The House of Dreams

Author/Guide: Fanny Blake

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: Only a weekend in Spain with your siblings to remember your mother- what could possibly go wrong?

ISBN: 978-1409159865
Genre: Fiction

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What you need to know before your trail

The whole family is gathering at their hilltop villa in Spain for their mother’s annual birthday party. But this time it’s going to be rather a poignant affair as the mother, the head of the family won’t be there.

Jo, Lucy and Tom are all gathering for a weekend where their lives will change and secrets will come spilling out.

Three very different siblings with secrets to hide and the more time they spend together, the nearer they get to the party dinner itself, the tensions of sibling rivalry come to the fore.

They have come to remember Hope, their mum and this party is in her honour, but it soon becomes apparent that Hope had a few secrets of her own.

Locations

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Travel Guide

Welcome to Casa de Sueños

Over a few sunny hot days with spectacular views over the Spanish mountains, three siblings meet in order to scatter their mum’s ashes and to remember her.

Her last wish was for her ashes to be scattered away in this beautiful hilltop home as her mother spent a large part of her time there. Not surprising when you see the scenery through their eyes. The flora and fauna and the joy of life lived here by a woman who totally loved life and was a warm, go getting sort.

They come separately and with their families and each sibling brings more than enough baggage with them. The setting however brings them together as they speak up the Spanish sun and think back to happier times. This change of pace and setting for them turns out to be healing as well as revealing.

You can feel the sun on your face as the tears run down your face and the warmth of Hope is evoked in the setting and the aromas of the plants growing around it.

Just be careful if you arrive for this booktrail via Malaga airport is all we’re saying.

Streetview Maps

A) Gaucin church

B) Gaucin restaurant

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

I’ve enjoyed all of Fanny Blake’s novels but this one was particularly heartwarming as it reminded me of emotional times in my own past. This added another layer to my reading I guess, but it would still have been an emotional journey without them. A really warming read despite the sad subject matter but what I really love about Fanny’s novels is that they are multilayered -a lot more than the cosy covers suggest – and that once you’re involved with the characters, it’s very easy to care about them.

I enjoyed getting to know this family and thought it clever how we met them one by one before all going to the hilltop to gather everyone together. The reason for getting there is sad but I have to admit, I kept remembering the opening scene at Malaga airport and this kept me company. It’s just like that with grief – sometimes something so strange or comedic gets you through, something unsuitable – and this ‘scene’ made me laugh, hold my hands over my mouth and squirm all the same time.

I really felt as if I had gotten to know these people one by one and really cared for them. Spending a family weekend in Spain is not my idea of fun but with this family it was a nice yet poignant time and I was sad to leave them!

Although I read this on kindle, I did download a picture of the cover halfway through and then realised this was exactly how I had imagined it. That cover is enough to draw you in and the writing will definitely keep you there. Once inside there are so many layers to enjoy and relationships to explore and it was a heartwarming read.