REVIEW: The Girl You Gave Away by Jess Ryder (ARC)

The Girl You Gave Away by Jess Ryder

Genre: Domestic thriller, psychological thriller, domestic drama

Read: 9th July 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 20th March 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

Having read a couple of Jess Ryder's novels before, with my first one being a bit hit and miss and the second being marginally better, I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. But THE GIRL YOU GAVE AWAY happily did not disappoint. While the concept of the direction the story is going to take is fairly obvious, there are plenty of twists and secrets along the way to keep you guessing. It's about secrets, lies and revenge on a whole new scale that you won't be able to put it down!

Erin Whitesteed is celebrating her 40th birthday and as she mingles with her guests she feels like the luckiest woman alive. She owns her own business, has a loving husband and two wonderful children who thrive at school. After being an unwanted surprise for her parents late in life and then falling in with a rough crowd, she now feels as if this is where she is finally meant to be. Her life couldn't be more perfect. Does that mean it could only get worse?

When her best friend Asha hands her a red envelope she found on the doormat, little does Erin know that the fickle finger of fate is about to drop a bombshell she will not see coming. Puzzled, she opens the envelope to reveal a birthday card with a champagne glass overflowing with bubbles adorned with the number 40 inside...and her heart jumped into her throat.

"Happy birthday, Mum!
With love from the girl you gave away xxx"

With that single message, Erin's past comes back to haunt her with a secret so deep she has kept hidden and now threatens to smash her perfect life and that of her family to pieces. And the card? It's from the daughter she conceived at the age of 14 and gave up for adoption. Twenty five years ago.

Why is her daughter suddenly getting in contact now? Is she wanting a relationship with her birth mum or is there an ulterior motive? How did find her - where she lived, her phone number, email address? And most importantly, how is Erin going to explain this to her husband and children who have no idea of her other daughter's existence?

Then there is Jade, Erin's now 25 year old daughter. She volunteers at a charity shop, lives in a hostel and claims her adoption fell through when she was just 7 and has since grown up in care. Erin, of course, is mortified that the baby she gave up to give her a better life had in fact an even worse one than she could have imagined for her. Jade is annoyed that her existence has been kept a "dirty little secret" from Erin's family. Is she ashamed of her? Embarrassed? Humiliated, even?

But little does Erin know that Jade has secrets of her own. Secrets that are about to shatter her perfect little world into a million pieces.

The narrative alternates from both Erin and Jade's perspectives throughout weaving the past with the present as Erin's story is slowly revealed and the reader is given an understanding into her past. But it's what happens in the present, influenced by the past, that paves the way as Erin's perfect life begins to unravel.

Erin is not a sinister or vindictive woman. Just a woman who was shamed for her past and worried about what those secrets might do to her family. However, I do think her choices were a little stupid. While I sympathised with 14 year old Erin, I had little sympathy for adult Erin in part when all she had to do was be honest with Tom in the first place. Especially considering she knew how black and white his perspective on things were and how blinkered he could be. She knew this and yet she failed to be honest with him from the beginning. Of course she had done nothing wrong - she just made a mistake and was given no option but to do as she had been instructed to do. But as an adult, she had the option to tell him...and she didn't. So I wasn't surprised by Tom's reaction to her secret, although I was disgusted by his behaviour afterwards. A supposedly good caring husband prior to it all coming to light is suddenly cruel, unfeeling and unsympathetic after discovering he's been deceived. As if it is all about him and without a care towards his wife as to why she had kept this secret for all of their married life. He even gave her an ultimatum prior to their wedding "Promise me you will never deceive me, Erin. I won't be able to deal with it. Betray me once and our marriage will be over." Charming. However, knowing that about him Erin should have come clean from the beginning.

