A Winter Memory

by Lulu Taylor

A house full of secrets lies at the heart of this absorbing family drama that is perfect for the winter months, from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author Lulu Taylor.

Where is Sylla? Why will no one tell me where she is?

Helen is married to Angus, the younger of the Ballintyre brothers. They met as students and Helen fell in love, not just with Angus but with the romantic Ballintyre family and their beautiful house on the edge of a loch. But marriage to Angus has not proved happy.

Now, years later and with a family, Helen and Angus have been forced to move back to live at Ballintyre with his older brother, Charlie. Helen is surprised to find that Sylla, Charlie’s wife, has disappeared and no one seems to know where she is. Helen is worried, not least because Charlie and Sylla lost their teenage daughter, Rose, only a year before. Surely someone should be looking for her . . .

Sylla Ballintyre has spent her life ministering to her husband, Charlie, and coping with the presence of his overbearing mother, Josephine, until the tragedy of losing Rose drained her happiness away. When she stumbles on the path to freedom, she knows she must take it, whatever the cost.

As Helen struggles with the fallout of recent events and its effect on her life, Ballintyre House becomes the setting for revelations of love, obsession and betrayal that have resonated beyond the present and into the past, affecting the lives of all those who have called it home.

Genres: Fiction, Christmas, Chick Lit, Mystery

577 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 25, 2021

About the author

Lulu was brought up in the Oxfordshire countryside, attended a girls’ school and then went to Oxford University, where she read English Literature. After university, she worked in publishing for several years, before becoming a novelist.

Lulu says of her books: ‘I’ve always adored stories of the rich and reckless at play, everything from The Great Gatsby to the brilliant blockbuster novels of the 80s. It’s fantastic escapism, and I’ve always loved creating my own stories of adventure, romance and luxury. My heroines are often very privileged and blessed with great looks and good health – but that doesn’t mean their lives are simple – far from it. They go through plenty of drama and suffering before everything is finally resolved.

‘Sex, love, beauty and money have always entranced us, and one way or another are the basis for just about every story ever written. There’s plenty of all of that in my novels, along with high fashion, which I love. What’s more, writing about fashion means I can go virtual shopping, dressing my heroines in all the wonderful clothes I adore – the racks of Marchesa ball gowns, the shelves of Louboutins, mountains of Chanel bags and acres of Dior dresses... it’s lots of fun. The stories can also get quite racy at times. It’s all about entertaining and amusing the reader, and enjoying being inside my characters’ glamorous, rarefied existence. ‘I’m always thrilled when someone enjoys reading my book as much I enjoyed writing it.’

Lulu now lives in West Dorset near the Somerset border, with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Alayne Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Lulu Taylor’s books and am always pleased when another one comes out. This was was no exception. It was a fascinating read. Set in Scotland and it told of the iOS and downs of different relationships. So pleased I was approved this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea where to start other than congratulating Lulu Taylor on another truly wonderful book. It was rather epic, and it took me a while to get to grips with the various timelines, but once I knew roughly what characters were where, I was hooked.

I needed to keep reading to see where the prologue fitted in, and just how the timelines fully interconnected. I needed to know like Helen, just where Sylla is, and ultimately what the truth is about so many different things.

We are also treated to Tig's story which is heart-breaking too about love that is seemingly impossible.

I loved the setting in Scotland, and of Ballintyre and two other key properties nearby. There is so much I would love to say but I fear I'd be spoiling things.

Rest assured this is Lulu Taylor at her best, incredibly descriptive and gripping writing, characters that feel real, and plenty of secrets to be unwrapped. There is a lot going on over the course of the book and given the time span it covers, which is clearly marked at the start of each chapter, along with which character we were hearing from, and it has great depth and so much going for it.

Simply superb writing.

Thank you to Pan and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, let me say this, time passed by so quickly while reading this first-person narrative tale, I almost didn’t want it to end. Lulu Taylor weaves a wonderful tale of love and loss and brings together different strong story lines that will stay in my mind for a very long time. Beside a couple of plot twists that I wasn’t expecting (which is always a good thing), the story highlights a couple of characters that are well-developed but not necessarily always likable (which is another good thing). The prose is tight, and the lavish setting, mostly in and around Scotland, is breathtaking. All in all, the perfect book to cozying up with during those long winter months. (Full review: https://sleaze-factor.blogspot.com/20...)

[Zuzu the Bookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent piece of escapism, fine characters and a truly captivating story. Lulu got me hooked from page 1. Can’t wait for her other books!

[Marguerite Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of story I love. Set across two time periods with lots of turns and twists and interlinking, and even better, much of it is set in the west coast of Scotland.

