Book Review: Annie Murray: Chocolate Girls

Chocolate Girls

Author: Annie Murray

Title: Chocolate Girls

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Family Sagas, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Family, Saga, Romance, Fiction, Historical, Contemporary,

I was given this book.

This book has 384 pages and 62 chapters

I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.

I highly recommend this book.

I normally read books of this genres but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.

Synopsis: When Edie marries young to escape her unhappy family home she thinks that life can only get better, at the age of nineteen, she is widowed, and after losing her child from the marriage she faces the second world was grieving and lonely, then one night during the Birmingham Blitz an infant, mysteriously abandoned during the bombing, is handed in to her care. Her lively friend Ruby, meanwhile, does not want to be left behind in the wedding stakes and settles for marriage with Frank, a man much changed by war, finally there is Janet, intelligent, kind-hearted and susceptible to male charm, who is hurt desperately by an affair with a marriage man, and who assumes she will never love again. David, the child who steal's Edie's heart as she brings him up through a time none of them will ever forget, is the center of all their lives, he leads Edie through struggle and heartache to a life and love she would never have dreamed of... A spellbinding saga of three very different women whose lives become entwined by war and their work at the Cadbury's chocolate factory in Bourneville – and their love for a child. Proudly sponsored by Cadbury. This book is full of upset, joy, fight and bombing but Edie looks after a little baby who is left in the middle of a bombing and she loses a husband at a young age. Then she losses a baby to her husband and sadly she will never have another chance to carry another baby. Edie raised David for years and when he was old enough he went looking for his father and finds out he was dumped in the middle of the street when bombs was going off and Edie saved him and looked after him ever since and raised him as her own baby.

Review: I found this book really easy to get in to and hard to put down once l started reading it l was sad to read that Edie lost her husband then her baby at a very young age. This book was really good but sad when Edie lost her husband at a young age then she miscarriage her baby. She has to faces the Birmingham Blitz alone without her husband and baby. She was given a baby that is mysteriously abandoned in the middle of the street when bombs are going off. Luckily the baby was found and handed in to safety. The baby was named David and Edie raised him as if he was her own baby and she loved him very much. I wondered what made David's birth family leave him in the middle of the street when there was a war going on. How can any parent leave their baby in danger I was just glad he was found safe. But he had the best upbringing his mother would have wished for and he is the child Edie dreamed of it is a dream come true for Edie. She loves David and she would never stop him looking for his father this is a very sad book but it has a very happy ending. I can not put in to words how great this book is l would tell people to read it for themselves to know how great it really is. This book is a most read and l am so glad it is on my book shelf.

About The Author: Annie Murray was born in 1960 in Berkshire, and studied English at oxford university. Her first job took her to Birmingham where she met her husband, John. They have four children. In 1992 she began writing her first Birmingham novel, Birmingham rose, which made the times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has written six subsequent novels including, most recently, the highly successful chocolate girls.

About The Book: this book comes with one then one book cover design and l like the picture on the front and the colours are not too bright or not too dull.

Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars

Book Review: Margaret Dickinson: Twisted Strands

Twisted Strands

Author: Margaret Dickinson

Title: Twisted Strands

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Family Sagas, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction,

I was given this book along with tangled threads.

Book Dedication: With great affection and deep admiration this book is dedicated to my uncle, Brian Copley, who enlisted in 1914 at the age of sixteen in the 8^th battalion Sherwood foresters, (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire regiment) and served throughout the war.

Thankfully, he survived the trenches to life a long and happy life and it has been a privilege to share his memories and experiences through his personal diaries of the time.

This book has 400 pages and 62 chapters in it.

I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.

I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.

I highly recommend this book but l would tell people to read tangled threads first so you know the full story not just half.

Synopsis: It is 1914 and Eveleen Hardcastle, now in her early thirties, has married Richard. Her longing for children is the only shadow over the happiness, but the world war breaks out, Eveleen is left to manage the Nottingham Factory alone while Richard goes to fight for his country. Eveleen's mother, Mary, has found happiness at last in her marriage to Josh. Her granddaughter, Birdie, still lives at home and has a spirited, strong will which her grandmother finds hard to control. When Andrew, the love of her life, also enlists, Birdie finds consolation in a rewarding vocation. Nursing wounded soldiers sent home from the front, she gains a maturity beyond her years. But every day the casualty list from the hell of the trenches grows longer. Bridie nurses her grandfather on his death bed as her boyfriend is fighting the war, she became a nurse to help people and keeps in touch with her auntie Eveleen who husband is also fighting in the war and she loves her family.

