The Secrets of Hawthorn Place: A heartfelt and charming dual-time story of the power of love

This book was a little different to those I usually read but I am so pleased I read it because it is just superb! The historical architectural details are fascinating and the twist between the two storylines is so clever. I read it in a weekend I couldn't put it down, if I could give it more than 5 stars I would and I am now desperate for more books from Jenni Keer.

feel I am slightly late to the Praise Party, what an incredible book. 👏We meet the most obnoxious, selfish 24 year old Molly, the world owes her a living for just being alive. Spoilt and overindulged to the core by her stepfather Brian and her mother, humoured by her best friend Izzy. Even her now Ex Rupert spent their entire relationship spoiling her, and then it happens, he dumps her. With nowhere to go and nowhere to stay, a dead-end job which is an insult to her degree.She ends up at Hawthorn Place, staying with her beloved granddad, who is grieving heavily for her grandma Briggie. Here she is stuck with no WiFi, no money and no one to do anything for her, here she learns a lesson or two about herself and how she behaves and day by day her attitude and life transforms, she evens teaches herself to cook and clean thanks to a part time job she acquires underhandededly with gentle but troubled giant Rory. Her romantic life is spiced up by the handsome Harrison.We flip between the Present Day and the late 1800s where we meet bachelor Percy Gladwell the architect behind Hawthorn Place, Mrs Marston and her husband Edward. A forbidden love ensues, but does it conquer all, how could it bridge 200 miles and a filandering, possessive husband?Step inside this magical, inspirational book to find out. 100% a 5☆ read. Can’t wait to read more.Thanks to Heidi Swain and Sue Baker for introducing me to this wonderful author.You can find the book here: The Secrets of Hawthorn Place: A heartfelt and charming dual-time story of the power of love

This is an absolutely wonderful dual time story with magical elements that captivated me from the very first page and kept me spellbound. Based on two amazing Arts & Crafts houses, mysteriously designed and built by the same architect, the story slowly unfolds. To begin with, the heroine in the present, Molly, is naïve, spoiled and entitled, but she is also endearing and the reader can’t help but like her. Bewildered by her parents’ sudden tough love, we watch her grow in maturity and blossom as she gains some valuable insights and starts to turn her life around. Her adventures throughout a summer spent with her grandfather in Dorset were a joy to read about. Then there is 19th century architect Percy, whose unrequited love seems hopeless, even though the reader wants nothing more than for him to be happy. Gentle humour abounds, and there is a simmering love story in the present, as well as an all-consuming one in the past. Both were equally riveting and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves a truly great timeslip story.

An unusual and intriguing story with threads in the past and the present and even a touch of magic.I loved the story in the past of Percy Gladwell and Violet and would have loved more of this storyline. I wanted to tell Molly’s mother off for letting her grow up so hopeless with practical living, but I guess she made exceptions for her daughter given their circumstances.Given this, I found it more difficult to relate to Mollie, but warmed to her as the book progressed. And admired the changes she made in her life.The architectural details about Arts and Crafts houses and the insight into the architect’s life are fascinating. I liked the fact that I had previously visited Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton, which has William Morris wallpapers and an Arts and Crafts collection and could visualise the houses and the wallpaper in the book very vividly as a result.The book had me laughing aloud at times and thinking deeply at others. A great read.

As a 24-year-old graduate, Molly should be at the beginning of a good career, looking forward to the future, but she is going nowhere. Working in a call centre in London, she has depended on her boyfriend, Rupert, to pay all their bills and her only ambition seems to be to enjoy her social life. So when their relationship ends, she is homeless and even her parents say they cannot accommodate her at present. Her only option is to stay with her grandfather, Wally, in Dorset, who is still grieving the death of her grandmother. Her non-existent housekeeping skills mean that she struggles to cook and clean but gradually Molly follows the guidance her grandmother had shown and learns responsibility.Wally’s house, Hawthorn Place has always meant a lot to Molly and now she researches the Arts and Crafts architectural style and the biography of its architect, Percy Gladwell. In occasional chapters we follow Percy’s life in late Victorian England. He has been commissioned by Edward and Violet Marston to design a house on the Norfolk coast for them. Percy specialises in creating personal houses for each client and he uses motifs from nature for decoration. It is soon clear that Violet will be the spiritual lead for the design, and he becomes interested both in the garden she proposes and in Violet herself.Although working hard to cheer Wally’s spirits and engage him in gardening, which he once loved, she stumbles into an unwise new relationship. The discovery of an amazing secret in Hawthorn Place leads her to a job with recluse, Rory Brooker, who also needs her help, but she finds herself in a network of lies with no easy way out.This dual time story deals with personal relationships, love and maturity and the reader gradually identifies with Molly in her struggle to understand the people who are important to her. In parallel we follow the story of two lonely people more than a century earlier in an intriguing tale of magical realism.