Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson

Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Headline Review

Source - Vine

Blurb from Amazon

Venice, 1943: Under the Nazi occupation, life is increasingly perilous for Italian Jews. Antonina Mazin has but one hope to survive - to leave her beloved parents and hide in the countryside, posing as the bride of a man she has only just met.

Nico Gerardi was studying for the priesthood until circumstances forced him to return home to run his family's farm. A moral and just man, he refuses to remain a bystander to Nazi and fascist atrocities. The only way to keep Nina safe - and protect secrets of his own - is to convince prying eyes that their sudden marriage is a love match.

But farm life is not easy for a cultured city girl who dreams of becoming a doctor like her father, and Nico's provincial neighbours are wary of this soft, educated stranger. Even worse, their distrust is shared by a local Nazi official with a vendetta against Nico.

As Nina and Nico come to know each other, their relationship deepens, transforming into much more than a charade. Yet both fear that every passing day brings them closer to being torn apart...



My Review

World war two is well underway, it is 1943 - Nina wants nothing more than to stay with her father, helping patients and her mother. To keep her safe her father sends her away to stay with Nico, a friend of their priest. Under the guise of newly weds in love Nico and Nina head to Nico's home, a farm. Nina has to deal with the fear of being discovered, slotting into the hard labour of working on a farm, missing her family and the scrutiny of her new sister in law. As the German soldiers close in and horrors looming Nina realises there is more at risk than just herself.

This is a story of love, family, relationships, bravery, survival, sacrifice, all under the Nazi rule. We follow Nina through an emotive journey, I had a lump in my throat at some parts - some of it is beautiful which makes the harrowing parts pack a greater punch.

I have been to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and read her diary growing up and whilst this is historical fiction all of that comes back to you when you read the concentration camp parts. The author captures the reader with such an authentic feel/descriptors I can't imagine many not being moved reading this. This is my first time reading this author, it won't be my last, 4.5/5 for me this time. I never used to read or like historical fiction but find myself drawn more to them especially when you have an author that takes you on an emotive rollercoaster!

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Secrets by Lesley Pearse

Secrets by Lesley Pearse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read -

Pages - 548

Publisher - Penguin Books

Source - The Works

Blurb from Goodreads

Can truth stay hidden for ever?

Set in the 1930's, the classic novel from bestselling author Lesley Pearse tells the story of one girl's struggle against cruelty and, her quest for love.

Twelve-year-old Adele Talbot's unhappy mother Rose succumbs to madness after a family tragedy and Adele is placed in a bleak children's home. But when her trust is betrayed she runs away - hoping to find her grandmother in Sussex.

By the time she does so, Adele is desperately ill and has to be nursed back to health among the beautiful Rye Marshes. And then she meets the wonderful Michael Bailey.

As friendship blossoms into love and they come of age together - Adele becoming a nurse and Michael joining the RAF - she believes she can put her troubled past behind her. But with the outbreak of war and the sudden appearance of Rose, bearing shocking family secrets, suddenly all of Adele's hopes appear impossibly fragile ...


My Review

Life has never been very kind to Adele, ignored and abused by her parents, when a tragic accident forces Adele to takes off to find her grand mother. Used and abused, Adele finally makes it to a safe haven, finding love and acceptance with her grand mother and meeting Michael. We follow her growing up, getting a career and finally finding her place, despite world war two going on. However as is the way, the past rears its ugly head and Adele finds everything she loves being threatened and the past no longer able to be ignored.

I do love Pearse, she covers some very tough topics and "Secrets" is no exception. Abuse, neglect, briefly paedophilia, relationships, family, secrets, war and friendship to name but a few. Poor Adele is just a child when we meet her and deprived of basic care, love and mistreated by those meant to love and cherish her. We watch her bloom and grow, relationships form and the social issues presented between the classes in the 1930/1940s.

I can't say which story lines I favoured most because there were so many, in fact I don't think I could pick out one I hated. Obviously the paedophilia one made my skin crawl and I hated the perpetrator, in fact both the individuals. Everyone else I think shaped the story perfectly, it was emotive and keeps the reader hooked page after page. 5 stars for me this, I have another few of Pearse on my TBRM and will be buying the others I have still to read.

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