On the whole, pretty much everyone behaves diabolically. Erin deals with everything in the worst way possible. Tom is suddenly unfeeling, uncaring and unsympathetic towards his wife of almost 20 years. Oli and Chloe show next to no loyalty to their mother. Oli decides to chuck in his studies to spite him mum whilst Chloe becomes an even more rebellious 14 year old. And Jade? Well, let's just say she is an enigma with a lot of issues. I didn't trust her from the beginning. Basically everyone makes a series of lousy decisions throughout the entire story that makes you want to just smack their heads together.

And just when you think THE GIRL YOU GAVE AWAY is going to be a predictable read, all hell breaks loose.

THE GIRL YOU GAVE AWAY is a taut, tense psychological thriller that had me turning the pages with such speed and kept me on the edge of my seat. The story was absolutely gripping from beginning to end filled with suspense, secrets, lies and deception that made the tension palpable throughout.

My only complaint was the ending seemed a little rushed and I was left a little confused as how everything actually ended up. The final twist that should have been a segue into another revealing part of the story really just flopped into nothing, leaving it all in an unsatisfactory conclusion. It was this that dropped a star off my rating and apart from that, it was an enthralling and compelling read.

A thrilling suspense-filled tale, THE GIRL YOU GAVE AWAY is a mixture of psychological thriller, domestic thriller and family drama all rolled into one. Perfect for fans of Sheryl Browne.

Recommended for thriller fans who love a domestic tale gone wrong.

I would like to thank #JessRyder, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlYouGaveAway in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Forbidden Promise by Lorna Cook (ARC)

The Forbidden Promise by Lorna Cook

Genre: Historical fiction, contemporary fiction, women's fiction, WW2

Read: 8th July 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 19th March, 2020)

★★★★★ 5 stars

Having thoroughly enjoyed Lorna Cook's debut "The Forgotten Village" I knew that I would love THE FORBIDDEN PROMISE. Two love stories, one house, 80 years apart. This was set to be a cracker of a tale...and I wasn't wrong. I was hooked from the first moment until the very end.

Invermoray House, Scotland, September 1940: As the war rages in England and in Europe, Constance McLay has escaped the confines of the party hosted for her 21st birthday after being manhandled by her brother's friend Henry, who drunkenly assured her that it's what they both want when nothing could be further from the truth.

Seeking the solitude of the peaceful loch, Constance is then the sole witness to a Spitfire fall from the sky and crash into the murky depths. Sparing no thought for herself, she bravely dives into the water - evening dress and all - swims out to where the plane had disappeared and brings the pilot to safety. She takes him to the shelter of the disused guillie cottage on the estate where she is then requested to keep his presence a secret. Fearing for his mental stability, and out of the kindness of her heart, she agrees to the promise.

But little does she know that that promise will have far reaching consequences that will change her life forever.

August 2020: Kate is a successful PR consultant but after finding herself in an embarrassing situation, she applies for a job as far away as you can get...in the highlands of Scotland. Liz and James Langley-McLay are the owners of the rather neglected Invermoray House and wish to convert it to a Bed and Breakfast but are in dire need of some assistance to get their plan up and running.

When Kate arrives at Invermoray House, she is welcomed excitedly by Liz but not so much by her son James, who had no idea his mother had hired her. He has been single-handedly been trying to keep a roof over their heads whilst trying to repair that same roof from collapsing. It appears all the money from the estate has been over spent and now James is trying to keep things running from his own personal savings...including Kate's wages. They soon formulate a plan to get the business up and running, and to attract guests to what is essentially an out of the way part of Scotland. Loch Ness has the monster to bring in visitors - but what can Invermoray offer?

When Kate comes across an old family Bible that seems to have run for generations, she notices the last two names entered - Douglas McLay born 1914 and Constance McLay born 1919 - with a line struck through Constance's name so fiercely that the nib went through several pages below. What had caused such a visceral reaction to strike someone's name from the family Bible? Liz shows her the portraits of Constance and Douglas hanging above the staircase, telling her that when she discovered Constance's it had a great big gash ripped through the centre of it. She had since had it restored but upon looking closely, Kate could see the line that she had thought was just part of the silver gown Constance was wearing.

