An inheritance that will uncover many secrets…

Synopsis

An unexpected gift… A home in paradise?

When Molly Adams finds out she’s inherited an apartment in Kassiopi, Corfu, she’s left thinking there must be some mistake. She doesn’t know anyone in Greece at all.

But when she arrives there’s a shock. Molly hasn’t inherited a whole apartment, it’s only 50%. But there’s more – she’s also inherited 50% of a boat, 50% of an olive tree and… 25% of a cat.

Christos Baros is coming home to Corfu for the summer. A self-made entrepreneur, owning three gyms in Athens, he has no need for half an apartment, half a boat, half an olive tree or a quarter of a cat, but he knows these things are important to his mother.

Molly and Christos’s worlds collide in a whirlwind and the irresistible charm of the Greek island draws them even closer together. But as they uncover the secrets of their shared inheritance, will they discover that sometimes, sharing what you never wanted can lead to exactly what you need?

This summer, join Molly and Christos in Corfu as they try to work out if one shared Greek gift will turn into a shared future. Perfect for fans of Sue Moorcroft and Jenny Colgan.

My review

Molly Adams cannot believe her ears (or rather eyes), when she receives a letter from Greece, informing her that she has inherited from a man she never heard of. However, when she informs her mother, the name of the man opens a box full of memories for her mother, as she has spend time on the island of Corfu, and she knows Vaggelis Vlachos very well. But Molly still doesn’t understand why it was her that inherited. So together with her mother and her best friend Siobhan, Molly heads off to Kassiopi, Corfu, to hear what she has inherited, but also, and perhaps mainly, to understand why of all people, Vaggelis put her in his will, with perhaps the strangest possible arrangements…

I love reading stories where the main character inherits unexpectedly, needs to head off to another country, to discover exactly what was written in a will of a person the main character doesn’t know at the start of the book.

But in Molly’s story, contrary to most stories, the link between her and the deceased it even more mysterious. Because she has never heard of the man, and has never been to Corfu. So why would a complete stranger put her name in his will? So many questions, so many pages to read to discover it all.

Of course there has to be a link somewhere between Molly and Vaggelis, as this is not a case of scam mails, where you supposedly inherit something from a Nigerian Prince or I don’t know what 😊.

There were several moments that I was a bit surprised. For example, I was expecting that Molly would embark to Corfu on her own. But on the other hand, of course she would take her mother and her best friend along, for the moral support. And having her mother with her, makes it also possible for Molly to finally find some answers to questions she always had, like the identity of her father.

Another surprise was discovering what she has inherited. Truly, who inherits 25% of a cat, 50% of an olive tree, 50% of a boat and 50% of an apartment? Most of the things are easily  to be divided, but a cat??? How do you divide that???

And then there is Vaggelis’s family and friends, that for sure are as surprised as Mollyis, but are also special in their own ways. I could understand with this kind of family, that Christos Baros somehow fled to Athens.

Not that his family is a bad one, but they are typical Mediterranean: loud, present, welcoming, loving, but also a bit overprotective and even masters at holding grudges. And no matter how much you love your family, sometimes too much is just that, too much.

In this story, both Molly and Christos are not people that have been sailing through life easily. Not only have they somehow both been missing something/someone in their upbringing. But the both of them are also not ready or able to let people in their hearts. Of course they love people, and have people around them that love them. But it’s the love – love that they are not ready for.

And of course, it’s the pair of them, broken in a way, that find a way to each other, clashing initially, and slowly, very very very slowly, by (sometimes literally) falling and yet getting back up, that makes their heart open up to each other, and allow themselves to feel things they have been afraid of to feel again.

Seeing Molly and Christos having these evolutions, was wonderful to read. Not only when they are together, but I also ‘blame’ it to the Corfu – air and its magic, they find the courage to be open for changes, for taking a leap of faith, to be just courageous in general once again.

The funny moments, hilarious moments for sure made me laugh, whether the characters turned them funny intentional or not.

There are also a few twists and turns in this book. And secrets are being revealed. Not all the secrets did come as a complete surprise, yet there were some moments, especially with one big reveal, that I was afraid for both Molly and Christos, that their growth would have been in vain…

I have to admit, it was a slow – paced story, perhaps a bit too slow – paced for me. And I don’t mean that I didn’t like the story, because I did. Buit that is the impatient person in me, as I want to read all the resolutions and hopefully happy end, as soon as possible. 😊

I enjoyed reading this story, about how something unexpected can change your whole life, how it can throw people on your path you normally would never meet. But this book shows us how the generosity of others can bring perhaps a much needed change in your life. How it allows you to step outside your comfort zone, to be courageous. And all this in an amazing Greek setting!