Mariana by Susanna Kearsley

This book was such an emotional, lovely read. I was immediately pulled into this novel by the setting, the English countryside, Wiltshire and the main character, Julia Beckett. Julia is an artist living in London who has frequently stumbled across a house in Wiltshire through various points of her life. Every time she sees the house, she knows it’s hers, even if she can’t quite explain why. One day, when she’s in her thirties, she comes across the house again and realizes it’s for sale. She makes the leap to purchase it, not even bothering to look inside and begins her life anew in Wiltshire.

It isn’t long before she realizes what drew her to the house in the first place. Julia starts to have surreal experiences where she travels through time and lives as a young woman, Mariana. Mariana lived during the 1600s, and Julia watches the hardships and romance of her life through her very eyes. As time passes, Julia begins to unravel the truth of Mariana’s past and why she is the one seeing it.

Julia is such a strong, wonderful character who I instantly fell in love with. Alongside her are a fantastic cast of characters- Tom, her brother and a Vicar; Iain, a local farmer and gardner to everyone; Vivien, a new friend and bartender at the Red Lion; Aunt Freda, a witch and woman beyond her years; and Geoff, a millionaire running a large business and a sprawling estate. All of these characters come together to weave a story that exists beyond time itself, and I adored it so much. This book has a little bit of everything- love, time travel, found family, finding oneself, mystery, history all set among the beautiful English countryside.

Susanna Kearsley has cemented herself as a must read author for me. I have a few more of her books and plan on reading everything I can by her. She is a marvel at weaving compelling stories, and I just loved this with all of my heart.