Have you ever seen that really old picture of a young girl in a forest, surrounded by fairies? When it was taken, the entire world debated if it was real. The Cottingley Secret is a really sweet contemporary novel that revisits the story behind the photo with a unique, time-jumping plot.

There are two different stories in this novel - Frances in 1917 and Olivia in 2017; they share a unique link that ties them together. Time-jumping in a novel can be problematic if not done well, but in this case Gaynor pulled it off.

It's a nice, light book with an absolutely gorgeous setting - that bookshop is my dream! And the bit of forest that Frances explores sounds heavenly. Most of the characters were pretty solid, although Olivia's fiancé was a bit flat. I suppose that was to be expected - he wasn't supposed to be likable. But I think it went a bit too far and made him into a caricature.

One bit that really hit me hard was the Alzheimer's subplot. Gaynor's approach was really well done. Her insightfulness and sensitivity make me want to check out her other titles.

4/5