HERTFORDSHIRE, 1928 The paths of Tom and Alice collide against a haze of youthful, carefree exuberance. And so begins a love story that finds its feet by a lake one silvery moonlit evening. LONDON, 1986 Bequeathed an old portrait from her grandmother, Kate Darling uncovers a legacy that takes her to Corsica, Paris and beyond. And as the secrets of time fall away, a love story as epic as it is life-changing slowly reveals itself.

This was partly a love story between Alice and Tom and their difficulties. But also a story of relationships between mothers, their children and grandchildren and the serious consequences of certain decisions that they make, even if well-intended. The characters were likeable with mildly interesting lives and a few mild twists and secrets. This was basically a pleasant read and I like this author’s writing style so I would read more. ( )

I listened to this book, narrated by Fiona Hardingham. I have no quibble with the narration, and I enjoyed the idea and mood of this novel, and the settings of New York, Corsica and England should have guaranteed a good book. But. The character development is sub-par - all the characters came across as bloodless to me. The love stories, in the past and the present, are much touted about this book, but they are anaemic. I was barely engaged. I kept hoping it would get better,.. so disappointment has contributed to this low score. ( )

The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley

I start this by commending how well written the book is. I was so connected to the characters that by the ned, I was convinced it was real and these events and family history had happened to real people.

As the youngest person in my family, the memories that I have of my late relatives vary from a handful of vague images to events that happened. I think this is one of the main reasons why I long for a connection with my family's past and have dedicated many hours to researching my family history. This is one of the main reasons why I resonate with Kate's character so much as she goes on the journey of finding out where she comes from and the mystery behind her mother's heritage. This allows her to have an ongoing connection with her mother even though she has sadly passed away. As she discovers here history, her family grows in a way she never thought was possible.

But this isn't just a book about a girl discovering her heritage. It is a love story of the truest form as not everything ends happily ever after which is what we have come to expect of Hollywood movies. It depicts the sacrifice that is involved in real life and how people do get hurt but learn to carry on despite their circumstances. More often than not this is what shows the bravery and courage in someone's heart.

Another lesson we can learn from this book is based on regret. At the end of your life, you are more likely to regret the stuff you didn't do compared with the stuff you did. From personal experience, I can relate to this even if it is on a small scale. Throughout my time in high school, I was certainly classed under the 'nerdy' cliche. In the last term, I was particularly interested in one of the most popular guys of the year. On the last day, once all our exams had been completed I asked him out. Needless to say, it never came to anything but I was proud of myself as it took me a lot of confidence and self-belief to do that. It certainly helped my confidence later on where my advances were a lot more successful. My advice to others is to make sure you don't regret the things you didn't do later on and make the most of every day.

I finish this with a quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson which I feel sums up the book in its entirety.

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'. ( )

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. It was beautiful, a great mix of past and present. It reminded me a bit of The Time Traveler's Wife, much better than I expected. ( )

I really enjoyed this lovely tale ( )