The third book in the Wartime In The Valleys series. I have read and reviewed every other book in the series and was so happy to be invited to this book tour. This is a series that I so enjoy reading and was hoping Francesca Capaldi would have created another cracking read. Yes, she has!
Will Elizabeth choose love over duty?
It’s August 1917 and WW1 continues to take a toll. The villagers of Dorcalon, a mining village in the Rhymney Valley, try to keep hope alive; but every day brings fresh tragedy as more of their sons and fathers are killed on foreign battlefields.
Elizabeth Meredith, daughter of mine manager Herbert, enjoys a privileged position in the village, but she longs to break free of society’s expectations.
Falling in love with miner, Gwilym Owen, brings more joy to her life than she’s ever known… until she’s forced to choose between her love and her disapproving family. Seeking an escape, Elizabeth signs up as a VAD nurse and is swiftly sent to help the troops in France, even as her heart breaks at leaving Gwilym behind.
Separated by society and the Great War, can Elizabeth and Gwilym find their way back together again? Or will their love become another casualty of war?
I sat down to read this with the intention of just a quick ten minutes and resurfaced 2 hours later. I was back there as soon as I began reading. I felt like I was back with friends and was easily transported to the years of World War One and the issues of the villagers, war, and one Elizabeth Meredith.
The issues that the author brings in this chapter are the class differences of the day. A mine managers daughter falling in love with a miner creates a lot of heartache. Elizabeth makes the difficult decision to sign up as a nurse and goes to France. I was bereft for her myself. Francesca Capaldi has done an excellent job of keeping up her characterisations. Elizabeth and Gwilym and their love tore me apart like it was happening to my own daughter.
This is a saga that really holds a place in my heart. The time periods the author has written about are so vivid, and her research must be meticulous. I love historical fiction, and these books tick every single box for me.
A go to series for any historical fiction reader who loves an immersive, detail rich read.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for my gifted copy of the book.
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Author Bio
Francesca has enjoyed writing since she was a child, largely influenced by a Welsh mother who was good at improvised story telling. A history graduate and qualified teacher, she decided to turn her writing hobby into a career in 2006. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Each month she writes a competition post for the Romantic Novelists’ Association blog.
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 