Average Bufph Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Sally Nicholls
2022-09-20
A beautiful, bittersweet WWI romance lights up an English village at Christmas with harrowing secrets, love lost and found, and the breathtaking power of forgiveness.
Vivid and achingly real, Sally Nicholls’s latest historical romance explores the fallout from an unexpected pregnancy during the First World War. It’s Christmastime, 1919. Three years before, seventeen-year-old Margot Allan, a respectable vicar’s daughter, fell passionately in love. But she lost her fiancé, Harry, to the Great War. In turn, she gained a desperate secret, one with the power to ruin her life and her family’s reputation, a secret she guards at all costs. Now Margot’s family is gathering at the vicarage for the first time since the War ended. And Harry, it turns out, isn’t dead. He’s alive and well, and looking for answers. Can their love survive the truth? Based on the author’s family history, this evocative and stirring exploration of the human and emotional side of war is young-adult historical fiction at its finest, written with the immediacy and understanding of the complexities of the human heart that are the hallmark of the author’s work.
Matthews' novel offers a refreshing take on the Cold War espionage genre, with a protagonist whose journey mirrors the moral and professional complexities I've encountered in my own life. The narrative's attention to detail in the espionage craft and the geopolitical landscape is commendable, providing a level of authenticity that is both engaging and educational. The protagonist's evolution from a naive recruit to a seasoned operative is handled with a deft touch, making it a compelling read for anyone with an interest in the intricacies of intelligence work and the human cost of geopolitical conflict.