As she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Constance and why it seems her and Douglas had been disinherited, Kate has no idea what she is about to uncover that will change the course of history at Invermoray.

I love dual timeline stories and this one is no different. Both female protagonists are likable and admirable. Constance wants to escape the social restrictions that keep her bound to Invermoray and her parents, and do something for the war effort. In sheltering Matthew, she then feels she is helping in her own way. The two fall in love but there is something lingering in the background that's just a little out of reach. A secret, something that has been left unsaid that could change everything. Kate also wishes to escape her life in London and her troubled past. And in her search for answers to the past she then makes some other startling discoveries, after many over analysing conversations with herself. I could have happily throttled Kate with her many cliched thoughts at times.

But it was Constance I had the softest spot for. I took her immediately and felt for her through every step of the way. I wanted to delve deeper into Constance's story for I knew there was a tale to be told there.

I loved the setting. Scotland is always a picturesque and magical setting - even with the hint of monsters and selkies - with its highlands and ever changeable weather. Invermoray House was a formidable presence (and a character in itself) with the secrets it held and the author brought its essence alive that I felt I was there by the loch, breathing in that highland air.

THE FORBIDDEN PROMISE is enchanting and captivating from the very first page, as the reader is drawn into Constance's story from the beginning. There is an air mystery throughout as secrets are revealed little by little until a final twist that I never saw coming.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, THE FORBIDDEN PROMISE promises romance, intrigue and secrets in this beautifully woven dual timeline tale that flows seamlessly.  And that twist...OMG! How did I not see that coming? It was so brilliant it was perfect.

I loved THE FORBIDDEN PROMISE so much that I didn't want it to end. Except maybe Kate's cliched over-analysing...but Constance's story I wanted to go on forever. I wanted to step back into 1940 and stay there.

Another cleverly woven tale by Lorna Cook. Perfect for fans of Kathleen McGurl and Kate Morton.

I would like to thank #LornaCook, #NetGalley and #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #TheForbiddenPromise in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Clergyman's Wife by Molly Greeley (ARC)

The Clergyman's Wife by Molly Greeley

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 6th July 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 19th March 2020)

★★ 2 stars

Quite obviously I am not the right audience for THE CLERGYMAN'S WIFE as I found it bland and rather boring. And found myself counting the minutes until I finished it...though I hardly know why I bothered. Absolutely nothing happened in this story and I kind of felt what was the point of it? A friend quite cheekily answered "Just to p*** you off!" Admittedly, I have never read an Austen novel because, although I love the screen adaptions of her books, the writing vernacular is too old style for me to get my head around. THE CLERGYMAN'S WIFE followed that same vernacular and I found myself re-reading the same sentence several times on occasion to understand what was being said. And when a chapter ended rather abruptly I found myself thinking "what just happened?"

Charlotte Lucas married William Collins, a vicar/parson/clergyman, for security and not love, given that she was now 27 and unmarried. I think this is the first thing I didn't like because where would the passion be? Obviously there was none. William had previously asked Charlotte's friend Elizabeth Bennet for her hand first but as she had repugnantly refused him, Charlotte accepted after only two meetings and was content in her decision, for she knew her position as William's wife would give her security. When the Bennet's father died, William would inherit their estate, therefore securing her future as mistress.

After their wedding in Hertfordshire, the couple travelled to Kent where William's position as clergyman under the ghastly patroness Lady Catherine who was so inherently snobbish, looking down her nose at positively everyone. Charlotte took up her position as William's wife and called upon the villagers, though Lady Catherine failed to see the benefit of doing so. When Charlotte produced an heir, it was short-lived for baby Lucas lived just a few minutes, having being hurriedly baptised before his untimely demise. Then she gave birth to little Louisa who gave her much joy, but then the ever interfering Lady Catherine secured a girl from the village to take care of baby Louisa, leaving Charlotte for her more important duties. Such as...what, exactly? Because she didn't seem to do anything.

