War Clouds over Blackberry Farm by Rosie Clarke
Genre: Historical fiction, Wartime fiction, Sagas, WW2
Read: 30th October 2021
Published: 4th November 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Cambridgeshire - March 1939
As the clouds of war begin to gather in Europe, the Talbot family of rural Blackberry Farm will be torn apart, just as so many families all over the world will be. Life will never be the same again.
Whilst in London, the Salmons family will feel the pain of parting and loss.
Brought together by war, the two families become intertwined and, as the outlook looks bleak, they must draw on each other’s strength to fight through the hard times.
Lizzie Jackson and Tom were sweethearts until a mistake caused a terrible rift. Lizzie takes herself off to London to heal the pain in a glamorous new job but she still loves Tom. His pride has been hurt – but deep down inside Tom still cares. Can they find happiness before their chance is gone and the whole word is swept into the terrible madness of war?
MY REVIEW:
I never tire of reading wartime sagas and though each are along similar themes, they each tell a different story. I have enjoyed many of Rosie Clarke's sagas in the past and I knew this one would be no different. And despite being in the middle of the Harpers' series and Mulberry Lane still having plenty more tales to tell, she still has time to pen yet another exciting new series from another perspective.
Beginning in Cambridgeshire in March 1939, Lizzie Jackson and Tom Gilbert had been stepping out together for some time that everyone thought they would eventually marry. But growing impatient with Tom's seemingly unhurried approach to ask for her hand, Lizzie makes a grave mistake which sends her running off to London but not before rumours start to spread about her. Tom is devastated as well as furious though his pride will not see him run after her until he has time to think things through. But it wouldn't matter if he did for Lizzie left in such a hurry she left no forwarding address. And when she did finally write to her mother, she gave only a box number to reply to leaving no clue as to where she may be living.
Meanwhile Lizzie arrives in London on her savings in search of lodgings that she can afford and a job in hairdressing. Luck is on her side when she responds to the advertisement for a lodger with the Salmons and soon befriend the family - mother Vera, daughters Annie and Jeanie and their father Bob. She spoils them with her baking and soon it feels like the family she never had, for her own mother is a cold fish who seemingly hasn't cared much for her daughter since the death of Lizzie's father as a result of the Great War twenty years ago. But with the Salmons, life is good.
Life gets even better when she finally lands her dream job in an enterprising hair salon which would allow her room to compete in hair styling competitions and her boss Sarah sees a promise in Lizzie she sees fit to nurture her into a senior stylist. Life couldn't get any better. Except that she misses Tom dreadfully.
Then one day, she receives a letter from him with just a few words asking them to meet. She is so excited she pens her reply naming a day, time and place...and eagerly awaits the following Sunday when she will see him again and they can finally talk about what happened. And maybe even plan for the future. Dare she hope that he forgives her?
But those plans a scuppered on her way to the cafe. A face from the past. A reminder of her mistake. A kiss in the street. The lips that say one thing while the eyes speak something else entirely. A slap to the face and tearing herself away, Lizzie hopes she isn't too late to meet Tom. She waits for over and hour but he doesn't show. She returns home devastated. Maybe he hasn't forgiven her after all.
Meanwhile back at Blackberry Farm, Tom has returned furious at himself for being taken in by Lizzie once again. He puts himself back to work in the fields, taking out his anger on the strenuous job at hand before returning for supper and bed. But his mother Pam is wise to her eldest son's ways and knows something is amiss. She wheedles it out of him and offers him her words of wisdom which Tom agrees makes more sense than his own way of thinking.
But time waits for no man as the threat of war looms ever closer and men are signing up before the government conscripts them to where they see fit. And as the menfolk head off to war, the women are left to keep the homefires burning and the country running. In London, one of Lizzie's new friends Jeanie decides to become a Land Girl and ends up being sent to Blackberry Farm. Lizzie reassures Vera that Jeanie will be well looked after with the Talbots as they are good people and soon the families become close friends.
But through it all, Lizzie wonders will she ever see Tom again? War does not discriminate and he could be gone in the blink of an eye. Is she too late to tell Tom she's sorry and for them to have a future like they planned? Or will she fall victim to the evil planning of Ralph Harris who sees it as his mission to seek his revenge on Lizzie and Tom?
There is so much more to this story that I have not even touched on but I will leave that you, the reader, to discover for yourself. An easy read, WAR CLOUDS OVER BLACKBERRY FARM will delight you and warm your soul as you curl up and imagine yourself in Vera's or Pam's kitchens by their ranges enjoying hearty meals and good conversation.
I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in this promising new series and cannot wait to see what happens next. WAR CLOUDS OVER BLACKBERRY FARM is a delightful tale filled with heartwarming characters, as well as a couple of not so likeable, and the combination of two families in the face of war. There is plenty of scope for backstories to come alive in future additions to this series and the bridging of the gap between the city and the country in the face of war. There were a few things that had yet to be tied up by the end of this story, which I hope we will see come to fruition in the next installment.
Like I said at the beginning, I never tire of wartime saga stories such as these and I eagerly await the next installment just as Lizzie does for any word on Tom.
Perfect for fans of historical fiction, particularly wartime sagas, and those of Pam Howes, Nancy Revell and Lizzie Lane.
I would like to thank #RosieClarke, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #WarCloudsOverBlackberryFarm in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Rosie loves shoes, especially those impossibly high heels you can buy and has a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choos but can't wear them so they sit on the mantlepiece.
Rosie also writes under the name of Anne Herries and Linda Sole.
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