Castle of Dreams in Aussie Readers

Mar 17, 2016 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2016-release, arc, own-read, aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, uncorrected-proof, contemporary-fiction

Spanning the years from 1935 at the Castillo de Suenos in far north Queensland when Vivien and Rose Blake were twelve and ten years old respectively through to 2009 when Rose’s granddaughter Stella became interested in the history and shrouded secrets of her Nan’s past – Castle of Dreams is a deeply emotional debut by Aussie author Elise McCune.

With Stella’s eighty three year old Nan living with Stella’s parents at Warialda (an Aboriginal word meaning “place of wild honey”) - a tropical fruit f Spanning the years from 1935 at the Castillo de Suenos in far north Queensland when Vivien and Rose Blake were twelve and ten years old respectively through to 2009 when Rose’s granddaughter Stella became interested in the history and shrouded secrets of her Nan’s past – Castle of Dreams is a deeply emotional debut by Aussie author Elise McCune.

With Stella’s eighty three year old Nan living with Stella’s parents at Warialda (an Aboriginal word meaning “place of wild honey”) - a tropical fruit farm in Babinda, far north Queensland - Stella’s visit home for Christmas meant she would be able to spend more time with her Nan than in the past. They were very close and now that Nan was becoming frail, she wanted to discover stories from her past before it was too late. She knew Nan had lived in a castle in the rainforest which was now in ruins – she’d visited as a teen and not been interested in the history then. But she also knew Nan refused to talk about the past – Stella hoped she could find the answers she sought without upsetting her Nan…

Gently travelling back in time to the era of the Second World War; and Brisbane Australia where Vivien moved as a nineteen year old naïve young woman – the town was filled with US soldiers and sailors who swept young Australian girls off their feet with their promises of nylons and chocolates. Viv’s life was carefree until the day it wasn’t – but when she fell in love with Robert, it was against everything she believed in. And when her beloved sister Rose also fell in love with him, the sisters' relationship would never be the same.

The dark secrets of decades; the lies that spanned three generations of women – would Stella discover the truth? Or should it remain buried in the past to save the heartbreak of knowledge?

Castle of Dreams (with its beautiful cover) shows the words “An enthralling novel of love, betrayals, loss and family secrets” on the front; I couldn’t agree more. I was totally engrossed in the story. The narration is easy to follow as we move back and forth between the past and the present. The characters are drawn in such a way as to make me feel I knew them; I cared about them and felt the emotions they were feeling. A totally fascinating and absorbing debut by this author and one I highly recommend.

With thanks to Allen & Unwin for this uncorrected proof copy to read in exchange for my honest review. ...more

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Mar 31, 2016 Tianne Shaw rated it it was amazing

The many stories that intertwined to bring one big family secret out have you gripping to see what comes next. It was very hard to put down but beautifully written and set in Queensland.

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