Tisto poletje na Kreti

by Nadia Marks

Usoda se je poigrala c Callijinin življenjem in izgubila je vse.
Moški, ki ga je ljubila, je odšel, in njene možnosti, da bi si ustvarila družino, so izginile. Ko jo napotijo na idilični grški otrok, da bi tam napisala članek za revijo, se to zdi kot odličen pobeg. Na Kreti pa kmalu spozna, da bo tam našča še veliko več kot rajske plaže in gostoljubne domačine.
Začne sumiti, da se tam skrivajo temne skrivnosti, povezane z njeno družino. Zgodba o ljubezni, prevari in maščevanju, ki bo za vedno spremenila Callijino življenje.

Genres: Greece, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Summer, Contemporary, Travel

348 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 2020

About the author

Nadia Marks (née Kitromilides,) was born in Cyprus, but grew up in London. An ex creative director and associate editor on a number of leading British women's magazines, she is now a novelist and works as a freelance writer for several national and international publications.

Reviews

[Pattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I pickup one of Nadia’s books...I know I can settle back and get comfortable in my chair and exhale!! Such lovely stories! Xx

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling, nostalgic and heartwarming!

One Summer in Crete is an atmospheric, uplifting tale that sweeps you away to the picturesque Greek Islands and into the life of Calli, a magazine writer who, after heading to the Mediterranean to complete an article for work and mend a broken heart, discovers a new place to call home that’s filled with family, food, culture, long-buried secrets, kindness, support, and love.

The prose is sweet and descriptive. The characters are complex, passionate, and sympathetic. And the plot, using a back and forth, past/present style, is a touching mix of life, loss, deception, betrayal, friendship, compassion, self-discovery, and new beginnings.

Overall, One Summer in Crete is a light, charming, escapist tale by Marks that reminds us that life is comprised of all the messy, complicated, challenging, heartbreaking moments, as well as all the special, lovely times that happen in-between.

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
Throughout the whole book I can’t lie I was thinking “this plot is meh” until the plot twist ????!!!! I didn’t think there would be a plot twist at all but it was such a good one ! The rest of the book’s plot was a little bland and the first 100 pages felt like I’d taken drugs but the imagery and setting description really made it for me :).

[Aneta Batakchieva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Доста предвидима откъм история и характери. Описанията на островите, храната и обичаите на местните обаче, компенсират достатъчно, за да не я оставите.

[Frances Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to abandon this one 5 chapters in. I disliked the beginning to the book. Weak characters and I found the initial trip to Ikaria an unnecessary plot device.
I’m glad I persevered as the part of the book set in Crete is just the sort of travel fiction I like. Good twists, very atmospheric and made me long to return to this beautiful island. Left me with a warm fuzzy feeling 🤗

[Silvia Devitofrancesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recensione presente nel blog www.ragazzainrosso.wordpress.com
3.5 stelline
Dopo aver visto crollare tutte le sue certezze, Callie è lieta di lasciare Londra per svolgere un servizio giornalistico in Grecia, a Ikaria, territorio molto vicino a Creta, l’isola della quale la sua famiglia è originaria, dove, un tempo, si recava ogni estate. Sarà proprio qui tra paesaggi mozzafiato e leggende mitologiche che Callie avrà modo di scoprire quanto il peso di un segreto troppo grande possa sconvolgere l’equilibrio di una famiglia mettendo tutto in discussione.

“Il segreto di una famiglia sarebbe stato il segreto di un’intera comunità”.

Ricominciare da zero non è affatto facile specie se per anni si è vissuto alimentando consapevolezze che poi si rivelano assai fragili. Callie e sua madre Eleni sperimentano, a loro modo, tale concetto.

Addolorata dalla fine della sua relazione con un uomo che aveva creduto di amare e svuotata dal tragico peso della perdita di una vita, Callie si rifugia nel lavoro e negli affetti proprio come sua madre Eleni, la quale, dopo aver appreso una sconvolgente notizia sulle sue origini, trova la forza per superare il trauma proprio grazie alla sicurezza familiare.

