I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the beautiful and moving Her Last Promise by Kathryn Hughes. Thank you to Anne Cater and Headline Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book.
About the book:
Fall in love this summer with Her Last Promise, a gripping, heartwrenching story of how hope can blossom in the ruins of tragedy and of the redeeming power of love. From No. 1 bestselling author of The Letter Kathryn Hughes.
Tara Richards was just a girl when she lost her mother. Years later when Tara receives a letter from a London solicitor its contents shake her to the core. Someone has left her a key to a safe deposit box. In the box lies an object that will change everything Tara thought she knew and lead her on a journey to deepest Spain in search of the answers that have haunted her for forty years.
Violet Skye regrets her decision to travel abroad leaving her young daughter behind. As the sun dips below the mountains, she reminds herself she is doing this for their future. Tonight, 4th June 1978, will be the start of a new life for them. This night will indeed change Violet’s destiny, in the most unexpected of ways…
About the author:
Kathryn Hughes was born in Altrincham, near Manchester. After completing a secretarial course, Kathryn met her husband and they married in Canada. For twenty-nine years they ran a business together, raised two children and travelled when they could to places such as India, Singapore, South Africa and New Zealand. Kathryn and her family now make their home in a village near Manchester. Her first novel, The Letter, was a Kindle Number One bestseller.
My Review:
The perfect summer read, Her Last Promise by Kathryn Hughes is a book about love, life, loss and family. It’s a dual timeline story that tells the tale of mother and daughter Violet and Tara. It’s set in both the present day and the 1970’s, beginning in 2018 when Tara receives a letter from a London solicitor that will change everything she thought she knew about the loss of her mother. The story then moves back to 1978 when Tara is a child and her mother, Violet, is trying (and failing) to make ends meet to keep a roof over their heads.
To say too much about what happens would do this wonderful book a disservice as this is a story you need to savour and experience as you read. I love a book with a dual timeline and this one works incredibly well as the story moves seamlessly back and forth between 1978 and 2018, with Tara trying to find answers to the questions that have haunted her for forty years. The story moves between England and Spain, with the beautiful San Sedeza brought so vividly to life it felt like I was there.
Back in 1978, when Violet doesn’t return from Spain, young Tara is left bereft and alone. But in steps Alf, the man who had taken them in when they had nowhere to go. He becomes like a grandfather to Tara and their relationship is one of the things I loved the most about this book. In 2018, as Tara slowly begins to uncover the secrets of the past, the truth when it emerges is even more shocking than anything she could ever have imagined.
Her Last Promise is a beautifully written story of epic proportions that will sweep you up and carry you along on a tsunami of emotions. It’s at times heartbreaking, but is full of so much warmth and heart that you can’t help but fall in love with it. Tara and Violet’s story is a fascinating one and Kathryn Hughes has written a gripping story that has the ability to keep on surprising you right up until the final page has been turned.
A gorgeous read that I would highly recommend.
Her Last Promise by Kathryn Hughes is available to buy now: Amazon UK
Check out what these other lovely bloggers have to say:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Thanks for this fabulous blog tour support Cal x
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