I loved the setting, and felt I was right there with the characters. That said, I thought some of the description could have been cut, because I skipped some parts, wanting to get to the action. Overall, I enjoyed the story. I thought Elene, Chiara's daughter, needed to grow up. Thankfully she did appear to mature as the story developed. I liked Chiara, Isabella too. I thought the plot over the painting to be a tad drawn out too. A good read all in all.

Great Summer read, brilliant characters, description, set in Italy, makes you feel you’re there. Very well written, interesting plot?m, lovely setting and full of fun, deceit and relationships. Highly recommend this book, fab beach read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Lemon Tree hotel was a fun, easy to read book. I loved how she painted the Cinque Terre and now I want to go to Italy and stay with them!

First a convent, surrounded by lemon trees and olive groves. True love, lost love and heartache, yet the hotel keeps the family together. Fast forward some 40 years, the hotel updated, its owners have mixed relationships and old hurts and old loves haunt. Secrets are yet to be revealed.

As luscious as the scent of lemons on a tree, as delicious as the first taste of oil pressed from olives that easily fills your mouth with its lush golden liquid, this book is all that and more. Set in the Cinque Terre of Italy, just close your eyes and you are there. Small towns, its inhabitants competing against one another open their arms to you, the reader.

We first come upon Chiara in 1968, a young woman whose parents own the hotel. In love with Dante, she cannot run away with him, at 16 she is torn between her love for him and her love for her parents and the hotel. We next come upon her in 2011. She is 43, a mother to Elene and grandmother to Isabella. She is now the owner of the hotel, run between the three women. But relationships are edgy at best between mother and daughter. Then there are the guests at the hotel as Dante returns and is a guest at the hotel. Added to the guests, a young man is also there questioning the story of the hotel, especially when it was a convent at one time. Is there something of a dark secret he knows? If so, will it be revealed? More interesting, he is seeking out Giovanna, an old friend of the family who lives on the grounds of the hotel. What are her secrets, if any?

This book was captivating from beginning to end. It was multigenertional, with the tug of war between the Chiara and her daughter, Elene... the overwhelming love of Chiara for her grandaughter, Isabella. You feel the underlying sadness of Chiara for a life lived with lost love. With the return of Dante to the hotel, will she find happiness? Will her lost love and youth return to her heart?

The book draws you in, so to the point you too want to make a reservation there, sit under the Italian sun, drink the wine, have a glass of limoncello, take in the flavor of your surroundings.

Nicely written. Easy to read and a good interesting plot. Lovely destination to play it all out what more could you possibly ask for

I’ve just come back from holiday in Italy so this book was the perfect way to feel like I was still away. Especially with a side order of limoncello!
This book follows the three generations of women and their lives, loves and complications. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn’t expect the twists that came along. Although maybe if my geography and history was better, I would have done. A great read.

Welcome to the luscious Lemon Tree Hotel - an intoxicating story with some mouth-watering descriptions, not only of the local olives and food but also of the place itself. I was transported right there in this novel and wow what a novel indeed!

I can sometimes find multi-generation books, or books that flip between timelines, not always enjoyable but this one flowed so well I had no issues at all and their stories were intertwined perfectly.

This book was superb, my heart truly ached for Chiara and her story in particular. Her life could have been so very different, but then we wouldn't have met her formidable daughter Elene and caring granddaughter Isabella.

If I found fault with this book I would be picking unnecessarily - beautiful writing that did justice to a soaring story that I lost myself in. So often I can be disappointed with an ending but this was just perfect and left me feeling more than satisfied!

My many thanks to Quercus Books via NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not my usual type of read but I really enjoyed. I felt as though I'd escaped and been on holiday. This is a perfect, easy-read for holidays and summer days. I really enjoyed and will be checking out more by this author.

The Lemon Tree Hotel is a family saga set in Italy. The main protagonists are a mother, Chiara, her daughter Elene and granddaughter Isabella. The three woman run the Lemon Tree Hotel with the distant assistance of the men in their lives. Chiara has a past history with Dante Rossi who shows up unexpectedly after 40 years. Elene has resentments towards her mother that are affecting her moods and relationships. Isabella is intrigued by a German guest who has an unusual interest in the hotel that was a convent before WWII. The three stories converge with secrets revealed and relationships changed. I really enjoyed this book is was a great family saga in a beautiful setting with descriptions of wonderful food. After reading this book I am ready to book my vacation to the Cinque Terre. This is a great book for people who like family sagas with a bit of mystery.

Three generations of women run the Lemon Tree Hotel, a former convent. Life is good if predictable until the arrival of two guests, one who has a history with the matriarch, the other has information about the history of convent, information that could impact the future of the Lemon Tree

I found this book very slow and I was unable to finish it. I don’t like writing bad reviews as I understand how hard the author has worked to write this novel, but, unfortunately this time it did not hit the spot.
I have read her books before and enjoyed them but, this time it was not too be. I am not sure whether it was the predictability of the actual story or that fact I just didn’t enjoy it.
I am sure other readers would love it. I will read her other books as she writes them in the future.

The story is centered around three women (mother, daughter, granddaughter) that run a hotel in Italy. Chiara, her daughter Elene and granddaughter Isabella, all have issues of love and feelings of insecurity. When Chiara's long lost first love, Dante, shows up, everything is thrown into the air. When Elene calls her dad to tell him, it stirs up anger, and Isabella is dealing with a guest at the hotel that has an agenda she doesn't know about. A full story, and one I enjoyed, although at times it was easy to skim over some of the excessive details. Other than that, I highly recommend this story.

****The Lemon Tree Hotel tells the story of four women, mother, daughter, granddaughter and ‘aunt’ and basically examines the question of love or duty. At 16 the grandmother Chiara chose duty to her family and the family business over love including marriage to the man of her parents’ choice. Her marriage is not necessarily a bad one, but that mainly is because Chiara’s husband spends most of his time away from the family hotel (that used to be a convent) Chiara now runs. Her daughter, Elene is the hotel’s chef and granddaughter, Isabella handles the front desk and bookings. Elene wants to expand and modernize, while Chiara and Isabella appreciate the serenity of the property as it is. Aunt Giovanna has lived on the property long before it became a hotel. She was there during the German occupation during WWII. The arrival of two male guests set the stage for the revelation of secrets and conflicts...and the possibility of change. The author has written an engaging, if somewhat wordy story about a little slice of Italy where lemons, olives and grapes are grown. The book is filled with descriptions of everything including how Elene prepares the food. This was lovely to read until I began to want the story to move along a little faster. In the end, I enjoyed the time spent reading. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book.