Two distant relatives, drawn together in companionship are forced to confront their pasts and learn that some people are good at keeping secrets and some secrets are never meant to be kept..
A bittersweet story of love, loss and life. Perfect for fans of Patricia Scanlan and Adele Parks.
The beautiful old Bath House in Ballytokeep has lain empty and abandoned for decades. For devoted pensioners Archie and Iris, it holds too many conflicting memories of their adolescent dalliances and tragic consequences – sometimes it’s better to leave the past where it belongs.
For highflying, top London divorce lawyer Kate Hunt, it’s a fresh start – maybe even her future. On a winter visit to see her estranged Aunt Iris she falls in love with the Bath House. Inspired, she moves to Ballytokeep leaving her past heartache 600 miles away – but can you ever escape your past or your destiny?

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Aria (1 Feb. 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1784977187
• ISBN-13: 978-1784977184

Purchase Here

About the Author

Faith Hogan was born in Ireland. She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway. She has worked as a fashion model, an event’s organiser and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.
She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair – an international competition for emerging writers.
Her debut novel, ‘My Husband’s Wives,’ is a contemporary women’s fiction novel set in Dublin. It was published by Aria, (Head of Zeus) in 2016. ‘Secrets We Keep,’ is her second novel out on Feb 1st 2017.
Faith Hogan Contact:
Twitter (her favourite)
Facebook
Instagram
Website

My Review

The cover of this book is simply stunning and when Faith asked if I would like to participate in the blog tour I must confess it was the vibrant colours that swayed me. 

A tale of discovery .. set in the past and present it slips naturally from one segment of the family to another. Kate is the modern day woman, she has her lucrative life in London but feels lonely even when surrounded by people. She is nursing a broken heart and when acquainted with her great-aunt decides to take a break from the humdrum life and go to stay with Iris and Archie in Ireland. In a divine sounding place called Ballytokeep (what a wonderful name!) here she can lose herself to the peace and quiet, sounds of the sea and windswept walks.

Iris herself has not had an easy life and is harbouring secrets .. my heart bled for her and she soon became my favourite character. If she was born a generation later life would have been so incredibly different. However she had Archie and he loved her dearly.

This is a book full of charm, family dramas, love, loss and shows how one tiny secret can spiral over the years. It takes a little time to fully absorb who all the characters are and who is related to who but once it becomes clear it is a delight to read. I particularly enjoyed the older parts .. while Kate is a complex person and has so much going for her it was the 1950’s which really held my attention.

This could be classified as a boy meets girl, things go wrong, change direction type book that would be undermining a deep, meaningful saga. It is written beautifully and the passion for the area shines through, it’s so descriptive I could almost taste the sea air.

Well done Faith this is a splendid book which will capture a few hearts. 

Thanks to Netgalley, Aria etc .. I read and reviewed voluntarily