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: My Grandmother's Secret by Laura Sweeney

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

After her marriage ends, Grace returns to her late grandmother Lily’s seaside cottage in the beautiful village of Dovecote. The path to the house is lined with daisy bushes, and Grace immediately feels like she’s returned home. Surely spending time here will heal her heart?

Clearing out the chest of drawers in her grandmother’s bedroom, Grace discovers romantic letters from the Second World War, each signed ‘Henri’. Lily shared everything with Grace, so why doesn’t she recognise his name? Hidden amongst the letters is a sealed envelope, addressed in Lily’s hand. But what stopped her from sending it?

Desperate for answers, Grace asks the one person she knows can help, her ex-boyfriend and historian, James. His charming smile and kind, brown eyes are a welcome distraction from her grief, and they agree to find out what happened to Henri. As they begin to spend more time together, Grace wonders if years of heartache could be unwritten…

But just as Grace’s feelings for James resurface, they uncover a heartbreaking secret that changes everything. Could these letters be a sign Grace needs to take a second chance on love? Or will Lily’s past force Grace to confront a secret of her own, which could tear her and James apart forever?

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