The front story has Helen, come to Ballintyre House with her husband Hamish and her two children. Hamish has lost his job and is in bits. Helen is just about holding the family together, but she could do without her mother-in-law Josephine's interference and she would love to know where her sister-in-law has disappeared to.

In the back story, we have Tigs, madly in love with handsome James from Ballintyre House (Hamish's father, but that's all I can say without spoiling it). Its the Sixties, but the sexual revolution is passing Tigs by as is her life, devoted to a man who barely even notices her.

The links between the two stories are well-hidden at first. There's tons of mystery, tons of ambiance, and a main protagonist in Helen who you really feel for, but want to give her a huge shake and tell her to open her eyes. This is a genuine page-turner, an enthralling and thoroughly satisfying story that I didn't want to end. And as for the ending, which is nearly always the stumbling block for me in this kind of tale - it was perfect! Loved it, a great winter comfort read, and finally I've broken my fiction reading block with it too.

[Caroline Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It has a great time hop and the characters come together well. I started reading is slowly but about a third of the way through it gathers momentum and then I literally could not put it down. I have it 4 stars for how compelling it is.

[Nate Ingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good fun. First half of the book is 2 star, second half is 4. Averages out to a crisp three. Absolutely sticks the landing with a cracking twist

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!
Was genuinely surprised by its depth and thought-provoking nature and found it to be an excellent example of an intriguing and well-paced story that incorporates opportunities to re-evaluate one's own stance on platonic and romantic relationships in an organic way.

[Ophelia Sings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lulu Taylor's tales are marketed as winter escapism, ideal for cosy Christmas evenings in front of the fire. In many respects, it's a fitting angle: frothy and fleeting, and tinged with a certain bittersweet nostalgia, her books are as familiar as the balding tinsel tree making its twentieth appearance.

A Winter Memory is no exception. Replete with rambling country houses which possess things like boot rooms, a beautiful (and, naturally, festive) Scottish setting, broodingly handsome and unattainable men, lots of Deep Dark Secrets and rivalry and a huge cast of upper middle class characters, it's definitely well-trodden territory. It wouldn't be a Lulu Taylor without a trademark split time structure, and as ever the vintage settings (in this case, the sixties) work best; delicious fashions and archaic social mores make for a fantastic read. What's strange, however, is the way in which many of those attitudes don't seem to alter much in the segments set in the 21st century - chauvinistic men and women only too happy to kowtow to them abound throughout, as do certain mid-century attitudes best left mid-century.

Twists are gentle and there's nothing to frighten the horses here. Themes of love and loss tug pleasantly at the heartstrings while that gorgeous setting makes the reader long for a Highland fling. Enjoyable in a Sunday night 80s TV drama kind of a way, it suits hot chocolate/sofa sessions perfectly - but you'll likely forget all about it by the time the baubles are packed away.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Hermione · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the winter version of a beach read, to me, and I mean that in a complimentary way. There's plenty of family secrets, marriage drama, some mystery to keep you guessing, which I really liked. Instead of the ocean feels that beach reads give you, you get lovely old houses in Edinburgh, crumbling family seats. It's so cozy. And instead of a cheesey romance plot, you get a little intrigue. I liked this book.

Also, I think the toxic family dynamic that the Ballantryre house contains is really well drawn. It felt like the author really got this and used it well in the story. A good read.

Thank you to the publisher for the copy of this book for review.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lulu has done it again! A perfect wintry read to be enjoyed snuggled up with a blanket and a large cup (or 2) of hot chocolate as winter is emanating from the pages.
Such a talented author that must love winter as much as I do!!
A brilliant book by an equally brilliant author ♥️

[Rachel Pratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being set in Scotland was the highlight for me , beautifully depicted .
Towards the end it all felt a bit rushed with so many loose ends to tie up to enable a perfect conclusion.
It was an enjoyable read if not a little too predictable.

[Karen Maxwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story over two generations. Not a bad story but took a while to tell.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfect beginning, Helen’s story drew me immediately into the book. The flashback to Hogmanay in Scotland at the turn of this century reminded me of an early Jilly Cooper (before the bonkbusters) and the rather sweet country house stories. Particularly ‘Prudence’ which was always my favourite. This is partly set in a drafty Scottish country house, with stuffed animals on the wall, hockey and lacrosse sticks littering the corners, you get the picture. It’s always a fascinating setting. And here you get not one, but three huge Scottish houses on the coast.

The story moves very quickly from Hogmanay to marriage, so you never actually learn anything else about the new husband. He is kind and sensitive that night, and then doesn’t seem to have very many positive qualities at all.