Sono le donne le indiscusse protagoniste di questo romanzo, ognuna con la sua storia e la sua dose di dolore. Creature forti, tenaci, che sanno resistere, cadere e rialzarsi. Tra passato e presente si alterna una narrazione densa di eventi alcuni dei quali particolarmente difficili da accettare come i grandi segreti che zia Froso, costretta a fare i conti con una grave malattia, rivela ai suoi familiari.

La narrazione procede con uno stile semplice, scorrevole e ad alta carica emozionale. Il lettore non può che essere coinvolto dalle vicende avvertendo su di sé tutti gli stati d’animo dei personaggi. Le ottime descrizioni del paesaggio cretese e degli usi e costumi della sua gente, disposta a fare squadra nella gioia e nel dolore, creano uno sfondo piacevole e contribuiscono a far sentire chi legge parte delle vicende.

Un romanzo intenso. Una lettura dolceamara con una porta aperta sulla speranza di ripartire avendo la consapevolezza di essere diversi da prima.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful descriptions of food and Greece but the rest was not for me, too sugary sweet and bland characters.

[Гери Николаева · Rating 5 out of 5]

Винаги когато отида в библиотеката, избирам книга, която някак (по необясним и странен начин) ме привлича. Тази беше такава. Тъй като разглеждах вариант за почивка в Гърция това лято, книгата ми се стори изключително подходящо четиво. Но покрай ангажименти тя стоеше на бюрото и чакаше, чакаше… Дори мислех да я върна непрочетена.
Радвам се, че не го направих!
“Красива” е думата, която според мен описва най-точно тази книга. Атмосферата на остров Крит е чудесно допълнение към богатата душевност на героите, превръщайки четенето в пътуване - “физически” и духовно. Засегната е темата за любовта (не само между влюбени, а и между роднини) по един изключително въздействащ начин. Допадна ми дългият криволичещ път, който Кали трябва да извърви, за да постигне своята цялост и щастие. Именно той доказва, че никога не е късно за промяна и всичко се случва с причина!
Обратът, макар че успях да го предвидя доста отрано, е изненадващ и точно той прави разказаната история още по-вълнуваща и незабравима.
Препоръчвам да прочетете книгата през пролетта, за да посрещнете лятото, готови за своето ново начало!

[Desislava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Това е точната книга която да вземете с вас за лятната си ваканция.
Обещавам!
Романтика, драма, приключения на един красив гръцки остров, болка, мечти, разбити надежди и дълъг път към търсене на себе си.
Паралел-минало/настояще, красиви залези и изгреви.
Три жени, които се преоткриват.
Мъдрост, поуки и идеята, че любовта ни намира често тогава когато най-малко очакваме-точно за едно лято, на един остров.
Гърция, лято, море, семейни сбирки с маслини и вино, откровения и тайни.
И цялата мъдрост, в която се състои животът ни-а именно, че семейството, корена и обичта към рода е нещото което ни крепи и ни дава надежда, вяра и път.
И е нещо, към което се връщаме за да остане наш пристан и може би да се превърне в наша съдба.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect Reading during my vacation in Crete.

[Paula England · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just wasn't a book for me, I really wanted to like it, mainly because went to Crete a couple of years ago but I just found it boring and couldn't finish it.

[Julie Spratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions of Crete made me really want to visit too. I lived in Cyprus for a few years and therefore the descriptions were familiar. It really made me miss it. I loved the inclusion of the local foods as well and it made want to cook the recipes and share with family and friends. I’m not going to share anything about the story. Read this for yourself and be transported to sunny Crete. I think we could all do with a slice of that at the moment.

[Marie Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful read from Nadia Marks, that helped fill the gap of no summer holiday abroad this year.

Freelance photographer Calli has had a really tough year when she is offered a work assignment on the island of Iraklia in Greece. Having spent many summers in Crete with her maternal grandparents, she jumps at the chance to work in Greece, then take an extended break with her Aunt in Crete.

In Iraklia she meets an interesting group of new friends who help her to move on from her upset and look to the future.

