This book has caught my eye on the shelves many times. It was in the Kindle sale so I thought I might as well finally give in and give it a go. I've never read anything by Victoria Hislop before but was told her writing is beautiful, and they were right.

Here we have Alexis, deciding on whether her boyfriend Ed is right for her. She wants to be an archaeologist however she realises that she hardly knows anything of her own family's past, let alone other peoples. Before she returns to university she goes to find out, ending up in Plaka, Crete. The novel is in four parts as we're taken right to the beginning of Alexis' great-grandmother Eleni and slowly work our way up to Sofia, her mother.

As I got this book a while ago I forgot what it was about, but as I read it I found that added to the mystery of the novel and I quickly got into it. Like I said, the way it was written was beautiful and, as a reader, I had clear images of what was happening in my head. The whole story takes place in Crete and an island of Spinalonga where people with leprosy are kept. A wonderful place for such a wonderful tale.

It was an emotional story that had me gripped. Like Alexis I was eager to find out about her mothers past too and the reasons why she kept it a secret for all this time. There were many times throughout this story that I wanted to cry, but there are also some happy moments to break it up. Out of all the characters I liked Maria the best. She had so much to deal with and she was strong whilst terrible things were happening. There are some twists that shocked me and I found myself reading with my jaw on the floor.

I haven't read a book this beautifully written since Her Fearful Symmetry. I'm pleased I came across this book and this author. I've never really read anything like it and I don't want it to be the last. For some people this book may seem long but for me the pages just flew past.