Holding Paradise

by Fran Clark

From the Caribbean to the streets of London, Holding Paradise paints a passionate portrait of family secrets, forbidden love and two women pushed to the edge.

Angelica’s seemingly perfect life is torn apart when a family secret is uncovered. At risk of losing her husband and daughter, she boards a plane in desperation to seek the advice of the person whose stories have guided her through life. Her mother, Josephine.

Josephine’s life by comparison, has come full circle, starting and ending in the Caribbean. She weathers a lifetime of betrayal and deceit, though her sole focus is to keep her family together during troubled times. It is with a broken heart that she endures her marriage and manages to raise her children with colourful stories that prove to be lessons to light their way.

It’s the wisdom of one of these stories that Angelica seeks and Josephine has one last story to tell – the story that will change both of their lives.

310 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2014

About the author

London born, Fran Clark’s first novel, Holding Paradise, was published by Indigo Dreams Publishing in April 2014. During that year, Fran passed her Creative Writing MA with Distinction at Brunel University. Her second novel, When Skies Are Grey, was shorlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2016.
Fran has been a ghost writer of women’s fiction and has written numerous articles for online magazines.

In 2024 her 4 book series, Island Secrets, will be published.

Under the pseudonym, Rosa Temple, Fran signed a three book deal with HQ Digital an imprint of Harper Collins. Also The Slow Lane Walkers Club published by Simon & Schuster UK.

Fran has worked as a professional singer and song-writer. Still writing and recording music, Fran teachers vocals and runs a contemporary choir.
Now living in the Herefordshire countryside, Fran experiments with vegan cookery, relaxes with yoga and creates stories in the peace and tranquillity of her country cottage.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a definite grower where I became increasingly invested in the characters. At first I thought that I would not enjoy the story because there are some abrupt time shifts within the chapters; it felt like I was being dragged back into the past and I struggled to keep up with the time frames. However, as I got used to Angelica’s flashbacks whilst on board her flight, I was keen to know her story.

Moving between Angelica and her mother, I was fascinated to see how events in Josephine’s life echoed in Angelica’s, despite being different generations. Seeing Josephine move to London in the 1960s, she was challenged by a new and strange way of life – unfriendliness from strangers, a cold climate and a suffocatingly small flat. The writer also acknowledges the undercurrent racism that was still evident at this time and I also enjoyed seeing the references to the Teddy Boys that James encounters. Josephine’s story was interesting because I wanted to learn about Angelica’s parents and how Josephine overcomes the marriage struggles she experiences with James.

In present day, Angelica is quite moody with her fellow flyer, only eventually accepting that this stranger is not going to be quiet. Through his persistent questions, readers learn about what brought Angelica to be flying home again. Her life story was just as interesting as Josephine’s, even though it is in the modern world, and I thought it was clever how emotional parallels were established between the two women.

The characterisation in this novel was vivid and I felt connected to both Josephine and Angelica. Their struggles felt realistic and I sympathised with the challenges they faced. As a result, I wanted to carry on reading this book to learn more about the different stories that echo one another. Whilst the male characters were not always admirable leads, I liked seeing how the female reacted to them, even if Angelica is a bit moody at times!

This was a surprising read and I enjoyed it far more than I expected. It is a drama that explores a family across two generations, showing how love, loyalty and culture can define your decisions.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fran very kindly sent me an ARC of her wonderful book and I really enjoyed it.

I always enjoy Fran’s writing style, it flows so well and is easy to read and understand. I loved the movement between past to present within this book as you learn about Josephine and Angelica and their lives. By the end I felt like I was sat right there listening to Josephine tell her story to her daughter.

While I enjoyed Angelica’s chapters and how she told her story, I did feel more invested in Josephine’s story. From her life in the Caribbean to moving to London during the 1950’s to be with her husband. Her chapters were difficult to read at times as they involved child loss and racial discrimination. But Fran did an excellent job of handling these difficult topics with sensitivity.

Overall, I really enjoyed Holding Paradise and I’m looking forward to reading the second book in the series in the coming month.

[Vivian]

This book is the intergenerational story of a mother and daughter and their struggles in their everyday lives. From the Caribbean to London we read about their emotions, betrayal, happiness and resilience, but also about a society that treat immigrants as the dangerous others, especially in the 1960s when Josephine, the mother, comes to London, following her husband.
This book will grab you from beginning to end, the heartwrenching story will have you ruling for both women happiness and for a happy ending, did they get it? You will have to read it to find out.