When she met Mr Travis (no one hardly ever has first names in this book), enlisted by yet again lady Catherine to plant and care for some roses at the parsonage, Charlotte felt she had found a friend at last. I was waiting for something exciting to happen and had this been a re-imagining of D.H. Lawrence rather than Jane Austen, I'm quite sure something would have.

Nothing much actually happened in this book. Charlotte was quite obviously in a loveless marriage which was wholly reflected in the pages but that was about it. I was secretly hoping for a roll in the hay with Mr Travis just for some excitement but alas, no.

I'm not sure I liked anyone in this book. Charlotte seemed flaky and boring. Lady Catherine was snobbish and overbearing. William was so ghastly that the thought of copulating with him gave me nightmares. Though when Elizabeth and Mr Darcy come to visit, I found myself hearing Laurence Olivier's voice in the role of Mr Darcy, as he was in the 1939 adaption of "Pride and Prejudice".

I really don't know what I can say about THE CLERGYMAN'S WIFE because I honestly found it passionless, bland and boring. By the time I reached the last page I found myself thinking "That's it? What was the point?" For me, there seemed to be none.

Lastly, one of my biggest pet peeves is a book that is set in the UK (as THE CLERGYMAN'S WIFE is) was riddled with American English rather than UK English. But I see now that the author is in fact American, so that probably accounts for that.

I guess you need a pre-requisite of being an Austen fan, or at least of "Pride and Prejudice", and as I simply have not read any of them I guess that counts me out. However, there has been plenty of positive feedback about THE CLERGYMAN'S WIFE. It just wasn't for me.

Perfect for fans of Jane Austen.

I would like to thank #MollyGreeley, #NetGalley and #AllenAndUnwin for an ARC of #TheClergymansWife in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: For Better For Worse by Jane Isaac (ARC)

For Better For Worse (DC Beth Chamberlain #2) by Jane Isaac

Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural

Read: 5th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 19th March 2020)

★★★ 3 stars

When I requested FOR BETTER FOR WORSE, I didn't realise it was second in a series but there was enough backstory and fleshing out of the characters that the reader doesn't miss anything from not reading the first book. However, while the premise had initially drawn me in, the story itself was average but not great. It was good enough to keep me reading till the end but it didn't make me want to revisit Beth Chamberlain in a hurry...although I might if the premise looks promising.

Having said that, the upcoming book in the series "Hush Little Baby" looks right up my alley and I do look forward to it.

Councillor Stuart Ingram is mowed down in the street in what turns out to be his own XJ Jaguar, killing him on impact. Already under a question mark, Ingram had at first been arrested for sexual harassment of one of his female colleagues, which was later dropped, and then for possession of child abuse material on his computer. His trial for the latter charge was in just two weeks' time. Police initially suspect his wife Gina, but she claims she believed him to be innocent and why would she kill him before he had the chance to prove that innocence? Now no one will ever know the truth and he will always be suspected of being perverted.

DC Beth Chamberlain is called in as Family Liaison Officer (FLO) but does a lot of investigating of her own as well. She has recently broken up with her sergeant Nick (his surname escapes me just now) but the two continue to work well together. An acting DI has been brought in from outside to take charge of the investigation with whom Beth has worked with previously and who is on the fast track to promotion. Solving this case will make this acting DI's career look even better, skyrocket-ting her into a permanent DI position.

Then another body is found. Richard Moss' body was found beaten and strangled in his home by a neighbour passing by and seeing his front door open, went to see if Richard was OK. Clearly he was not. The team try to piece together aspects of both men's lives looking for any connection. Then in a Skype interview with Moss' estranged son, they discover he had worked at a children's home in the 1990's. When Beth questions Gina Ingram again, she learns that the couple supported the same children's home by raising funds - also in the 1990's. Could this be the connection they need?

