REVIEW: Alli Sinclair’s ‘Under The Spanish Stars’

Posted on March 30, 2016 by ausromtoday in Reviews // 0 Comments

Under The Spanish Stars
Alli Sinclair

Charlotte Kavanagh’s beloved grandma Katarina Sanchez is gravely ill, so when she begs Charlotte to travel to her homeland in Andalucía to uncover the truth behind a mysterious painting, Charlotte agrees. Taking leave from her soul-destroying job and stalled life in Australia, Charlotte embarks on a quest through Granada’s ancient cobble-stoned streets and vibrant neighbourhoods. There she meets Mateo Vives, a flamenco guitarist with a dark past, and through him she quickly becomes entangled in the world of flamenco and gypsies that ignites a passion she had thought lost.

But the mystery surrounding the painting deepens, reaching back in time to the war-torn Spain of the 1940s and Charlotte discovers her grandmother’s connection to the Spanish underground. Who is her grandmother, really? What is Mateo’s connection to her family history? And why is finding answers to a family mystery turning into a journey of self-discovery for Charlotte?

Weighed down by secrets, betrayals and shattered relationships, Charlotte finds herself questioning the true meaning of heritage, family and love.

Harlequin

What AusRom Today thought:

It must be said that Alli Sinclair is a story-teller. There is simply something truly engaging in Sinclair’s stories and most particularly in the way in which she delivers them.

Under The Spanish Stars is a novel shrouded in mystery and intrigue that tells the story of several generations of the Sanchez/Kavanagh family. Charlotte Kavanagh is on a fact-finding mission to uncover the truth of her grandmother, Katarina Sanchez’s past in Spain, a homeland that Katarina refuses to speak of. It is while searching for clues as to her grandmother’s past that Charlotte is faced with confronting her own past and the obstacles that she’s allowing to hold her back from the life she wants to live.

Sinclair’s writing has an almost rhythmic lilt that is both engaging (and from a practical perspective offers solid pacing for the story) and gives depth and character to what is already a culturally rich storyline. There are times where the prose itself serves as much purpose as the story, characters, and setting. That is something that I immensely enjoyed about this novel.

A story that will keep you hooked from the first page to the very last word, Under the Spanish Stars is a must-read for 2016.