A fantastic page turner!

Evergreen Falls by Kimberley Freeman
Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (reissue) August 2015
HistFic/Dual Time Period
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this review, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

A long-forgotten secret, a scandalous attraction and a place where two women's lives are changed forever - Evergreen Falls is the captivating new novel from Kimberley Freeman. 1926: Violet Armstrong is one of the few remaining members of staff working at the grand Evergreen Spa Hotel as it closes down over winter. Only a handful of guests are left, including the heir to a rich grazing family, his sister and her suave suitor. When a snowstorm moves in, the hotel is cut off and they are all trapped. No one could have predicted what would unfold. When the storm clears they must all keep the devastating secrets hidden.

2014: After years of putting her sick brother's needs before her own, Lauren Beck leaves her home and takes a job at a Blue Mountains cafe, the first stage of the Evergreen Spa Hotel's renovations. There she meets Tomas, the Danish architect who is overseeing the project, and an attraction begins to grow. In a wing of the old hotel, Lauren finds a series of passionate love letters dated back to 1926, alluding to an affair - and a shocking secret.

If she can unravel this long-ago mystery, will it make Lauren brave enough to take a risk and change everything in her own life?

Read reviews of Kimberley Freeman's previous novels here at BurtonBookReview.com


This is the fourth novel of Kimberley Freeman's that I have read, and I have yet to be disappointed. Her novels are similar to another favorite author of mine, Susanna Kearsley, as they follow a dual time period story arc and always seem to be intriguing and fast paced. If I wasn't offered this novel for review, I was all set to buy it! But many thanks to the publisher for originally turning me on to this author in 2011.

Evergreen Falls is a small little town in Australia's Blue Mountains where the contemporary character Lauren Beck is working when she stumbles upon papers in an old hotel that is being remodeled. Her new love interest gives her access to the hotel so she can do some further investigating after finding evocative love letters that were hidden away. The story brings us to the 1920's, set in a classy hotel where servant Victoria Armstrong finds forbidden love with a very wealthy guest, Sam Honeychurch-Black. Both storylines eventually intersect but each mirrors the other with the themes of a building romance, family loyalties and betrayals, and sacrifice.

There are quite a few supporting characters to add realistic touches to the novel: with meddling mothers, and both overbearing men and heroic men. The setting is beautiful, from and enchanting swimming hole and a love cave to a luxury hotel held captive among the snowdrifts.

The author does a very good job with capturing the nuance of both eras, and the switching from one narrative to the next wasn't jarring in any way. Very enjoyable with the suspense of Lauren trying to discover what happened many years ago with Victoria and Sam, and Lauren's current issues with her family were also timely and intriguing. Full of secrets and scandals, Evergreen Falls is a fantastic piece that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Fair warning: you will find it difficult to put down in order to get a good night's sleep!

Another fantastic novel from Kimberly Freeman!

Ember Island by Kimberley Freeman
Simon and Schuster; April 15, 2014
Paperback 448 pages
Review copy provided by publisher in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 Stars

A riveting story of secrets and scandal
1890: Orphaned as a small child, Tilly Kirkland found a loving, safe home with her grandfather in Dorset. But nineteenth-century England is an unforgiving place for a young woman with limited means and as her grandfather's health fails, it seems perfect timing that she meets Jasper Dellafore. Yet her new husband is not all he seems. Alone in the Channel Islands, Tilly finds her dream of a loving marriage is turning into a nightmare. 

2012: Bestselling novelist Nina Jones is struggling with writer's block and her disappointing personal life. Nothing is quite working. After a storm damages Starwater, her house on Ember Island, she decides to stay for a while and oversee the repairs: it s a perfect excuse to leave her problems behind her on the mainland. Then Nina discovers diary pages hidden in the walls of the old home. And a mystery unravels that she is determined to solve. Though the two women are separated by years, Starwater House will alter the course of both their lives. Nina will find that secrets never stay buried and Tilly learns that what matters most is trusting your heart.

