I loved the setting in this book. The story is told from multiple timelines. At the beginning it was confusing to know who was who but it soon became apparent. The writing is gripping and the characters are so realistic. A great book

Another amazing read by the wonderful Lulu Taylor. Her books are always so different and yet they all share the same trait of being really well written and gripping tales of families full of secrets and mysteries. And this was exactly that, with a hell of a twist at the end to boot! Absolutely brilliant read.

This book has everything- wonderfully drawn characters, dual time line, romance and family relationships. A great read tying two eras together with an element of mystery woven between the pages. Lulu Taylor is a great author, providing a real page turner.

Fascinating read. It took me a few chapters to get in the story and to understand the different timelines but once the story unfolded I was hooked! The author has shown real mastery in taking the reader on a journey and allowing them to join the dots throughout the story. Great writing!

Thank you Netgalley.

I really like Lulu Taylor's book and really enjoyed this one. There are 3 different viewpoints in the story, but all comes cleanly together at the end. I found some of it a little predictable, but read it really quickly.

I enjoyed seeing the same location in different times, and through the eyes of other characters.

This was quite a chunky read, but I would recommend it to anyone.

Sylla is missing. Helen seems to be the only one worried about Sylla and she doesn’t understand why. After all, Sylla lost her daughter Rose a year before and is surely vulnerable. As Helen searches for answers, secrets about the Ballintyre family surface!

the storyline was fascinating, deep, intense, thrilling, and shocking! Honestly, as much as I needed to know how it ended-I didn’t want it to! I needed more!!

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

Lulu has done it again! A perfect wintry read to be enjoyed snuggled up with a blanket and a large cup (or 2) of hot chocolate as winter is emanating from the pages.
Such a talented author that must love winter as much as I do!!
A brilliant book by an equally brilliant author ♥️

This was my first Lulu Taylor book and now I need to read her others.
Loved it, a big engrossing story with different timelines that were all as strong as each other. Though Tigs story especially. A great book that I’ve read over the Christmas and New year period which felt apt as the story starts at Hogmanay.
Many thanks to Netgalley for giving me a chance to read it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this review voluntarily.
This is the first book by this author that I have read. I was attracted by the information provided about a dual timeline and the setting, and the length of the book which promised an interesting saga. There were many descriptions of the lovely Scottish setting but I found the jumping between timelines confusing, particularly as the book progressed through the passing years for each character. The narrative style delivers a very gradual reveal of relationships, much like real life where people discover understanding of each other over time, but I thought this was rather too slow and thought some of the behaviours that characters put up with for so long was rather unrealistic. The final outcome was interesting and pleasing, despite the number of characters I disliked. Overall I would have enjoyed the book more if it had been shorter and not jumped between the timelines.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Pan for my forward copy of #AWinterMemory by #LuluTaylor.
An absorbing read covering over 30 years in the lives of the inhabitants of Ballintyre House and the stunning area around the loch.
Told from two different generations through the voices of Tigs and Helen. This book will keep you reading on these cold winter nights.
A lovely read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘A WINTER MEMORY’ BY LULU TAYLOR

I’ve been a fan of Lulu Taylor ever since OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE came out in 2012. I’ve read a couple of other things by her, which I enjoyed just as much. But, color me clueless, I seemed to have forgotten to blog about them. Not very cool on my part, I must say. Well, things are about to change, for I intend on focusing more on this woman’s work, starting with her latest, A WINTER MEMORY which NetGalley and the Pan publishers graciously offered in exchanged for this unbiased review.

A WINTER MEMORY is all about the character of Sylla and her whereabouts. That’s more or less how the novel starts. Sylla has disappeared god- knows-where and it’s up to her sister-in-law Helen, who has recently moved with her husband into his family home, to discover what the heck happened to her. This eventually brings to the forefront secrets and lies that will eventually change the course of everyone’s lives. And in another time period there is the story of Tigs who, as much as she tries to hold back her feelings, still yearns for the man she believes that got away. As luck would have it, she eventually ends up being right back into his life. Will the circumstances be different this time around?

Well, let me say this, time passed by so quickly while reading this first-person narrative tale, I almost didn’t want it to end. Lulu Taylor weaves a wonderful tale of love and loss and brings together different strong story lines that will stay in my mind for a very long time. Beside a couple of plot twists that I wasn’t expecting (which is always a good thing), the story highlights a couple of characters that are well-developed but not necessarily always likable (which is another good thing). The prose is tight, and the lavish setting, mostly in and around Scotland, is breathtaking. All in all, the perfect book to cozying up with during those long winter months.

