The Winter Folly By Lulu Taylor

[amazon_link id=”1447230485″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’The Winter Folly’ is the latest book by Lulu Taylor.

It is 1965 and young Alexandra Crewe obediently marries the man her father has selected for her. But very soon both she and her husband Laurence realize that their marriage is a disaster. When real love finds Alexandra, plucking her out of her unhappy existence, she is powerless to resist. Her home becomes Fort Stirling, a beautiful Dorset castle, but Alexandra fears that there will be a price to pay for this wonderful new life. When tragedy strikes, it seems that her punishment has come, and there is only one way she can atone for her sins . . .

In the present day, Delilah Young is the second wife of John Stirling and the new chatelaine of Fort Stirling. The house seems to be a sad one and Delilah hopes to fill it with life and happiness. But when she attempts to heal the heartbreak in John’s life, it seems that the forces of the past might be too strong for her. Why does John have such a hatred for the old folly on the hill, and what happened to his mother when she vanished from his life? As Delilah searches for the truth, she realizes that perhaps some secrets are better left buried . . .

For those who have read books by Lulu Taylor, they will be used to her slightly risqué books of illicit affairs, sex and greed packed with glamorous ladies and exotic locations, but with ‘The Winter Folly’ it seems that the bonk buster author has taken a different route.

For me, ‘The Winter Folly’ was a more sadder, slow paced book with many troubled characters and an extremely interesting plot that made for captivating reading.

The story is seen from perspectives of Alex and Delilah, set in past and present times. The past part of the story is seen through the narrative of Alex, a timid and placid 19 year old who in 1965 marries a man she barely knows, unexperienced and unhappy with the relationship, she tries her hardest to be the perfect wife, but without love and friendship the marriage is doomed from the start. But on a chance encounter from an old family friend Nicky, Alex finds a new lust for life as he introduces her to new friends, parties and most importantly falls in love. Sadly the relationship doesn’t start easily but through the years they create a lovely family at Nicky’s home Fort Stirling and a houseful of happy memories but when a tragedy strikes, Alex falls apart and the house that Alex calls home becomes nothing more than an hurtful and empty shell of recollections.

Meanwhile years later in the present, Delilah is now living in Fort Stirling, years later after the tragedy but her husband John who is Alex’s son is haunted by bad memories but refuses to let her in, no matter how much she tries. So Delilah sets off by herself determined to find out what really happened at Fort Stirling and what became of Alex.

‘The Winter Folly’ is a cleverly written story that makes for intriguing reading. Effortlessly flowing from one generation to the next, it tells a story of love, pain and anguish that settles in a house for decades. With a cast of complex but tender characters and an extremely strong underlying element of sadness, the book shows just how long a story can lie hidden and maybe sometimes it’s better for the truth to be uncovered. ‘The Winter Folly’ is a change of pace for Lulu, but a very welcome one to say the very least, a poignant, sophisticated and romantic love story that has many unexpected and cruel twists throughout, that will have the reader gripped.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1447230485″ target=”_blank” ]The Winter Folly from Amazon [/amazon_link]and is available to buy from good bookshops.