The Olive Tree: The bestselling story of secrets and love under the Cyprus sun

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To be fair, Lucinda Riley has been popping up on my radar for some time now, so when The Olive Tree was gifted to me at Christmas I was super excited to jump straight in. The Olive Tree is an engrossing tale that reminds us that life is often a messy journey complete with smiles, tears, happiness, and heartbreak. Lucinda Riley is my absolute favourite author alongside Lesley Pearse. I have loved everything she has written since her first book Hothouse Flower and each subsequent book has been brilliant and has showcased the incredible writing talents that Lucinda has. I've never reviewed a book by Lucinda before I don't know why but given the opportunity to do so I jumped at the chance with this new book The Olive Tree. Lucinda is in the middle of writing her Seven Sisters series so for a second book within a year to be published is a real treat for her legions of fans and keeps us going while we await publication of The Shadow Sister in November. At the difficult age of thirteen, Alex is torn between protecting his beloved mother, and growing up. And equally, desperate to learn the truth about his real father ...

Pero si hubo alguien a quién pensé que iba a detestar y terminé queriendo, fue al pequeño Alex. Me pareció un chico muy dulce bajo esa capa de arrogancia que tienen todos los adolescentes a esa edad, ya que, como todos los niños, quiere que su familia esté bien y poder conectar con ellos de verdad, debido a que su coeficiente intelectual es superior al promedio y eso también lo hace ser un niño diferente. Las anotaciones de su diario fueron muy divertidas y en parte, me recordaron a las que yo hice en mi propio diario a esa edad. No se si será una nueva saga familiar, pero me encantaría, aunque todo queda muy bien cerrado y todo solucionado, quedo con ganas de saber de muchos de los personajes como Chloe o Michelle. Pandora, Grecia, las costas de Chipre, donde conoceremos la historia de Helena, la bella Helena, que después de veinticuatro años, vuelve al lugar donde pasó un mágico verano, esta vez con su marido e hijos. Pero no es solo la odisea de Helena, sino también la de su hijo Alex, quien, a sus trece años, vive la compleja etapa de la adolescencia y al igual que el famoso mito de la caja, aquel lugar esconde más de algún secreto que lucha por salir… Lucinda og hendes familie opdeler deres tid mellem deres hjem i England og deres landsted i Irland, hvor Lucinda også skriver sine bøger. As he grows into a young man, falling in love and taking classes at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris, he can almost forget the terrors of his past, or the promise he has vowed to keep. But across Europe an evil is rising, and no-one’s safety is certain. In his heart, he knows the time will come when he must flee once more.Forgiveness is a large theme in this book. Do you think William was right to forgive Helena for hiding the truth for so long? Do you think Jules was right to forgive her? Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella prize, The Lovely Books award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year – an award last won by J K Rowling for Harry Potter. It all started in Cyprus for Helena, as a teenager she fell in love for the first time and Helena used to have holidays there then it all stopped until her Godfather passes and leaves her his house affectionately named “Pandora” in his will. It has been 24 years since she was last there ABOUT 'THE OLIVE TREE': Please be aware that in some parts of the world, this book is published under the title 'Helena's Secret'. The characters are so stereotypical that I just wanted to burn them with the fire of a thousand suns. Of course Helena is beautiful and amazing in each and every way, but of course, she gets condemned by everyone for keeping a secret that bears no relevance to her family. Of course, her son is an asshole who sounds 13 even in his 2os. Of course, the same mistakes are repeated over and over again, because no one learns from their mistakes. And in all that, the most interesting characters are left aside to make room for the boring ones.

Did your feelings towards the characters stay the same throughout the novel, or did your loyalties shift? Which characters did you find the most intriguing? When Helena meets her childhood sweetheart by chance, a chain of events is set in motion that threatens to make her past and present collide. Both Helena and Alex know that life will never be the same, once Pandora's secrets have been revealed. The narration of the audiobook is superbly performed by Lucinda Riley herself and her son, Harry Whittaker. There is also an interesting discussion between the two at the end of the audiobook where they discuss Lucinda's writing. Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four.På Cicero er desuden udkommet: Midnatsrosen (2015), Pigen fra Napoli (2015), Engletræet (2016), De syv søstre (2016), Stormsøsteren (2017), Skyggesøsteren (2017), Perlesøsteren (2018), Kærlighedsbrevet (2018), Månesøsteren (2018), Orkideens hemmelighed (2019, første gang på dansk 2012), Helenas hemmelighed (2019), Pigen på klippen (2019, første gang på dansk 2013), Solsøsteren (2019) og Sommerfugleværelset (2020). I cannot help but become totally immersed in Lucinda Riley's stories. Her characters become friends, flawed but irresistible. This is a book that I will read/listen to again. There are only a few authors that no matter the theme or size of the book their stories are always filled with magical characters I can’t get enough of and stories that are so atmospheric and vivid I’m entertained, enthralled and swept away and Lucinda Riley is one of them. She has the incredible ability to take her innate knowledge of all the psychological and emotional entanglements found in nuclear families and weave them into a story you can’t put down. I absolutely loved this book and will now try my hardest to patiently await her next release, The Pearl Sister, book #4 in The Seven Sisters series due out late 2017/early 2018. The book is not only narrated by Helena, but also by Alex’s childhood diaries. How did you find this glimpse into his character? Do you believe this was an accurate representation of a 13-year-old’s voice?