Review: I found this really easy to get in to and hard to put down once l started reading it I was happy to be reading the follow on to tangled threads. I am glad that Eveleen moved on and got married. I was happy to read that Eveleen's mother found someone who loves her after her husband's tragic death and she is still raising her granddaughter. It is nice to read that Bridie gets to meet her grandfather and she nurses him on his death bed which is very sad to read but glad her grandfather was not on his own when he passed away. Bridie's uncle and boyfriend are both fighting the war. Leaving the women they love behind. Bridie also helps nurses soldiers who have been hurt on the front line and she must see loads of deaths when they can not save the soldiers and she watched her grandfather passed away to poor girl. I hope Eveleen's husband and Bridie's boyfriend comes back from the war alive and unhurt so Bridie and Eveleen do not lose any more people they love. I hope Eveleen's brother and Birdie's father is ok. I can not put in to words how great this book is l would tell people to read it for themselves to know how great it really is. This book is a must read l am glad it is on my book shelf with the first book in the series tangled threads.

About The Author: Margaret Dickinson was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape. Her ambition to be a writer began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by a number of further titles including the clippie girls, fairfield hall and welcome home. Margaret is a Sunday times top ten bestseller.

About The Book: I love the book cover and l like that it comes in two different book cover designs and l love the colour and it is not too bright or not too dull.

Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars

 

Book Review: Margaret Dickinson: Tangled Threads

Tangled Threads

Author: Margaret Dickinson

Title: Tangled Threads

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Family Sagas, Historical Romance, Literature And Fiction,

I was given this book along with twisted strands.

Book Dedication: For Dennis

This book has 464 pages and 60 chapters in it.

I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.

I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.

Synopsis: A spellbinding saga of family ties, heartbreak and rediscovered love. For Eveleen Hardcastles life gets no better than growing up on pear tree farm in the Lincolnshire countryside. Her family works so hard for the dunmore estate and Eveleen finds it impossible to resist the charms of their employer's son, Stephen dunmore. But Jimmy, ever quick to antagonize, ensures that his sister's clandestine trysts do not remain so for long . Mary Hardcastles reacts to the news of her daughter's affair with a shocking ferocity, which seems to be born more of bitterness than maternal protectiveness. But what is it that fuels Mary's resentment towards her daughter? Unable to ignore her own feelings, Eveleen continues to meet Stephen in secret. But deception has a cruel price to pay when her beloved father is found dead from a heartattack, and worse yet, Stephen, far from providing Eveleen with the comfort she craves, deserts her in her hour of need and callously evicts the Hardcastles from the farm, suddenly homeless, Eveleen is left to take the family reins and fights to make a new life for her family in Nottinghamshire. Then she makes a stunning discovery about her mother's past which changes their lives for ever.... Eveleen's brother get a girl pregnant so they are kicked out and have to take the girl with them and they have to find yet another home and they make the boy marry the girl who he got pregnant and the boy then ran away to join the navy and when the girl dies in childbirth they are left to raise her daughter and the girl never gets to meet her father.

Review: I found this book really easy to get in to and hard to put down once l started reading it l also have the follow on to this book twisted strands and l am happy to be able to read the follow on and I was hooked on this book after reading the first page. It was sad to read that Eveleen's father passed away due to a heartattack. When her brother gets a girl pregnant they make him marry her. It was sad to read that the girl died in childbirth and her husband had ran away to join the navy. I was glad to read that Eveleen and her mother was raising the poor girl who did not meet her mother and her father was no where to be seen because he was in the navy. It is horrible to read that Eveleen gets all the blame for everything that happened and her brother gets no blame. They had a home until her got that poor girl pregnant so l think he should get the blame. I thought family was supposed to stick together not fight. It is upsetting that they have to break the news to Rebecca's father that she died in childbirth and that her daughter was alive and well. I wish that Rebecca had lived and she was raising her daughter and they did not have to give her father bad news about his precious daughter.

About The Author: Margaret Dickinson was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape. Her ambition to be a writer began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by a number of further titles including the clippie girls, fairfield hall and welcome home. Margaret is a Sunday times top ten bestseller.

About The Book: This book comes with two different covers and l really like the cover and the blue is a really nice colour not too bright and not too dull.

Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars.

Book Review: Tania Crosse: The River Girl

The River Girl

Author: Tania Crosse

Title: The River Girl

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Family Sagas, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Contemporary, Family, Sagas,

I was given this book along with Morwellham's child.

Book Dedication: For Pearlikins, who nurtured my interest in both medicine and plants.

And for my husband, who has been the rock of my life.

This book has 544 pages.

I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.

I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.

I highly recommend this book but you should read the Morwellham's child first as this is the follow on to that book.

Synopsis: Brought up on her uncle's lowly tenant farm, Elizabeth Thornton yearns to escape his clutches. But when a vengeful obsession from another source comes back to haunt her – and the man she loves reveals a dark secret – each of them is forced to confront a personal terror. When Elizabeth's auntie dies in childbirth her uncle turns his attention to Elizabeth because he says she looks just like her auntie and he wants to marry Elizabeth but her mother has a plan to get her away from him when she dies of cancer but he will not like it.

Review: I found this book really easy to get in to and hard to put down once l started reading it. I was happy to be able to carry on the story from Morwellham's child. I was sad to read that Elizabeth's dad, auntie and mother all passed away. Leaving Elizabeth with her uncle who tried to rape her and he tried to get her to marry him but her mother made plans for her to be a live in nurse maid for Josiah so she was not around her uncle because her mother knew what he was like with women. I hated reading that her uncle cut off all her hair off and made her fall to the point that her eye was nearly closed and it was horrible to read that he tried to sell her to Maurice Brett and Maurice wanted to marry Elizabeth and he was going to make her look after his mother but l was glad stood up to her uncle but it was horrible that he attacked her and she hit him with a rock to get him off her because he could of raped her. I was glad she ran in to Richard when she did but wished it had not been him getting thrown off a horse on to his sore leg. I was happy that Elizabeth was safe from her uncle. Richard was going to take her back to her uncle but she told him no and he thought that Elizabeth was died when she ran in to the path of the horse so he pulled back the cloak and said it is you. Richard seen elizabeth's ripped clothes. He took her back to the place where she felt safe when he got the horse that ran away when it got scared. Richard waited until chanel was upstairs before he asked if her uncle had raped her and she said no but he has attacked me before. Richard went why did you not say anything. She said you wanted me gone so l had no other choice to go back to him. I thought Elizabeth and Richard loved each other when they first seen each other that day when Richard and Chanel arrived back from France but they did not want to say how they felt about each other. Richard had seen Elizabeth on the day of her auntie's funeral when she was younger. Richard being ill and Elizabeth having to look after his daughter who did not speak any English. But they had a happy ending almost apart from losing their baby and Elizabeth nearly dying . Thankfully Elizabeth survived and her uncle marriaged another woman and his son Daniel and her cousin died when he was down the mine and poor Elizabeth was there when they pulled out the body of her beloved cousin Daniel. Rebecca and Adam Bradley was in this book from Morwellham's child and they was helping Elizabeth and Richard. Richard's uncle had put some money in to the building of a boat before he died in the war and they was money put aside from the boats profits not knowning about it Richard lost everything because of Maurice until Adam found the person who now owned the shares in the boat he owned that Richard's uncle had put money in to halp build it and it helped them get their home back. But Richard ended up in prison because of Maurice he had kidnapped Chanel and wanted Elizabeth and he shot Maurice in the shoulder and the police thought that is what killed Maurice but that was not the case Richard was a trained shot he could of shot him in the head but the fall killed Maurice. I was happy that he did not go to jail and they got the house back and they did not have to worry about Maurice or Elizabeth's uncle. I was happy that Adam got to meet who made the ointment to save his arm and they did not know it was Elizabeth until Richard notice Adam's arm and said did your doctor ask another doctor about a ointment to help with the healing? Adam reply yes Richard said that was Elizabeth who made the ointment l remember the doctor asking. Adam and Rebecca was happy to meet the person who helped save his arm through the ointment.

About The Author: Dartmoor historical novelist Tania Crosse was born in London but at a very young age she moved to Surrey where her love of the countryside took root. She always enjoyed reading and has composed stories ever since she could hold a pen. After studying french Literature at university, she devoted twenty years to bringing up her three children. But her passion for writing never left her, and side by side with her in-depth research on to Victorian social history, she began to pen her novels in earnest as her family grew up. When Tania discovered Morwellham Quay, the restored Victorian cooper port and now living history museum in Devon, she fell in love with this magical place and felt a spiritual compulsion to create a story that would illustrate life there in times gone by. This led to the publication of her debut novel, 'Morwellham's Child' and now Tania has thrilled her readers with over 100,000 copies sold of her first two titles alone. She is rated among the top five per cent of authors for library loans in the uk, and her books are now being published in the us and translated in to European languages. Tania is continuing to work on her series of novels illustrating the rich history of Tavistock and the surrounding area of Dartmoor from Victorian times to the 1950's. She hates being categorized as a writer of historical romance. The history comes first, she insists, and the human tales develop from her research. The characters lead harsh, demanding lives and their stories are often cruel and harrowing. ' l tell it like it was', she says. Tania has been happily married for forty years and claims she would never have achieved her success without her husband's support. They live partly in Berkshire and partly at their tiny cottage on Dartmoor where Tania retreats to write and absorbs the atmosphere of the places that inspire her.

