Customer Reviews
Totally unconvincing - By: Ann Wright, 22 Jul 2008 
Boring, even for a light, holiday read. Characters superficial, not in the slightest bit believeable. Relationships ditto. Some of the "romantic" dialogue which takes place between Celestria & Hamish made me squirm. Did n't care what happened to any of them. Reminded me of a women's magazine love story from the 1950's. If you want a satisfying read, don't read this.
Passionate and Descriptive - By: Joanne D'Arcy, 30 Mar 2008 
What a wonderful find. I had not previously read Santa Montefiore novels before, I am so glad I found this to delve into.
You are taken on a wonderful journey with Celestria(a great name)who goes from being a shalllow, empty headed young girl into a passionate & deep young woman. Her journey is started with the supposed suicide of her wonderful father 'Monty'. His manner was kind, the way he loved & had time for alll people within his life, the villagers at Pendrift, his own staff & even those he confided in far away from home.
A gut instinct makes Celestria realise that there was more to this man than meets the eye & his love for his family. She sets out to find the truth, but can she handle what she finds in Italy & who she encounters.
Pendrift Halll is a wonderful setting, the family home draws alll the main characters together at the beginning of the book & reallly sets the scene for what is to come. As a reader we can see the weak & strong amongst them. Ultimatley though, the main protagonists are Celstria, her empty mother Pamela & the story of 'Monty'.
Italy was a great setting for the second half of the novel. You could smell the trees, flowers, the fruit & I reallly imagined I was in the house with Freddie, Mrs Halifax & the exuberant dogs. Santa Montefiore reallly brought this to life for me.
Without wishing to give anything away, this book was a page turner & great for a holiday or if you want to escape into wonderful parts of Cornwalll & Italy.
Not totally convinced . . . - By: Sue, 13 Feb 2008 
This is the only Santa Montefiore book I've read & I had no preconceptions. On the whole it was a fun read, light, rather predictable & escapist for a holiday read, as the previous reviewer says.
However, I felt most of the characters were quite superficiallly drawn, & although the author is making a point about a specific niche of society, the spoilt upper class stereotypes grated a little after a while.
Probably the least convincing part was the way in which Celestria & Hamish talked of their feelings together. The conversations just didn't ring true - rather more like a well considered letter than a spontaneous heart-to-heart, even for the 1950's.
The description on the book cover made the story sound far more mysterious than it actuallly was, but it was still quite a page turner & I would recommend it for a quick light read to anyone who likes a romantic ending.
One for the holidays - By: Mrs. J. E. Davies, 13 Jul 2007 Having read alll her other books I couldn't wait to get into this one & it didn't disappoint. Although unusuallly a bit slow to start, the writer soon drew the reader into her web & the story became a page turner.Her ability to make the characters become familiar friends is excellent & the appeal of her books lies in the unexpected.Her style is never gushing but the depth of emotion shown by her characters is both touching & realistic.If you want a good holiday read which leaves you feeling it was time well spent, then this is the one for you.
Her best yet! - By: Sea Gypsy, 20 Mar 2007 
Having read Last Voyage of the Valentina & The Gypsy Madonna which I just loved, I was looking forward to The Sea of Lost Love.
I received this book on Saturday morning & could not put it down until I had finished it that same evening!
Absolutely wonderful, what an emotional story, filled with interesting characters & exquisite locations. I loved it.
I thought Gyspy Madonna would be hard to top but I was whisked away to another world with this one & now I can't wait to visit Puglia, although I feel that I've been there already.
Such an enjoyable read although very sad in parts.
What a great story, I can't wait for the next one.
