Hannah FieldingBesprekingen

Full Review on NetGalley

'The Echoes of Love.' It did not disappoint.

It was exciting and heart-pounding watching and listening to Venetia’s thoughts. I loved the beautiful descriptive narrative of Venice.
Echoes of Love is a deeply enchanting, moving, riveting, and carefully crafted read.

This was intriguing, steamy, and sweet. Aida finds herself in quite the predicament - courted by the man she had a crush on when she was younger, and son of the man who framed her father for a theft. She wants justice for her deceased father, but the heart also wants what it wants. I found myself completely lost in the pages, transported back in time as I watched Aida and Phares story play out. Aida was a great heroine, and I quickly fell in love with her. If you're looking for a captivating historical romance, you've found it!

Find more in Chill and read

Alexandra de Falla is a half-English half-Spanish young woman who was raised by her Aunt Geraldine in England, when her parents were separated and her mother was lost. She was become a beautiful woman and an author of romantic novels. After all those year growing up in England, she decides to travel to Spain and reunite with her long-estranged family.

Her arrival at El Pavon is not exactly the warm welcome of a loving family she expected. The de Fallas are riven with seething emotions, full of do’s and don’ts. Alexandra is trying to balance between her love at first sight with the country of wine, paella and flamenco and the customs and traditions of Andalucia, so foreign to her. Even so, she founds affection in the person she never thought she would. Her grandmother, the duquesa, Dona Maria Dolores, was the one that never accepted her mother and that made Alexandra feel distant to her, while the two of them were living so far away from each other. On the contrary, once they are close, they make a strong family bond and Alexandra feels safe around the duquesa.

Apart from a loving grandmother and a mischievous family, the young woman finds love in the face of a tall, handsome, masculine and honorable spaniard, Salvador. Salvador is heading the family business along with the duquesa, even though he is not a relative by blood, but an adopted one. However, he fully supports the family interests and honors his heritage. Alexandra falls from him from the first time she lays eyes on him and she is surprised by her own feelings.

This is a story of love and affection and finding one’s true identity. This is a must read for all lovers of the romantic genre, as it is a quality read full of strong emotions and the uncertainty of those who love and are not convinced their love is answered.

Hannah Fielding’s penn is remarkably passionate. Her descriptions of emotions and feelings is so strong as if the reader is actually there and can see and feel for themselves the true anguish in the heroine’s face. She tells tales and legends of Spain and the Spaniard way of living. The rules that have to be followed, the climate of the post war Spain, the traditions that prevail over logic, and so on.

The beautiful descriptions of the surroundings transfer the reader right in the heart of Andalucia. It is a fact that she can really transfer all the beauty of that marvelous region into paper and vividly create the wonderful setting behind the reader’s eyes. The details she shares are part of the story in a way to give more attention to the actual events or emotions of her heros.

“Indiscretion” is the perfect opening for the “Andalucían Nights” Trilogy and the first of Fielding’s books that I read. Will most definitely seek to her other writings as well! Oh, and that beautiful cover is now on perfect display on my bookshelf!

A romance more reminiscent of the classics than the newer, more contemporary novels on the market today. If you prefer the more contemporary books, then you are unlikely to find much enjoyment in this book. But if the more subtle, passionate romances are your cup of tea then you should definitely pick up this book! The classic romantic can't help but fall in love with this book.

This is an amazing book. It's not your typical predictable love story. The characters and the plot are incredibly complex - like real life! The story draws you in and keeps you reading as you learn more about the characters and their connections to each other.

Dark secrets under hot, breathless skies!

How much more can happen in one novel. Lost opportunities and lost dreams are bundled into this lengthy novel that leaves one exhausted.
Although I must admit the detail in the food descriptions are mouthwatering and left me scrabbling through my Greek Cookery books (Yes! I read novels on my kindle, but cookery and art books are definitely a hardcopy essential).
The archeological descriptions are crazy wonderful and inspire me to visit the Greek Islands.
The mythological stories inculcate the secrets of the past, sometimes romantic, at other times tragic, all underlined by the cruelty of the gods.
Mystery abounds about the major players.
There's torturous romance, torrid at times, twisted at others, sensitive and self absorbed.
All the key aspects for an exciting novel are there, and yes I kept on until the end. I felt the sunlight and the dark corners... and yet I felt I was watching a movie length production of The Bold and the Beautiful.
If you want a saga this is it!

