This was my first Lulu Taylor book and I was not disappointed. What a fantastic read - absorbing, escapist and gripping. Beautifully written with great characters and an excellent plot full of twists and turns, and some very relatable storylines. I loved it and will be seeking out her other books.

The story is set in Cornwall and told from dual timelines.
The writing is addictive and captivating. The plot is interesting. The characters are genuine and well developed.
This is a captivating book with a moral message at its heart

I enjoyed this book from the first page until the last. The prologue was intriguing and it all came together at the end. I love that there are such complex characters whose lives intertwine, not always in a positive way. A heart tugging, captivating, interesting read. I love the timeline of the present to the past.

I loved this book. Lulu Taylor never fails to amaze me with her writing.

I have read a couple and this one is my favourite so far. I couldn’t put it down.

The characters were fantastic and many-layered. You had Mundo who you loved to hate and only really found out why towards the end of the book. Sally who you loved and disliked but couldn’t really fathom why. Johnnie and Alex were very strong and certainly a product of history... and even the royals to a lesser extent, hints at history that will never fully be known...

The way that the settings had two different timelines could have been confusing but made for an even stronger story. To see where Johnnie and Alex came from and why they were how they were in present
times and what they had to process.

Tawray was a character of its own, one filled with love and pain. The real life was only fully told in the epilogue.

Very good dual timeline story in the glorious setting of Cornwall, well written with good characterisation.
A story of family, with mystery & intrigue to keep you engaged and turning the pages. The links to real life events add another layer to an engrossing tale.
A thoroughly enjoyable read and I would certainly recommend this book.

An idyllic Cornish home and the family who lived there, past and present. Being Cornwall it’s bound to be in a lovely location, obviously! There’s Julia and her sister, Lala as children and then Julia’s own grownup children, Alex and Johnnie, in the present. A great cover to draw you in and then a lot of misery coming from various sources. It had its moments, but on the whole was pretty slow, with its fair share of unlikeable characters. I didn’t find myself itching to pick it up to read which isn’t a good sign. Probably something to read on a long journey!

I'm not sure what lead me to request A MIDWINTER PROMISE by Lulu Taylor as the premise didn't appear at all exciting but I'm glad I did. It was a surprising read that intrigued me on a journey of secrets and discovery. As an epic contemporary novel, it really draws you in from the start and consumes you as the story unfolds.

The story surrounds the Pengelly family set in one of my favourite locales - Cornwall. It almost has an historical feel of another century with a huge stately home of turrets and gothic architecture that is at the centre of the story. The descriptions of Tawray made me feel as if I was really there, watching everything unfold. It was simply breathtaking.

Alex and Johnnie Pengelly lost their mother Julia tragically when they were just children afterwhich her best friend Sally moved in with such haste that was indecent. Within two years their father David married Sally, wiping any memory of their beloved mother from the house. As their stepmother, Sally removed any trace of Julia and seemingly created a wedge between David and his children, isolating them further and favouring her own horrid son Edmund, known as Mundo.

As Alex and Johnnie grew up, there seemed little reminder of their beautiful mother almost as if she were never really there. They longed for a closeness with their father but Sally was always there to keep them apart. And Mundo was always there to torment them. Of the three children, he was given the best of everything - the best schools, the best university - while all Alex and Johnnie wanted was their father's love and attention. Instead, David faded to somewhere beyond their reach...with Sally always hovering in between. They hadn't only lost their mother, they had lost their father as well.

When Alex wanted to continue her mother's tradition of decorating Tawray with boughs and baubles of dried flowers (gathered in the summer) and opening the house to the public at Christmas, Sally refused. Was there to be nothing of her mother or her legacy left? This was her mother's house - not Sally's. Or did Sally think Tawray belonged to David and that she would become lady of the manor once she married him? Which then begged the question...what part did Sally play in her mother's tragic death? She was supposed to be her best friend...but what if she was only after David and the position he would give her as mistress of Tawray?

As the years go by, the children grew and left the nest. Mundo went to university and became a hotshot lawyer in London, Johnnie also went to London, married Netta and had three boys - Bertie, Nathan and Joe - and Alex...well, Alex remained in Cornwall. She renovated the Old Barn on the edge of the Tawray estate, made it into a home for her and her girls - Scarlett and Jasmine - and created a thriving business of growing flowers and supplying the local village and surrounds. She lived her mother's legacy and continued the tradition of decorating Tawray in the festoons of dried floral arrangements each Christmas and opened the house for the public to enjoy.

