>The Swallow and The Hummingbird by Santa Montefiore

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• Paperback: 474 pages
• Genre: Romantic Fiction
• Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton 2004 – This edition Hodder Paperback 2007.
• Source: Purchased Oxfam Bookshop in UK
• Review Quote: ‘Santa is the new Rosamunde Pilcher’ Victoria Mather, Daily Mail.
• My Opinion : The above quote is spot on I think especially as Rosamunde Pilcher retired from writing in 2000.

The setting is England and the Argentine, starting just after the end of WWII when George Bolton returns home to Frognal Point a quiet seaside village in Devon. The sweetheart he left behind before the war, Rita Fairweather has waited patiently for his return, expecting their relationship to continue from where it left off. George though is no longer the boy who went off to war and became a Spitfire pilot, he finds himself unable to settle back into his previous way of life. He decides that he needs to get away for awhile to get over his wartime experiences and departs againn to spend a year with relations in Argentina. Rita although disappointed resolves to wait for him in Devon as she feels unable to go with him if they are not yet married. Would you wait for ever for the love of your life? This is what happens to Rita as she keeps her promise to George, he however finds a different life that he enjoys and it is ten years before he returns to England again.
The Swallow and The Hummingbird was Santa’s fourth novel to be published back in 2005, the year after we left the UK to live in Italy so I somehow missed obtaining a copy until I found one at the end of last year. It is three years since I have read one of her novels but this was just as I expected it to be a richly woven tale with a large cast of characters and lots of vivid detail. Recommended for all lovers of romantic fiction, especially fans of Rosamunde Pilcher.


For more information on this author and her work please visit my blog post.
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