A Daughter's Disgrace by Kitty Neale

A Daughter’s Disgrace by Kitty Neale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 418

Publisher - Avon books

Source - Gift

Blurb from Amazon

Fractured
Alison is the ugly duckling of her family and has always been treated with disdain by her mother. After years of being bullied, she is drawn to the one man who shows her affection. But when he brutally rapes her, leaving her pregnant, she is cast out.

Forgotten
Shunned by her family, Alison must start to make her own way and plan a life for herself and her unborn child – and for the first time she is master of her own destiny.

Forgiven?
But when the baby arrives, Alison feels no love for her new son. Terrified that history will repeat itself, can she find a way to love her child? And will she ever find the forgiveness she craves from her family?


My Review

Oooft guys this book is *jaw drops* - talk about some shady horrible characters! Alison is the "baby" of the family, the youngest of three daughters and treated abysmally by almost everyone. She is mocked for her looks by family and locals, she is painfully shy as a result. She is such a good egg and just gives and gives whilst her mother and sister Hazel mock, put her down and take more and more. Linda is the eldest and has a soft spot for Alison but she lives away and has her own family. When Alison gets a job in a butchers things start to look up a bit until she is attacked and her whole world is turned upside down.

Now obviously it tells you in the blurb and there is the title too that there is an SA resulting in a pregnancy. I have to just say see if something doesn't happen in the first quarter I don't think it should be mentioned in the blurb as it is a spoiler. If I remember it is almost half way through so just a wee person gripe I have.

Alison's mum and sister Hazel (the middle child and absolutely spoiled) are really repugnant characters. I wanted to hug Alison because regardless of what she does, or how much she gives they never have a kind word for her. Contrasting that, her boss in the butchers is such a nice kind soul and I think against Cora (her mother) and Hazel it really shows the opposites and how bad/good they are.

The book is set in the 50s and Neale captures the authenticity of the time well, I thought. The whole keeping a front on because of the neighbours and judgement(s), saving for what little you had. The judgements - ie wearing lipstick and daring to date/work and the way people looked down on others.

I find these books you can sink into and just block out your own reality, if for just a little while, I have read Neale before and will read again, 4/5 for me this time.

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Without A Trace by Lesley Pearse

Without a Trace by Lesley Pearse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 5 days

Publisher - Penguin

Pages - 416

Source - Book shop

Blurb from Goodreads


Coronation Day, 1953.

Molly Heywood has always been a pillar of strength for her local community, so when her friend Cassie fails to attend the Coronation Day party in the village, it is Molly who heads out in the rain to look for her.

But nothing can prepare Molly for what she is going to discover.

Now with Cassie gone and her six-year-old daughter Petal missing, it is up to Molly to head to London to uncover the past Cassie kept so well hidden.

But will Molly discover the truth before it's too late? Or has Petal disappeared forever?



My Review

Molly is one of the naive and sweetest characters I have read in a while, her friend Cassie is wild, is a single mother and prefers the company of men to women. When Cassie is found murdered and her child missing Molly can't let things go. The investigation fizzles out but Molly can't let go. Leaving home to get away from her abusive father, make a life for herself whilst still holding out hope of finding little Petal, Molly embarks on a journey that will force her to grow up and see the real dangers outside a little town.

As always, I do love Pearse's books, she brings the time period alive by highlighting either events happening at the time or bringing forth the attitudes and prejudices of that era. Molly is a great character, she is so innocent and despite having a stunting and hateful force in her home kind and trusting to all she meets. The book touches on violence, racism, homophobia, murder, some of the attitudes and issues reflected from that time period. The main focus of the story though is the journey and personal growth of Molly, a sweet and relatively sheltered girl who experiences things that shape and form the woman she becomes. In between that is the mystery of Cassie, who she was, what she ran from, her secrets, her child and life lessons that are still very applicable in this day and age.

The pace is possibly slow in parts for some readers as the book takes its time to reveal its secrets, with personal growth and character self discovery you do find it slower compared to murder/thriller. However Pearse creates characters you invest in and finds you turning page after page to find out what happens and, for me, to get Cassie's back story. Some parts may make for uncomfortable reading as Molly gets involved in a few dangerous or upsetting situations, reflective I felt of real life issues for a young woman alone. Otherwise another fabulous tale from this author, if you have read her before you know what you are getting. If this would be your first dance with this author she carves great tales with happiness, sadness and looks at characters from the best and worst sides of humanity, 4/5 for me this time.

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Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s by Jennifer Worth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time take to read - 8 days

Publisher - Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Pages - 340

Blurb from Goodreads

An unforgettable story of the joy of motherhood, the bravery of a community, and the hope of one extraordinary woman

At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in post war London's East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies all over London-from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives to the woman with twenty-four children who can't speak English to the prostitutes and dockers of the city's seedier side-illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, The Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone who is, and everyone who has, a mother.


My Review

Jennifer Worth takes us through the beginning of her career as a student midwife in the 1950s in London's East End slums. The conditions are brutal, the health risks high, procedures often very different from our advanced medical marvels nowadays. She paints a picture of what life was like back then, both as a worker and the families with expectant mothers and the limited services available.

I could have read this in one sitting had tie permitted, I love reading about medical tales, fiction or true although the true stories tend to give the hair raising on the back of your neck moments. The NHS only came to be in 1948 so it was still relatively new when Worth came into the profession, burning urine to get assistance with diagnosis's compared to now when we send it off to labs or dip it in test strips for a few moments.

She introduces us to some of the families she met and their struggles along the way and how some things don't change despite the times, infidelity, multiple births, family issues. I loved how this book transports you back in time, she paints a such a vivid picture you can imagine yourself experiencing it all along side her. There are two more books in the series, I have the others and will be reading them both, 5/5 for me this time. A great story and you learn as you go, can't recommend it enough!

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Review - Foreign Fruit by Jojo Moyes

Foreign Fruit by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 5 days

Blurb From Amazon

When a group of bohemians take over an Art Deco house in the 1950s seaside town of Merham, Lottie Swift and Celia Holden are as drawn to its temptations as the rest of the town is appalled. They set in place a chain of events which will have longstanding and tragic consequences for all.

My Review

The book starts off with Lottie Swift and Celia Holden, set in a small town in the 1950s. Lottie lives with Celia's family and is treated as Celia's sister although the whole town still see her "for what she is". The girls do everything together until Celia leaves for London and meets the man of her dreams. When she returns home Guys presence threatens everything Lottie holds dear.

The story flips forward 50 years to Daisy, life was perfect until her partner decides he can't handle life with a baby and walks out on them and their business. Daisy pulls herself together to work on the Art Deco house in the small town Lottie and Celia resided in, that caused so much controversy, and soon the past and present catch up.

I found this story really slow to get started with a big build up on the main characters, Lottie and Celia. Just when it finally got going we flipped to present day when I really wanted to keep going with the girls. The story with Daisy starts up really quickly though and I enjoyed reading how she dealt with her partners departure. The story is really well written and Jojo Moyes does really well to link the two together. I would have liked to have seen the book be a bit thicker to be honest and get more clarification on Celia and what happened than what was given, although they say a great author always leaves the audience wanting more and I do love her books so I guess it is a win win. I was a bit disappointed with how the book ended but this is a personal preference as the people who have also read it seemed to really enjoy it. 3/5 for me and I will continue working my way through her books.

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