Sixty years ago, Emma Temple had a complicated relationship with renowned artist Patrick Adams. Although he never painted portraits of anyone he was close to, he made an exception for her. Now in the 80s her portrait, called The Things We Don't Say, has become his most famous work. But when an appraiser claims that the painting is a fraud, Emma must rely on her faulty memories to save everything she cares about. Her granddaughter, Laura, had used the painting as collateral against her tuition to a prestigious music academy and now her future is in jeopardy.
I thought this story was well written, especially with alternating chapters that only give away a little of the story at a time. I like how Emma bought her country home as a retreat for her artist friends. Even though she fell in love with the wrong man, she was still determined to stay close to him and accept as much as he could give. And I especially loved Laura's character, fighting for her grandmother, refusing to take a handout even if it meant giving up what she loved most. It was an entertaining and intriguing read. I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

This novel is a dual timeline about two different women exploring love. My favorite storyline was the World War II aspect. However, I found the characters to be a bit bland. The story was very slow. Still, I recommend this fans of World War II novels!

I Just did not connect with this book. For me it was too chaotic. Jumping from year to year too fast. I loved the love in this book though.. Because it was not the typical lovestory. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Another great book by Ella Carey, who is one of my favourite authors, set in the 1980s and 1910/20s in the art scene. The characters draw you in from the beginning and it works well in the two timelines and there are plenty twists and turns to keep you guessing at the mystery aspect

Laura is the granddaughter of Emma Temple. The story alternates between two timelines – Emma’s youthful years and ~60 years later. Emma lived life on her own terms during a period, when very few (especially women) could do that. Emma moves on from her marriage after her first child and grows to be close to Patrick Adams – a famous artist. The passion for the arts binds them together, as also their free spirits. The relationships are complex with both Emma & Patrick. Patrick has never painted people he is close to – but makes an exception for Emma. Laura Taylor’s career hinges upon a portrait of her grandmother, Emma Temple. The portrait named, The Things We Don’t Say, and painted by renowned artist, Patrick Adams, was used as collateral for a loan to finance Laura’s musical education.

This book is too slow for my liking but the writing is very detailed and the reader can feel that they are within the lines of the story. The story did jump around quite a bit between characters, timelines and threads of discussion and this can cause the reader to be lost and read the lines again to realize where they are in the plot. Wanted to like the story but just was unable to become fully involved.

Thank you Bookouture, Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC for an honest review.

The Things We Don't See is an okay read by Ella Carey. Unfortunately, I don't think I am the right reader for this one.

New author for me, but given that I love historical fiction books especially where there is a dual timeline storyline involved, it was a total no brainier to give this a go. Plus the blurb sounded interesting and the cover is gorgeous.

So overall I thought this was well written, with great location/setting covering London, France and few other places, as well as a whole cast of characters, all of whom I loved getting to know and discovering the parts they had to play throughout this story.

I enjoyed Laura story based in 1980 more than I did of Emma/Patrick’s story in the past in 1923. Both stories were good, don’t get me wrong, but the story in the past featured quite heavily on the art world which yes can be an interesting topic if done right, but in this story I found it somewhat slow going, and drawn out in places and so I am guilty in that I scrim read some of those scenes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the end of the story, when the truth was discovered and the mystery regarding the painting came to light. I thought the whole story plot surrounding this special painting was cleverly done and I liked how it all came together at the end.

Will I read more of this authors books in the future, absolutely yes, in fact I’ve got another four of her books patiently waiting on my kindle already.

Loved this book. Especially because it had a strong element of the artist world. You really feel for the main lead during her hardships. It’s well written and very emotive. A lovely nights read in my opinion ~ which I find is the best kind of novel.

Moving story set in the present ,looking back on the past to a time when everything was changing. Very descriptive portraying the time well. Characters also well portrayed.

It took a few chapters before I really got into this book, but once I did there was no stopping. I was disappointed that I had to put it down to sleep!

The plot, to begin with, appeared to revolve around gentle reminiscing of times long past, but the multiple undercurrents soon dragged me deeper. Add to this a whole lot of dead ends, with twists and turns galore and this is one really clever mystery. With revelations you'll never predict, it keeps you guessing to the very end.

Brilliantly written, this is well worth reading

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I've read a couple of Ella Carey's books and find them sweet. This one was no exception. A little repetitive but, with likeable characters, that is easily forgiven. With art and music being the central themes, this is a lovely book to get lost in.

This dual line historical fiction novel takes place in London in 1980 and France in 1913. The time lines are told by a grandmother and her granddaughter and mesh together perfectly to bring a fantastic story about the art world of the early part of the century.