Other characters’ motivations and points of view are lacking for much of the story, for example: why is Josephine like this?

The main female characters lack strength, and I’m sorry to say these read like women from another era of books. Sylla, Helen and Tigs are all downtrodden and unhappy in their own way; I wish there were more books where women possessed insight about others’ motivations, acted and reacted with strength and integrity. (Tigs and X; I’m not sure how much sympathy they warranted. Although she is unlikeable, what about his wife?) But am I being fair? Is this, in fact, a realistic portrayal of the lives of many women in real life and not a Lara Croft cartoon. Women who are trying the best that they can, in difficult circumstances in massive old ancestral homes. Tee hee.)

By the end there are lots of explanations, understanding and resolution for all, but by golly it did seem a long time coming. Three quarters of the way through the book and the word ‘turgid’ kept coming to mind. It was so, so long and drawn out. When a book is really, really good I find myself slowing down and reading each page very carefully. I just do not want it to end. This was certainly not the case with A Winter Memory! I did enjoy it, plus it certainly made me think and consider the characters and quality of the writing, but I did not love it.

And as for the tiny twist at the end, completely unbelievable. There is no way the (female) character would hand that over to Helen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[L.J. Windridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Winter Memory is set in the beautiful countryside of Scotland. The descriptions of the woodland, waters and landscapes surrounding Ballintyre and Tremewan were beautiful, and really captivated me. Especially parts that considered the history of an area, such as the fairy circle.

However, I felt this story started off slow. Really slow. But as you read, it builds momentum. I found myself being thrown in at the deep end at the start with Helen attending the Hogmanay, and then Tigs captured my heart. Their emotions and trials really drew me in.

Towards the end of the book, the pace picked up. You could start to see how the story of Helen and Tigs were intertwined. Yet I still found that it was slow in places, and a lot could have been removed or left out to help the plot along. In many places, it felt like we were being told what the characters were saying and doing rather than being shown and the constant switch between past and present - even in the same character - made it easy for me to lose track at times.

There are so many loose ends and there are points where chapters end too early, or rather, are written before they get to the good bits, which are left out. Being told of events after the fact felt a bit boring and like we were just continuously listening to someone tell us a story and they go off on a tangent continuously.

Overall, the story was good, but not great. The ending was rushed and the conclusion of the Ballintyre family being kicked out of their home felt disappointing and too easy. I feel like Josephine wouldn't have left without a fight, and Helen and Scilla would have been much happier living somewhere nearby instead - perhaps with Alastair and/or Sebastian and helping him restore that house. I'm glad that Lilac and Jamie have their heritage but the means to get it felt rushed and not rewarding to the reader or to Helen at all.

[Louise Marley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lulu Taylor writes fabulous family dramas, set over dual timelines. In this story we follow Tigs's story onward from 1968 and Helen's on from 2001, and discover how they are both connected to the beautiful Ballintyre House in Scotland.

Helen is married to Hamish, the younger of the Ballintyre brothers. They met as students and Helen fell in love, not just with Hamish but with the romantic Ballintyre family and their beautiful house on the edge of a loch. But marriage to Hamish has not proved happy.

Now, years later and with a family, Helen and Hamish have been forced to move back to live at Ballintyre with his older brother, Charlie. Helen is surprised to find that Sylla, Charlie’s wife, has disappeared and no one seems to know where she is. Surely someone should be looking for her . . .

A Winter Memory is a coming-of-age story, about how to move on when first love doesn't go the way you'd hoped. It is incredibly sad in places, and there is a sense of impending doom, but it was inspiring to see how the female characters adapted and found the inner strength to keep going. Sylla is a wonderful character and I found the mystery of her disappearance enthralling, reading the book very quickly to find out what happened to her and her daughter! I also loved Helen and Tigs (obviously!), although I think my favourite part was the country house party to celebrate Hogmanay at the start of the novel.

The only thing stopping A Winter Memory from being a five-star read for me is that I was hoping for a little more romance, which isn't really hinted at until the end.

Recommended for fans of dual timelines, family secrets, big old houses, and scenic Scottish settings!

Thank you to Lulu Taylor and Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

[Rachael Richey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The story was engrossing, the characters both loveable and hateable (is that a word?). I particularly like dual timeline stories. It was intriguing, although I worked out who Nora was pretty early on.

