Ideea de bază a romanului este aceasta – ca să fii fericit în prezent trebuie să fii împăcat cu cine ai fost și ce ai făcut în trecut. Greșelile nu se repară de la sine, iar timpul nu aduce întotdeauna cu sine uitarea. Trebuie să-ti faci curaj și să îți înfrunți slăbiciunile. The Temptation of Gracie is such an emotive read. With 68 year old Gracie’s stable and predictable life in Badley Compton a world away to the experiences she had as a teen/young woman, during the week at the cookery school in Castello Montefosco her past emerges as she confides in granddaughter Anastasia. From not knowing each other very well at all, they realise how similar they are (in more ways than one!). And as much as Anastasia is there for Gracie, Gracie is also the confidant for Anastasia. I adored the developing bond with these two. One thing that fell short for me was the romance from Gracie’s past. I wanted to be swept away by this storyline, and I wanted to believe in a youthful passion so strong that Gracie still remembers it 40 years later. And to some extent, the affair was passionate. Gracie was certainly in love with a wealthy, powerful man, and he broke her heart (of course) due to external circumstances beyond his control. But I never quite bought into his love for Gracie (at least until the very end of the book, where it was a bit too little, too late). He makes Gracie do something that she feels conflicted about, and the way he convinces her to do it anyway made me wonder if he liked her for herself or for what she could do for him (in this case, have revenge on a greedy family member).

The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore | Goodreads The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore | Goodreads

Gracie tells Carina that she is going to go to Italy and Rufus suggests that she and Anastasia accompany her. Born in England in 1970 Santa Montefiore grew up on a farm in Hampshire and was educated at Sherborne School for Girls. She read Spanish and Italian at Exeter University and spent much of the 90s in Buenos Aires, where her mother grew up. She converted to Judaism in 1998 and married historian Simon Sebag Montefiore in the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London. They live with their two children, Lily and Sasha in London. July 1981. As the country prepares to celebrate Prince Charles’ wedding to Lady Diana, Libby wants to be as far away from royal wedding fever as possible. Santa Montefiore born Santa Palmer-Tomkinson is a British-Argentine writer best known for writing romantic thriller novels. She had always wanted to write professionally ever since she was a child and would graduate from reading children short stories to naïve love stories as she aged. At age twelve, she attended the Sherborne School for Girls where she was terrible at practically everything except for English, in which she was always the best in the class. She would frequently write up stories pairing up her friends with the boys they fancied from the Sherborne Boy’s School just across the fence. Her friends loved the stories, and fancying herself one of the greatest novelists that ever lived, she submitted them to a publisher only to be rejected. When she turned 19, her mother organized a teaching job for her on an Argentine Pampa, where she was to be tutor to three young children. The time that she spent in Argentine turned out to be some of the best things that her parents ever did for her. She fell in love with the country and made it her second home, even setting several of her novels there.

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In the present story which also takes place in Tuscany, I loved reading mamma Bernadatt’s cooking class. Her daughter Ellaria’s description of food was hilarious. Neodoljiva i šarmantna priča u kojoj se prepliće prošlost i sadašnjost, u kojoj žene tri generacije pokušavaju uspostaviti most među sobom. Gracie's daughter Carina lives in London with her husband Rufus. Carina runs a PR firm and is rather work focused. They have a teen daughter, Anastasia who is at boarding school. She is not that close to her mother. But neither is Carina close to her mother Gracie. The first thing that jumped out at me were the warm characters, they were relatable and so easy to visualise. I couldn’t help but giggle at the group of ladies from Badley Compton as they attempted to stage an intervention. She led an extraordinary life in Tuscany with her uncle, Hans, got to live in a gigantic house and followed her passion for paintings. A completely different Gracie all together. I can’t really describe more of her life in Tuscany. Nonetheless, I must say that those were the best moments in the book for me.

The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore | Goodreads

The Temptation of Gracie is a poignant, timeless tale of grand romance, a story of women through the generations, and a reminder that it’s never too late to love. Jedina mana Santinih romana su naslovi koji na prvi pogleda asociraju na neke jeftine romane sa erotskom tematikom: Francuski baštovan, Grejsino iskušenje - ako neprivlačni nazivi kriju lijepe i interesantne radnje.If only her daughter Carina and granddaughter Anastasia knew the intriguing and colourful life Gracie led so many years ago they would be more than surprised. This trip the three women undertake together will prove life changing in more ways than one. Each will have their perspectives altered and the big secret that has been kept under wraps for so long will be revealed as the Tuscan countryside works its magic and old memories are stirred and come simmering to the surface. Gracie discovers you can't hide something forever when so many outside forces are working to have the truth make itself known. Thanks to my pleasurable reading experience with this novel, someday I am definitely going to read more of Santa Montefiore’s works.

The Temptation of Gracie - Santa Montefiore - Google Books The Temptation of Gracie - Santa Montefiore - Google Books

Santa Montefiore's new book The Temptation of Gracie takes the reader on a journey to the Tuscan countryside as one woman attempts to reconcile the past with the present. It is a story of love, loss, friendship and family set over the period of one week during a holiday away in a beautiful castle where the main characters embark on a cookery course. The author weaves the past with the present to convey the story as our main female protagonist Gracie is forced to confront what she has kept hidden deep inside her for so many years. When Gracie Burton stumbles upon a weeklong cooking course at Castello Montefosco , a castle in the sun-kissed Tuscan countryside, she cannot resist the opportunity to revisit the past she left behind in Italy. Since her husband’s death eight years earlier, Gracie has grown apart from her daughter, Carina, a high-powered businesswoman in London and her granddaughter, Anastasia, who would rather spend her time on her phone than with her family, but both women decide to join her. Little do they know that a lifetime of secrets await them in Italy. Although there were some predictable points in the storyline, I felt that there was enough material in the story to keep me interested. The relationship between Gracie and her granddaughter, Anastasia was beautifully written and made me miss my maternal grandmother very much. As well, just like so many other books set in Italy- I finished this book very hungry. As well, I will always remember that garlic and onion divorced and that is why we don't cook them together. Haha!

Books Multibuys

Very good story, well-written, with some lessons about mother-daughter relationships that makes you think a bit... Wonderful Tuscany, la bella Italia... Being Santa's Serbian editor for years makes a bit not objective, but I may say this is one of her best books... It was written just after her younger sister died, and it was very tough period for the author... And she fully deserved the award she recently got for this novel... Right book for summer.. I also wasn’t a fan of the subplot featuring a busybody from Gracie’s village in Devon, who wanted to organize a grand funeral for another resident, but hated not having Gracie around to do the grunt work. This character and subplot bookended the main story, and while it added atmosphere as well as provided insight on Gracie’s life in Devon, it just dragged on too long, particularly at the end. I would have much preferred to see how Gracie’s life turned out myself rather than hear about it secondhand in the midst of a flurry of activity over a funeral for someone we never even met. The setting and the cookery school have a magical effect, opening up the hearts of all (and believe me, you can feel the author’s writing opening your heart and the warmth spreading). Gracie’s daughter Carina, always in control and trying to prove herself, alienates those close to her in her life in London. Even though I could relate to her I didn’t like her at the start … it was amazing to watch change happening 🙂 As Mamma Bernadetta’s daughter Ilaria says to her: