Between the orange groves

In a small village, set among the wild mountains of Cyprus, two families
of different faiths share a seemingly unbreakable friendship based on
mutual respect and deep affection. Mothers and daughters share their
daily secrets, fathers and sons support each other as they live their lives
between the fragrant pine trees and orange groves. It's here that two boys,
Lambros and Orhan, grow up side by side, as close as brothers. Their lives
are inextricably linked, but as their fortunes shift and time passes, an
unforgivable act of betrayal takes place, setting in motion a chain of events
that tears the two friends and their entire families apart... 

Many decades later and now an old man living in London, Lambros decides
to share his painful memories with his daughter Stella; transporting her back
to an island brimming with passion and at its heart a scandal that still haunts
those involved. Is it too late for forgiveness? Or can the next generation embark
on a journey of their own to help mend the damage done all those years ago?

From Nadia Marks, the bestselling author of Among the Lemon Trees
 and Secrets Under the Sun, comes Between the Orange Groves,a moving
tale of desire, burning secrets and forbidden love.

About the author

Nadia Marks (nee Kitromilides, which in Greek means bitter lemons), grew up in London but was born in Cyprus where her novel Secrets Under the Sun is set. An ex creative director and associate editor on a number of leading British women's magazines, she is now a novelist and works as a freelance writer for several national and international publications.

My Review

Nadia Marks really manages to get under the skin of Cyprus and through the memories of an old man now living in London, she takes us back on an epic journey to what Cyprus was like in the 1950s. it is the beginning of discontent with English rule yet the Greek and Turkish communities manage to get along fine. It was fascinating to read about this period in Cypriot history, unlike most novels that deal with Cyprus who concentrate on the 1974 partition. This is a heartbreaking tale of families divided, love lost and cross-cultural forbidden love. Totally absorbing, very moving and a story that by its very nature can't have a completely happy ending although I was keeping my fingers crossed that Stella could fulfil her father's wish to find his childhood friend.