Windfallen

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You, the basis for the major motion picture, comes a breathtaking drama of two women whose lives entwine through a lovely English seaside house.\n\nFor Lottie Swift, Arcadia has always been magical. The breathtaking art deco house perched above the shoreline of the well-ordered village of Merham seems to stand still throughout the years. It has never changed, not really, but Lottie's fate and fortune have been inextricably linked with that of the beautiful house, and it will forever be fixed in her mind as a symbol of adventure, youth, and of loves lost and gained. Even as her life-and the house-fall into disrepair.\n\nYears later another young woman comes to Merham. A designer hired to make over the now-empty Arcadia, Daisy Parsons seeks a new beginning, as Lottie once did. Fleeing a broken relationship and now facing being a single mother, Daisy finds refuge in the house, and something more-a love she thought she would never know again and a friendship unlike any she's experienced before.\n\nEditorial Reviews\n\n...a tremendously gifted storyteller..." - Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife\n\n"In a style reminiscent of Maeve Binchy, Jojo Moyes explores the multigenerational impact of missteps and untold truths." - Romantic Times BOOKclub\n\n"[Moyes's] thoughtful tone and light touch make this a delightful read." - Publishers Weekly\n\n"This is a remarkable first novel, rich and deep and full of wonderfully realized characters. Oh, these women!" - Anne Rivers Siddons\n\n"I enjoyed [Sheltering Rain] very much." - Rosamunde Pilcher\n\n"Accomplished debut...in style and substance Moyes is a worthy addition to [Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy's] ranks....Fluidly paced and cast with engaging characters." - Booklist\n- From the Publisher\n\nAccomplished debut...in style and substance Moyes is a worthy addition to [Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy's] ranks....Fluidly paced and cast with engaging characters.\n- Booklist\n\nIn a style reminiscent of Maeve Binchy, Jojo Moyes explores the multigenerational impact of missteps and untold truths.\n- Romantic Times BOOKclub\n\n...a tremendously gifted storyteller...\n- Paula McLain\n\nThis is a remarkable first novel, rich and deep and full of wonderfully realized characters. Oh, these women!\n- Anne Rivers Siddons\n\nI enjoyed [Sheltering Rain] very much.\n- Rosamunde Pilcher\n\nAccomplished debut...in style and substance Moyes is a worthy addition to [Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy's] ranks....Fluidly paced and cast with engaging characters.\n- Booklist\n\nMoyes, a young Brit, again proves herself a worthy successor to Maeve Binchy and Rosamund Pilcher with her second novel (after Sheltering Rain), a warmhearted drama. A magnificent art deco house called Arcadia, built on a seaside cliff in the stuffy English village of Merham, stands at the center of her tale. Lottie Swift was born in London's East End but evacuated during WWII to Merham as a child; she's eventually taken in permanently by the Holden family and brought up in their bustling household just down the road from Arcadia. When Lottie is in her late teens, an exotic clan of bohemians move into Arcadia, and Lottie takes to visiting, sometimes with Celia Holden, her best friend, but more often on her own. Then Celia goes away to school in London and comes back with a fianc -a man Lottie believes is her destiny. Her love is doomed, but Arcadia provides unexpected solace. Half a century later, interior designer Daisy Parsons comes to Arcadia, hired by a successful but prickly London developer who has bought the house with plans for making it into a fashionable tourist destination. Daisy's longtime lover and design partner has just departed after their baby is born, but she conquers self-pity and determines to honor the contract by herself. She's befriended by Lottie, now an acerbic matron who scorns her village contemporaries but is charmed by the baby and volunteers to act as nanny. Moyes deftly handles her involved plot, skillfully exploring the different family dynamics; her thoughtful tone and light touch make this a delightful read. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\n\n- Publishers Weekly\n\nThe sleepy English seaside town of Merham flaunts an architectural jewel, the art-deco Arcadia House. In the 1950s, it becomes home to a "bohemian" group, who attract Lottie, a displaced teenager staying with their very conventional neighbors. Lottie soon develops a passion for an unavailable young man; their forbidden love is captured by an artist in a mural on Arcadia's exterior. A generation later, the beauty of Arcadia (now abandoned) draws another young woman, who has been hired to restore and decorate the home as an upscale hotel. Daisy has her own share of male-induced heartaches and is befriended by the now-matronly and bitter Lottie, seller of the estate. Daisy's struggles include community opposition to the renovation, an antagonistic boss, and single parenthood. The old mural at Arcadia is eventually uncovered and with it, Lottie's secret. Both Lottie and Daisy come to terms with old love relationships and are finally able to trade the past for a more promising future. A delicious read by the author of Sheltering Rain; highly recommended.-Carol Bissett, New Braunfels P.L., TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\n\n- Library Journal\n\nThe silvery voice of Michelle Ford is perfect for this engaging romance set in the seaside town of Merham and filled with appealing characters. Ford's well-paced reading captures the nuances of time and place as the residential Arcadia House comes under fire throughout several generations. At the heart of the novel are Lottie and Daisy, whose stories are told with aplomb. Ford handles abrupt shifts in point of view without confusion as the story moves between characters and time periods. Moyes has crafted a generational story of love and finding oneself, and Ford's appealing delivery keeps the listener engaged. M.N.T. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine\n- JUNE 2014 - AudioFile