In early 2016, I was having a conversation with a dear friend about a recent day trip and the photographs I had taken, during which she said I should share my photographs wider and write about the stories behind them. I read a wide range of genres and I am willing to try most genres once, but I do keep going back to both contemporary and historical fiction more than anything else.Д«ooks are a big part of my life and I started my blog, Sarah's Vignettes, so I could share my love for them.ДЇrom an early age, I have loved taking photographs and with the advent of social media, I love sharing them with family and friends. I have been reading books from a very early age and before I could read, I was always flicking through picture books - I'm sure I was born with a book in my hand! I adore books and I am a keen photographer. I thought that she highlighted well the digital world that Charlie is growing up in and the importance of conversation and honesty between generations. Fanny Blake captures how special those grandparent-grandchild relationships can be. I particularly enjoyed the intergenerational relationship between Isla and Charlie. Throughout we learn how secrets that have spanned generations have shaped the characters lives. I love a dual-timeline novel, and Fanny Blake has structured this one really well, seamlessly weaving together the past and present to meet a natural conclusion.ДЇanny Blake has drawn some believable characters in Isla, her sisters, her daughter Helen and her granddaughter Charlie. Her writing is accomplished: itвЂ™s realistic вЂ“ not fluffy вЂ“ yet compassionate and emotional without being sentimental. In 1954, we follow IslaвЂ™s mum as she cares for a little boy in Paris.ДЇanny BlakeвЂ™s experience as a publisher, novelist, book reviewer and reader is evident throughout The Long Way Home. With her reluctant 14-year-old granddaughter Charlie in tow, the pair go on a road trip to discover the truth. 2019 follows IslaвЂ™s journey to find out the truth behind why her mother left her nothing but a painting when she died. The Long Way Home is set between the UK in 2019 and Paris in 1954. The Long Way HomeВ is one of those stories that I found myself thinking about as I went about my day and looked forward to sitting down to read and catch up with the cast of characters. My gosh, what I have been missing! If The Long Way HomeВ is anything to go by, I need to immediately read Fanny BlakeвЂ™s backlist. When SJ at Simon and Schuster kindly sent me a finished hardback copy of The Long Way Home, I was delighted. My mum keeps telling me how good her novels are, IвЂ™ve read snippets, and weвЂ™ve chatted at Readers Day at Guildford Book Festival and other events, so I should have read one before now. I have a confession to make: this is the first of Fanny BlakeвЂ™s novels IвЂ™ve read from cover to cover. The Long Way Home is set in the UK and 1950s Paris where the story really begins, spanning four generations of women and the secrets that get passed down through them.

Cramped together in IslaвЂ™s car with her smelly old dog, these ill-assorted travelling companions set off to uncover some shattering and life-changing family truths at the same time as learning to love each otherвЂ¦ So, to find an explanation for her motherвЂ™s rejection, she embarks on a road-trip.Д«ut, right at the last moment, sheвЂ™s forced to take her sullen вЂ“ and, in her view, impossible вЂ“ 14-year-old granddaughter Charlie with her. Close to retirement, getting ready to live on her own terms, the last thing she expects at this time of her life is such turmoil.

When Isla, a 65-year-old grandmother, is left nothing but an old painting in her motherвЂ™s will, while her sisters and aunt inherit the estate, she is devastated. ~ From the back of the book ~ДЄ family secret, a mysterious legacy, and a journey that will change everythingвЂ¦ My thanks to SJ at Simon and Schuster for sending me a hardback copy of the book in return for this honest review.Д«efore I share my thoughts with you, here is what The Long Way Home is about. I am thrilled to be sharing my review of The Long Way Home by Fanny Blake with you on its publication as a paperback book here in the UK.

A long way home novel