Previous reviews of Kimberley Freeman's novels:
Wildflower Hill
Lighthouse Bay

This newest novel by Kimberley Freeman has a bit of a Bronte/du Maurier gothic flair to it with the story line that features Tilly and a strange new husband in England's Channel Islands. And even though throughout the novel Tilly comes off as a crossover of a psycho whiny but lovely young lady, we get to fast forward to present day with Nina's story as she is struggling while writing her next novel while vacationing in an ancestral cottage in Australia.

When Tilly runs away from a disastrous life she finds herself acting as a companion and teacher to a very intelligent pre-teen lady who turns out to be our other main character's great grandmother. When Nina comes across the writings of this young lady she is inspired and longs to find more of what she has written. Tilly's effect on the young lady is profound and is quite a story of which you will just have to see for yourself. I'll give you a hing: It involves escape plans, prisoners, fire, death, nightmares, betrayal and love.

The settings were wonderfully portrayed with strong character development throughout, with the very strong supporting cast that created a fast moving narrative. I really enjoy the fluid writing style of the author, and she doesn't disappoint with Ember Island. With her novels she has always been able to cleverly intertwine the past and the present, and when the characters do switch back and forth I am never unnerved. There is a feel of epic-saga story quality, and with this one the gothic touch that I alluded to earlier is rather thrilling. Very well done and I highly recommend all of her novels. This one is definitely going to be mentioned in my best of 2014 list.

April 9, 2013

Lighthouse Bay by Kimberley Freeman
Fiction/Historical blend
Simon and Schuster; April 9, 2013
Paperback 420 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

I was very excited to be offered this one because the last novel I'd read by this author had made it to my favorites/Best of 2011 List.

From the author of Wildflower Hill, this breathtaking novel travels more than a century between two love stories set in the Australian seaside town of Lighthouse Bay.

In 1901, a ship sinks off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The only survivor is Isabella Winterbourne, who clutches a priceless gift meant for the Australian Parliament. This gift could be her ticket to a new life, free from the bonds of her husband and his overbearing family. But whom can she trust in Lighthouse Bay?

Fast-forward to 2011: after losing her lover, Libby Slater leaves her life in Paris to return to her hometown of Lighthouse Bay, hoping to gain some perspective and grieve her recent loss. Libby also attempts to reconcile with her sister, Juliet, to whom she hasn’t spoken in twenty years. Libby did something so unforgivable, Juliet is unsure if she can ever trust her sister again.

In these two adventurous love stories, both Isabella and Libby must learn that letting go of the past is the only way to move into the future. The answers they seek lie in Lighthouse Bay.

After a very mysterious prologue, the story starts off with the contemporary setting of Libby as she returns to her hometown in Australia after leaving it for twenty years. Seeking a rebirth and perhaps hiding a bit from a shameful life as a mistress to a married man, Libby has little sense of belonging anywhere. She is unsure of her future plans, and her estranged sister isn't welcoming her with open arms. Juliet and Libby will have to come to an understanding of forgiveness in order for them to have any future together as a family cohabiting the same small town.

A century before, there is a shipwreck and only one survivor. After washing up on the shore near Lighthouse Bay, Isabella has no desire of being discovered,  and she takes on another identity. As a member of the esteemed and powerful Winterbourne family she has to lay low in order to keep her secrets, but when she shows up in a small community it is hard for her to go unnoticed. Isabella has choices to make for her future - but can she outrun her past?

These two stories are lightly intertwined with each other as they follow a similar theme of regrets, remorse and  the knowledge that your past makes up you are today. Forgiveness and redemption are themes of these two women who are unrelated but both dependent on the same community (in different ways). Isabella is close to madness with grief for her dead infant, and it follows her throughout the journey.

