is a beautiful story. It is about love but not just any love but the love of a mother for her children and the length that she would go to to protect them.
It is a very warm and satisfying read that would touch your heart.
Great holiday read.
Lovely descriptions of Cornwall and Brittany.
Can’t praise it enough

Rosanna Ley's new novel Her Mother's Secret was an intriguing read right from the opening page and this sense of mystery did not abide until the last few pages. Although I may have been reading this excellent story from the comfort of my own home and not on a sun lounger as I would have liked to, I still felt transported to the island of Belle-Lle-en-Mer in the Brittany region of France. The setting always plays such a pivotal role for me in my overall enjoyment of a book and here the author has got it spot on. The main characters are drawn back to their home place, haunted by the past, yet still unwilling to let go and seek forgiveness, acceptance and understanding. Circumstances have brought them home, reluctantly it must be said and given no choice, and within the confines of the small island community they must slowly start to unravel the knots of tension that have existed for them for so long.

There are one or two key players who have remained on the island not being able to flee like the others and the reasons for everything slowly become apparent and built up to a magnificent finale. I had my suspicions as to what the big secret could be, there were flashes of revelation throughout but I couldn't quite reach that point where everything clicked for me. This was an achievement in itself for the author and I was delighted not to have sussed everything out before the natural point of discovery was reached. Normally, I am quite smug that I have guessed what has tormented the characters but here I was left open mouthed when things came to the surface but in a pleasant way as everything finally made sense.

I have loved Rosanna Ley's writing right from her very first novel -The Villa- and have enjoyed every book published since but Her Mother's Secret really got under my skin thanks to such in-depth, emotive and sensual writing. So many questions arose, suspicions, tension and apprehension pervaded every chapter as each character wrestled with their emotions and whether they should confront what has tormented them for so long? But as Thea who runs the local flower shop lies on her bed waiting for the end to come everything that was kept hidden has to come to the fore. Truths needs to be told with frank honesty in order for those left behind to reconcile and seek forgiveness and move on with their lives once she has gone.

Thea's more or less estranged daughter Colette lives in England and has been there for many years since she fled the island. She receives a letter from her mother's neighbour Francine explaining that her mother is gravely ill. Colette no matter what has occurred in the past needs to come home, both for her mother's sake and her own. There has been a long detatchment with so many things left unsaid but now is the crucial time for the secrets to be exposed and for everyone involved to get what they are feeling off their chest once and for all. Of course Colette loves her mother but there is a stubbornness and reluctance within her to return but she faces up to her duty and comes back to the island. In many ways it has remained unchanged since she left but in others are dramatically different.

I admired Colette for taking that step into the unknown. She had been deeply hurt by an argument she witnessed between her mother and father. Since he is now dead she cannot ask him all the questions that race through her mind but is she willing to take that chance and ask her mother given that there is so little time left? It appeared to me that Colette was at a crossroads in her life. Her relationship with Mark although meandering along nicely was maybe not the spark of long term love she was seeking. Maybe now was the time to return, to go back to the past or else she herself would never be free. It took endless courage and strength to return but maybe she would acquire these qualities when she needed them the most. I enjoyed how the story was told from different perspectives and that each chapter would alternate between the main characters.

Etienne was another character who featured. He is a writer drawn back to the island by the fact he must clean out and sell his family home as his mother had died. He too was tormented even more so I would say than Colette. He was very much an enigma. He never gave anything away, never let people in close enough to express his deepest feelings and the hurt and pain he was experiencing. I had no idea as to what was causing him such suffering and stress. But similar to Colette I sensed there was a reason that at this particular point in time they were called back to the island. In a way I hoped they could help each other through the challenging and emotional times ahead. Their friendship was subtly played and the undercurrents of something more deeper developing were not thrown in the reader's face rather they were explored at a steady pace. I don't think either could contemplate something more until their own personal situations were resolved. But they did become a support and a backbone for each other and this was written in such a beautiful way.