A WINTER MEMORY is now available wherever books or eBooks are sold.

Until next post—Martin

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

A fabulous book by Lulu Taylor. It was Unputdownable and loved reading about the characters.

I had to keep reading as I wanted to find out where the start of the book fitted in. It was wonderful to see how the timelines linked together. I wanted to know as Helen did, where Sylla was and the truths behind the other things.

I found Tig’s story sad and heart-breaking.

The settings were lovely. I don’t want to write too much and spoil it for the readers. But it’s definitely a book you’ll want to read.

So much goes on throughout the book, it’s beautifully laid out so you know who we are hearing from.

Highly Recommend This Book.

Lulu Taylor writes fabulous family dramas, set over dual timelines. In this story we follow Tigs's story onward from 1968 and Helen's on from 2001, and discover how they are both connected to the beautiful Ballintyre House in Scotland.

Helen is married to Hamish, the younger of the Ballintyre brothers. They met as students and Helen fell in love, not just with Hamish but with the romantic Ballintyre family and their beautiful house on the edge of a loch. But marriage to Hamish has not proved happy.

Now, years later and with a family, Helen and Hamish have been forced to move back to live at Ballintyre with his older brother, Charlie. Helen is surprised to find that Sylla, Charlie’s wife, has disappeared and no one seems to know where she is. Surely someone should be looking for her . . .

A Winter Memory is a coming-of-age story, about how to move on when first love doesn't go the way you'd hoped. It is incredibly sad in places, and there is a sense of impending doom, but it was inspiring to see how the female characters adapted and found the inner strength to keep going. Sylla is a wonderful character and I found the mystery of her disappearance enthralling, reading the book very quickly to find out what happened to her and her daughter! I also loved Helen and Tigs (obviously!), although I think my favourite part was the country house party to celebrate Hogmanay at the start of the novel.

The only thing stopping A Winter Memory from being a five-star read for me is that I was hoping for a little more romance, which isn't really hinted at until the end.

Recommended for fans of dual timelines, family secrets, big old houses, and scenic Scottish settings!

Thank you to Lulu Taylor and Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Really enjoyed this story, great characters, setting and I loved the twist in the tale. I didn't want it to end and would love to read more of this author.

I have no idea where to start other than congratulating Lulu Taylor on another truly wonderful book. It was rather epic, and it took me a while to get to grips with the various timelines, but once I knew roughly what characters were where, I was hooked.

I needed to keep reading to see where the prologue fitted in, and just how the timelines fully interconnected. I needed to know like Helen, just where Sylla is, and ultimately what the truth is about so many different things.

We are also treated to Tig's story which is heart-breaking too about love that is seemingly impossible.

I loved the setting in Scotland, and of Ballintyre and two other key properties nearby. There is so much I would love to say but I fear I'd be spoiling things.

Rest assured this is Lulu Taylor at her best, incredibly descriptive and gripping writing, characters that feel real, and plenty of secrets to be unwrapped. There is a lot going on over the course of the book and given the time span it covers, which is clearly marked at the start of each chapter, along with which character we were hearing from, and it has great depth and so much going for it.

Simply superb writing.

Thank you to Pan and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I did start this book, but to be honest at 3% in I couldnt remember any of the character names or the dialog, it just didn't grab me and I do like a book to start off snappy and to want to read and find out more, I really wasn't bothered, there is praise for this book so I am in a minority, but with so many books to read I am giving it a miss.

I love Lulu Taylor’s books and am always pleased when another one comes out. This was was no exception. It was a fascinating read. Set in Scotland and it told of the iOS and downs of different relationships. So pleased I was approved this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A beautifully told story with a dual timeline woven seamless into it, it takes you on a magical ride! I have loved all Lulu’s previous books and this one is no exception!

I love Lulu Taylor’s books and this was another treat.

A dual time line story that has an expert writer leading you through each storyline to the climax. I did guess some of the twists but it didn’t detract from my pleasure of reading.

As Helen receives an unexpected invite to Hogmanay in a grand Scottish house her stepmother Nora reminisces about her early life.

We also meet Tigs, Al and James, three young 50’s highlanders, whose families interconnect through friendship and time. As we follow them through marriages and children, happiness and tragedy what will become of them all? Josephine, married to James, seems to control everything and everyone, will she disrupt happiness for power?

In Helen’s story, we follow as she gets married and raises her own family but how has Josephines influence reached her too and who will come out unscathed?