When the body of a convicted sex offender is then found in his home in the most vicious and premeditated attack, the team looks for something to link Harry to the children's home as well. Despite being unable to link the  latest victim to the home, it does appear that the deaths are related to a suicide of a young girl on the eve of her sixteenth birthday who was a longtime resident of the home. So how is it all connected? And what do these men have to do with her death?

There are plenty of puzzles and twists along the way before arriving at the conclusion. The ending does provide a bit of a unexpected conclusion, leaving it open for a continuation either in the next book or further down the track. I don't usually like such up in the air endings, but this had an air of cleverness about it.

FOR BETTER FOR WORSE is hailed as domestic noir, but I wouldn't really classify it as that. It is definitely a police procedural crime thriller. I must say that I do love the short snappy chapters - always a favourite of mine to keep the pace moving swiftly.

I'm not sure what I thought about the book, except that it wasn't what I was expecting with a title like FOR BETTER FOR WORSE and "domestic noir" in it's description. I enjoyed it but not as much as I thought I would and was admittedly glad when I finished. However, there will be plenty who will thoroughly enjoy this book and it is for those I recommend it.

I would like to thank #JaneIsaac, #NetGalley and #AriaFiction for an ARC of #ForBetterForWorse in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Home to the Hills by Dee Yates (ARC)

Home to the Hills by Dee Yates

Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, WW2

Read: 4th July 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 19th March 2020)

★★★★★ 5 stars

I love historical fiction, particularly sagas with characters you have come to know and love, and upon discovering that this was a sequel to "A Last Goodbye" I set out to read that before diving into this one. Like the one before it, once I started HOME TO THE HILLS I found that I could not put it down. I was immediately immersed within the story that takes place some thirty years after "A Last Goodbye" finishes.

HOME TO THE HILLS is a tender touching post-war saga which sees Ellen returning to the hills of Scotland with her now adult daughter Netta. It will touch your heart and bring a tear or two to the eye with a story that remain with you long after it has ended.

April 1939: A distraught young girl is comforted by a kind lady who reminds the boy of his own mother as they board the train that will take them to their destination. The kind lady gently persuades the young girl to sit beside him as he looks to be "such a sensible boy". The girl continues to sob throughout the journey, settling into a sulky silence. They seemed to travel for days, by train and by boat and by train again, by the time they reach their final destination. Disembarking he looks around eagerly, awaiting to be shown the place where he will be staying and await for his parents to join him. The young girl who had travelled with him was quieter now, confiding how much she missed her parents. He squeezed her hand and said likewise, ensuring that they would see them again soon.

December, 1945: With the second world war now over, Ellen Kessler and Netta Fairclough step off the Glasgow train in the small Lanark village as they return to the southern uplands of Scotland. It has been nearly thirty years since they were last here and their return sparks a mountain of memories for Ellen, who grew up on the farm where Netta was also born.

Their return is bittersweet as they soon discover that Ellen's beloved father passed away three years before and his wife Margaret has taken up residence in a small railway cottage in the village. However, the farmer Kenneth Douglas and his wife Elizabeth are still there and welcome them both with open arms.

But Ellen is not the same woman she was who left at the end of the Great War to join the love of her life Josef Kessler in his native Germany with her daughters Netta and Eva. She has seen such cruelty she had never known before, not even at the hands of her first husband Tom, and a despair that has changed her life dramatically. Netta is very protective of her mother as they are all each other has left after suffering the atrocities of war and the losses that they have endured. They have returned to Scotland to heal but Ellen finds the farm hold many memories of her life before and of when she first met a young Josef as a prisoner of war there.

Ellen and Netta settle into a quiet life on the farm, living in a nearby cottage by the new reservoir. Ellen helps Elizabeth in the kitchen while Netta tries her hand at shepherding under the well-trained eye of newcomer Andrew Cameron. Not afraid of hardwork, Netta walks the rugged hills of the farm alongside Andrew, learning all aspects of lambing, clipping and preparing ewes for market. Even in the midst of the harshest winter, she helps to dig the buried ewes from the snow before they suffocate. While Netta is proving to be an asset to the farm not all locals welcome her. Farming is men's work and a woman's place is in the farmhouse kitchen. But when it's discovered she has grown up in Germany, tensions rise even higher. Some folk have long memories and bear no sympathy for those who are German.