But then Tawray is sold - their father cutting out any remaining link with Julia or the past, leaving Alex and Johnnie with only a lingering memory of their mother.

Now, in the present day, their father David has suffered a stroke and Alex and Johnnie have been summoned to his bedside. His prognosis looks grim but Sally remains confident of him making a full recovery by Christmas. For over two decades, David has been the centre of her world and she cannot imagine her life without him. Alex is torn between grief for her father and her irritation that Sally didn't call her as soon as her father had had the stroke...instead of waiting till morning. Like his sister, Johnnie is also torn but his feelings toward his stepmother are of anger at the indifferent way she has treated them - belittling them and allowing her horrid son Mundo to consistently torment them and then siding with him - over the years. And by ostracising them from their father when they needed him most after the death of their mother and keeping them apart in the years thereafter. Johnnie is angry and bitter and has no intention of showing Sally any sympathy or kindness.

Then when Mundo makes his appearance, it seems nothing has changed and he is still the obnoxious overbearing entitled oaf he was when they were growing up. But instead of looking out for his mother, he shifts that responsibility over to Alex to care for Sally in her aging years while h continues to live the high life in London. When all hope of David ever recovering looms, Mundo takes the opportunity to begin planning for the dividing of David's assets between them, languishing in his own sense of entitlement and self-importance that he and Sally will benefit far greater than that of David's own children.

But for Alex and Johnnie, the grief at the impending loss of their father rouses a myriad of other emotions tied up in the skeletons rattling around in Tawray's halls and the secrets it holds. Should their father never wake, the realisation that the truth about their mother's death will die with him fills them with an unimaginable hopelessness.

But then a stranger appears, stirring up the ghosts of the past with news that rocks their world and changes everything they ever knew about their father, their mother and the secrets of Tawray.

However, this is not the only story told here. There is also Julia's, interspersed between the present day and the past. And perhaps the most important story of all.

When we first meet Julia she is a 12 year old living in the sprawling estate that is Tawray and the year is 1975. As an only child, she is incredibly lonely and longs for a "parcel of brothers and sisters" to share her childhood with. She has Lala, of course, her older half-sister from her father's first marriage but Lala lives in France with her mother and she doesn't see her as often as she would like. Then overhearing her aunt Victoria quip to her grandmother one day that Julia was nothing but "a pup from the second litter", left her in a state of confusion. It was no secret that Aunt Victoria found her mother of unsuitable stock for Tawray but why did she dislike Julia as well?

Julia's childhood was a lonely one. She hardly saw her parents - her father always working and her mother taking to her bed whenever she became pregnant which was often but always ending with the same result. No child. Julia grew to hate whatever child her mother was carrying for making her so ill. It wasn't until the last time a few years later that Julia was home alone and she heard the screams from her mother's bathroom that she found a sight that would never leave her for the rest of her days. It sets off a chain of events that was to become like a talisman for Julia as she vowed she would never have children, not wanting to go through what she witnessed her mother endure in her efforts to give her father a son and heir to Tawray. It leads her down a dark path as she becomes more unstable with the years in her attempts to be happy.

When Julia meets David, her life seem to turn a corner. He provides her with a stability and happiness that she has never known before and within months they are married on a midwinter's day. Her distasteful aunt saw it as an omen to marry on such a day which came to play on Julia's mind in the years to come, leaving her to question if her marriage and happiness was doomed from the start. Which only intensifies when Julia discovers she is pregnant. This part of the story was brutal to read. It was raw, it was horrific and it was completely heartwrenching as we watch Julia grow ever more fragile and vulnerable.

David is at her side for the most part when he can get time away from his demanding and somewhat secretive job as an aide to the Prince and Princess of Wales. Alongside Julia's story we see snippets of Charles and Diana's life played out (of which we are all familiar with) despite David remaining tight-lipped about his employer's private lives. As news of the royal couple's separation and divorce becomes public knowledge and the focus moves to the princess and her humanitarian works, the queen of people's hearts' tragic death in Paris ultimately overshadows Julia's own at Tawray.