About The Book. This book cover is really nice and the colours is not too bright or not too dull. The font is really nice not too big and not too small.

Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars

Book Review: Tania Crosse: Morwellham's child

Morwellham's Child

Author: Tania Crosse

Title: Morwellham's Child

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Family Sagas, Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Contemporary,

I was given this book along with the follow on the river girl.

Book Dedication: For my dearest dad, who loved ships and the sea, and for my husband, who has kept me afloat.

This book has 272 pages and 29 chapters in it.

I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.

I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.

I highly recommend this book but l would tell people to have the follow on as well so you can carry on the story not just half of it.

Synopsis: When beautiful, free-spirited Rebecca Westbrook – daughter of Morwellham Quay's respected harbour master – meets sophisticated captain Adam Bradley, she confounds all expectations by being anything but charmed by the good looks, perfect courtesy and smoldering   sexuality that make Bradley so reminiscent of Jane Austen's Darcy. On the contrary, Rebecca is angered by Bradley's superior manner, and repulsed by his attentions. For Rebecca's heart belongs to Tom Mason, A young cooper she has known all her life. Her father insistent that the pair wait until Tom is financially secure before they court openly, but the pain of separation drives Rebecca to desperate measures, her passion overriding all sense. Then tragedy strikes and Rebecca is forced to face the terrible consequences of her actions. However, she is not alone in her distress. Morwellham Quay was once the greatest copper port in Queen Victoria's empire, but now it is inhabitants face a devastating era of change that mirrors the troubled and irrevocable coming of age Rebecca must experience. Rich in detail, and vivid in characterization, this is a first-class debut saga of drama, tragedy and an overwhelming sense of love. Rebecca loss of her one true love and she thought about ending her life to be with Tom again and there would be no pain just freedom from the grief she feels and she goes to walk off the dock but Adam Bradley stops her and takes her home and her parents tell Adam about Tom and Adam wants Rebecca to be his wife but she just wants to be with Tom and she realize she is pregnant and she takes Adam offer to go on a date with him and they get married and she does not love him but she can not have a baby without being married and then they slowly fall in love with each other but then Adam has a tragic accident on his boat which he ends up losing his arm and then his wound does not seem to be healing so his doctor asks another doctor about good things to help heal it and he gets a ointment and they also have a daughter together. Adam and Rebecca love each other so much.

Review: I found this book really easy to get in to and hard to put down once l started reading it l was hooked after reading the first page. I loved reading about Tom and Rebecca's love. I was sad to read about Tom's tragic death but I loved that Rebecca was carrying Tom's baby and l think Rebecca loved Adam from the very first day she seen him and Adam loved Rebecca and he just wanted her to tell him how she felt. I was sad to read about Adam losing a arm in a accident and that his cousin tried to kill Adam and Rebecca nearly drowned because of him but thankfully Adam saved her and they went on to have a baby together. They was much in love with each other. I was glad to hear Adam's arm was healing by the ointment. Adam is a great dad to Toby even though he is not his son but he does not treat him any different then his daughter he loves them the same. Rebecca will never forget Tom but she can love again. I was happy to read that Rebecca carried out Tom's dream to get his family a better house and get them out of the damp place where Tom died. Adam and Rebecca get to meet the person that made the ointment that healed his arm. I was sad to read that Rebecca had a miscarriage. Adam's cousin died he drowned and Adam got everything he owned because Adam was his only living family member and it took days to find his body. Adam and Rebecca can get on with their lives and not have to worry about his cousin. It was Adam's cousin that caused the accident that made him lose his arm. I am happy to be able to read the follow on to this book the river girl.