Arriving in Crete she is welcomed back into her Greek family with joy and love and her darling Aunt helps her mend her broken heart and make new friendships on the island.

However there are family secrets that have been hidden too long and need to be shared, what impact will these secrets have on the family?

I loved this story as much as Nadia’s previous books. A wonderful read that highlights the importance of family and friendship.

[Finja Keimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Summer in Crete is a lovely book about love and happiness in rural Ikaria and Crete. The way nature, culture and food are portrayed is heart-warming and makes you long desperately for the mediterranean summer. This book is a light read, the only reason I only give it three stars is because personally I like diving deeper into the protagonist. In this book it felt like I was watching Calli from a distance and couldn’t really get to know her. Furthermore every human interaction is super kind and romanticised, which makes it feel quite poetic but also unrealistic. Nevertheless I liked this book and feel like it serves amazingly as a beach read.

[Kim A Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid this book wasn't for me. I was after a nice light read after reading a bunch of thrillers and mystery's which I suppose it was but light read or not I was still hoping there would be a story line of some kind.

I just found it far too meandering and the so called big reveal event was incredibly obvious. Found myself skimming the 2nd half.

It has however made me want to visit Crete, it would almost be better as a travel book, the descriptions of the island were so good.

[Petra R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, at the beginning it was hard to keep reading the book. The plot was just a bit lacking. The descriptions of the landscape were beautiful and you felt like you were on holiday, but nothing interesting happened. But then there was a twist and I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what would happen next and was totally under the spell of Creta and the family history.
Wonderful book that transports you to another world.

[Jean Balsdon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the sense of place of an island I know from many visits. If you have been to Crete it will make you want to go back, if you've never been there you'll want to book a holiday immediately! The main characters are so well described you feel you know them. The story starts with a modern relationship in London and then moves to a very traditional village in Crete.

[Pninch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed with the book. I thought the story and the characters were very shallow and a lot of the situations in the book seemed too unreal and underdeveloped. I could not relate to the characters at all. The only redeeming quality of the book is that the story takes place in the most beautiful Greek islands, which I love!

[Моника · Rating 5 out of 5]

Прочетена на един дъх...❤️

[Yana Pesheva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Много интересна и неочаквана история! На няколко пъти се просълзих. Не е от типичните романтични истории ❤️

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calli è una giovane donna, di padre inglese e madre greca, che vive a Londra con il compagno James. James non vuole figli e, quando Calli rimane incinta e decide di tenere il bambino, la lascia. Dopo qualche mese Calli perde il bambino in seguito a un incidente. Incapace di superare il lutto, decide di accettare una proposta di lavoro e scrivere un reportage su un'isola della Grecia piena di centenari. Tornerà quindi anche a Creta, sua terra di origine, e qui guarirà da tutte le sue ferite.
Che fatica che ho fatto a leggere questo libro! Sono meno di 300 pagine ma mi sono sembrate più di 400. Avevo già letto un romanzo di questa autrice e mi era piaciuto, questo invece l'ho trovato veramente pesante e per nulla avvincente.
Una magica vacanza da sogno è pieno di cliché e di luoghi comuni. Neanche a volerlo fare consapevolmente di sarebbe riusciti a ottenere un risultato come questo. Miracoli, filosofia orientale, saggezza popolare, spiritualità new Age, tutto mescolato in un gran pastone che, lungi dal commuovermi, mi ha quasi nauseata. I personaggi sono tagliati con l'accetta, macchiette banali che mi hanno irritata dall'inizio alla fine. La Grecia è liquidata come "terra di passioni" dove vendetta e sangue sono all'ordine del giorno, un po' come "Italia pizza mafia mandolino". Altre cose mi hanno infastidita parecchio, come la critica più o meno velata a chi non si sposa e/o decide di non avere figli. Inoltre Calli salta da una relazione all'altra come una persona normale cambia le mutande; sono sempre tutti meravigliosi genitori dei suoi ipotetici bambini, (che ha un desiderio ossessivo di mettere al mondo), finché non arriva quello successivo. Quando poi "si innamora" avvisa subito l'uomo dei suoi sogni che lei vuole dei figli, caso mai non sia chiaro...
Oltretutto ci si chiede come faccia a mantenersi, visto che, dopo il primo articolo scritto, non ha più ricevuto nessun incarico e rimane a Creta settimane, senza preoccuparsi dei soldi, probabilmente facendosi semplicemente mantenere dalla zia e dalla madre.
Un romanzo che ho percepito come davvero troppo lungo, il cui finale, così come lo svolgimento, è privo di qualsiasi colpo di scena.

