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4.38 AVERAGE
4.38 AVERAGE
Myslím, že knihy od Barbary Hannay mě snad nikdy nezačnou nudit. Mám moc ráda prolínání časových rovin a v kombinaci s odkrýváním rodinných tajemství, sympatickými a odhodlanými ženami a něžnou romantickou linkou, je o příjemné čtení postaráno.
The Secret Years is Barbara Hannay's 49th book, in which she blends a contemporary and historical narrative to present an engaging novel about family, heroism, heartbreak and love.
Army logistics officer Lucy Hunter is relieved to be home in Townsville after her six month deployment in Afghanistan but she isn't prepared for the changes in store for her. Her mother has exchanged her childhood home for a sterile condo apartment she is sharing with a new man, her grandfather's health is failing, and her fiance, Sam, has cold feet. With several weeks of leave ahead of her, Lucy is at a loose end until she discovers a box of wartime memorabilia that contains clues to her family's history that neither her mother or grandfather are willing to talk about. Hoping to understand the secrets of the past, Lucy travels to Cornwall, a place where she just might find her future.
Moving between the past and present, the narrative shifts between Lucy's journey to unravel her family's secrets, and the story of the relationship between Lucy's cattleman grandfather, Harry, and his aristocratic bride, Georgina. Emotions run high in both timelines through scenes of wartime drama, desperate passion and captivating romance.
I liked Lucy and I sympathised with her desire to understand the past. The mystery stems from the discord between Lucy's mother, Ro and Lucy's grandfather, Harry, which Lucy learns is related to her mother's brief time in England. I also enjoyed Lucy's romance with the dashing Nick.
But it was the story of Harry and George's courtship and marriage that I found particularly entrancing. Their love is touching, and their wartime experiences are exciting, if also sobering.
The story takes us from Australia's coastline and outback, to London during the Blitz, from the wild bluffs of Cornwall to the jungles of Papua New Guinea as the Japanese invade. Both the contemporary and wartime settings are vividly described, as are the characters experiences of them.
The Secret Years is well written with appealing characters and a moving story. Another winning romance.
I find that I’m fascinated by love story in war time… The preciousness of life, of happiness, are just so keenly felt that finding love is such a bittersweet experience. This is what drew me to The Secret Years… asides from my penchant for rural romance, of course ;)
The novel tells of a love story which spans three generations though the middle one is somewhat neglected. It tells of the glorious once-in-a-lifetime love of Harry and Georgina who found each other in the midst of great uncertainty but the fates were quite generous to them as proven by the existence of the next generations.
In the present times, we follow Lucy, Harry and Georgina’s granddaughter, as she returned home from being deployed in Afghanistan. Home, however, didn’t quite turn out the way she dreamed of. Being at loose ends and burdened by a great curiosity of her family’s mysterious past, she goes to England in order to unveil some of her family’s secrets.
Lucy and Georgina are two loveable characters. They are both courageous women; strong, intelligent, grounded, and just so easy to be with. Rosie, on the other hand, was a bit of a mess. Unfortunately, her perspectives is very limited in this novel. I found it a little strange that the “secret” weren’t more fleshed out the novel. The secret was revealed in an almost-dry voice and it was over very quickly. I am comparing it to Kate Morton’s works where the dirty secret hung over you right from the very first word and when it was all revealed, you’d have this stab-in-the-heart sort of pain. There’s no such pain in The Secret Years.
If you adjust your expectation to a good rural romantic novel, I think you will really enjoyed this book. It was so easy to get into and proved to be a delightful relaxation companion. This was my first Barbara Hannay though I just found out that she’s really a prolific writer so can’t you just see my tbr becoming ever more insurmountable?
Thanks to Penguin Australia for paperback copy in exchange of honest review
Pssst, there’s an excerpt that you can check out.
The novel tells of a love story which spans three generations though the middle one is somewhat neglected. It tells of the glorious once-in-a-lifetime love of Harry and Georgina who found each other in the midst of great uncertainty but the fates were quite generous to them as proven by the existence of the next generations.
In the present times, we follow Lucy, Harry and Georgina’s granddaughter, as she returned home from being deployed in Afghanistan. Home, however, didn’t quite turn out the way she dreamed of. Being at loose ends and burdened by a great curiosity of her family’s mysterious past, she goes to England in order to unveil some of her family’s secrets.
Lucy and Georgina are two loveable characters. They are both courageous women; strong, intelligent, grounded, and just so easy to be with. Rosie, on the other hand, was a bit of a mess. Unfortunately, her perspectives is very limited in this novel. I found it a little strange that the “secret” weren’t more fleshed out the novel. The secret was revealed in an almost-dry voice and it was over very quickly. I am comparing it to Kate Morton’s works where the dirty secret hung over you right from the very first word and when it was all revealed, you’d have this stab-in-the-heart sort of pain. There’s no such pain in The Secret Years.