A NetGalley ARC

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is an odd book for me to rate because I found the first half of the book to be 2 stars, but the second half was 4 stars. My final rating for this is 3 stars, which is the average of the two.

On an unrelated note, when I first saw that one of the epigraphs was an excerpt from Burnt Norton I was really happy. I love that poem mainly because Lana Del Rey recites it for her interlude on her Honeymoon album and I love Lana Del Rey.

So the first half of the book was 2 things: slow and cringe worthy.

In regards to its slowness, I thought that it took way too long to get to Tuscany. It took nearly 150 pages for our main character, Venetia, to finally get there. I felt like the story didn’t actually start until she arrived. A lot of the first half of the book was Venetia being wishy washy towards Paolo. She would think to herself, I love Paolo. Then the next page she would be like, I don’t love Paolo. That continued regularly until about half way through and made the book go by so slowly. I got pretty annoyed with her because she could not make up her mind. A good portion of the first half could have been removed because it was all really repetitive.

As for the cringe worthy parts, there were two lines in particular that drove me nuts. The first line described Venetia as having “neither racial or social prejudices” (41). Like okay. That’s kind of an odd thing to say in a book. The second line was when Venetia asked the Chinese fortune teller, “How come you speak such perfect English” (98). As someone who is half Asian, I really have an issue with that. It just adds to the perpetual foreigner stereotype that gets attached to Asians. It wasn’t even a necessary question for the story. Another thing that had me cringing was how predatory the males were in the beginning. Count Umberto was so horrible and even Paolo was a bit too much with his constant demands.

But then the book moved to Tuscany and things got a whole lot better. Paolo and Venetia became less annoying. There were conflicts which finally got the story moving (I loved Allegra’s character. She was really interesting). The romance finally heated up. A lot of the time it reminded me of Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast, which isn’t surprising considering Beauty and the Beast (the original fairy tale version) is mentioned on page 304 and Jane Eyre is mentioned in the author’s Q and A at the end of the book. I could definitely see the inspiration and since I love both of those I did end up enjoying the second half.

As for the big reveal at the end, I had already figured it out by that point so I wasn’t super surprised by it.

Overall, this wasn’t the best romance due to its overly long beginning but the second half saved this book from becoming a disaster. I’m am curious to read more from Hannah Fielding because out of all her books on Goodreads this one has the lowest average rating of only 3.66. All her other books have an average rating of over 4. I’m hoping that this book was just a fluke and not representation of her writing as a whole.

Earlier this year I read and reviewed Indiscretion and I enjoyed it. So when the author asked me if I would like to review Masquerade, I jumped on it. I am so glad I did. This book was even better than the first one.

While reading Indiscretion I kept getting frustrated with the characters. Luckily that didn’t happen this time around. I really liked Luz. I even enjoyed it whenever Alexandra and Salvador popped up every once and awhile. The story was amazing too. I hated putting this book down. I just didn’t want to stop reading. However, I have been in a huge reading slump lately and I’m only just coming out of it. So it took me longer to get through this book then it normally would have. If it wasn’t for the reading slump, I would have read this in a couple of days.

I think the only reason I didn’t love it and give it five stars was the fact that I knew what was going to happen. I guessed everything early on. It obviously didn’t ruin it for me since I gave it four stars. I still really enjoyed it. I just wish I hadn’t figured it all out.

Overall it was a great read and I can’t wait to read more by Hannah Fielding. If you love romance and you haven’t checked out this trilogy, you should. These are some good books. ;)

I have been sitting here for the longest time trying to figure out what to say in this review. I have no idea how I’m supposed to review this book. I liked it but it took me so long to read. It took me over a week to read and I have no idea why that is. It was good so I should have read it in a couple of days.

Indiscretion is well written and has interesting but sometimes frustrating characters. At times I would get a little annoyed with Alexandra and Salvador, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book. It just made me want to grab them and shake them….or maybe smack them. :) Also, I have no idea how Alexandra puts up with as much as she does and for as long as she does. I would have went back home not long after meeting everyone. I guess it’s a good thing she didn’t do that. Probably wouldn’t have made a very good book if she went back to England after only a few days.

Even though it took me forever to read and at times I got a little frustrated with the characters, I still wanted to keep reading. I would love to read more by Hannah Fielding in the future. If you’re into romance, you should check this one out.