[Sams_Fireside · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to One Summer in Crete by Nadia Marks as an audiobook, mainly whilst pottering around in the garden. I love to lose myself in a good story whilst spending time in one of my happy places and I definitely found a great story in this heartwarming book from Nadia Marks.

Calliope (Calli) is a thirty-something young woman who believes her world has ended when a long-term relationship disintegrates and the chances of her having children diminishes. However, after a few months, Calli picks herself up and embarks on a photography assignment on the Greek island of Ikaria. Whilst there, she makes many friends and begins to enjoy her life again. Calli travels from Ikaria to Crete, where her mother is from and where she still has some family. She settles down, making friends on the island and enjoying the relaxing way of life, with dawn swims each morning and many revelatory conversations with her aunt. Could Crete be the place Calli has been searching for and could it become her home?

One Summer in Crete is incredibly focussed on family and community, and how Greek people all stick together through good times and bad. By alternating between the past and present, Nadia Marks draws the reader more deeply into the story, creating a world in which it would be so easy to become a part of, the descriptive narrative being incredibly moving and both happy and sad.

This book is so much more than just another beach-read. Both thought-provoking and, at times, heart-wrenching, Nadia Marks has written a real winner.

I would recommend One Summer in Crete to those readers who enjoy contemporary romance particularly, if you enjoy, like I do, anything set in a sunny climate, to take you away from the reality of your own lives for a while.

[Liba · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018,London.
Calliope (Calli ) is 35 ,a photojournalist.Her mother, Eleni , is from Crete. Keith, her father, is English. She has a younger brother, Alex.
Calli has a 10 -year relationship with James , who has dumped her. Callie was iun a car accident and lost her baby ,which was stillborn.
Now Callke go to the island of Ikaria to do a story about the longevity of the locals.She meets an international group of people and they spend the time together. She has a brief fling with Paolo, but realises they want different things.
Eleni asks her daughter to go to Crete , where Eleni's older sister Froso (80+ ) lives.
Froso never married and is alone now. She is glad to have Calli back.
From this moment we learn Froso's story, as she gradually reveals it. She was in love and engaged to Kosmas, but another man, Mitros, became jealous and killed the boy.Then he forced himself on Froso...
Calli meets Mihalis, not realizing he is gay and that he conceals it in the village. Than his brother Nicos Raphael arrives .
A delightful book about love, loss, revenge , family secrets and life on Crete between 1936-2018.
Also about knowing your culture and language of your ancestors and understanding the customs of the times.Also, the myths of Dedalus and Icacus, the Minotaur , are still alive.

[chiara Rancan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un romanzo che racconta la storia di due fragili ma forti donne, Callie e sua madre Eleni, che si trovano inconsapevolmente a ricominciare da zero… un restart!

A seguito della rottura del rapporto con il suo storico fidanzato e della perdita dolorosa del bambino che portava in grembo, Callie accetta di un buon grado un incarico in Grecia, terra natia di sua madre. Un viaggio diviso tra lavoro e riscoperta di se stessa, o meglio delle sue radici.

In Grecia riscopre l’amore per se stessa, verso gli altri e il senso profondo di legame familiare. Proprio andando a trovare e passando del tempo in compagnia di sua “zia” Froso, Callie viene a conoscenza del segreto che la tormenta da sempre. Un segreto che ha coinvolto un intero paese e che sconvolgerà Eleni.

Siamo di fronte a donne forti, temerarie, caparbie.

