Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Salt

SERIES:  Island Love

AUTHOR:  Fearne Hill

PUBLISHER:  self-published

LENGTH:  271 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 10, 2024

BLURB:  

When was the right time to tell someone that silver flames were shooting from their hair? And that your own tranquil green desired nothing more than to tangle with them, if only it could escape a malevolent orange flare hounding your every move?

Over-stressed businessman Charles Heyer is not like most people. With a rare medical condition that scrambles the senses, he experiences emotions as flashes of colour, giving them the power to disrupt, dismay, or delight. Alone in his over-vivid world, a devastating bereavement leaves him mentally scarred and recuperating on the picturesque French island of Ré where, through a chance encounter and a good deed, he is introduced to Florian, a flirty local salt farmer.

What with trying to protect the island salt cooperative from a corporate takeover and keeping a watchful eye on his errant grandfather, handsome Florian is not as carefree as he appears. Falling in love with this odd Englishman is as unexpected as it is welcome. Both exploring new feelings, the lazy days of summer stretch out for miles until a visitor from Charles’s London life throws their peaceful idyll into a kaleidoscope of chaos. And, all of a sudden, the island’s glorious palette of colour turns several shades darker.

REVIEW:

Charles is renting a place on the French island of Ré for a holiday.  But it’s not a run of the mill get away from it all trip.  He’s recuperating.  From a mental breakdown. He’s suffering from depression and things aren’t going too great.

Florian is a salt farmer.  He lives with his Papi who is suffering from dementia.  Florian’s business is in trouble as well, so he’s got a lot on his plate as well, despite his generally upbeat and flirty behavior.  He meets Charles by accident when Charles helps his grandfather find his way back to Florian from the market.

Charles and Florian begin a tentative friendship after Florian thanks Charles for the assist.  He is flirty and tries to find out more about Charles, but Charles appears to be shy – and not just there for a “holiday” as it seems.  Their friendship evolves into much more, despite all of the issues that they are dealing with individually.

I have been a fan of Fearne Hill’s since I read To Hold a Hidden Pearl, the first book in her Rossingley series.  Her writing is absolutely gorgeous.  She does not shy away from difficult subjects.  She also isn’t patronizing nor romanticizing the real difficulties of life.  She writes about depression with through a truthful lens and does not minimize the work required to deal with mental health issues on the daily.  Many times there is no “magic pill” or magic treatment and certainly no “just get over it” to be had.  She also clearly has a deep feeling/understanding of the intercultural relationships.  This is not the first time she’s written a French character or a French setting, and I get the feeling she has a deep love for France and her people.  Here the setting of the Island of Ré is a character unto itself with the descriptions so vivid that I felt like I was there (and I’d certainly like to be ).  Then there is Charles’s synethesia which is another dimension of his complicated personality, life and history.  These two could not be more different!

This is a very hard won HEA that is totally worth the beautiful prose that leads to it.  There are  lot of heavy subjects here – mental health, depression, caring for someone with dementia, etc.  These two do not have an easy path and there are stumbles along the way.  Take care that that there are several triggers here – including depression and treatment, mental breakdown, suicidal ideations, dealing with the death of a parent, caring for someone suffering from dementia and all that entails.  That being said, this is a very beautiful story that is ultimately hopeful and satisfying.  Highly recommended and I look for it to be on my best of the year list.  Another winner from the supremely talented Fearne Hill.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

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