Extract from My Great-Aunt's Diary by Laura Sweeney

Today it's my pleasure to share with you an extract from the Prologue for My Great-Aunt's Diary by Laura Sweeney. But first a little about the book. 

Heartbroken and searching for a new beginning, Emily is shocked to learn she has inherited her great-aunt Violet’s cottage. She remembers summers spent running through its rose garden, but she hasn’t seen her great-aunt in years… So why did she leave her Clifftop Cottage?

Deciding this is the fresh start she needs, Emily travels to the seaside village of Dovecote. Not long after she arrives, she bumps into her childhood love, Will. As he runs his hand through his chestnut-brown hair, she can’t help but think of what happened between them all those years ago…

When Will offers to help redecorate the cottage, Emily is unsure. He broke her heart once before; could he do it again? But she is soon distracted when she finds a leather diary dating back to the Second World War hidden inside an old desk. Turning the pages, she discovers a wartime romance she knew nothing about. Why did Violet keep this secret?

Emma's Review: The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore

 Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Secrets from the past, unravelling in the present…

Nancy Foster has harboured a devastating secret that shattered her professional and personal life.  On meeting her, journalist Stef Lansdown realizes that she has the power to restore Nancy’s reputation and to heal the wounds, if only Nancy will trust her. But someone else wants to get to the bottom of the story first, someone who doesn’t want it to be told. 

Book Links: Kindle or Hardcover

Emma's Review: Best Summer Ever by Heidi Swain

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Summer is in full swing when Daisy drives back into Wynmouth in her almost-clapped-out car, having left both her most recent job and the man her parents thought she was going to marry. Coming home could be just what she needs to move her life on.  

At Wynbrook Manor, things are in disarray. Owner Algy isn’t getting any younger, and Daisy’s mum Janet, housekeeper at the manor, spends her days running around after him, while Daisy’s dad Robin, the gardener, has been let down by the person he had lined up to take care of the new cut-flower garden.

As Daisy tries to find her place at Wynbrook and in the village, she’s drawn to summer visitor Josh. But when he turns out to be not the person he appears to be, will the spark between them fizzle out? And with it, the chances of this turning into the best summer ever?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback 

Emma's Review: Memories of Heather House by Rebecca Alexander

 Reviewed by Emma Crowley

When Ruby inherits her family’s crumbling old house in the wild English countryside, she is devastated to think it might be sold. Heather House was once an artists’ haven filled with Ruby’s family and their colourful friends. Ruby has always been captivated by the glamorous Clara, a famous pilot whose love story came to a tragic end. Now black-and-white photographs transport her back to World War Two…

With the future of Heather House uncertain, Ruby loses herself in history. But it seems romance is not only a thing of the past when Jake, a jumper-clad American author with silver-flecked hair turns up at her door. Jake is investigating a wartime mystery about Clara, and he soon falls in love with the historic home. But when Clara shows him a view of the moors ablaze under the setting sun, his dark green eyes cause another flame to spark …

Together Ruby and Jake begin to unravel the secret hidden in the past. But can they find a way to save Heather House, or will Ruby be forced to sell it before the truth about Clara is at last unearthed and her new love has a chance to bloom?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Lost Orphans by Ellie Curzon

 Reviewed by Emma Crowley

The war has robbed eight-year-old orphan Elsie of everything except her older brother Jack. Evacuated together, hand in hand they escaped a cruel farming family only to find their home destroyed, their mother gone. Wide-eyed Elsie hasn’t spoken since, and every night she cries for her mother, and for their father, lost at war.

Wandering under the falling ash, their stomachs twist with hunger and Jack knows he cannot protect Elsie alone. But everything changes when they join a rag-tag band of orphans, runaway evacuees who’ve returned to the city just like them. With nothing left to lose, the children stay above ground as Nazi planes fly overhead, determined to help others. But as they risk their lives, who will protect them?

Then during a night of terrible bombing, the unimaginable happens. Elsie disappears. Their faces streaked with tears, Jack and his friends search through the flames and smoke, knowing she has no voice to respond to their cries. Will anyone find her before it’s too late? And will the lost orphans ever find a safe home?

Book Links: Kindle or paperback