The past presents the story of Floriana in Tuscany, a lovely little girl whose mother has run off with another man, leaving her daughter with her drunken father. Floriana is a wild child, and has unlimited freedom to explore. While on one of her adventures, she is caught looking over the wall of a villa that she likes to visit by a boy named Dante, whose family owns the villa. He invites her in to explore the gorgeous Mermaid garden, and they become fast friends. Floriana even falls in love with Dante, despite the fact that she is only 10 and he is a teenager going off to school at the end of the summer -- she somehow knows their lives were meant to be connected.

Rushing forward to the present, the story turns to Marina and Grey Turner, who own and run the beautiful Polzanze Hotel. One of Marina's great sorrows is that she has no children of her own, and considers her two stepchildren, Jake and Clementine, to be like her own. But Clementine is resentful of Marina's influence on her father and only tolerates her existence, even though she has been in their lives since they were very small children.

When the hotel becomes in danger of closing, Marina fights as hard as she can to save her dreams. She advertises for an artist to stay the summer and teach the guests how to paint. The man she hires, Rafa Santoro, is charismatic and wise and soon begins to pacify the discord in her family and transform the fortunes of the hotel. He also seems quite interested in Clementine, sweeping her off her feet with his charm and surprising gentleness. However, Rafa has his own agenda for being at the Polzanze. Is it to destroy, to seduce, or to heal? Whatever his intentions, his presence is certain to change the lives of the Turner family forever.

A consummate storyteller, Santa Montefiore has a magical way of pulling her readers into her beautiful and fantastical worlds where love is triumphant and where a little heart-ache is necessary to making dreams come true. THE MERMAID GARDEN is a fine example of the talent of this brilliant writer, showcasing her ability to weave two distinct storylines into one intriguing and uplifting tale that will resonate with readers long after the last page is turned.

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