A Place For Us by Harriet Evans

Title: A Place For Us
Author: Harriet Evans
Published: 15th January 2015
Publisher: Headline

Review

I was fortunate enough to be sent the first part of this back in the summer last year, as it originally came out in four instalments. Although this was a nice idea, I did find it a tiny, incy wincy bit frustrating having to wait a month to read the next 100 or so pages, so I decided to wait for the whole book to read as one. When I did start reading, I re-read the first part again which definitely helped and it was nice to read it as a whole book.

The premise for A Place For Us definitely catches your attention with Martha soon to announce something that could tear her family apart.

The first part of this still remains the best part of the book. It really sucks you in and leaves you on a heavy cliffhanger with LOTS of questions. You are quickly drawn in to the world of the Winters at Winterfold (which as referenced in the book sounds similar to Wintefell from Games of Thrones :)). With each alternating chapter we get an intricate, highly detailed view of each of the key characters from A Place For Us. I love books that do this and with A Place For Us it worked so well with the concept as the Winters as a family. No detail is left untouched or missed when you get multiple character viewpoints and Harriet managed to alter each of their thoughts and dialogue so you truly believe they could be real people. Harriet's writing is also truly beautiful and it was so easy to imagine myself right there in Winterfold. 

Parts One and Two were definitely the best parts of the book for me. Parts Three and Four were still enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but felt that they were a little longer than they really needed to be. The excitement definitely happens in the first part and then you want answers which we get mostly in part two.

I loved the web of lies that have been woven within the family. They are so detailed and not a single character has nothing to hide. The Winter family may look like the perfect family on the outside, but on the inside it is a very different story. What I found clever as well was the striking contrast to the perfect idyllic place that is Winterfold and the not so idyllic family that reside there. 

A cleverly written, engrossing story, full of secrets and lies.