Book review of Hotel Paradise by Carol Drinkwater

Hotel Paradise is a new Kindle single (ebook short story) by Carol Drinkwater, whose descriptions of life in Provence never fail to transport me there.

Beginning and concluding in the present day, most of the story in Hotel Paradise occurs twelve years earlier when a young couple, who met by chance in Paris, make their way south to an island off the Cannes coast following an unknown path of adventure.

Genevieve and Paul find themselves in a long forgotten, dusty hotel that might just be ready to awaken to their touches. There is passion, a sense of adventure, hurt, grief and many other emotions, and the spell of the place fills their heads with dreams and ideas for the future. Then a newcomer arrives on the island, but will this upset the balance and with it their dreams?

Throughout the book there is no doubt about the location, Carol’s beloved Mediterranean coast. She describes the food, the markets, the flora, the wildlife, the coastline, the weather, the sounds and the scents. I feel I know the shores of this island despite never having visited it. I think it’s familiarity comes from the pages of one of the Olive Farm books and Carol’s descriptions make me feel I am returning to somewhere special. It has made me want to delve back into her earlier books (again).

This is a neat, perfect example of a short story. A quick morning read on a beach or by the fire – actually, it doesn’t matter where you are, just sit back and let Carol take you to the Mediterranean.

Hotel Paradise is available only as an ebook from Amazon. I can also recommend Carol’s other Kindle single The Girl in Room Fourteen (Kindle Single) , you can read my review here.