1975

When seventeen-year-old art student, Dolly Davinci’s fiancé goes to work in Australia for a year, she moves to the quaint market town of Bramblewood for a summer job in a hotel. But when she meets Tom, her boss’s dangerously handsome son, sparks begin to fly and Dolly’s destiny is irrevocably changed forever.

2018

Gracie Hart is devastated to find her fiancé has been lying to her, denying her the one thing she wants most in life. Whilst looking after his children for the past ten years, Gracie has lost sight of who she is.

When she receives a mysterious bunch of keys from her late friend and mentor Dolly, she heads to Bramblewood to search for the address engraved on the keyring.

Whilst exploring Dolly’s favourite haunts, Gracie meets gorgeous blue-eyed engineer, Finn and with the help of a cassette player and Dolly’s paintings, found in her old canal boat, they unravel the hidden truths in Dolly’s past.

Will they be able to piece together the fragments of Dolly’s heart and will Gracie find the inspiration to paint the future of her dreams with Finn?

It's always an exciting time when Annette Hannah publishes a new book. She's such a talented author that its a real treat to snuggle down on the sofa with one of her books. Set in the wonderful town of Bramblewood, Dining at Davinci's is a dual timeline story about best friends Dolly and Gracie. Despite their age differences, the pair were really close and when Dolly passes away Gracie is left with more questions than answers about Dolly's past. Determined to find those answers provides Gracie with the perfect opportunity to escape from her own unhappy life with a man who has spent years taking advantage of her good nature and lying to her.

Arriving in Bramblewood, Gracie finds Dolly has left her many clues to her past and her own time in Bramblewood. A young woman away from home for the first time who falls in love. But, as Gracie soon discovers, her own experiences in Bramblewood soon start to mirror Dolly's and the path to true love is not without its obstacles.

I love how Annette Hannah always manages to give character to buildings and places in her books so much so that they become such an integral part of the plot and Dining at Davinci allows both Dolly and Gracie to find a safe harbour. A place to anchor themselves during difficult times in their lives, albeit many years apart.  I also found it interesting that Dolly was able to tell her story through music and her paintings. Hers was such a desperately sad story but one that was filled with passion and hope. Parts of her story really broke me. But, Dolly's heartbreak leads the way for Gracie to find herself and never lose hope that she too deserves love and a happy ever after. 

Dolly and Gracie's stories become so intertwined throughout the book and the similarities in both their personalities and big open hearts become more and more apparent as the story progresses. I also loved how in this book, as in all the other books by Annette Hannah that the sense of community between all the main and supporting characters really carry the story along and Bramblewood just feels like a big warm hug. A fantastic book that I'd highly recommend! 

 

Annette Hannah is a Liver Bird who relocated from Liverpool to leafy Hertfordshire in the 80’s and now lives near a river with her husband, two of their three grown up children and a crazy black cocker spaniel. She writes Romantic comedies in settings inspired by the beautiful countryside around her and always with a nod to her home town.

She worked in Marketing for many years as a qualified Marketeer which she loved as it tapped into her creative side.

As an avid reader, she began to review the books she read, became a book blogger and eventually plucked up the courage to fulfil her life long dream of writing a book.

For four years she was a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s, New Writers’ Scheme, during which time she wrote a book a year. After signing a two book deal with Orion Dash in 2020 she graduated to full member of the organisation and was also their Press Officer and a Director for six years.

She loves long walks along the river, travelling to far flung places and spending time with her friends and family.

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