And yet Ellen is determined to make this a fresh start for her daughter, despite all they have loved and lost. But there are some secrets that are just too painful to share which she has kept close to her heart for years...

As the story unfolds, we are given a glimpse into the past in Germany and another minor plot that is also unfolding at the beginning of the war in Manchester through to the end of the war in Yorkshire, adding a depth that enriches the story. Both stories are cleverly woven together by the end that will bring tears to your eyes at its heartwarming conclusion.

When I started HOME TO THE HILLS, I found Ellen to be a virtual stranger to the forthright young woman she was in the first book. As Netta was just a toddler at the time she didn't have time to develop a personality in the story, but at the beginning of this one I found both women to be a little standoffish and I wondered whether I was going to enjoy this book as much as I had the first. However, as the story unfolds, the reader soon learns why the two women are the way they are and we come to love them wholly by the story's end.

This immersive tale of second chances, after such sadness and loss in the face of war, HOME TO THE HILLS will tug at the heartstrings and sweep readers back in time to post-war rural Scotland. It is captivating and compelling and completely addictive from beginning to end, just as much as "A Last Goodbye".

Although HOME TO THE HILLS is actually a sequel to "A Last Goodbye", readers will be able to enjoy this book without having read the first one with ease, as there is enough information given to allow this book to be read as a standalone. However, the first really is too good to miss out on so I do recommend reading "A Last Goodbye" before this one to enjoy the story even more.

Should there be a follow up to this story? I think it is nicely wrapped up as it is. A definite recommend for lovers of historical fiction, particularly sagas.

I would like to thank #DeeYates, #NetGalley and #AriaFiction and #HeadOfZeus for an ARC of #HomeToTheHills in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: A Last Goodbye by Dee Yates

A Last Goodbye by Dee Yates

Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas

Read: 2nd July 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 1st May 2018)

★★★★★ 5 stars

As a massive fan of historical fiction, A LAST GOODBYE is one of those books you just can't put down. It is heartbreaking, it is heartwarming and it is compelling. I loved the premise, I loved the cover and I couldn't wait to immerse myself into the story...and I wasn't disappointed.

Set on a sheep farm in a remote part of the southern uplands of Scotland, the story begins towards the end of the 19th century with Duncan and Janet Simpson and the impending birth of their first and, what was to be, their only child. Sadly, Janet dies in childbirth and Duncan must bring his new baby daughter up alone. As a shepherd, life on the remote hills of Scotland can be a harsh one but Duncan raises his daughter Ellen and for the first sixteen years of her life it is just the two of them.

It's 1914 and war is on the horizon despite many believing that it will be over by Christmas. But the war in Europe seems a long way from the isolation of the Scottish uplands as life goes on as it always has on the farm. Ellen is nearing 16 and on the cusp of womanhood, rising at dawn and filling her days with cooking, baking, washing and cleaning. She's known no other life than that of caring for her father whom she loves dearly. But he is not getting any younger and the work gets no easier. So when young Tom Fairclough arrives fresh from Yorkshire, hired to assist her father on the farm, Ellen isn't sure what to expect from the new arrival.

Tom has made the move from Yorkshire to Scotland to be near the woman he loves who is studying medicine in Glasgow. His intention is to propose at the earliest opportunity so they can then plan their lives together. Upon arriving at the remote farm where he is to work, Tom meets 16 year old Ellen and is immediately drawn to her openness and direct manner. She takes on the cooking and cleaning for Tom in addition to those in her own cottage she shares with her father and the two strike a sort of friendship.