Find more in https://chillandreadblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/17/indiscretion-by-hannah-fieldin...

Alexandra de Falla is a half-English half-Spanish young woman who was raised by her Aunt Geraldine in England, when her parents were separated and her mother was lost. She was become a beautiful woman and an author of romantic novels. After all those year growing up in England, she decides to travel to Spain and reunite with her long-estranged family.

Her arrival at El Pavon is not exactly the warm welcome of a loving family she expected. The de Fallas are riven with seething emotions, full of do’s and don’ts. Alexandra is trying to balance between her love at first sight with the country of wine, paella and flamenco and the customs and traditions of Andalucia, so foreign to her. Even so, she founds affection in the person she never thought she would. Her grandmother, the duquesa, Dona Maria Dolores, was the one that never accepted her mother and that made Alexandra feel distant to her, while the two of them were living so far away from each other. On the contrary, once they are close, they make a strong family bond and Alexandra feels safe around the duquesa.

Apart from a loving grandmother and a mischievous family, the young woman finds love in the face of a tall, handsome, masculine and honorable spaniard, Salvador. Salvador is heading the family business along with the duquesa, even though he is not a relative by blood, but an adopted one. However, he fully supports the family interests and honors his heritage. Alexandra falls from him from the first time she lays eyes on him and she is surprised by her own feelings.

This is a story of love and affection and finding one’s true identity. This is a must read for all lovers of the romantic genre, as it is a quality read full of strong emotions and the uncertainty of those who love and are not convinced their love is answered.

Hannah Fielding’s penn is remarkably passionate. Her descriptions of emotions and feelings is so strong as if the reader is actually there and can see and feel for themselves the true anguish in the heroine’s face. She tells tales and legends of Spain and the Spaniard way of living. The rules that have to be followed, the climate of the post war Spain, the traditions that prevail over logic, and so on.

The beautiful descriptions of the surroundings transfer the reader right in the heart of Andalucia. It is a fact that she can really transfer all the beauty of that marvelous region into paper and vividly create the wonderful setting behind the reader’s eyes. The details she shares are part of the story in a way to give more attention to the actual events or emotions of her heros.

“Indiscretion” is the perfect opening for the “Andalucían Nights” Trilogy and the first of Fielding’s books that I read. Will most definitely seek to her other writings as well! Oh, and that beautiful cover is now on perfect display on my bookshelf!

I loved this book! It's a typically love story of meeting your love in a foreign country. Lies, secrets and passion, I would definitely recommend this book!

A sweet romance story that intrigues and mystifies. Complex characters. Complex story line. A fascinating insight into Spain and the gypsy lifestyle. Well worth reading for a light hearted romance story.

The doctor that she is about to meet is nothing like she pictured, he is younger more handsome and he does things to her body that she isn't happy with.
Ruy is attracted to Luna and he can't stop thinking of her but she isn't falling at his feet like all the other woman do and he can't understand why. They both find it very hard working with each other as Luna starts to like him and she is here to do a job not fall for any man.
Ruy has a secret that will destroy their new relationship, he just doesn't know how to tell her that he was driving the car when her half sister died, how will she ever forgive him? Luna is angry that he kept it from her but she has her own secret and she knows that he will never trust her again.
The more they learn about each other and their family secrets they more they realize that they could have a future but they just need to trust each other before they lose everything.
A great story full of fairytales, letting go of the past and make new memories. I was lucky enough to receive a copy from the author.

Romantic fiction is not one of my preferred genres. However I recently decided to read more widely, and selected Hannah’s book as it was about Spain, which is where I live.
I’m glad I did.
It will not shoot romance to the top of my reading pile, but it has taught me that there is excellent writing out there other than the genres I more regularly follow.
The strengths I found in her writing were threefold.
Firstly, the importance of a strong and believable storyline, which is carefully and skilfully maintained throughout her novel.
Secondly, the way she gradually built up your understanding of the two main characters. Quite often you learn everything about characters very quickly. However Hanna continually adds more information and develops her protagonists step by step, so you gradually realise their complexities as the story develops. This means that the ground shifts as you read, and you are constantly remain unsure of what these two characters will do next.
The other matter which impressed me in her writing was how time was taken now and again to relax from the story itself. In a paragraph she vividly describes perhaps a place in a way which enables you to visualise it just as she intends. This is in my opinion is perhaps the most impressive aspect of Hanna’s writing skills.