I think it is Julia's story that fascinated me the most and really drew me in. From being a lonely child and coping with her mother being constantly unwell during her pregnancies to her rather unloving aunt and grandmother. Julia lived for Lala's visits and who became such an important part of her life. From childhood to her chaotic new life in London to her marriage to David to her friendship with Sally to her return to Cornwall, the darkness of the past never entirely leave her. The memories of her mother affected her more than anyone ever truly realised, particularly with her own struggles with pregnancy. The themes of mental health and addiction are woven into the story expertly and with sensitivity that had me completely riveted as I longed for a happy outcome for her.

I have not read Lulu Taylor before but I found A MIDWINTER PROMISE a compulsive book to read that I couldn't put down as I swiftly turned the pages to uncover the secrets that laid buried within the halls of Tawray.

A MIDWINTER PROMISE is one of my favourite types of books - dual timeline narratives filled with history and secrets to uncover and the story unfolds. I love how the past and the present are woven together and how the secrets of the past bind them all. It is most definitely rich in history and I could almost picture that immensely striking portrait mural of Julia's family in all its vivid detail.

Although A MIDWINTER PROMISE is exactly what you would expect with the predictability of a happy ending and a promise of a hopeful future, there are still a good few surprises along the way making the journey a beautiful and heartfelt tale that spans the decades.

A heartwarming story of love, loss, family and motherhood, I particularly found the portrayal of a mental illness somewhat different to those usually depicted to be eye-opening, raw and heartfelt as written from the perspective of the one suffering those demons. I could almost feel that pain. And to transport me to such a dark place was a stroke of genius and just brilliant.

My only niggle with this book was the tidy way in which everything was neatly tied up at the end without a more appropriate reason given behind one particular character's behaviour over the years. The reason outlined seemed a little too convenient and didn't really ring true.

An enjoyable way to lose yourself, A MIDWINTER PROMISE is an addictive read from beginning to end. Recommended particularly if you enjoy historical and dual timelines with plenty of secrets to unpick along the way.

I would like to thank #LuluTaylor, #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan for an ARC of #AMidwinterPromise in exchange for an honest review.

Alex and Johnnie Pengelley lost their mother when she committed suicide when they were young and now that their father David has had a stroke they feel that they will never learn the true story of her death and how it is linked to the lovely old house Tawray in Cornwall. Susan their stepmother moved in with indecent haste after their mother's death and always favoured her own son the odious Mundo, but what part did she play in the tragedy?

A really good dual timeline story from one of my favourite authors. The story of Julia's life, her fragility and her love for David ties in well with the present day as her children eventually discover her secrets with the old house always at the centre of the plot

An interesting and enjoyable story that keeps you involved from the beginning right through until the end. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book.

Captivating and at times eerie tale. Set in the past and the present. Easy to follow and place the jigsaw pieces until the full story is revealed as a conclusion. Enjoyable and immersive. Very atmospheric and emotive. It’s easy to get swept away with the drama. Very good read.

Thank you Netgalley.

A fascinating story with strong characters and a fast moving storyline. Interesting story of family interactions and effects through the generations. I liked the link to real life events. Great conclusion.

I had read and enjoyed Lulu Taylor's previous books and really enjoyed them so I was looking forward to reading this one. I wasn't disappointed. What a compelling read, it was so difficult to put down. I was drawn in from the start and really loved it the whole way through. A story of family, heritage, mental illness, memories, grief, intrigue, secrets and love. It is beautifully written with empathy and understanding. I loved the setting of Tawrey house in beautiful Cornwall which sounds idyllic and like a place I would enjoy visiting. I could easily empathise with all of the characters.

An excellent book which I highly recommend - heartbreaking but heartwarming.

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

Set in Cornwall, this novel is about the Pengelly family and their home Tawray. It’s told in the present day and the 70’s/80’s. Siblings Alex and Johnnie lost their mother Julia to suicide when they were young and their father David immediately moved her best friend Sally in after her death with her son Mundo. When David has a stroke they wonder if they will ever know the truth about their mother’s death, which has always been kept from them. The book covers depression well and also severe autism. It also brings Princess Diana into the story, who David works for, and the link becomes clearer near the end. There is a lot going on and I found myself loving the first part and the ending but it lost a little in the middle and became a bit repetitive but was still enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for letting me review this book.