About The Author: Dartmoor historical novelist Tania Crosse was born in London but at a very young age she moved to Surrey where her love of the countryside took root. She always enjoyed reading and has composed stories ever since she could hold a pen. After studying french Literature at university, she devoted twenty years to bringing up her three children. But her passion for writing never left her, and side by side with her in-depth research on to Victorian social history, she began to pen her novels in earnest as her family grew up. When Tania discovered Morwellham Quay, the restored Victorian cooper port and now living history museum in Devon, she fell in love with this magical place and felt a spiritual compulsion to create a story that would illustrate life there in times gone by. This led to the publication of her debut novel, 'Morwellham's Child' and now Tania has thrilled her readers with over 100,000 copies sold of her first two titles alone. She is rated among the top five per cent of authors for library loans in the uk, and her books are now being published in the us and translated in to European languages. Tania is continuing to work on her series of novels illustrating the rich history of Tavistock and the surrounding area of Dartmoor from Victorian times to the 1950's. She hates being categorized as a writer of historical romance. The history comes first, she insists, and the human tales develop from her research. The characters lead harsh, demanding lives and their stories are often cruel and harrowing. ' l tell it like it was', she says. Tania has been happily married for forty years and claims she would never have achieved her success without her husband's support. They live partly in Berkshire and partly at their tiny cottage on Dartmoor where Tania retreats to write and absorbs the atmosphere of the places that inspire her.

About The Book. This book cover is really nice and the colours is not too bright or not too dull. The font is really nice not too big and not too small.

Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars

Book Review: Annie Murray: Water Gypsies

Water Gypsies

Author: Annie Murray

Title: Water Gypsies

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance,

I was given this book along with the first book in this series the narrowboat girl.

This book has 458 pages and 50 chapters in it.

I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.

I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.

I highly recommend this book but l would tell people to have the narrowboat girl as well so you can read the first book in the series and then this book so you know the full story not half.

Synopsis: It is 1942, after a childhood of suffering in Birmingham Maryann Bartholomew has built a life of happiness and safety with her husband Joel and their children, working the canals on his narrowboat, the Esther Jane. But the back-breaking and constant childbearing takes their toll on Maryann, and the tragic loss of her old friend Nancy, followed by a further pregnancy, leads her to commit a desperate act which nearly costs her life, the walls of her security are broken down when Joel suffers an accident and. To keep the boats working, Maryann is forced to allow Sylvia and Dot, two wartime volunteers, in to the privacy of her life. When she discovered that someone keeps calling her at Birmingham's tyseley wharf, the dark memories of her past begin to overwhelm her. For that someone, who seems to be watching her every move, is becoming more dangerous than even she could imagine. This is the seguel to the narrowboat girl. In august 1942 Maryann gives birth to twin girls by then she had two sons named Joel and Ezra and A daughter named Sally after her beloved sister and Maryann also had a son Harry who sadly passed away due to pneumonia and Maryann and Joel named their daughters Ada and Esther after Joel's mother and sister. Maryann's best friend falls in to the water when heavily pregnant and drowns and her unborn baby dies too. Maryann and Darius are very upset and Norman Griffin turns up and sets fire to the boat with Maryann, Sally, Rose and the twins Esther and Ada on and poor Maryann and Ada was burnt and a woman helped her with Ada's burn by putting flour on to dry it up.

Review: I found this book really easy to get in to and hard to put down once l started reading it. I was hooked after reading the first page. I was really happy to be reading the follow on to the narrowboat girl. I was happy to read that Maryann had got a happy life with her husband and their 5 children and I was sad to read that Maryann lost a little boy Harry that he died of pneumonia. I was sad to read that Maryann's best friend Nancy drowned like Ada Joel and Darius's sister but is was very upsetting for Maryann because Nancy was Maryann only friend. She always use to share all her feelings with her sister Sally but she took her own life because of the things Norman Griffin did to her. Maryann and Sally's mother Flo buried Sally under Griffin not Nelson which l thought was wrong after everything Norman did to them poor girls. I thought their mother only cared about herself not her four children. She wanted money not her children. I was sad to read that Nancy's unborn baby died after she fell in the water and drowned and Darius was very upset about the loss of his girlfriend and their unborn baby. I wish Nancy and Darius could have been married because they made a great couple and l was happy Maryann did not die and she lived after her boat was set on fire. I felt sorry for poor Ada and Maryann being burnt and l hope Norman goes to jail where he belong

About The Author: Annie Murray was born in 1960 in Berkshire, and studied English at oxford university. Her first job took her to Birmingham where she met her husband, John. They have four children. In 1992 she began writing her first Birmingham novel, Birmingham rose, which made the times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has written six subsequent novels including, most recently, the highly successful chocolate girls.

About The Book: l love this cover and this book has two different covers and l love the front.

Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars

Book Review: Annie Murray: The Narrowboat Girl

The Narrowboat Girl



  

Author: Annie Murray

Title: The Narrowboat Girl

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance,

I was given this book.

This book has 457 pages and 48 chapters in it.

I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.

I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.

I highly recommend this book.

Synopsis: Young Maryann nelson is devastated at the loss of her beloved father.But worse is to come when her mother Flo, sees an opportunity to better herself and her family in a marriage to the local undertaker Norman griffin. Through on the surface a caring family man, Norman is not at all what he seems. As Maryann and her sister Sally soon discovers. Unable to turn to their unsympathetic mother for support, the girls are left alone with their harrowing secret. But for Sally it is too much too bear... The chance of a new life opens up for Maryann when she befriends Joel Bartholomew. Aboard his narrowboat, the Esther Jane, she finds herself falling in love with life on the canal as she is swept away from Birmingham and all her worries. Until Joel's feelings for Maryann begin to change, awakening all the old nightmares that she thought long buried, and in panic and confusion she takes flight... Maryann     runs away and works in a house for a bit until one day she chooses to go down to the boats to see if the Esther Jane is there and she does not see Joel, his Father or Ada she seen Joel's brother Darius and she asked about his father who was also named Darius and Ada but their sister Ada had drowned four years ago and Maryann  started to cry she had to wipe tears away and she says she was a good one your sister and Darius said Joel was in hospital because he was very ill with his lungs and Maryann offered to go see Joel in hospital and seeing Joel made Maryann realize she really did love Joel and Maryann's sister Sally had took her own life after what Norman did to her and she could not take any more. Maryann burnt down Norman's business and Norman left her mother after that. Maryann's mother did not like that her daughter had to say about Norman she called Maryann a dirty liar. Maryann asked her brother Tony to found out where Norman is so she can face him and her brother finds him and he is living with another mother and her two daughters and one reminds Maryann of the way Sally looked and she confronts the woman and told her everything that he did to Maryann and Sally and the woman did not believe Maryann and her daughters said you are not going to be here to stop it.

Review: I found this book really easy to get in to and hard to put down once l started reading it and l have the follow on to this book it is called the water gypsies and l would say to have both so you can carry on the story. I really liked reading about MaryAnn and siblings being with their father and getting a kitten and how they use to go meet their father from work until he got hit by a car and sadly passed away. Their mother married Norman Griffin and l found it hard to read what he did to Sally and MaryAnn and to them other innocent girl it was horrible and it was upsetting to read that Sally and Maryann's mother did not believe them. I was sad to read that Norman waited until Flo's niece was dying to rape MaryAnn. It was sad to read that Maryann's baby cousin passed away and so did her beloved Nan and Norman killed all the animals that her Nan had by breaking their necks and he killed Maryann's precious kitten tiger that her father got her before he passed away. I was sad to read that Sally took her own life after the what Norman did to her and l was glad MaryAnn burnt his business down. I was sad that Norman moved on to another woman with her two daughters. I was sad that Joel's mother Esther had died and Ada drowned. I was glad MaryAnn was helping Margaret and Amy tell their mother who did not believe them at first and then Margaret set him on fire after he raped her in front of Amy it is a very sad book but there is some good parts. I was glad Margaret and Amy's mother believed them and Amy Made her way to Nancy's house where Maryann was staying. I can not believe Maryann's mother did not believe what he was doing to them. Maryann's mother hates MaryAnn because Norman left her because she had no daughters at home. I was happy to read that Maryann married Joel and Joel did not die. I was glad to read that Nancy got out of her abuses marriage and gets with Darius wish she could of married Darius though. She goes to live with him on a boat and l was sad to read that Joel and Darius's father had to stay on dry land with his sister because he was getting to poorly to be on the boat. Maryann had a son with Joel and names him after his father and she finds out she is pregnant again. Maryann said if the baby was a girl they would name her Sally or Ada because they had both sadly passed away. Maryann was angry that when Sally died her mother buried her as a griffin not nelson that was their father's surname. Maryann's mother sounds like she did not care about her children she only cares about the money and trying to better herself no matter the cost. Maryann's mother hates Nancy's mother.

About The Author: Annie Murray was born in 1960 in Berkshire, and studied English at oxford university. Her first job took her to Birmingham where she met her husband, John. They have four children. In 1992 she began writing her first Birmingham novel, Birmingham rose, which made the times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has written six subsequent novels including, most recently, the highly successful chocolate girls.

About The Book: l love this cover and this book has two different covers and l love the front.

Stars Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars.