Dining at Davinci's by Annette Hannah | Book Review | #DiningAtDavincis @AnnetteHannah

Two love stories, one heartbreaking secret.

1975

When seventeen-year-old art student, Dolly Davinci’s fiancé goes to work in Australia for a year, she moves to the quaint market town of Bramblewood for a summer job in a hotel. But when she meets Tom, her boss’s dangerously handsome son, sparks begin to fly and Dolly’s destiny is irrevocably changed forever.

2018

Gracie Hart is devastated to find her fiancé has been lying to her, denying her the one thing she wants most in life. Whilst looking after his children for the past ten years, Gracie has lost sight of who she is.

When she receives a mysterious bunch of keys from her late friend and mentor Dolly, she heads to Bramblewood to search for the address engraved on the keyring.

Whilst exploring Dolly’s favourite haunts, Gracie meets gorgeous blue-eyed engineer, Finn and with the help of a cassette player and Dolly’s paintings, found in her old canal boat, they unravel the hidden truths in Dolly’s past.

Will they be able to piece together the fragments of Dolly’s heart and will Gracie find the inspiration to paint the future of her dreams with Finn?

Publisher: Book Angel Publishing
Format: Ebook (including Kindle Unlimited) and paperback 3 August 2026
Source: Digital copy for review

MY THOUGHTS

Annette Hannah has featured a few times on my blog (just type her name into the search bar to see all the posts), I’ve always enjoyed reading her books and was delighted to be invited to review the latest, Dining at Davinci’s.

Set mainly over two timelines, 1970s and 2018, the story connects two very good friends – Dolly Davinci and Gracie Hart. Despite their difference in age, they bond over their shared love of art and sharing their dreams and aspirations.

There are many parallels in their stories – both are engaged but face challenges in their love lives. Dolly is engaged to Sid, who is working on another continent to pay for their future whilst Gracie is engaged to headteacher Mark who has used her as a housekeeper and nanny for many years – all the time deceiving her by hiding a momentous secret.

It is always a pleasure to return to the fictional village of Bramblewood. It sounds idyllic and has such a fantastic community spirit. Dolly has left Gracie something in her Will which enables Gracie to have some space and time to decide what she wants from her future.

Annette’s writing has much warmth and sensitivity and the two timelines flowed seamlessly with the two women’s lives being cleverly intertwined through music and art. Although I am a child of the 60s, it’s the music of the 1970s that resonates with me and I loved the song choices used as a backdrop. The significant events in Dolly’s life and loves were laid bare through her pictures and the paintings she left behind were an inspiration to Gracie to pick up a brush again.

Love and romance feature heavily for both women. Whilst Dolly was in many ways a free spirit with a love for life, her choices were constrained by her strict parental upbringing together with societal expectations and there were parts of her story that brought a lump to my throat. All of the main characters were superbly developed and authentic and whilst I was hoping that everyone would have their happy ending, the drama of the story kept me engrossed and glued to my Kindle.

I very much enjoyed Dining at Davinci’s. There is light and shade and depth of characters to make for a fantastic uplifting read.

Annette Hannah is a Liver Bird who relocated from Liverpool to leafy Hertfordshire in the 80’s and now lives near a river with her husband, two of their three grown up children and a crazy black cocker spaniel. She writes Romantic comedies in settings inspired by the beautiful countryside around her and always with a nod to her home town.

She worked in Marketing for many years as a qualified Marketeer which she loved as it tapped into her creative side.

As an avid reader, she began to review the books she read, became a book blogger and eventually plucked up the courage to fulfil her life long dream of writing a book.

For four years she was a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s, New Writers’ Scheme, during which time she wrote a book a year. After signing a two book deal with Orion Dash in 2020 she graduated to full member of the organisation and was also their Press Officer and a Director for six years.

She loves long walks along the river, travelling to far flung places and spending time with her friends and family.