Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Lake Como. Enough said. Oh and Erica James spends a lot of time there so really knows the intricacies of this picture postcard scene!
Summer at the Lake
What you need to know before your trail
Floriana it would seem is a girl after our own hearts as she is kind of a booktrailer – well she’s an Oxford Tour guide and takes people round Oxford on literary tours such as that of Inspector Morse and Lewis.
Lucky in her work she may be, she is not so lucky when it comes to love as she is still in love with Seb, the one that got away. She should have told him how she felt but instead they split. Two years later, Seb writes to her to tell her that he is getting married in Lake Como.
This simple card sets off such a chain of events that Floriana can not believe what is happening. She is so distracted with the news that she doesn’t see the oncoming car for a start…
Travel Guide
Floriana and her decision to attend the wedding of the one who got away takes her from Oxford to Lake Como on a mission. One of the rescuers Esme, has reasons of her own why she wants to return to Lake Como so it’s never going to be the trip she thinks it is…
Oxford –
The setting of Oxford is just as intriguing as this is where Floriana takes us on a literary tour of the city..
“Today she had been conducting what Dreaming Spires Tours called their Classic University and City Tour, culminating in afternoon tea at the Randolph Hotel.”
The Oxford setting is ideal for literary tours and Erica sprinkles her prose with additional spice – mentions of Harry Potter for example and of the book shop Blackwells, is lovely as they bring the literary meaning of her work to the fore.
Oxford University, The Randolph hotel, Broad Street, St Giles Church also get a mention and makes for a nice contrast to the Italian landscape.
Lake Como –
Rippling water, a lake side breeze, gorgeous flowers and a glass of wine in your hand as you sit and watch across the lake looking at the boats and the happy travellers on them. There is the best ice cream in the world not far from here and the possibility of falling in love… Are you there yet?
Hotel Margherita is fictional yet there are many stunning villas dotted around the lake that could have been chosen for the inspiration behind it. The hotel in the book, a home for the Montford family back in the day when it first opened.
Esme has the most fascinating and wonderful back story, and we get to wander the streets and feel the cool breeze on her face and travel via boat to see the sights with her alongside.
“After the boat had stopped at the village of Lenno, it went on to Tremezzo and Cadenabbia and once again Angelo adopted his role of tour guide, pointing out the Grand Hotel Tremezzo where Greta Garbo had stayed and the villa Carlotta known for its colourful garden of Azaleas and rhododendrons.”
A journey with a difference and a girl on a mission…
Trail Gallery
Booktrailer Review
Susan:
As well as the landscape, the sights and sounds of the Lake Como area jump from the page and you can see how this might be both the perfect place for a wedding as well as the place to inspire a girl to try and get her man back!
What do you say about paradise on earth? I only spent a day there once and that was long ago but it is a place that just has to be revisited and savoured.
The novel is a lovely read and a gentle pace with evocative descriptions on every page – never getting in the way of the plot but allowing you to indulge your five senses – you’re not just reading but experiencing Erica’s world.
The author has a home there and loves the views and it shows. Take a stunning lake, a few grand houses, a cool breeze, a cocktail and some Italian charm and you have the perfect ingredients for a summer at the lake.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information:
Twitter: @theericajames
Facebook: /ericajamesauthor
Web: ericajames.co.uk
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