I enjoyed reading Beside the Turquoise Sea by Emma Burstall. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

I was rather expecting a holiday escape – the village in Southern Crete and the wonderful Villa Ariadne are beautifully drawn, and you can certainly feel the sunshine – but this book turned out to be rather more than an opportunity for some armchair travel.

Now an empty nester, Edie feels the excitement has gone from her marriage to Ralph – but hopes they can grow closer again when they return to the island where they had their honeymoon for the half-term holidays. They’re joined by friends Mac and Hannah – with a few qualms, as it’s become fairly obvious that they’re having a few problems in their marriage too, their frequent arguments becoming a little uncomfortable. And, at the last minute, they also invite Edie’s single work colleague Jessica – the evening they spent together before the holiday gave them the feeling she’d fit in just fine.

But things start to go wrong as soon as they arrive – Jessica’s particularly forthright in her views and opinions, rubbing everyone up the wrong way, Mac and Hannah’s issues begin to escalate, and it’s clear this isn’t going to be the idyllic stay Edie’d hoped for. The atmosphere is already tense and uncomfortable when Jessica decides to do some sightseeing, but fails to return – and they have no option but to involve the police.

The whole book very much focuses on the cracks and strains within marriages – and the emotional stress of that stage in life is particularly well handled. Other than Edie, I didn’t find any of the individuals sympathetic or likeable – but that made the reasons for their bad behaviour and the various secrets that emerged all the more intriguing. Nothing and no-one is quite what they seem to be – including the Villa Ariadne itself, although we’re already aware that its owner Katerina rather knew that their time there would be the life-changing opportunity they all needed.

It’s a compelling story, with a few twists that came as a real surprise – and the exploration of friendship, the dynamics between the main characters and the emotional touches are all excellent. The atmosphere at the villa, as things go from bad to worse, is cloying and claustrophobic – but the setting is absolutely gorgeous, and the author certainly captures its beauty with glimpses of village life and descriptions that really transported me there. While not the light beach read I thought it would be, it was a rather more challenging read that I really enjoyed – and would certainly recommend to others.

Crete and Villa Ariadne sound the perfect place to visit and reconnect with eachother and life.
Beside the Turquoise Sea is the second book from Emma Burstall set at the Villa with its healing properties.
With some of the characters ones you love to dislike, suspicions begin to rumble from the very beginning as cracks start to show in all relationships and friendships.
The contrast between the sunny blue sky and the chilled atmosphere cleverly shown to add a nice bit of tension to the story.

Edie and Ralph along with their good friends Hannah and Mac plus new friend Jessica jet off to Crete for fun and relaxation in a beautiful setting and abide.
Except one person is incredibly obnoxious and I would, have been tempted to push that person off the cliff side.
Another relationship gets closer and yet another implodes.
This book is deceptive because there is a lot beneath the beautiful cover, more than I imagined.

This is not my normal type of read, but every so often, I like to read something different. Lately, I have been reading a lot of romance, so now I have stepped into "Women's Fiction."

There was just something about this book; the blurb was vague, but enough to entice. However, the cover won me over. I wanted to know what happened beside the turquoise sea!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I wasn't expecting this!

2 couples and a solo go on holiday together, to Crete, where everything sounds so breathtakingly beautiful! The prologue gave me a mystical vibe, a promise that something big was going to happen.

Then we see Edie, stuck in a rut, like so many when the children fly the nest and wants to reconnect to her husband, Ralph. They go away with Mac and Hannah, and somehow Jessica comes along too.

Do not get me started about Jessica. She will just ruin this review.

I adored Edie, her ways. She just wants a nice holiday and a chance to reconnect, reset and try and move on.
On one hand, nothing much happens in this book; people go on holiday and people come home - that's the simplistic view. However, SO MUCH HAPPENS. Things I didn't expect, and kudos to the author as she tackled a topic that isn't talked about much with such care. My heart broke for said character. I was so shocked and appalled. Everything from their demeanor, to taking the blame, just everything. You really do not know what goes on behind closed doors!

I loved everything about this book, and it was such a welcome treat. So much so, the audiobook was devoured in 2 sittings. I just couldn't put it down. I was hooked, and the mystical and the magic of the book bled into real life. Just like Edie had a pull to the villa, I was pulled to the book.

It is one to lose yourself in whilst catching the sunshine and feeling like you are with old friends.

