TOMORROW THE WORLD
By Josephine Cox
Bridget Mulligan loves her husband. He is caring, loyal and dependable - everything a woman could ask for. But she can't quite forget Harry - the one that got away - and when a snow storm drives her into his arms, the inevitable happens. Nine months later a child is born.
Overcome with remorse, Bridget is determined that her husband should know the truth, but her confession can lead only to heartbreak. Although he allows his wife and her child to continue living in his home, Tom Mulligan makes it clear that their marriage is over. Lonely and afraid, Bridget finds comfort in the friendship of Fanny, a feisty young mother who knows what it is to be alone. But Bridget's life can never be complete until she has the love of the only man she ever really wanted...
My Thoughts...
The ending to this book made me happy... so did the actual story, but the ending made me especially happy.
I thought that the event that started the story was wrong and that Bridget shouldn't have given in to temptation - she was married after all. Although, without that one event, there would be no story for me to add to my 'favorites' shelf!
I loved the characters of Bridget, Ruthie and, despite it all, Harry. They all seemed like really nice people, and I thought that the ending turned out well for them.
I was not sure what to think about Tom Mulligan. One minute he loves his child and the next he hates it. I believed that how he treated Bridget was appalling, even though she was honest and, in many similar cases, many lies would generally be told and things would be made ten times worse. I was slightly sorry for him at the end of his characters part in the story (no spoilers) but what happened, happened because of his own choices.
I do love this book and Highly Recommend it to any Josephine Cox/Historical Fiction/Historical Drama lovers!
A SWIFT PURE CRY
By Siobhan Dowd
After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, charming, eloquent and persuasive. But when Declan suddenly leaves Ireland to seek his fortune in America, Shell finds herself pregnant and the centre of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again.
MY THOUGHTS…
I loved reading this book. The story is a good one, the main character, Shell, being responsible for her siblings, Jimmy and Trix. Her mother had long since died, leaving her father a drunken, religious mess. But how would Shell cope?
I felt sorry for Shell all the way through the book. Her best friend isn't the nicest of people, and she had no one else to turn to but Declan. But Declan only made things worse for her. I won't give out any spoilers, but I cried when I read about Rosie.
My favourite character was Shell, followed closely by Jimmy, Trix, Rosie and Paul. It seemed such a travesty that Rosie and Paul could not have survived and Shell raised them as well as her siblings. It seemed so sad when no one believed Shell about Rosie and Paul, and I hoped that the ending would bring a little happiness for Shell.
Siobhan Down wrote a fantastic book, and I Highly Recommend this book to all Young Adult readers and anyone else wanting an amazing, yet heartbreaking, story to read.
Amazon
Severed Knot
By Cryssa Bazos
Barbados 1652. In the aftermath of the English Civil War, the vanquished are uprooted and scattered to the ends of the earth.
When marauding English soldiers descend on Mairead O’Coneill’s family farm, she is sold into indentured servitude. After surviving a harrowing voyage, the young Irish woman is auctioned off to a Barbados sugar plantation where she is thrust into a hostile world of depravation and heartbreak. Though stripped of her freedom, Mairead refuses to surrender her dignity.
Scottish prisoner of war Iain Johnstone has descended into hell. Under a blazing sun thousands of miles from home, he endures forced indentured labour in the unforgiving cane fields. As Iain plots his escape to save his men, his loyalties are tested by his yearning for Mairead and his desire to protect her.
With their future stolen, Mairead and Iain discover passion and freedom in each other’s arms. Until one fateful night, a dramatic chain of events turns them into fugitives.
Together they fight to survive; together they are determined to escape.
MY THOUGHTS....
I was lucky enough to win a copy of these book over on Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots, and I have to say it is absolutely fabulous. I really liked Mairead and I LOVED Iain!!! This is such a great book. I cannot praise it enough!!
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