However... and this is one of the reasons it didn’t get five stars, I do have some big issues with dates that don’t tie up, and the fact that decimalisation seemed to have occurred a year early! If you’re going to label each chapter with the date it is very distressing for a pedantic person like me if the dates don’t work! For example we learn early on that Sebastian is 19 in 2001, therefore he was born in 1982. Later we discover his mother was pregnant with him at New Year 1975. Likewise Helen, who was 21 in 2001 also needed to have been born in 1973 in order to be older than Sebastian. Anyway you get my drift. I just couldn’t understand how it didn’t get picked up in the editing process. Luckily the story was excellent and I can highly recommend more books by Lulu Taylor.

[Andrea Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read of this 2 timeline story of families set in Scotland. You'll read on to know how it all turns out.
A surprise invite to Hogmany celebrations finds Helen drawn into the Ballintyre family in the present time meeting Josephine the matriarch and the 2 sons Charles and Hamish. Years later married to Hamish, she returns with her own children and finds herself concerned for the disappearance of Sylla, Charles's wife. Secrets will out.
Meanwhile, in 1968 3 young friends James, Al, and Tigs play together, but Tigs feelings for James Ballintyre are apparent to all but him, so when he marries Josephine, she is heartbroken.

[dawn nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another dual timed book from Lulu Taylor and another great read. Im always pleased when i can read another Lulu Taylor book at this time of year. They are usually set in Winter and this one had a great location of the North of Scotland. The descriptions of the houses and scenery were amazing. This was an engrossing read with lots of twists and turns and kept you guessing how the families were all linked. A perfect read for dark cosy nights. I almost bought another Lulu Taylor book straight away as I enjoyed it so much but I have loads of Christmas books so will have to save myself to next year!

[Bowerbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complicated story but well told. This book is set in two different times zones - the 1960s and the the 2000s. Of course there has to be link but each section alternates - and there are 14 sections. Some of the characters are young in one section and old in the next. Once I got to grips with the switches I found it a real page turner. Set in Scotland, the scenery is beautifully described. Tig's character held my attention best but Helen too is well drawn as their relationships become a tangled mess.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super book a time slip novel set in beautiful Scotland. A tale of an old family with a deceiving nature the selfish love given to anyone from a member of the Ballintyre Clan seems to end in confusion and heartbreak. It is also the tale of young love, new beginnings and old friendships that never fail. Well worth a read. I treat myself to a Lulu Taylor wintery book every year so hope that there will be a new one to enjoy in 2023/24

[Julie Brookes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did start this book, but to be honest at 3% in I couldnt remember any of the character names or the dialog, it just didn't grab me and I do like a book to start off snappy and to want to read and find out more, I really wasn't bothered, there is praise for this book so I am in a minority, but with so many books to read I am giving it a miss.

[sally whitfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story

This book was right up my street! Romance, family secrets, mystery everything I love in a book. I've read quite a few of her previous books and I think this is one of her bests so far. Lulu reminds me of the wonderful late Lucinda Riley in her writing style. Highly recommended read.

[Christina Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Pan for my forward copy of #AWinterMemory by #LuluTaylor.
An absorbing read covering over 30 years in the lives of the inhabitants of Ballintyre House and the stunning area around the loch.
Told from two different generations through the voices of Tigs and Helen. This book will keep you reading on these cold winter nights.
A lovely read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Natasha Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Lulu Taylor book and now I need to read her others.
Loved it, a big engrossing story with different timelines that were all as strong as each other. Though Tigs story especially. A great book that I’ve read over the Christmas and New year period which felt apt as the story starts at Hogmanay.
Many thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read all Lulu Taylor’s novels .She writes wonderful, intriguing family novels linked by last & present timelines. Winter Memory tells the stories of Tigs and Helen and the house at Ballintyre. Loved Tigs a great character. Story full of family secrets, big old houses, and scenic Scottish settings. Perfect for a cosy winter read

[Jane Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one from Lulu Taylor. This was set in Scotland on the west coast and was set in the present day and back in the sixties. The story was about a controlling family and two sons and their mother and wives, Helen and Sylla, with the story of Tigs set in the past. It keeps your interest right the way through and there are some painful bits in it but it all adds up in the end.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. It took me a few chapters to get in the story and to understand the different timelines but once the story unfolded I was hooked! The author has shown real mastery in taking the reader on a journey and allowing them to join the dots throughout the story. Great writing!

Thank you Netgalley.

[Tracey- Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mighty read by Lulu Taylor .
The setting of Ballintyre was so good a background for the story .
Helen and Tigs were interesting characters . I liked Tigs and her love for James despite Josephine , Tigs determination to move in and give herself a new life but Ballintyre still called to her .
The added mystery of the missing Sylla was written well into the plot.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved this book so much. It combines all my favourite things in a book. The story being told by different characters in different times. Total escapism and fully invested in wanting the main characters to be happy. The first book I’ve read by this author but I plan to read a lot more. Amazing!