The Mermaid Garden

Two stories, two generations, and two beautiful European locales are neatly gift-wrapped into one sumptuous tale of love, loss, and redemption. In 1966, feisty 10-year-old Floriana Farussi, abandoned by her mother to the custody of an alcoholic father, falls madly in love with teenage Dante Bonfanti, heir to a wealthy Tuscan family. The young man is beguiled by Floriana's spunk and indomitable spirit, and eventually they realize theirs is a bond forged in heaven. In 2009, Marina and Grey Turner struggle to keep their tiny Devon hotel afloat by hiring an Argentine painter to instruct their guests. The gallant Rafa Santori promptly falls for Grey's beautiful and obstreperous daughter, Clementine. But happy endings will not come easily to these young couples as secrets, subterfuge, and stubbornness threaten their love at every turn. Montefiore's plot lacks surprises, but her prose more than compensates with luxurious and romantic depictions of scenic Tuscany and the beautiful English coast. (May)