Few stories rarely draw you in from the first page but Anna Romer’s ‘Beyond The Orchard’ achieves this. Instantly the reader is aware that a sinister act has occurred, one of passion perhaps; the abandoning of a dead body in the bowels of an old underground icehouse.

And so the story proceeds. We are introduced to three generations of one family beginning with Edwin. The story is told from the perspective of his granddaughter Lucy. As you read through each chapter a new mystery is revealed. None of the characters are void of their own emotional turmoil.

This book jumps from one chapter retelling the 1930s storyline with Edwin to a new chapter in 1993 during Lucy’s life. This method of storytelling has the potential to complicate the reader but Anna Romer manages this brilliantly.

Anna Romer leads you to certain assumptions as to who the mystery body is lying deep in the icehouse. And what greater triumph is there in a book to discover you were completely wrong. The eternal mysteries finally unravel at the end of the book and with a sigh you realise the triumph of success that this author has created.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s full of emotion, intrigue, personal anguish, misunderstanding and mostly intense love. Don’t worry about the housework, just keep reading, you won’t want to put it down.

I was lucky to read this book courtesy of publishers Simon & Schuster via the website @beautyandlace.

Well the lovely Anna has done it again, another classic Australian story of love, despair, and hope. If you don’t live in Australia then reading one of Anna’s novels really does give you a feel for the Australian landscape, it’s native creatures and flora and fauna. I always learn something new and interesting in Anna’s books and this time it was the fascinating story of silk worms.
I was hooked from the first page and I love nothing more than getting wrapped up in secrets and stories of the past and then being transported back to the present. I recently visited the Great Ocean Road and the beautiful part of our country along the Victorian coastline. Anna’s descriptions make it easy to imagine being there at that exact location.
A beautiful story full of heartbreaking secrets….expect to shed a tear or two.