Ellen has never met anyone outside of the farm, nor has she ever left the farm, so Tom's arrival sparks an interest she is not familiar with. Having never grown up with a mother, Ellen has a sort of naivety about her and is somewhat lacking an education regarding knowledge of the more intimate things a mother would pass on to her daughter. She has her father's directness and, finding herself in awe of young Tom, believes herself to be in love with him. But Tom loves another and after a disappointing visit to Glasgow, he finds himself drawn to the young Ellen seeking comfort in her arms...on the floor of the barn.

On Christmas Eve, when Ellen finds herself racked in the throes of a pain she has never known before she thought herself to be dying. She never expected to be giving birth. So innocent was she that she had no knowledge or expectation of a baby's possible existence. In that moment, Tom's hopes for a future with his beloved were dashed as Duncan insist he marry Ellen. Although he adored his baby daughter Netta, it is soon clear that he is unhappy in his marriage. Ellen was not who he wished to marry and it wasn't long before she too was aware of the fact. The man she thought she was in love with and who she thought loved her began to act out his frustrations with his fists...with Ellen on the receiving end. When Tom signs up for the war, Ellen is almost grateful.

Soon after Tom's departure for the front, German POW's are brought to the area to build a railway line and prepare the valley for the new reservoir. The work is hard and the days are long and when one of the prisoners takes ill, Ellen is approached by the captain in charge of the camp and is asked to care for the sick man, Josef Kessler. His convalescence is long and although he speaks no English, Ellen teaches him and they become friends. Josef has a kind heart and, treating her with kindness and respect, he is everything Tom isn't. Ellen knows Tom would never allow her to care for another man in their cottage let alone a German, their sworn enemy, but she has come to enjoy their time together. However, when Tom returns home on leave he discovers her secret and his punishment is as brutal as ever. Affected by his time in the trenches, Tom's moods are unpredictable and his anger more violent. While Ellen's loyalties are divided between those of the man she married and those of the man she loves, she knows that she is trapped by duty to her husband.

I really liked Ellen as she grew from a naive young girl into a strong woman and loving mother. Times were hard in those days and divorce, when things get tough, was not an option as it is today as marriage was a responsibility that was undertaken seriously. But she made the best out of a difficult situation. My heart ached for her and her love for Josef, knowing it was forbidden and could never be.

I also really like Josef. He was a sweet and kind man and everything Tom wasn't. As well as being a German POW, it also highlighted the fact that not all Germans were the enemy. They were just pawns in an even bigger game. That's all war ever is. His friendship with Ellen was beautiful and he was just one of the sweetest people in the story.

I did not, however, like Tom. Not from the first moment he came into the story. He had an air of arrogance about him, so sure was he of marrying Clara that he didn't entertain the idea that she may not want to. Then when he took Ellen on a bed of straw in the barn I thought how selfish of him to think only of his needs without sparing a thought for the young girl he is using. I knew right away that Ellen was pregnant even when she didn't and when baby Netta was born and he knew then he had to marry her, I knew this wasn't going to end well. But when he took his hands to her and dealt his vicious blows, I despised him even more. I've been on the receiving end of those blows and no amount of excuses or apologising makes it alright. I also knew his apologies would be shortlived...as were his promises to be more considerate of his wife.

I actually chose to read A LAST GOODBYE because its sequel "Home on the Hills" came up in my Netgalley list and, as I already had this book, I decided to read it now and I am glad I did. It is beautiful, it is heartbreaking and it is an emotional rollercoaster that you just don't want to get off. Within a short space of time, I found myself so addicted to the story that I couldn't escape, nor did I want to. Not until I discovered how it would end for Ellen, for Tom and for Josef.

A LAST GOODBYE is so well written the story just consumes you. The ending, when it comes, it so bittersweet, so heartbreaking and yet so beautiful. In short, I absolutely loved this book! And I cannot wait to dive straight into its sequel to see where the story goes from here.

A definite recommend for lovers of historical fiction.

