Sunshine, cider and family secrets...
Dragonfly Farm has been a home and a haven for generations of Melchiors - arch rivals to the Culbones, the wealthy family who live on the other side of the river. Life there is dictated by the seasons and cider-making, and everyone falls under its spell.
For cousins Tabitha and Georgia, it has always been a home from home. When a tragedy befalls their beloved Great-Uncle Matthew, it seems the place where they've always belonged might now belong to them...
But the will reveals that a third of the farm has also been left to a Culbone. Gabriel has no idea why he's been included, or what his connection to the farm - or the Melchiors - can be.
As the first apples start to fall for the cider harvest, will Dragonfly Farm begin to give up its secrets?
A Home from Home is the very best of Veronica Henry's storytelling - gorgeous scenes you wish you could step into, a cast of characters who feel like friends, and an irresistibly feel-good family drama crossing three generations.
Review: Being a huge Veronica Henry fan, I was looking forward with great anticipation to her latest novel. This one turned out to be quite a family saga, with lots of back stories for the characters; definitely one of those books it is difficult to put down.
The main story concerns Dragonfly Farm, not a farm with animals or crops, but just the farmhouse, outbuildings and apple orchards. It is rather run down to look at, but there have obviously been many happy times for the Melchior family, who have lived there for generations, in recent times producing a very palatable cider. As we join the story, great uncle Matthew, the last of the older generation, has died, and his will has caused quite a stir amongst his surviving relatives. Tabitha, who has lived at the farm for years, and her cousin Georgia, who looks on the place as a second home, find that, as they hoped, Matthew has left them the farm, but has also left an equal share to someone they have never heard of, Gabriel Culbone. His very name is enough to raise hackles, as the Melchiors and the Culbones have long been at loggerheads following an incident a few generations ago. When all parties start digging into the past to find out Gabriel’s connection with the farm, there emerge all manner of revelations.
As I expected, I really enjoyed this book. Events spanned long periods of time, although the main focus was on the present and what was going to happen to the farm. It certainly kept me guessing until the end. I liked the fact that there was an air of mystery mixed with romance; so many secrets binding together the two families. I can recommend this book, with its strong, mainly likeable, characters and a surprise round every corner to Veronica Henry fans and those new to her work alike.