1913 - Emma is an artist and a free thinker. She lives to paint and when she falls in love with Patrick, a fellow painter, she feels that her life is complete and they shared their lives together for over 50 years despite the fact that he was homosexual. He painted her portrait when they first met and she kept it hanging over her bed.

1980 - Emma is 90 years old when an art appraiser decides that the portrait that Patrick painted is a fraud and was painted by one of his students. This will not only make her question her relationship with Patrick - how could he have lied to her? but it also effects her granddaughter Laura and her studies at a prestigious music school. Her tuition was being paid by the collateral on the painting and if the painting is a fraud, then the painting is worthless and the bank will call in the loan. Laura needs to prove that the painting was done by Patrick and she works with the appraiser to try to find out the truth.

Emma must face the truth of her past to help Laura gain her future.

This is an excellent historical fiction novel with two time lines that intermingle to give the reader the answers to the mystery of the painting.

The Things We Don't Say is a painting by groundbreaking modernist artist Patrick Adams. The only portrait he ever painted of someone he knew. The sitter was the love of his life, Emma Temple. Now aged 90, Emma cherishes Patrick's memory so is devastated when an art dealer claims that it was in fact painted by someone else. The implications for her granddaughter are huge as her whole career is at risk...
The Things We Don't Say is a dual timeline book set in the 1910s and 1920s as well as the 1980s. Both timelines are written effectively and evoke the culture of the times.
The mystery of the painting is maintained throughout the whole book. Emma's granddaughter's future is at risk as they have used the painting as collateral to fund her music studies. There is a spark between Ewan and Laura but her anger and passionate defence of the painting's provenance is unwavering as is his claim of forgery.
This book is character driven rather than huge plot developments. The relationship between Emma and Patrick, their love that transcends the physical and endures despite his homosexuality. The narrative develops in a non linear way as the timelines are interspersed with each other. There is a gentleness to the style of writing which brings the characters to life and adds a richness to the historical detail.
Overall, The Things We Don't Say is an enjoyable book about the enduring power of love.

This story is very different to the ones I read recently. It has a loveable set of characters and a scenario which you hope in your heart will resolve itself.

Laura is the granddaughter of Emma Temple. The story alternates between two timelines – Emma’s youthful years and ~60 years later. Emma lived life on her own terms during a period, when very few (especially women) could do that. Emma moves on from her marriage after her first child and grows to be close to Patrick Adams – a famous artist. The passion for the arts binds them together, as also their free spirits. The relationships are complex with both Emma & Patrick. Patrick has never painted people he is close to – but makes an exception for Emma.

Laura hopes to study music and has taken a loan from a bank with the painting (“The Things we don’t say”) as the collateral. An arts expert at a leading gallery declares the painting as a duplicate. The bank now threatens to call in the loan, which will all but dash Laura’s music aspirations. Laura attempts to trace the circumstances around the painting to prove that it is authentic.

The book is a slow mover – I do not mind slow storylines actually. However, it did feel like a short story stretched to the long form. The writing is good, and I did find myself rooting for Laura. A cute story but would have benefited with greater depth.

A sweeping and atmospheric emotional read, Ella Carey’s The Things We Don’t Say is another captivating page-turner by this talented storyteller.

At almost ninety years of age, most people would look at Emma Temple and dismiss her as yet another elderly lady. Yet, little do these people realise that Emma had once been one of England’s most influential artists who had a wild and passionate love affair that simply cannot be consigned to the past. Emma’s love affair had survived two world wars and is about to come crashing into the present. Is Emma ready to face up to the ghosts of the past? Can she find the courage to bring to light long-buried secrets that simply refuse to be forgotten? Or will regret and anguish plunge Emma into despair?

When her granddaughter Laura comes to stay with her and starts asking questions about the portrait hanging over her bed, Emma finds herself transported back to the past and to sixty years ago. The portrait in question was painted by the only man she had ever loved who had known her deepest and darkest secret. Emma has never had any reason to question the provenance of this painting – until a shocking expose in a newspaper is published which claims that this most cherished of portraits is a fake! Was everything Emma has always believed to be true a complete and utter lie? The answers to the questions she has in the present can only be found if she faces the demons of the past forcing Emma to travel back in time to 1923 and a sunny house in the South of France where her entire life changed forever…

Ella Carey’s The Things We Don’t Say is a powerfully written, exquisitely rendered and highly dramatic tale that touches the heart and keeps readers gripped throughout. A compelling tale about the secrets we keep, the choices we make and the ties that bind, Ella Carey’s The Things We Don’t Say is a poignant, absorbing and enthralling read from an immensely gifted writer.