REVIEW: Keep Him Close by Emily Koch (ARC)

Keep Him Close by Emily Koch

Genre: Domestic thriller

Read: 1st July 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 19th March 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

One son lied. One son died.

That's the catchphrase for Emily Koch's exciting new thriller KEEP HIM CLOSE, a dark domestic psychological mystery drama with a slow burn that builds with a tension that's palpable. I wouldn't call it a thriller as such but there are parts to it that does have a thriller element. I don't generally like slow burns but this is one that keeps your interest despite its slow pace to begin with.

The story opens with a snippet of the event that is clearly at the centre of this dark mystery. The moment is tense with a fear that is palpable. And then it is gone. Leaving readers questioning "what just happened?"

Alice Hyde is single mother of two teenage sons who couldn't be more different from each other. Benny, the eldest, is sweet and gentle and about to start university in Exeter whilst Lou is the troubled younger child who has never given her a moments peace since the day he was born. But Alice loves her boys despite their differences...and the fact that Lou's intimidating behaviour sometimes scares her that she wonders if she'll ever be free of him. She hates that she thinks that of her own son but unlike Benny, Lou knows how to push her buttons.

The opening chapter, after the rather dramatic prologue, Alice is preparing for Benny's departure for university as well as dealing with the growing fractiousness with younger son Lou. The conversation and barbs Lou alludes to whilst dancing over the loft opening, which he knows will provoke his stoic mother, gives readers the opinion that this boy had little or no respect for her. The boy certainly grated on my nerves as Alice herself presented as cold and aloof. Neither of them are completely likable...at first.

When Ben and Lou leave the house that evening for a night on the town, Alice doesn't know it will be the last time she sees her youngest son. Her boys are 18 and 19, old enough to look after themselves and she doesn't worry when they haven't returned by the time she goes to bed that night. But in the early hours when she gets a knock on the door, she knows something is wrong. Police inform her that there had been an incident which has resulted in Lou's death.

When Benny returns home, he is quiet. He says little though he admits to being there but not at the time of Lou's death so he never saw anything. But Alice fears he is hiding something when things don't add up.

Indigo Owen is also a single mother to 19 year old Kane. He was out with Benny and Lou the night of Lou's death and he is riddled with guilt over something Indigo can't quite understand. He breaks down and tells his mother all he knows and she suggests they tell the police. After all, they are piecing together the events of that night to discover what happened to Lou. But little does Indigo know that this step of honesty on her son's part does little to close the chapter on his guilt over that night. After hours of questioning, police then inform her that they are charging Kane with Lou's murder after he confessed to the incident. Indigo is outraged. She knows her son and she knows he is innocent.

Both Alice and Indigo are desperate to uncover what really happened on that tragic night. Two very different women who, after a chance meeting, unite to find out the truth in the midst of secrets. What will they uncover? Who else was there that night Lou fell to his death? What did they see, if anything? And why, if he is innocent, did Kane confess to killing Lou? Is he protecting someone? If so, who? And Benny - what is he hiding? He certainly seems to know more than what he's letting on.

Alice and Indigo believe they know their boys...but do they really?

A very different type of psychological thriller blended with taut domestic drama that is both dark and tense throughout, KEEP HIM CLOSE is a thought provoking and emotional read. Although it is a slow burn, it is addictive in its tension and powerful emotion. As the story unfolds and the truth slowly emerges, a light is finally cast on the shadow of doubt surrounding that fateful night.

Told primarily from Alice and Indigo's perspectives throughout, readers are also given a short glimpse from the other players on the night in question - Benny, Kane and even Lou himself. These chapters are equally revealing as well as adding to the mystery. A very cleverly written story, KEEP HIM CLOSE is not fast paced or even action packed, but it is addictive with an underlying suspense that will keep the reader hooked to the very last page.

I would like to thank #EmilyKoch, #NetGalley and #RandomHouseUK and #VintagePublishing for an ARC of #KeepHimClose in exchange for an honest review.