READ: [Book Review] THE DANDELION YEARS by ERICA JAMES. PDF, EPUB online free reviews.

Be brave and do the thing you fear the most. Take as many risks as you can, let yourself be happy – and believe in the impossible.

Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl. A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood.

Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible – and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own – Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love.

Camillea’s Thoughts

The Dandelion Years. Let me begin by saying that the title was enough for me to take a peek at the book. Swept away by the blurb, I immediately bought the book! I mean, just look at that cover, I’m a sucker for pretty things, okay!

Besides, the book had all the elements for a wonderful story – a secret notebook narrating the story of wartime love (sigh), the rustic house of Ashcombe, and the domestic life of Ralph, Harvey, and Oliver who were each in their own such adorable characters. Even the plot line – how each character was “stuck” at Ashcombe after their earlier unselfish decision to help each other wade through grief.

Erica James really struck me with that plot. This was where the emotional core of the novel lay for me. I, for one, didn’t have as close as a relationship as Saskia did with her grandfathers, so to read about hers was heart warming – from Grandpa O’s stubbornness and Harvey’s culinary hobby. The description of their daily meanderings were the scenes I enjoyed the most.

Jacob’s journal aka The Dandelion Years which takes places in 1943/44 is a narration of Jacob Belinsky’s first (and greatest) love, Kitty. Even knowing from the beginning that Jacob was a bachelor when he passed away I couldn’t help holding on to a little bit of hope, that maybe, just maybe, even after his death the couple might stand a chance. That Matthew would find Kitty and tell her about Jacob. But like every great love story, the authors always find a cruel pleasure in ripping our hearts out (I have a theory about that). I mean, the blurb literally specified “wartime love”, so why did I keep hoping?

Because we always expect love to defy the odds.

Unfortunately, as Erica James breathtakingly pointed out, it doesn’t.

Like one tragedy wasn’t enough, the author proceeds to slice up the broken pieces.

Maybe that’s why I preferred Jacob and Kitty’s romance over Saskia’s and Matthew’s. I felt their relationship was too forced. They were too similar for my taste and I think the story would have been better off if their relationship had remained platonic. Although I like Saskia, I didn’t quite find her as appealing even though we did have some scenes on Matthew’s thoughts about her. But then again, all the guy did was ask too many questions which had begun to annoy me.

If there’s anything I that drew me to Saskia, it was her occupation as a book restorer. Gave me an idea for future career plans.

But that isn’t to say The Dandelion Years is a bad book. A slow yet gorgeous read, I’d recommend this books for those who are looking to have their heart broken. I’m serious. All in all, this was a deeply emotional book of family ties, and grief. A poignant tale which leaves you feeling both loss and optimism. By the end of the book, you might consider asking yourself, where is the line between duty to my family and my happiness drawn? As I understood from the novel, sometimes, for some of us, it’s best to keep that line drawn.

Book Details

Format: Paperback (496 pages)

Publisher: Orion Books

Publication Date: June 18 201

Buy Links: Consider buying The Dandelion Years on Book Depository through my affiliate link || Amazon || Goodreads

Author Info: With an insatiable appetite for other people’s business, Erica James will readily strike up conversation with strangers in the hope of unearthing a useful gem for her writing. She finds it the best way to write authentic characters for her novels, although her two grown-up sons claim they will never recover from a childhood spent in a perpetual state of embarrassment at their mother’s compulsion.

The author of nineteen bestselling novels, and the winner of the 2006 Romantic Novel of the Year Award, Erica divides her time between Suffolk and Lake Como in Italy.