I normally have a preference for a specific character when juxtaposing timelines like this, but I felt connected to both Isabella and Libby. In the contemporary world, it is easy to portray Libby as a shallow individual with little morals, but the reader would need to be able to see past the modern values to get to Libby's heart. The character of Isabella was perhaps a bit more intriguing only because of the suspense of whether her secrets will be kept, and after such grievous losses it is easy to empathize with her. I enjoyed the story in the author's writing, and surprisingly the switching of timelines and characters was done seamlessly. There were romantic moments, poignant moments, and great storytelling for these two different women who were worlds apart but both going through their own thing. Minor characters also do a good job of adding substance to the story so that we get a real sense of the community at Lighthouse Bay in Australia. I love Freeman's writing style and recommend her work to readers for her strong female characters and the intriguing plots she spins for them.

Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman
Paperback544 pages, Touchstone
ISBN-13 978-1451623499
Review copy from the publisher, thanks so much!
Burton Book Review Rating: Epic Fun

SPANNING THREE GENERATIONS AND HALF THE WORLD, WILDFLOWER HILL IS A SWEEPING, ROMANTIC, AND COMPELLING STORY OF TWO WOMEN WHO SHARE A LEGACY OF SECRETS, HEARTBREAK, COURAGE, AND LOVE.
Emma, a prima ballerina in London, is at a crossroads after an injured knee ruins her career. Forced to rest and take stock of her life, she finds that she’s mistaken fame and achievement for love and fulfillment. Returning home to Australia, she learns of her grandmother Beattie’s death and a strange inheritance: a sheep station in isolated rural Australia. Certain she has been saddled with an irritating burden, Emma prepares to leave for Wildflower Hill to sell the estate.

Beattie also found herself at a crossroads as a young woman, but she was pregnant and unwed. She eventually found success—but only after following an unconventional path that was often dangerous and heartbreaking. Beattie knew the lessons she learned in life would be important to Emma one day, and she wanted to make sure Emma’s heart remained open to love, no matter what life brought. She knew the magic of the Australian wilderness would show Emma the way.
Wildflower Hill is a compelling, atmospheric, and romantic novel about taking risks, starting again, and believing in yourself. It’s about finding out what you really want and discovering that the answer might be not at all what you’d expect.

This is one of those novels that you know from the beginning would be a page-turner, and then when you finish it you wish you hadn't ended your journey (and wish for truly waterproof mascara). Wildflower Hill is a multi-generational story that starts with Beattie as a young girl and ends with Emma, her granddaughter. The two women were seemingly worlds apart, but perhaps after Beattie's death there can be a sense of rebirth with Emma if she could only find the path that Beattie carved out for her.

Beattie's story is sad, sweet, hopeful and horrifying as she deals with ostracization due to having a daughter out of wedlock and for respecting colored people. She is thrown every obstacle society can give her and we get to read of Beattie's journey through her life in bits and pieces through Beattie's eyes, and then a bit more of her mystery through Emma's discoveries. The book transitions to the granddaughter Emma who loses her career as a ballerina after an injury and heads down to Australia to pick through the estate left to her by her grandmother. She uncovers mystery after mystery as she tries to deal with the direction of her own life which she was completely unprepared for after her boyfriend leaves her and her career is over.

There are alot of things going on within the story, from high end society versus the commoner, from neighbor against neighbor and mother versus stepmother. From Scotland, England to Tasmania, Australia..all of it ties together to make Wildflower Hill the epitome of saga material with all those facets of Gone With the Wind type of feel. Love, lust, greed, labor, prejudice, secrets, courage are all underlying themes, but through it all we are waiting for redemption. Aching for it, for both Beattie and Emma. The writing style was fluent and easy to absorb, and the characterizations were pure and simple, and easy to identify with. Beattie was a woman to admire, and maybe Emma wasn't just because she couldn't think outside the box. The development in the plot from point A to B was a thrilling, inspiring, and quite an entertaining journey for me. What more can I ask for? A sequel?