[Angela Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a perfect storm, painted in the bright colours of the Caribbean and the softer palette of England. A storm of love, courage, and betrayal that spans three generations and could destroy all in its way or clear the path to peace. A glorious, joyful, heartbreaking read.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

She has just learnt a secret and she is devastated. She is going to go and see her mother even if it messes her life up with her husband and child. How will it all go? Can she get the answers she needs? What will happen next? Follow her story to find out

[Nadia Jonesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the read. I found that the book was really made for someone that has the same background and I found it very enjoyable to read .

[Paula Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most enjoyable story with very likeable characters, I truly enjoyed this book and have no hesitation in recommending it to other readers.

[Jeane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angelica's life has been going well lately with a great daughter, thriving business and a great partner. But one day she makes a mistake which is costing her everything. She is desperate, her life keeps crumbling further, so she decides to go back to the island her family comes from and see her mother, who seems to be the key for Angelica to turn around her life and win back those she loves.
At the same time we are taken back to the sixties, when Josephine has just left behind her country, her family to move to London where her husband is waiting for her to start a family. What Josephine immediately realises is that gone are the colours from her home country, gone is the warmth of the people around her. Her life isn't what she dreamed of and soon she has to march through a life of betrayal, secrets and loss. She does it with her head high, holding in to her values.
Having read other stories from Fran Clark my expectations were high and ready for another beautiful story of her. And also in Holding Paradise she delivers with a well written story about people, values, courage, love and friendship. It took me longer to get into this one and I think only towards the end I was getting more into the story. Only then I managed to see clearly the build up and the beautiful coming together.
If you are looking for an author who manages to write feel good stories but with a bit more substance, I would suggest you try Fran Clark her books!
What I liked again about it is how lively and correctly described the places are. I was nodding in agreement when Josephine arrived in London and found a grey city, where nobody greets you and everybody is always rushing. I remember the first time I went to live in London and I thought...so much hasn't changed apparently!😁

[Merlyn Millon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First: I won this in a Goodreads offering in exchange for my honest review.
I struggled with this book.
Struggled.
For one, it took me almost two months to read it.

While the island is never mentioned by name, I suspect the author and I are cut from the same cloth and our tiny little island got to play a bit of a character. Perhaps it was because the tiny island, the backbone of the book, had been (obviously in my opinion) a bit misrepresented. Whenever the story would feature island speak, it was a diminished version of a people who speak a wonderful, sing-song version of the Kings' English.

I had to divorce myself from the way the book was written to actually enjoy it. As far as authors go, I generally think the HOW of writing a book is just as important as the topic; that the author's style so contradicted my favorite authors definitely hurt my reading. But that's my fault.

The book was a slow simmer for most of its nearly 310 pages- in hindsight, that's not a bad thing. Angelica Ford is on a plane wanting to go home to find some clarity and we find out why in a series of back-flashes. What's more, we find, intertwined in her own, the stories of her mother (which I found leaps and bounds more compelling) and her daughter, Eva (whose story I wish had been really unpacked).

On finding her daughter is having an affair with someone in their family, Angelica drops her marriage and her business to escape home to her mother. On a flight to the West Indies, she meets a man who is escaping from his life in an entirely different way- his wife has left him. The course of the book is told to explain how we got to this point, with just about 20 pages of resolution.

There wasn't a sense of catharsis at the end of this.
But I gave it four stars.
I saw where Ms. Clark was going and I think to that end, she succeeded. While sometimes reading the novel felt like a chore, the author deftly created really wonderfully dimensional characters who I thought of hours and days after I finished reading a section.

The characters had in complexity what I felt the story itself lacked in dimension. Not bad, not bad at all.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

[review also posted on my blog at http://beentherereadthatreviewedthebo...]

Holding Paradise is a poignant tale about the lives of two women, Angelica and her mother Josephine. Motherhood, racism, love, friendship and adultery are just a few of the themes Fran Clark has used in this book and she’s written them wonderfully.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect with the format of this book. For the most part, Holding Paradise switches between Angelica and Josephine, both looking back on their lives. At first I found the changes in time and character a little hard to follow but as I carried on reading, it was easy to become engrossed in their stories and it was no longer confusing.

I was amazed by how well the author made me care for the two main characters. As they thought back on their trials and tribulations, I was gripped and full of empathy for Angelica and Josephine. Their characters were really well developed and the fact that most of Holding Paradise was based on the past didn’t put me off at all because it was all written brilliantly. I found myself learning about how difficult life was made for some people back in the years this book was set in, especially surrounding race and marriage, and I loved how insightful it was.

Holding Paradise was a completely pleasant surprise for me. This did not feel like a debut book at all – it was written with great care and it seemed well researched and worded. If you’re a fan of books which can handle gruelling issues without making it too difficult to read and if you’re a fan of well thought out, highly developed characters then Holding Paradise is a book I would definitely recommend.


4.5/5.


*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Kiran Bharaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and felt connected with the characters. I would love to see more on Angelica's story and how she connects with other family relations. A great read and great start to the series.