Really enjoyed this book, which embraced all the beauty of a Greek island yet with an undercurrent of suspense. The setting is wonderful but I particularly enjoyed the relationships between the characters and how the dynamic shifts during the course of the story. The book also deals with some difficult themes such as domestic violence, which are treated with sensitivity by the author.

Great setting, great characters superbly told.

Edie is a school teacher who is lonely after her kids have moved out. She and her husband have become distant from each other. So, she arranges a trip to Crete with her friends, Mac and Hannah, as well as last-minute guest Jessica, a colleague of Edie’s.

This story takes us back to Villa Ariadne, from Beneath the Lemon Trees. It was fun seeing some of the characters from that book in this story. Overall, it was an enjoyable read set in beautiful Crete. It was a page-turner with some twists and turns, a little bit of magic, romance, and fresh starts. I look forward to more stories from this author.

Thanks @boldwoodbooks, @netgalley, @rachelsrandomresources, and the author for this arc.

Beside the Turquoise Sea is an enjoyable enough escapist read centered in Greece. I do think some of the secondary characters were a bit one dimensional even with the twist in there. Would have liked a bit more communication between Edie and Ralph before the resolution.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #Boldwood Books for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

This is a standalone sequel to Beneath the Lemon Trees. Yet again, Villa Ariadne in Crete, through caretaker Katerina, chooses some apparently worthy guests - Edie and husband Ralph who have a neglected empty nest marriage, friend Hannah and husband Mac plus colleague Jessica.

I don't mind a bit of magical realism. I liked the warm and eclectic community of Porto Liakáda, including April and her unruly family, and painter Marina who gives unwanted prophecies. The gorgeous cover drew me in and the many descriptions of the breathtaking scenery and the delectable food are beyond evocative - it made me want to book a holiday to Crete.

However, this is where my enjoyment ended. Midway through the book the genre seems to change into a mystery, when Jessica goes on a day trip to Knossos but doesn't return or answer her phone. I was honestly thinking I'd landed in a different sort of book, especially as the next topic we got was domestic abuse and accusations of murder.

Gone was my happiness about a lighthearted summary read. The atmosphere turned toxic, Jessica, an independent child-free woman was painted as horribly selfish, and the ending was very abrupt. In the course of a week, marriages, friendships and group dynamics were thrown into disarray and it didn't make for the relaxing feel-good read I had been expecting.

2.5 stars

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me a copy of this book. I read the previous book Beneath the Lemon Trees which is set in the same idyllic location, so I couldn't wait to return there and see if it was just as magical as I remembered, and it was. Four longstanding friends all in need of a break,take a holiday to Crete and stay in the beautiful Villa Ariadne. A last minute discussion sees one of the four invite along a work colleague, which starts to shake up the dynamics of the group. A great story well written and one I'd definitely recommend.

I love Emma Burstall's books and feel this one is the best I have read. Wonderful narratives and descriptions. Highly recommend.

Beside the Turquoise Sea is part lit fic and part magic realism, following a pair of empty nesters as they travel to Crete hoping to add some spark back to their marriage. Edie and Ralph are such relatable characters. Once madly in love, now they're a bit disconnected and stuck in the rhythms of their daily routines.

Edie books a (magical?) villa in Crete for themselves plus another couple they've known for years. However, things get complicated (as they always do) when they impulsively decide to invite one of Edie's colleagues to tag along.

If I'm not mistaken, this is part of a series of standalone novels that are set in the same villa, which magically brings the right people to its doors. Perhaps if I had read the first book, I would have better understood the mythology of the magical villa. That piece of the story felt quite underdeveloped; I wish I'd had more of the backstory. The magical element almost felt like an addendum.

The author has a gift for describing scenery and food with lush, vivid detail—the island feels alive, and I can just imagine a big beautiful Greek salad in front of me. (So much so, I immediately added ingredients for Greek salad to my grocery list!)

That said, I enjoyed it but would have liked more magical realism.

Beside the Turquoise Sea by Emma Burstall is a contemporary fiction novel due to be published June 11, 2025.

A vacation in a beautiful place, complicated family dynamics and an exploration of friendships are all things that I normally really respond to in books. Unfortunately in the case of Beside the Turquoise Sea, I did not enjoy the actual story and could not sympathize with any of the main characters so my overall reading experience suffered as a result.

However, I would read another book by this author as the overall writing style was good and the setting was excellent and well described. I think I would much prefer a book centered on the secondary characters and their mischievous pets.