Luna and Ruy make so many sparks in Hannah Fielding's "Legacy", you'd think a wild fire is about to start. I loved every passion filled bit of "Legacy".

The year is 1950 and Alexandra de Falla, an author, is living in London with her aunt. Her mother died when she was young and her mostly absent Spanish father lives on his family's property in Andalucía. After he unexpectedly comes to see her, she accepts his invitation to visit Spain where she will meet his new wife and their daughter-her half sister. She hoped the family would welcome her, but this is not what happens. Only her grandmother and one cousin are welcoming. The reality she discovers is that she has entered into a world of secrets, intrigue and frightening customs. Despite this, she experiences a passion she has never known before once she meets the mysterious Salvador Cervantes de Rueda. Even though he shares her passion he adamantly wants her to return to London. He tells her they have no future together and she is in danger if she stays in Andalucía. Time after time, Alexandra refuses to leave even though Salvador continues to push her away. Can she convince this perplexing man that they can be together? The author has woven an exciting and engrossing story. She brings alive a world of bull fighting, gypsies and fascinating cultures all set in a stunning landscape. I found this novel to be an elegantly written love story and well worth reading.

The Echoes of Love, a novel by Hannah Fielding, opens in Venice in 2000. Venetia moved there from England in an attempt to build a new life for herself after suffering a life altering tragedy. She will not allow anyone else to ever hurt her again. One evening the mysterious Paolo saves her from an attack. Paolo has suffered a personal tragedy as well and even though he is known to be a playboy it is Venetia who captures his heart. Venetia is admittedly attracted to him, but does everything in her power to resist his attempts at romance. Paolo is a persistent man and just when it seems that he and Venetia can have true love their happiness is threatened. Shocking secrets are revealed and lives are changed.
This is a stunningly told epic love story. By using lush imagery and beautiful prose the author has crafted a engrossing and passionate tale. The reader is transported to the wonders, culture and beauty of Venice and Tuscany.

I found this to be a remarkable novel and I highly recommend reading it.

Burning Embers, a novel by Hannah Fielding, is a stunning and epic love story set in Kenya. Twenty-five year old Coral Sinclair was born in Kenya, but after her parents divorce she lived in England. The story opens in 1970 and Coral is returning to Kenya to claim her inheritance of a plantation. She has experienced two losses: her father died and she ended her engagement. During her trip an encounter with Rafe, a mysterious and attractive older man, changes her life. The attraction between them is instantaneous and intense. Once in Kenya, Coral learns that Rafe has the reputation of being a womanizer. There are those who consider him to be the devil. He shrouds his past for reasons of his own. She may be naive, but she recognizes the effect he has on her and what ensues is a complex and frustrating relationship with an uncertain future.
The author paints a beautiful and vivid picture with her mesmerizing descriptions of Kenya's landscape. She brings the colors and the scents alive. Even though it is a place not without danger, it is magical and the perfect setting for this romantic story. Fate may have brought Coral and Rafe together, but is it enough?
I found Burning Embers to be a beautifully told story with well developed and memorable characters in an exotic setting. This book is well worth reading.
Highly recommended.

Burning Embers is an evocative story, full of lush imagery, fascinating characters, and exotic locales. Hannah Fielding’s use of the English language is inspiring, her descriptions of Kenya are utterly mesmerizing, and could only have been written by one knows the subject first hand, which the author does. Her writing is vivid, compelling, magical.

The story of Coral Sinclair and Rafe de Montfort is not the usual romantic tale. It’s an upmarket saga, full of mystery, twists, and turns as Coral seeks her just inheritance in a country in political upheaval and an expatriate English community. Coral is a strong, independent woman who knows her mind. A truly cinematic story.

Hannah Fielding’s elegant prose drew me onto the story right away, and I was sad when it was over. I’m definitely looking for more from this author. Burning Embers is smart, sensual, contemporary fiction with a seamless five-star execution

This was one of those books that I was on the fence about. Didn't know if I would like it or if it would hold my interest. Within the first chapter I was pulled in and didn't come up for air until the final word was read. (Stayed up all night!!) It is a unique story with wonderful writing.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to really get into the story, but after a certain point it got better and better with each chapter and I had a hard time putting the book down! There is a lot of intrigue, the characters and their emotions are complex, and the descriptions are vivid. I would definitely recommend Masquerade!