Una storia raccontata con un semplice ma ahimè non scorrevole stile di narrazione, diviso tra passato e presente. Una carica emozionale unica che consente al lettore di assaporare un po’ di Grecia in cultura, arte, paesaggi, cibo e legami di sangue.

[Mojca Rudolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preprosto napisan roman, ki me ni najbolj pritegnil. Po pravici povedano sem ga prebrala, drugo polovico celo bolj na hitro, samo zaradi Grčije, otokov Ikarija in Kreta, saj je o teh nanizanih nekaj zanimivih dejstev, nekaj mitologije in zgodovine.
Privlačno napisana kratka vsebina na zadnji strani je sicer obetala, vendar gre v resnici za zelo razvlečeno dogajanje, s precej manj zapleti ali razpleti od pričakovanih. Do tistih skrivnosti pride že kar globoko v drugi polovici knjige.
Precej je spogledovanja z duhovnimi temami, a mi nekako deluje prisiljeno. Za nekoga, ki so mu te zadeve bolj blizu, celo naivne.
Knjiga bi, glede na dogajanje, bila lahko za polovico krajša, z malo več dinamike morda, tako pa ni takšno branje, kot sem ga sicer pričakovala.
Kljub vsemu zna biti zanimiva za bralke, morda zaradi topline, ki veje iz knjige, zaradi opisov pokrajin ali lepIh misli, ki jih v knjigi prav tako ne manjka. Sproščeno, plažno branje.

[Read_with_Bella · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

SPOILER ALERT


I definitely didn't expect that plot twist at the end. At the beginning I was kind of not into the book it felt sort of slow. And I was sort of confused about the different love interests for example she had a relationship with Paolo which I thought was going to work out and they sort of took the prediction very literally. When Maya made that prediction for Cali I just thought the name of the angel was just a name. But towards the end of the book she ends up meeting another guy and his brother named Nico who's the name of the Angel is actually the guy she gets with. I don't know overall I felt like it was a pretty good book it was an easy read and it was relatively short. I did really like the backstory of the aunt because there was a little bit more action and suspense. I just felt like this book was a romance but it was very slow for my liking.

[Hayley Copeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve given this book a three star. I loved how descriptive the author was about the surrounding areas, I could picture myself sitting on a beach with the warm wind blowing through my hair or outside of a cafe drinking coffee, it really took me back to my holidays.
Now I liked this book but felt like I read some of the same lines over and over again, it could have been made into a novella and still would have had as much detail in it as did.
There is a “twist” in it, I personally seen it coming as I’m sure a lot of people will but honestly I just didn’t see the point to it, I would have been happy if this had been a Romance and the main FC was just going to start anew life.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книгата ми хареса и ми беше много приятна за четене. Авторката разказва увлекателно и наистина се пренесеох на красивите гръцки острови. Историята е добре написана, интересна и с лек обрат в сюжета. Разказът за гръцките традиции и обичаи и критските особености на характера привнасят допълват стойността и чара на книгата.

Тексът на български звучи добре като цяло и затова е изненадващо, че преводачът поради незнание или нежелание не използва утвърдените наименования на някои критски градове - беше странно навсякъде да се ползва Хераклион и Чания при условие, че на български е прието градовете да се наричат Ираклион и Ханя.

[Rokkan · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be clear, my rating of the book as two stars is not because it's a bad book, per se, more because I myself didn't really enjoy it all that much. I'm trying to expand my reading habits and this book was on display in the library so I figured I'd give it a go and just... From the start it just seemed like Calli was being thrown as much drama as possible, one thing after another. I'm aware that their were time skips between things, so it wasn't quite as all in as it seemed, but it was just... very tell don't show to me. A good read if you're in to that sort of thing, but not really for me.

[Angi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice written, it captures the essence of Crete while telling a heartfelt story about family. It made me think about the importance of going back to your roots and valuing what matters the most in life: you, yourself and family :).

The love story between the main character and the love interest was pretty quick and superficial though, in my opinion. I thought something was missing in the "love plot", comparing it to all the emotions the "family plot" makes you feel.