Unfortunately I have not been able to connect with this book and after multiple attempts have had to mark as dnf.

I don't read too many books like this and i haven't read so many by Erica James but the ones i have read i have always enjoyed. This one was no exception, We meet lifelong friends Elfrida and Bess with Bess' great niece Libby. We follow them through new adventures and a dip back in the past. It's captivating, beautiful and compellingh reading.

Mainly about three strong women and their trials and tribulations over the years. Libby seeks refuge, as she has done on many occasions, with Elfrida and Bess. This is especially needed when her heart is broken just days before her wedding. Although there are some harridans in this story, these three are a delight (as is the book cover). I’ve been a fan of Erica’s books ever since reading my first one a while ago and this is no letdown either. She has a lovely way of writing and describing scenes/gardens etc as if the reader was actually there. I would love a follow up purely to see how the marriage turned out!

Erica James has done it again! Brilliant characters full of love and life! Suffolk sounds beautiful. I would recommend.

A well written book which is set in July 1981 and pre and post war Britain.
Libby leaves London and her cheating fiancé to stay in her safe place , Larkspur House .
This was the home of Elfrida a retired garden designer and her long term friend/ employee Bess, Libby’s great aunt.
Great well rounded characters , interesting plot and a good storyline and I’m not a fan of dual timelines.
Recommended
Thanks to Netgalley, HQ, and Erica James for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

This was very beautifully written and it is very clear that the writer has a love for stunning gardens of which Elfridia one of the three main characters does for her living. I liked how the three ladies POV were used throughout and the time hop that occurred throughout the story. It did for me lose it's way in the middle however I was pleased I preserved to the end as it had me in tears!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book.

Erica James never disappoints. A novel that covers two timelines covering an illegitimate birth, blackmail, death and a love story. A beautiful novel

A great read. I really enjoyed the fact it was told from two separate time periods. Great characters and really well written. Highly recommended.

My first Erica James book.
fantastic book, love the Suffolk setting, that’s where I’m from, great setting and characters. Really enjoyable book. Makes an enjoyable summer read.

A book that had everything romance, heartbreak and deception.

Libby comes to stay with her Great Aunt Bess to escape from her cheating fiancé. Her Aunt Bess originally was employed by Elfrida but over the years they have become more like sisters. The woman in this book are strong characters and they way they fitted together was good. The older woman have secrets and hope they never come out as Libby decides to collate all that Elfrida has done over the years.

I thought the book was very good and kept wanting to read on more to find out what happens.

Great book, it was different the way it was set over dual timelines.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A lovely gentle book following Libby as she runs to her safe place after catching her fiancé cheating on her. Larkspur house is a beautiful but crumbling old house with an amazing garden and its occupants Elfrida and Bess are fantastic characters. I enjoyed the double timeline and really enjoyed this book by Erica James

This is a well written book that meanders backwards and forwards in time. Revealing it's narrative through the 3 main characters it travels from the early 20th century to its culmination in 1981. Family, strong independent women and enough secrets to keep the reader happy.

I am not sure if it intends to stay as a stand alone or whether the author has planned it as the first in a series. It certainly lends itself to the idea of a sequel

I loved the characterisation but particularly Elfrida

This new masterpiece by Erica James carries us off to her aunt’s Suffolk mansion to where Londoner Libby flees after finding her fiancé has cheated on her. Together, both women restore the ancient gardens to their former glory and deal with their family‘s six decades old secrets. A wonderful tale, beautiffully written, the kind of book you don‘t want to end.

I have loved all of the previous Erica James novels I've read and love a family saga set around a big house with a dual timeline and so was looking forward to reading A Secret Garden Affair,

The novel starts in 1981 when Libby goes to stay with her great aunt Bess at Larkspur House in the Suffolk countryside. Larkspur House is owned by Bess' lifelong friend, socialite and garden designer Elfrida Ambrose. The novel moves between 1981 and back to pre and post World War 2 when we hear about the lives of Elfrida and Bess,

I love Erica James writing and loved the setting of the novel and the characters of Libby and Bess. However I did find that I was unable to warm to the character of Elfrida and wasn't able to connect with the parts of the story told from her point of view. It was still an enjoyable read and recommended for fans of this genre.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
3.5 stars

A nice relaxing romantic read. This is a family story with a hint of romance, I enjoyed it and it would make perfect summer reading, nothing too taxing on the brain I think.
This will be posted on Waterstones

The three ladies, Bess, Libby and Elfrida are all interconnected in their stories. I'd love to have known more about the history of the garden designer.
It's a pleasant book to take your time over reading it. Four stars. Gorgeous eye catching cover!

I’m aware of Erica James as an author name, but this is the first time I’ve picked up one of her books. I was drawn to it both by the era of the most recent portion of the story, 1981, and by the title which hinted at links to Frances Hodgson Burnett (I was wrong about that, but my error didn’t distract me from enjoying the book). As the country prepares to celebrate the Royal Wedding, Libby faces the prospect of cancelling her own after catching her fiancé in bed with her best friend/flatmate/business partner. Distraught, Libby flees to the one place she has always felt safe – Larkspur House, the home of retired garden designer Elfrida Ambrose and her former ladies maid, now long-term friend, Libby’s Great-aunt Bess.

Bess and Elfrida are wonderfully eccentric and do everything they can to distract Libby, even when her plans to document their lives through a collection of old photographs from the attic threaten to reveal old secrets they would rather keep hidden. The 1981 story is intercut with excerpts from Bess and Elfrida’s lives before and after World War II, as we see Elfrida defy conventions, supported, though not always encouraged, by Bess, and watch Bess have her own romances with men she meets on her travels with Elfrida. In both timelines we meet the problematic members of both their families and learn that Libby has other connections to Elfrida, coincidentally, through her former fiancé.

Both Elfrida and Bess have experienced both tragedy and great happiness and have always been able to rely on each other, which is one of the reasons Libby finds their presence so reassuring. She also develops a friendship with a local doctor and is able to enlist his help in her various plans to improve life at Larkspur House for both its elderly inhabitants.

I liked all three women a lot and was pleased to see Libby’s growth through the book as she learns more about the others as well as about herself. This book has a great feel for both eras for me, and I’d definitely like to read more by the author.

Another Erica James winner for me. I loved the dual timeline and the likeable characters. Loved the 1980's setting. Set in the picturesque English countryside. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Set at the time of the Royal Wedding in 1881 this story follows Libby as her own wedding dreams are shattered and she flees to find solace with her great aunt Bess and her friend Elfrida in the Suffolk countryside. However the elderly pair of lifelong friends have secrets of their own that gradually surface during Libby's time with them. A compelling page turner of family history.