The story is about finding the roots one person holds and has denied and longed for all her life, two different culture mix based on sad story of her divorced parents and half of family which is unknown to main Alexandra's character. Finding her own experience and going through the first love and realizing to love and being in love is not as easy as she have written in her books and often involves complexity one without a help can solve. The main character Alexandra is a young writer who lives with her aunt in England and her life is modern according to the time, when she goes for a trip "home" finding her Spanish roots complicated and "old" traditions and family daily routine seems culture shock. The character learns not to trust everyone, its a trip of finding relationships, friendships and enemies.

This is real drama book, the story twists and turns and involves higher or lower drama at the different stages of the story. Each character fulfills its role and acts accordingly to that, which at a well written conflict situation-is complicated.

Note : This review was originally published in Book And Ink


Having read Hannah’s “Echoes of Love” before, I knew I could expect an intense love story. The book didn’t disappoint me. Set in Kenya, in the 1970s, the book describes Africa’s lush beauty, the culture and its people through our protagonist, Coral’s story.

Coral, our young and heartbroken protagonist – a photographer, returns to Mpingo, Africa to claim her inheritance upon her father’s demise. On her journey, she meets the intensely charismatic Rafe, the man who is projected to be a womanizer.

In spite of rumors that Rafe’s affair with his stepmother was the reason behind her dad’s death, Coral is drawn to him. Rafe is the quintessential brooding yet gentleman hero. Sparks fly between them and they embark on a journey to find each other.
The characterization was impeccable. The writer managed to show various shade of the character in spite narrating a romantic story.

The other thing that surely deserves mention is the background of the story line – Mpingo. Africa has always been described a dangerous place filled with thieves. Most of the books that I’ve read set in Africa, portrayed the place as a desert of sorts with rickety buses and red dust looming. This book was a refreshing change. I could visualize the waterfalls and the lush greenery. Africa is indeed one beautiful place.

The story was well writing and the writer’s grip over the language enhanced the beauty of the book.

The cover art deserves a mention. The purple shade and model in the cover give the story line a much deserved air of mystery. The title on the other hand could have been better.

One thing that I found a little monotonous was Rafe’s character. I was reminded of Paolo from “The Echoes of Love”. They are both passionate men with a past for which they blame themselves to an extent. They are handsome, brooding and intense lovers. This similarity could have been avoided in the latter book.

MY SAY: Recommended for pure romance lovers. Ideal romance with a historical setup.

RATING:
• PLOT : 8/10
• CHARACTERISATION : 6/10
• NARRATION : 8/10
• BOREDOM QUOTIENT: 3/10 (THE LOWER THE BETTER!)
• OVER ALL RATING : 7.5/10

Note : This review is up in my blog, Book And Ink

Hannah fielding’s latest book, Indiscretion is a tale of a young woman, Alexandra who travels to Spain to meet her estranged father and his family upon their invitation to her. Feeling suffocated with her life in London with her aunt, she yearns for a sense of belonging from her estranged family in Spain only to get caught in tornado of stronger emotions. She meets a dark and irresistible stranger who then turns out to be her own cousin Salvador. They go on to find love in-spite of facing mammoth obstacles.

The writing was intense and filled with dark, sinister and pleasurable emotions. The insanely romantic backdrop of Spain described in detail, adds a sense of mystery to the euphony of emotions that Hannah has created with her characters. The writing is simply fluidic and many a time, I felt like I was actually witnessing the story playing out. The chemistry between the protagonists, Alexandra and Salvador is simply crackling. Needless to say the characterization was perfect; though Salvador’s character frustrated me at times. He isn’t really sure about his feeling towards Alexandra yet he loves her madly, conflicting isn’t it? I felt that the writer went a wee bit overboard in bringing a lot of characters just to give the reader an authentic feel of Spanish culture filled with gypsies and magpies.

The story is supposedly set in 1950s but Spain is portrayed more or less like a backward country in terms of the culture. The parts set in England felt more Victorian to me.

MY SAY: Intense romantic tale that would take you on an emotional roller coaster

PLOT: 7/10

CHARACTERISATION: 6/10

NARRATION: 9.5/10

BOREDOME QUOTIENT: 3/10 (The lower the better!)

OVERALL RATING : 8/10