Thank you #NetGalley for the pleasure of finding a second gem from Ella Carey. I’m pleased to offer my thoughts.

The Things We Don’t Say, like Secret Shores, was a beautifully written revelatory story. It’s strong protagonists, Emma and Laura, each in their own way and time, take us on a journey through discovery of the art and music worlds revealing not just their own passions, but the way of life each holds dear. Their professional and personal feelings once exposed are so poignantly depicted they touched my heart.

There are few authors who have the ability, dare I say gift, to be able to share with the reader in such a touching way.

Emma was ahead of her time, leading an unconventional life as a wife, mother and lover. At the same time, she seemed conventional in that she put herself second in her partnership with Patrick.

Laura, you might say, was more in step with her time and place, yet she held back when it came to her feelings.

Grandmother and granddaughter so closely entwined and yet different. Fascinating!

Wonderful work, EC.

The Things We Don't Say by Ella Carey is a historical fiction story that is told over several decades. A book I really found difficult to put down and an emotional read. Although I have to say, historical fiction when written by Ella Carey is always an immersive amd entertaining story.
This particular book is about Emma Temple, an almost ninety year old woman. She has led a full and colourful life but what she isn't aware of is that her life as she remembers and how she experienced it is about to crumble around her. Laura, her granddaughter is curious about a portrait that Emma has hung above her bed. Emma is taken straight back to sixty years previous and the man who painted it, the man who knew her the most and the one she loved. A newspaper, claims the potrait is not genuine and from that moment every truth in Emma's life begins to come into question and she is taken back to 1923 in the South of France when her life changed forever.
Again, Ella Carey's research is immaculate and her characters are so believable that you can almost imagine yourself in that world. I believe that this is yet another book that may be fiction but is based on real events. Again Ella Carey is a master at spinning true facts and artfully blending these together in an entrancing and mysterious story that grips you from the start. A book, in fact an author that, if you want a book to catch you and hold you until the last word, I highly recommend.
Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the copy of the book in order to give you my thoughts on this entrancing book.

It is certainly no secret that I am a fan of Ella Carey’s books, so when given the opportunity to read and review this story I simply couldn’t resist. The storyline is unique and intriguing right from the start and i quickly lost myself in this beautiful story.

The chapters alternate between the past and the present which is something Ella Carey achieves beautifully. Emma’s complicated past is brought to life when her granddaughter Laura starts enquiring about a portrait that hangs above her grandmothers bed, Emma finds herself lost in her past as the memories come flooding back to her. The secrets from Emma’s past begin to unfold, and in turn, this brings Laura and Emma closer together as the story behind the intriguing portrait is brought to the surface.

This book was so beautifully written, It was impossible not to find myself lost in this story. The characters were unique and loveable, and their own unique traits added so many depths to the story as it unfolds. The romance that Emma and Patrick had shared was breath-taking and incredibly moving as their story is retold.

Beautifully written, full of emotion and a storyline that is impossible to forget. I adored this book.

The Things We Don't Say is my favorite type of historical novel as it features a duel time line.
Laura is the granddaughter of Emma who had a portrait painted for her back in the thirties when she was in her prime it is called, The Things We Don't Say.
Laura is going to sell this painting and use it to finance her schooling at the Royal College of Music.
When it's authenticity is called into question it's heartbreaking to Laura as she's going to use it as collateral for her art school but also Emma who now questions the authenticity of the only man she's ever loved Patrick.
I very much reading the earlier time in Emma's life. She has led a rich and full life . She had an unusual love affair with Patrick . Patrick was her only one true love but he is a gay man and she is a married woman.
I really enjoyed getting to know Emma's younger self but also as an older woman.
I was totally engrossed in this story as the mystery enfolds . The characters come to life with true to life emotions love,compassion,jealousy and ambition.
It's amazing how one's actions so many years in the past can affect one's family years into the future.
I'll look into what else this author has out to read.

Pub Date: 25 Jan 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This compelling story of love and secrets is amazing. The flow of the story reads as if it is a poem, a love letter. I loved getting to know Emma not only as an older woman but also as her younger self. The escape to the South of France was exactly what I needed.

The story of the mystery behind the painting unfolds slowly and so specifically as to not miss any details that the author is conveying. It is amazingly written for the reader to enjoy. The love story of Emma and Patrick was very intriguing. Laura idolized her grandmother, Emma and I could feel the bond that those two shared.

The story spans across a period of sixty years, two World Wars and secrets so life changing that you can’t let go of them. This book totally engulfs you. You will be whisked away at the very beginning only to experience this wonderful story for yourself. There is so much I loved about this story, the emotional journey it took me on was fantastic.