An escape in the hope to heal, to find peace

Synopsis

Heartbroken after the loss of a friend and the collapse of her marriage, Stella hopes that this trip to the idyllic Greek island of Crete will give her and her family a chance to heal. And when she first steps into the breath-taking Villa Ariadne, with its views over the azure waters and intoxicating scent of lemons, Stella’s troubles seem to melt away.

Until the arrival of an old acquaintance, and an unwelcome revelation, threaten to undermine the peace at the villa, and Stella is forced to make a difficult decision.

But with the help of Crete’s beautiful scenery and the kindness of its locals, Stella is about to discover that Villa Ariadne can still offer an escape… and so much more. Can she open herself up to the possibility of love and find the strength to start again?

My review

After losing her best friend and simultaneous seeing her marriage ending, Stella decides that she needs to get away. With family and friends, she takes off to Crete, hoping to get over her heartbreak and hoping to find some inner peace again.
Villa Ariadne for sure seems the perfect place to do some healing, with an astonishing view and amazing smell of the lemon trees.
And slowly Stella realizes, what truly matters in her life, with the help of the island itself, its inhabitants, and even unexpected arrivals.
Will this Greek escape be enough for Stella to find fresh hope in life again?

I cannot imagine how terrible it is to lose a best friend… I am happy to have all my friends still around me. So all I can try is try to understand what Stella has been going through and what she still is going through.
Stella is obviously an amazing friend, how she has been there until the very last moment. And seeing how devastated she is after losing her friend, shows what a great heart she has.

But I could also comprehend how her being a great friend, was affecting her family. It’s difficult to find the right balance, and afterwards how to deal with your grief while people are depending on you. And it saddened to see how her grief, or inability to grieve, was eventually the demise of her own marriage, also affecting the relationship with her children.

Stella is also the kind of person that has to learn how to block people. She is a real people – pleaser, and finds it difficult to put boundaries. And again, affecting her own relationships…

Taking in account all the above, I found it a good idea for Stella to take a trip to Crete. It’s so obvious she needs to get away and find a place to clear her mind, to just digest everything that she has been through.
But it was also clear that things wouldn’t go so smoothly all the way and that there would be some clashing and drama, even with those the closest to her.

The focus in this book is obviously on Stella and her journey to heal, find peace but also her journey to understand where things have gone wrong and why.
Of course we also see the other characters that accompanied her on this holiday, and also how the community on Crete welcome the new arrivals.

We see how Stella has to make several amends, but also how she has to realize herself what she truly wants and how to set her boundaries but without being too hurtful towards the people that in fact deserve to put in their place.

I have to admit, Stella wasn’t always the easiest character to like, as she seems stubborn, not understanding towards others and in a way also blaming others for her own errors. But that is also the beauty of this book, because we see Stella truly having an emotional journey, understanding it all and making amends.

And also, perhaps that one specific scene towards the end was not that necessary, and a closed door scene would have been better? Because honestly, I was a bit shocked reading those bits, as it was so different from the whole book! 😊

I enjoyed reading this book, as it shows how sometimes the right thing, out of your heart, can cause a disruption somewhere else. But we also see that sometimes to take a step back, away from home, can be the perfect opportunity to get everything back into perspective, and allow you to properly grieve. And only when you allow that grief, you can also understand the errors you made and find a way to set them back right.
And what better setting than sunny Crete, in a wonderful Villa! 😊