Gardens of Delight – Erica James

Gardens Of Delight is the second Erica James book that I have read after picking up Act of Faith on a previous charity shop trip.

The book tells the story of several residents of the Cheshire village of Swanmere who, despite the spread of ages, are brought together by their passion of gardening and the local gardening club. Like in Act of Faith the theme of the different types of love runs through the book, but I have to say that I found myself enjoying this read more than the previous book. I was entranced by the different stories in it of how different people had engaged with gardening and what it meant to them. As someone who dreams of having some outdoor space to do something in I was completely entranced when reading about others finding enjoyment from the outdoors.

The story follows the gardening club on their visit to Lake Como in Italy and a few added twists also ensure that the character of Lucy is on this trip to the village in Italy that her father went to with his new woman when Lucy was only fourteen. There are the twists and turns that you expect in a book of this type, but generally I found this a relatively simple read that I enjoyed coming back to after putting the book down for a bit. A few unanswered questions at the end of the book left me feeling sightly irritated, but generally I’ll be looking out for more Erica James books when I’m next in the charity shop.