Review: The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh

**** - 4 Stars

I was really excited to get my hands on a copy of this book as it seems to have been all over Twitter & looked to be THE summer read. The cover is gorgeous & definitely one that makes you want to pick it up & the book synopsis sounds perfect for a summer read especially with the heat we have been having the last couple of weeks

The Blurb

One hot summer. One week in a villa on the outskirts of Deia, a village nestling in the rugged, mountainous west coast of the island of Mallorca. One family for whom the carefully laid jigsaw of life is about to be broken.

Jenn and her husband Greg holiday each year in Deia, enjoying languorous afternoons by the pool. But this year the equilibrium is upset by the arrival of Emma, Jenn's stepdaughter, and her boyfriend Nathan. Beautiful and reckless, Nathan stirs something unexpected in Jenn. As she is increasingly seduced by the notion of Nathan's youth and the promise of passion, the line between desire and obsession begins to blur. What follows is a highly-charged liaison that put lives and relationships in jeopardy, and a taut narrative which percolates with enough sexual tension to make it impossible to put down.

My Thoughts

I must admit I was a little bit disappointed with this book but I think that is probably due to the raised expectations with this book being everywhere. Walsh's writing is beautiful in setting the scene & I could almost smell the sea and taste the lemon grove. I could imagine myself on that sun lounger by the pool although my top would have been firmly on. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book, morally it didn't sit quite right with me perhaps because I am the mother of 2 teenage daughters but it was well written and Walsh had a way of drawing you in. I'm not a prude but at times the sex scenes did make me feel a little uncomfortable perhaps if Nathan had been older the 17 say 25 it would have sat better with me. There is no doubt that the book sizzles with sexual tension though and it is a real page turner

I've been trying to remember the last time I read a book where I really didn't like any of the characters yet still enjoyed the book. It was probably Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn but with that book I loved to hate Amy and I ended up feeling a little sorry for Nick.I really didn't warm to any of the characters, Emma came across as a spoilt brat, I'm not sure I got the appeal of Nathan, Greg was a little blah so I guess I can see why Jenn's head was turned and as for Jenn whilst at times I did feel for her I just didn't connect with her. There was however something very readable about the book, perhaps the anticipation of whether Jenn & Nathan would be caught out and it did end on rather an intriguing note

What I have found really interesting is reading other reviews of this book. It is definitely a marmite book that has people either loving it or hating it. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. So go read if for yourself which camp will you sit in:the lovers or the haters?

For me it was a perfect lose yourself, summer beach read.