I did for some time question the inclusion of Etienne and perhaps Elodie and Mathelide, the mother and daughter who live in the lighthouse. I think I have done this with several of Rosanna Ley's novels but then it always comes right, that every character deserves their place and they are part of the fabric of the overall story. Each person needs to be there, they hold a piece of the string of the story which the main characters are following and when they reach the end it will all be tied up carefully and satisfyingly.

Elodie and Mathilde had their own secrets to hide. Elodie seemed to be a drifter almost like the pieces of driftwood that wash up on the beach which she uses for her creative sculptures. I loved the development of her character and her family situation was complex and intriguing. I did suspect something different with regards to the storyline with her brother but I turned out to be completely wrong. I think it was more the way that certain sentences were phrased that led me down the wrong path. Mathilde herself was meek and sub servant and hiding something. I felt she needed to find confidence and the strength to meet things head on. The family dynamics here were strange and posed many questions for the reader.

Too little communication coupled with so many secrets made for a wonderful story that I readily lost myself in. If the stunning cover doesn’t make you want to read this book than the subtly of the themes being explored will certainly have you picking up this book. The shadows of the past are far reaching and have many repercussions for those in the present but it is up to Colette and everybody that features to deal with these in the best way possible to soothe their tortured souls, to quench their secret sadness and find peace, comfort, warmth, hope and love. Her Motherr's Secret is a wonderful story and showcases Rosanna Ley at her very best. Definitely one not to be missed this summer.

I really did escape to sunny France with this book - the descriptions of Belle-Île draw the reader right onto this sunny island and into the return of Colette to see her dying mother, into a past of secrets, tragedy, love and loss

The author draws her characters so well, and I felt totally absorbed in their lives, and really didn't want to put the book down until the secrets had been revealed, reconciliations have been made and new relationships established.

A little slower than some of the author's previous books, but perhaps this is to reflect the pace of life in this lovely part of France.

With thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a review copy.

When I open a Rosanna Ley book I know I am going to be transported to a different place. In the past couple of years I have visited Cuba through Last Dance in Havana and Sardinia in The Little Theatre by the Sea. In this book, the reader is taken to Belle-Île, an small island off the coast of Brittany. I've not been there, but have been to many of the other places on the mainland which were mentioned and feel the author captured the feel of Brittany beautifully.

The story is told through the voices of several characters. Colette has come back to Belle-Île after many years away, returning only because her mother, Thea, is dying. Her father had died in fishing boat accident several years before and it seemed that their marriage had been affected by a secret. As well as coming back to see her mother, Colette returns to find out the truth. Etienne's mother has recently died and he has come back to clear her house. He used to be part of the 'summer gang' who visited the island every year but why has he lost touch with the gang when they were once so close? Elodie is the daughter of Mathilde, who Thea used to work for as an au pair before she left the family suddenly. There is obviously some major rift between these women too which has led to their not speaking, yet Thea never left the island. There are also chapters told from the points of view of Thea and Mathilde

There is an undercurrent of sadness running throughout the book,  so many past regrets. Through all the main characters you get a sense that there are many secrets to be uncovered and mysteries to be resolved. This is a book where you gradually get to know the characters and learn of their lives and secrets. The intertwining mysteries affected so many people? When the truth was finally revealed, I was taken by surprise. It wasn't what I had imagined at all and yet the clues were there all along. 

I find island settings endlessly fascinating and Rosanna Ley has written beautifully and atmospherically about Belle-Île. For some of her characters it is claustrophobic, a place to escape from but for others it is a place of safety, a sanctuary. The island is very much at the heart of the story with a smattering of French throughout adding to the authenticity of setting.  

Her Mother's Secret is compelling and beautifully written, a book to escape into as secrets are gradually revealed and characters look to the future with renewed hopes and fresh dreams.

I loved the story and did not want it to end. I found all the characters to be relevant and interesting and fitted well into the tale. Definitely recommended.