If you adjust your expectation to a good rural romantic novel, I think you will really enjoyed this book. It was so easy to get into and proved to be a delightful relaxation companion. This was my first Barbara Hannay though I just found out that she’s really a prolific writer so can’t you just see my tbr becoming ever more insurmountable?
Thanks to Penguin Australia for paperback copy in exchange of honest review
Pssst, there’s an excerpt that you can check out.
4.5 Stars
I have never been a fan of Australian rural settings in novels. I'm not sure why really, when I was younger they never seemed to interest me. I must be mellowing a bit as I grow older, or perhaps I would have always liked them and was just stubborn.. Either way I am glad I read this book, it was wonderful.
Lucy comes back to Townsville from an army posting in Afghanistan and is excited to be reunited with her fiancée. Unfortunately things do not go quite so well with their reunion, and Lucy finds herself at her mothers house. There, she stumbles across an old biscuit tin full of old papers, letters and photographs. She stumbles across a photograph of her grandmother, who she knows little to nothing about, and begins to investigate her grandmother and her family. Her search leads her to England where she goes to find answers, and stumbles across a bit of romance herself. Simultaneously the story jumps back in time and tells the story of "George", Lucy's grandmother, and how she met the love of her life, Harry (An Aussie farmer and soldier) during the second world war, and how she came to transform from an upper class member of English society, to a cattle farmer in the Aussie outback.
Absolutely delightful! I must admit that I had my reservations if I would like this book or not. I saw so many friends rate it highly and have such praise for it, that I had to give it a go. So glad I did because its one of my favourite romances of the year!
All of the characters are fantastic, in both time frames. I especially love Harry, Lucy's grandfather, and I adored the love story with him and Lucy's grandmother. Lucy's mother Rose obviously has some issues in relation to her relationship with her father, and it was interesting to discover why she had these issues and I was anxious to see if she could mend ties. Lucy is a great character too. Independent and strong, and although I didn't particularly agree with some of her choices, she was a great character. I loved Nick, her love interest.
The only thing I didn't really like about the book was it got a bit corny towards the end. But it was sweet, and it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the novel.
I'm not generally a fan of historical fiction, but the way this book went back and forth in time was seamless, and fascinating. I was absolutely enthralled by the scenes from the 40's and the war, especially the scenes set when the Japanese invaded Papua New Guinea . It was all written extremely well and I loved the brief mix of action, suspense and romance. This book is not entirely classed as historical fiction, because the majority of the book was set in the present.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely! A must read for any romance and Australian history fan! And anyone who loves the Aussie outback, The Secret Years is for you!
Thanks to the author via NetGalley for a review copy.
For more reviews visit my blog
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
Follow me on twitter
www.twitter.com/BBB_Mel
I have never been a fan of Australian rural settings in novels. I'm not sure why really, when I was younger they never seemed to interest me. I must be mellowing a bit as I grow older, or perhaps I would have always liked them and was just stubborn.. Either way I am glad I read this book, it was wonderful.
Lucy comes back to Townsville from an army posting in Afghanistan and is excited to be reunited with her fiancée. Unfortunately things do not go quite so well with their reunion, and Lucy finds herself at her mothers house. There, she stumbles across an old biscuit tin full of old papers, letters and photographs. She stumbles across a photograph of her grandmother, who she knows little to nothing about, and begins to investigate her grandmother and her family. Her search leads her to England where she goes to find answers, and stumbles across a bit of romance herself. Simultaneously the story jumps back in time and tells the story of "George", Lucy's grandmother, and how she met the love of her life, Harry (An Aussie farmer and soldier) during the second world war, and how she came to transform from an upper class member of English society, to a cattle farmer in the Aussie outback.
Absolutely delightful! I must admit that I had my reservations if I would like this book or not. I saw so many friends rate it highly and have such praise for it, that I had to give it a go. So glad I did because its one of my favourite romances of the year!
All of the characters are fantastic, in both time frames. I especially love Harry, Lucy's grandfather, and I adored the love story with him and Lucy's grandmother. Lucy's mother Rose obviously has some issues in relation to her relationship with her father, and it was interesting to discover why she had these issues and I was anxious to see if she could mend ties. Lucy is a great character too. Independent and strong, and although I didn't particularly agree with some of her choices, she was a great character. I loved Nick, her love interest.
The only thing I didn't really like about the book was it got a bit corny towards the end. But it was sweet, and it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the novel.
I'm not generally a fan of historical fiction, but the way this book went back and forth in time was seamless, and fascinating. I was absolutely enthralled by the scenes from the 40's and the war, especially the scenes set when the Japanese invaded Papua New Guinea . It was all written extremely well and I loved the brief mix of action, suspense and romance. This book is not entirely classed as historical fiction, because the majority of the book was set in the present.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely! A must read for any romance and Australian history fan! And anyone who loves the Aussie outback, The Secret Years is for you!
Thanks to the author via NetGalley for a review copy.
For more reviews visit my blog
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
Follow me on twitter
www.twitter.com/BBB_Mel