"Country girl Tara is whisked off to '60s London to become a star; there she is dressed, she is shown off at Chelsea parties, photographed by the best. She meets songwriters, singers, designers, and records her song. And she falls in love - with two men. Behind the buzz and excitement of her success, the bitterness between her elder sister Lucy and her friend Matilda haunts Tara. Their past friendship is broken and among the secrets and the strangeness of both their marriages, the past keeps on reappearing."--Publisher description.
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Take one big happy family; add some horses, a big country manor in Cornwall, plus doses of first love which doesn't go easily. Shake it up and relocate to London; mix with rock'n'roll and serve with love again. This is the essential recipe for Eva Rice's new novel, a thick and satisfying feel-good read.
It's the story of Lucy and Tara, third and sixth of eight children in the Jupp family. Pa is a country vicar, Ma died some years ago. Lucy is a beauty who loves old buildings (Pevsner is her bible), whereas Tara can sing but prefers horses. Sneaking a ride on their neighbour's steeds and becoming friends with poor little rich girl Matilda, the daughter of the Manor, will change Tara and Lucy's lives forever, ending up with Tara becoming a pop star at seventeen in the ready-to-swing London of the early 1960s.
Lucy and Tara are strong young women who want to experience life in full. Lucy's relationship with her husband may be troubled, but Tara's coming of age and first real romance with photographer Digby, (obviously based on David Bailey) is fun. Matilda continues to feature too, becoming a mainstay in their lives.
This is a big-hearted novel about achieving your dreams, and while it may not spring any big surprises, the characters are rounded and compelling to read about. My only quibble was that it ended just as the 60s were about to really take off, and I'd have loved to read more.