A Midwinter Promise by Lulu Taylor is an epic contemporary novel that consumes from the start. The reader glimpses the end from the beginning and the questions arise.
The novel surrounds a family with action set in the present day and from 1980 moving forwards. Running parallel to the main story are the lives of Prince Charles and the very beautiful Princess Diana. A feeling of dread built in my heart as that fateful day in August 1997 approached. It was a time frozen in history. One of those momentous days where you remember exactly what you were doing and how you felt when you heard the dreadful news. This element of the story helps to make the whole novel feel personal and adds realism as we care about the lives of the characters.
There are the difficult themes of depression, self-harm, mental illness and suicidal thoughts. All are sensitively portrayed and the reader feels empathy for the character.
Guilt weighs heavy. If it is not dealt with, it is a millstone that will drag us down.
Secrets from the past need unlocking in the present to enable lives to move forward.
Our heritage is important. We need to preserve it. It is more than just bricks and mortar, there are memories of lives that need to be preserved.
A Midwinter Promise was a powerful read about the complexities that make up family life. Although there were disturbing topics at times, I enjoyed it. I felt a personal connection because of the Princess Diana element that awakened memories in me.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

A well written story which flits seamlessly between generations and tells a story of difficult and sad relationships which often have been misinterpreted by the lack of meaningful communication. Although it is a sad story it is told in a way that didn't make me feel sad but warmed by the way the younger generation come through this

Cornwall is here again in its dark and gloomy clothes - the Cornwall that holds secrets and keeps things close to its heart within family houses and lakes and moors.
A story of despair and family intrigue and secrets and all the other elements expected in a saga such as this beautifully written with empathy and understanding. A writer with style

Sadly I abandoned this book, it took so long to actually get into it after page upon page of a very detailed description of flowers and foliage I got bored waiting for it to start.
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity. xx

Told from two timeframes the past and the present.
In the present, we have Alex and Johnnie siblings struggling with many things in there average day to day lives.
When their father David has a stroke and their stepmother Sally summons them to his bedside the past and present for them collide as both especially Johnnie are dealing with the recursions of a lifetime of resentments and unspoken hurts.
The catalyst of there fathers potential passing brings forth all these hidden feelings bringing them all clawing to the forefront.
Also surfacing are hidden questions they both have regarding there mother Julia's death when they were children and just what there father's and sally's role in it was all those years ago.
So In the past, we get to focus on Julia herself, her early childhood and upbringing at Tawray and her exposure to her mother's miscarriages and her eventual death contributing to her daughter's later fragility and downward spiral.
We get to experience alongside Julia her falling in love with her future husband David a handsome naval officer in service to the palace, her love for her children and also her downward despair.
I was fascinated by the contrast in regards to Julia's David compared with Sally's they just seemed poles apart and at times didn't even seem like the same individual.
I came to the conclusion early on that after the chaos and whirlwind that was Julia David just needed a calm and stable hand and this is what Sally brought to the table.
Julia was his everything, the love of his life, his light and after she was gone Sally was comforting and uncomplicated and just easier.
I also felt so much emotion for Julia and surprisingly as time went along Sally although she seemed like the villain of the piece here I couldn't help thinking she deserved some unconditional love herself here instead of settling for the crumbs.
I was so very angry with David and how he dealt after Julia's death and I detested Mundo with a passion.
At its heart, this was a story focusing on family dynamics and relationships and the repercussions of mental illness.
But it was also rather depressing and I was just left feeling rather sad and deflated by the whole sorry saga.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of A Midwinter Promise.

Alex and Johnny's father has had a stroke and they rush to his bedside forced to deal with his wife and her son. It's not happy times for anyone as he worsens and questions about the past begin to surface. Can this family finally sort the truth from the lies?

This story is told in the present day and the past with their mother. The time jumps are easy to follow making the story flow really well. The story itself was a bit slow to start with but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. The plot was interesting with a couple of clever twists. The ending finished the story much better than I thought I would. I ended up loving it. The past story with Julia deals with some dark issues but it also seems to be real and raw. Theres an added detail of princess Diana which showed the relevance to the time featured. A great read.

I really enjoyed reading this. I thought that Lulu described the characters and settings so well that I pictured myself with them in Cornwall. I read this leading up to December which was a great time for such a cosy family story. Not gimmicky or sickly sweet, just enough to make it an enjoyable easy read. Thank you.