The Little Blue Door by Francesca Catlow

I was drawn to this book by the simple, yet striking and effective cover. The tagline and the symbolism of the door suggested that this book would be rooted in domestic drama and could involve developing an understanding of your past and taking up new opportunities.

Blurb:

Can a lost past lead to a beautiful future?

Fly off to Greece with Francesca Catlow’s Greek romance novel set in Corfu. If you like Patricia Wilson, Karen Swan and Victoria Hislop, then you’ll love this heart-wrenching love story, that will take you on an unforgettable journey of discovery.

In the post-pandemic world Melodie feels lost and alone, desperate to find something to remind her of her previous life. She sets out on a trip to Corfu to reconnect with happier times, only to be haunted by memories and events from the past.

While travelling Melodie meets an intriguing and handsome man who has the potential to change her future. However, will the young girl from the plane with piercing green eyes be the one to open the door to Melodie’s fate?

My thoughts:

This was my first read by this author so it wasn’t really a surprise to me that it took a while for me to get into the flow and style of it. The style is simple and easy to follow, but I would definitely describe this is as a slow burner of a book.

I liked the character of Melodie and my understanding of her, and sympathy for her, definitely grew as the book went on. She is an interesting and complex character, one who craves the security and familiarity of a close knit family environment, something that she missed out on to an extent as she’s never known her birth parents. She also talked about her job in the book which I think also gave me an understanding of her. She comes across as a worrier, an analyst, and an over-thinker, but she does start to relax into life on the island of Corfu and accept that “everything Corfu was bringing me was a surprise”. My favourite character was probably Gaia, who is described in the book as a “wise old teenage girl.” I always enjoy it when young people are well-presented and developed characters in ‘adult’ fiction books.

For me personally, I felt the dramatic elements were all packed into the end and although this made for a gripping, twisty and unexpected ending, I think it may have helped to have some more development earlier on in the book, as I did struggle to get into this one for about the first third. That said, I’m glad I’m stuck with it as it delivers a beautiful message about what can happen when you open up and learn to trust and listen to others.

Overall, this has been an easy and engaging read, focusing on strong themes involving love, family, identity and acceptance. I would recommend this book to fans of domestic drama and who like being transported to a different environment in the books they read, as I have enjoyed visiting the wonderful island of Corfu from my sofa in this story!