Release date - 7th September 2017
Book length - 480 pages Publisher - www.harpercollins.co.uk Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com ABOUT THE BOOK The New York Times bestselling author turns the clock back to a time when two young girls convinced the world that fairies really did exist… 1917: When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, announce they have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when the great novelist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, endorses the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a sensation; their discovery offering something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war. One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript and a photograph in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story of the two young girls who mystified the world. As Olivia is drawn into events a century ago, she becomes aware of the past and the present intertwining, blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, will Olivia find a way to believe in herself? MY REVIEW Where do I start with my review of THE COTTINGLEY SECRET by Hazel Gaynor? You know when you read a book that is just so breathtaking and magical, that you really cannot put it into words how it made you feel? Well, that is my predicament today but I will give it my best shot. In 1917 when hope is sparse and the war is still going strong, Frances Griffith and her cousin Elsie will bring a little magic to the world again when their photograph of fairies becomes a sensation. In present day Ireland, Olivia has returned to where she grew up to take care of the details following her grandfather's death and check in with her grandmother who has Alzheimer's disease. Lonely and a little lost, Olivia understands that she is at an important crossroads in her life - stay in Ireland and run her grandfather's bookstore which is so precious to her or return to the UK where her fiancé and a million stressful wedding decisions are waiting. Dissatisfied with who she has become, Olivia is determined to make the right choice, and when she discovers a family connection to the young girls who believed in fairies all those years ago and a manuscript that tells their tale, maybe a little magic will help Olivia find and fulfil her own dreams. THE COTTINGLEY SECRET by Hazel Gaynor is the perfect read as I became completely immersed in the magic and wonder of this story. The story moves from past and present throughout and I really became connected to Frances in 1917 and Olivia in the present day. Frances has moved to a new country with her mother, her father is fighting in the war, and she finds companionship with her older cousin Elsie. But when she feels the magic of the fairies at the bottom of the beck, and they appear to her, it becomes such a special part of who she is and who she will become. Olivia is struggling with her grief for her grandfather who has passed, her grandmother who is out of reach, and her mother who died when she was a little girl, so when she comes across the story of the fairies it gives her the distraction that she craves. But you cannot hide from life, and as Olivia finds out more about who she is, believing in something magical and herself may make all the difference. This story is mesmerising from beginning to end and as a firm believer of 'just because you cannot see something does not mean it does not exist', it called out to me on a deeper level. The characters are really loveable and the connection of past and present is so superbly written that you will struggle to put this book down. THE COTTINGLEY SECRET by Hazel Gaynor held my heart in the palm of its hand and is a truly exquisite story that needs to be read by everyone. Author Bio: Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A MEMORY OF VIOLETS and THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. Her third novel THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller, and was shortlisted for the 2016 BGE Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. Hazel is a contributing author to WWI anthology FALL OF POPPIES: Stories of Love and the Great War. She was selected by US Library Journal as one of ‘Ten Big Breakout Authors’ for 2015 and was a WHSmith Fresh Talent selection in spring 2015. Her work has been translated into several languages. Hazel's 2017 releases are THE COTTINGLEY SECRET (August, William Morrow/HarperCollins) and LAST CHRISTMAS IN PARIS (October, William Morrow/HarperCollins). For more information: Website - www.hazelgaynor.com Twitter - twitter.com/HazelGaynor Facebook - www.facebook.com/hazelgaynorbooks Instagram - www.instagram.com/hazelgaynor/ *I want to thank Mary at Harper Collins Ireland, and the author Hazel Gaynor, for the opportunity to review this beautiful story.
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WelcomeHi fellow bookworms. My name is Linda and I'm a reviewer & blogger, wife & mother who loves all things books! Currently ReadingUPCOMING BLOG TOURS
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