Thank you very much to Boldwood Books via NetGalley for providing a digital early review copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Edie and Ralph return to their honeymoon destination of Crete on vacation to rekindle their marriage and bring their best friends, Mac and Hannah, along with a colleague. They will be staying at the magical Villa Ariane.

This book took me through a range of emotions and I quickly found myself disliking a few of the people in the storyline and adoring others. The vacation makes them rethink how well they really know each other and factor what happens when vacation is over.

There's a quick mystery thrown in that adds some tension and volatility to the storyline that will leave you guessing and the outcome will leave you speechless to say the least.

The descriptions of the villa, town, and views were wonderful and the locals were so nice it makes you want to pack a bag and go there immediately.

Beside The Turquoise Sea is the second book in this series set in Crete, but can be read as a stand alone. I look forward to reading Beneath The Lemon Trees which is the first book in the series and any future books to come.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

A great follow on book by Emma on the island of Crete. Beneath the Lemon Trees is the first book where families come and stay although Katrina the Housekeeper believes that it’s the Villa Ariadne that chooses the guests. Edie and Ralph want to return to the island that they honeymooned in but this time friends Hannah and Mac friends accompany them alongside a work colleague Jessica. Lots of comings and goings as relationships are pushed to the max. Easy to read chapters and a wonderful storyline. Thanks to Emma and her publisher. Thanks also to NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and author Emma Burstall for this eARC

Going off the synopsis and the cover I was expecting a story of self-discovery and reinvention set against the beautiful Crete backdrop.

What I got was none of that.
The characters are all deeply unlikeable and under-developed.
The plot was… I honestly don’t know what the plot was. Part second-chance romance, part mystery, part drama but none of the storylines were cohesive or well executed.
The “twist” could be seen by a blind person from 10 km away and given the topic it involves there was a distinct lack of sensitivity, I’d even go so far as to say trivialization.
It was well written, unfortunately that is the only positive thing I can say.

A charming book - a bit of escapism. Perfect for a day at the pool or the beach.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

In need of an holiday, and to spend some time with her husband, they’ve not spent much quality time with their work taking much most of it, Edie books Villa Ariadne, in Crete. The country they were in for their honeymoon.

They also invite their friends Mac and Hannah. Even though Edie, isn’t that happy about it, they invite Jessica too, who works with Edie and is single.

But, even the beautiful views and scenery doesn’t help when the atmosphere at the villa changes and it appears that everything isn’t well between Mac and Hannah as Edie and Ralph thought.

Soon, there’s arguments and unpleasant moments between them, then when Jessica doesn’t come back from her sightseeing, the situation is even more tense.

What Edie thought would be a nice relaxing break, is anything but. Will the couples get back to how they were and enjoy the holiday, before they have to leave?

I loved reading this book. I enjoyed being back in Crete, meeting the residents of the village again, the descriptions of the surroundings and food.

I highly recommend this book.

Emma Burstall's "Beside the Turquoise Sea" is a sun-soaked journey to Crete that risks whisking readers away on a wave of emotion and revelation. The book revolves around Edie, whose dreams of reawakening her troubled marriage by bringing her husband Ralph and close friends to the Greek island are reshuffled upon meeting Edie's work friend, Jessica.

The breathtaking views of the Villa Ariadne make it so much more than just a backdrop; it's a catalyst for contemplation and revelation. The author masterfully weaves a tale of tattered friendships, simmering resentments, and deep, old secrets that bubble just beneath the perfectly painted facade. In the bright Greek sun, Edie is forced to confront harsh realities, not only about her friends but about herself. It's a novel that beautifully balances escapism with actual emotional depth and shows that even paradise is not immune to the fuzziness of life. It is a perfect read for someone who enjoys a balance of warm moments, common struggles, and the alluring charm of a Greek island getaway.

My rating:

Plot: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Character development: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Women’s Fiction
General Fiction


Review:

This is an interesting nicely written story set in a beautiful location which puts you in the holiday spirit as soon as you start reading. The plot is a bit more complex and focuses on the relationships between characters the dynamic of different personalities, how relationships change over time and how this affects the friendships with friends and family. The characters are portrayed realistic, their actions were explained well.

Overall a nicely written story, that started off a bit slow but then picked up and flowed well with well developed interesting characters A great holiday read!

Review copy provided through Netgalley at no cost to me.