[Luccia Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holding Paradise is one of the most powerful and heart-wrenching novels I’ve read lately. ‘My mother’s story has taught me how strong women can be’. You must read this novel to meet Josephine, born on a sunny island, displaced to a rainy metropolis, who struggles bravely to make a living and keep her family together through thick and thin. The events portrayed are sad, moving, and infuriating, as deplorable secrets are gradually unveiled. It’s a well-deserved tribute to past generations, which also holds the promise of ‘paradise’ for the future if we are able to learn from our own and others’ mistakes, forgive, and understand. This is not a quick, easy read, nevertheless its pages will lead you on a satisfying and well written voyage, well worth taking.

[LizzyLa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle but gripping inter-generational story about broken trust and forgiveness.

Holding Paradise opens with Angelica flying from London to visit her mother in the Caribbean, knowing that she needs see her in order to piece back together her own life. Emotionally Angelica seems to be in deep turmoil and we learn that her marriage, family and business have all been affected by something that has recently occurred. Gradually, through her memories, Angelica reveals (both to the reader and to a stranger who she meets on her flight) more about her life and the problems that she has faced.
The storyline alternates between Angelica’s story and that of Josephine, who we first encounter as a child in the Caribbean, dreaming vivid dreams that often came true. As a young woman, in the late 1950s, Josephine makes the long voyage to Britain, settling in London. The struggles and pain that she experiences in this grey new life, contrast with the island life that she misses. Josephine’s strong faith and strict morals guide her through life and, whilst not well school, she comes across as a strong and intelligent woman who is devoted to her family.
Holding Paradise explores the way in which secrets, broken trust and misunderstandings can tear apart families and relationships. We wonder whether the main characters in this novel will be able to forgive each other’s failings and restore shattered relationships. Can love be stronger than human mistakes and fragility?
I very much enjoyed Holding Paradise and getting to know each character as the story progressed. Fran Clark writes with compassion and fluidity. The narrative moves easily from Angelica to Josephine, across decades and countries. In some ways the ending felt a little abrupt and clean-cut to me, however, I think that might’ve been because, having got to know them, I didn’t want to leave the characters so soon! This is the first book in Fran Clark’s Island Secret’s series so the reader is not left stranded as more titles follow this one.

[Anne Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story about complex family secrets, tangled relationships and, most importantly, the incredibly strong bond between mother and daughter. It's also a powerful insight into the deep-seated challenges of moving from one culture to an entirely different one in order to have a better life and provide for one's family. Josephine as the mother carries the main thrust of the story, and her journey from the Caribbean to 1950s London (and later back again) is an intense voyage of culture shock, terrible casual racism and also deep-seated hope for the future. It's the concept of the stories women tell to themselves and their families that resonated most with me - and it was lovely to see how the stories and family traditions are passed from Josephine to her daughter Angelika, and from her to the next generation too. I also thought the ending was very poignant indeed. Overall, an important novel of journey and hope.

[Gillian Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book from start to finish. It’s a story that spans generations and is expertly woven together to give an emotionally driven narrative. Holding Paradise revolves mainly around two women, Josephine and Angelica. Both are strong, passionate women who face more than their fair share of challenges. These and other characters in the book were written in such a way that by the time I’d finished reading, I felt like I knew them. My heart went out to them, and with every turn of the page, I wanted to find out more. How these generations came together was beautifully executed. It’s a wonderful story, cleverly written and captures both the emotion and landscape perfectly.

[MaryAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can see this story made into a movie or a HBO short series and definitely a book club read. It is definitely not a happy happy joy joy story but a true to life story of a family and their struggles thru marriage, infidelity, abuse, poverty, success and what really matters most in life. This is the story of Josephine and her daughter,Angelique, as told by Angelique. Powerful, inspirational and a must read.

[Heather Hafeman-Smet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching Family Story

Great read. The characters are real, believable, and relatable. I could see this as something Hallmark could grab and transfer to a movie. I liked that it was real to life and actually followed the journey of two different women of the same family. Both women with similar problems, different outcomes. Onto the second book!

[Corina Prince · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out good but it felt like it just kept going on and on in a slow manner. It was difficult to interpret who was who and when there was a flashback happening. The FMC seemed to be annoyed with just about everything.

[Debbie Pyette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a deeply emotional book with strong female characters who exibit strength and courage through some very difficult situations. They have the ability to make the best if what life gives them. It is rich with interesting story lines. This was a complimentary copy for my honest review.

[Roslyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Clark wrote a beautiful family story about a mother and daughter. Angelica finds out a terrible secret. She goes home to talk with her mother Josephine to see if she can provide her with answers. This is a very thought-provoking story.