I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely historical fiction book set in Cyprus in the 1930s and 1950s. It was a fascinating glimpse into the history of this interesting island. I loved the characters, the plot and the sense of place. I'll be seeking out more work by this author.
With grateful thanks to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Nadia Marks.

The book follows the lives of two families from Cyprus. One Greek and one Turkish., their religion, culture and beliefs threaten to keep them apart.
There is conflict and choices to be made some with long lasting consequences. The story brought to life the main Characters, Lambros and Orhan and their families.
I feel like I understand how life was back in Cyrus in the 1950’s before the years of unrest and division.
An enjoyable read

I really enjoyed this book, at first I was a little confused regarding the people involved but soon got the hang of things. An interesting book too in that I had not really known about the politics of the island despite having been twice.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this in exchange for a review, I will leave this review on Amazon too.

2 boys Lambros and Orhan grow up in a village in Cyprus. Many years later Lambros is reminiscing on those times. Story goes back and forwards in time

I have been waiting ages to read this and I was not dissatisfied the characters felt so real and following the story I was enthralled. This made my most recent holiday even more enjoyable because the writing made it feel so real. I honestly highly Recommend this for most readers as I feel it reaches out to such a wide range of readers

Nadia Marks really manages to get under the skin of Cyprus and through the memories of an old man now living in London, she takes us back on an epic journey to what Cyprus was like in the 1950s. it is the beginning of discontent with English rule yet the Greek and Turkish communities manage to get along fine. It was fascinating to read about this period in Cypriot history, unlike most novels that deal with Cyprus who concentrate on the 1974 partition. This is a heartbreaking tale of families divided, love lost and cross-cultural forbidden love. Totally absorbing, very moving and a story that by its very nature can't have a completely happy ending although I was keeping my fingers crossed that Stella could fulfil her father's wish to find his childhood friend.

😔 Moving multi-generational story of love, friendship and loss👍
5 🌟stars
I was very touched by this account of two neighboring Cypriot families, one Christian and the other Muslim, spanning almost a century. Strongly engrained and deeply felt religious faith is not allowed to affect their close friendship until a forbidden love threatens the status quo. I had to read this story in one day to finish and learn if the mistakes of the past would be addressed and the rift healed after Stella slowly learns her family's sad tale from her regretful, aging father.

The story is brimming with descriptions of Cypriot life and customs in the early twentieth century and juxtaposed the basic but happy life of the villagers in the earlier time period with the upheaval and deterioration caused by the political conflicts that resulted in The Partition in the latter part of the century. With action ranging from the villages and capital of Cyprus to Istanbul and London, Between the Orange Groves was a wonderful, emotional family saga, celebrating the joys of love, marriage and birth. Difficult choices, lost chances, romantic disappointment, illness and premature death feature too. An informative, standout story!

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book provided through NetGalley; this is my voluntary and honest review.

Engaging family drama spanning the years encompassing deep friendships, relationships, love and life against a beautiful backdrop - empathetically told. A character driven tale and a journey of emotions, events and places.

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect sumer read.

This was a diverting book which would work really well as a holiday-read. The prose is evocative, absorbing the reader's attention and the same is true of the story.
Set against the backdrop of building colonial and postcolonial tensions in Cyprus between the Greek and Turkish communities, the story effectively dramatises the manner in which faith and a belief in goodness can bring people together but also tear them apart.
The discussions and plotlines around faith and identity were nuanced and interesting causing the reader to think about the meaning and position of religion and community in life.
The story was wrapped up well and the love stories throughout were written sensitively with a healthy dose of reality in relation to Anastasia and Enver.
The only minor difficulty experienced was with the flashbacks. The story was slow to start and then the flashback jumps from the two sons Orhan and Lambros, then goes straight back to their mothers' childhood friendship and lives. This was confusing to follow and needed a bit more concentration.
Overall a well constructed novel which can is interesting and has an interesting context without being too heavy.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

Was delighted to receive this lovely ebook via NetGalley, having read previous books by the same author. It was a gentle, easy read yet the characters and plot had depth. I found the historical content enlightening and enjoyed the time shifts between families etc. Would definitely recommend this book.

A story to really show how  politics and small minded people can affect the way people live together. The island of Cyprus has been divided in more ways than one for many years now - the intolerance and tolerance between the Greeks and Turks is a common, yet sad theme. In this novel, you get to see how this affects the people caught up in the furore and the sadness of how politics can ruin people's lives.

I felt the book skimmed over some of the history and the story wasn't as in depth as it could have been. Having said that the characters were interesting and I imagine, so typical of others on the island's divide. Mixed marriages weren't the done thing in those days and the sections about this were insightful as well as heartbreaking.

The story is insightful and interesting yet I never felt fully invested in the people. The second half of the book was more steeped in history, historical facts and more and this felt full and fascinating. A worthy read for sure but I was left wanting more. The Cypriot timeline at the back of the book was a good and useful addition!

I enjoyed the storyline of this book and it was a very easy reading style, a bit too easy in some ways. The Book lacked the depth of Victoria Hislop and if the time line of Cyprus hadn't been put at the end of the book I wouldn't have looked up any of the history as I find myself doing when reading Victoria Hislop.
The book skimmed over the families history and was jumping from one time to another. I didn't feel the way Stella was talking to her father at times in the book worked. It should have just been at the start and the end.
None of the members of the families involved seemed to have much in the way of luck, either died young and tragically, only had one or two children and numerous members weren't able to have any.
The ending I found a little confusing when Stella and her brother were walking around looking for Orhan, another family member was mentioned as being with them, no idea who it was, they just seemed to appear.
The book did highlight the intolerance and tolerance between the Greeks and Turks and showed it is only the minority that prevents the majority living happily alongside each other.

A very good story with an engaging and interesting plot, well written characters, and a great setting.
I liked the plot, the enchanting setting, the historical part and the fleshed out characters.
The book is moving, engaging, entertaining and will keep you hooked till the last page.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
First time reading this OUTSTANDING Author a wonderful story of Cyprus in the 50's and present day how things have changed with mixed marriage and people's opinions this took took us on a wonderful warm heart wrenching experience having been in Greece and Cyprus attention to detail was 100% I just totally loved this book and can highly recommend for a truly OUTSTANDING read.