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The Invitation

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What to expect

‘The perfect summer read… Gorgeously compelling’ Good Housekeeping

‘Film crew, Italian Riviera, 1950s. What part of that does not appeal?’ Red

Rome, 1950s. One fateful night, Hal Jacobs meets Stella, a beautiful society darling from New York. To Hal, flailing in the post-war darkness, she’s a point of light. They’re from different worlds, but both trying and failing to carve out a new life.

Stella vanishes all too quickly, until a curious invitation from an Italian Contessa reels her back into Hal’s world. They join the Contessa’s collection of luminaries on a yacht headed for Cannes film festival.

The scene on board is a fiction - scars from the war can be hidden yet not healed. Everyone is hiding a dark history, but Stella’s secrets run the deepest. Compelled by her fragile beauty, Hal is determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who’s been confined to history.

The Invitation is an epic love story that will transport you from the glamour of the Italian Riviera, to the darkness of war-torn Spain, and to a golden - if rather haunted - time. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Victoria Hislop.

Critics Review

  • ‘A seductive love tale’ Sunday Times Style

    ‘Such a tense, intriguing, beautiful, heart-rending story . . . The characters are so real, the research flawless, the setting sublime. Read it!’ Clare Mackintosh

    ‘Glamour, secrets and danger makes this a gorgeous summer read’ Woman & Home

    ‘Sultry escapist fiction at its best – 5*’ HEAT

    ‘The perfect summer read… Gorgeously compelling’ Good Housekeeping

    ‘Oozes glamour… Lush, romantic and cleverly crafted – a brainy beach read to relish’ Sunday Mirror

    ‘I loved THE INVITATION . . . I could dive into this book. A beautifully complex and vivid story, full of repressed longing and secrets. An absolutely enchanting tale’ Lucinda Riley

    ‘A seductive love tale’ Sunday Times Style

    ‘So powerfully evoked . . . with dark, sensuous undercurrents that lingered on in my mind, long after I’d reluctantly left Stella and Hal behind’ Kate Riordan

    ‘Film crew, Italian Riviera, 1950s. What part of that does not appeal?’ Red

    ‘Full of mystery and long-reaching shadows of the past . . . richly drawn and compelling’ Rosanna Ley

    ‘This epic love story is an unputdownable summer read’ Essentials

    ‘If you like Victoria Hislop you’ll love the seductive and heady The Invitation’ Lovereading

    ‘An utterly seductive story depicting forbidden love and loss in 1950s Italy. The perfect beach read this summer’ Louise O’Neill

    ‘I loved every page – it’s vividly written and utterly absorbing’ Iona Grey

    ‘Foley weaves a very satisfying love story . . . readers will be taken by the luxurious Mediterranean setting’ Publishers Weekly

    ‘Glamorous and romantic and bittersweet all at once . . . a fabulous story’ Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of A Hundred Summers

    ‘It’s a beautiful, compulsive and glamorous read – perfect for long summer days’ Lucy Clarke, author of the Richard & Judy bestseller, The Sea Sisters

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