Jenny Ashcroft
Reviewed by Helen
This book has left me speechless I don’t know where to start, I can say that it is a fabulous story set across fifty years in Singapore, The island in the east, and England and countries in Asia, the characters from both eras are related and connected in many ways, but there were secrets, falsehoods, lies and misunderstandings that separated identical twenty year old twin sisters, who arrived in Singapore under a cloud back in 1897 and this is where the story starts for Harriet and Mae and what becomes of their lives, it is a captivating and gripping story that you will not want to put down.
Harriet and Mae are inseparable they have been sent to Singapore from their country of India to hopefully marry and put behind them their illegitimacy they are sent to live with David Keeley who works for the minister he is related to the girl’s father, with hopes that he will marry one, it doesn’t take long before another man is on the scene businessman Alex Blake and trouble brews between the girls, tears them apart heartbreaking stuff, but there a is a love that grows so strong that fifty years later is still there.
It is now 1940’s England and young Ivy Harcourt who has been bought up by her grandmother Mae, is working in the intelligence department translating, she is caught up in the bombing in London and scarred by it all when she is sent to Singapore to translate Japanese, this brings her back to where her grandmother had lived but Ivy never knew that and it is not long before Ivy meets Alex Blake and is uncovering things that perhaps she should have known. Ivy makes friends and comes alive especially when she meets Australian Kit Langton, but when the Japanese arrive and take over Ivy finds herself in Changi Prison as does Kit and all of their friends. Ivy will do anything to keep herself alive to be back with Kit as he does to meet Ivy again such true love.
This is a powerful story of tough times and happenings that had me crying, it is moving and emotional and shows the strength and bravery of these characters, it shows that love can be so strong, strong enough to keep people alive through wars and hurt. And there is more than one sensual love story that lasts through time, danger and lies that in the end will bring joy over whelming joy. This is the first book of MS Ashcroft’s that I have read but I will be looking for more, I do highly recommend this one, WOW what a book thank you for an awesome story.
Harriet and Mae are inseparable they have been sent to Singapore from their country of India to hopefully marry and put behind them their illegitimacy they are sent to live with David Keeley who works for the minister he is related to the girl’s father, with hopes that he will marry one, it doesn’t take long before another man is on the scene businessman Alex Blake and trouble brews between the girls, tears them apart heartbreaking stuff, but there a is a love that grows so strong that fifty years later is still there.
It is now 1940’s England and young Ivy Harcourt who has been bought up by her grandmother Mae, is working in the intelligence department translating, she is caught up in the bombing in London and scarred by it all when she is sent to Singapore to translate Japanese, this brings her back to where her grandmother had lived but Ivy never knew that and it is not long before Ivy meets Alex Blake and is uncovering things that perhaps she should have known. Ivy makes friends and comes alive especially when she meets Australian Kit Langton, but when the Japanese arrive and take over Ivy finds herself in Changi Prison as does Kit and all of their friends. Ivy will do anything to keep herself alive to be back with Kit as he does to meet Ivy again such true love.
This is a powerful story of tough times and happenings that had me crying, it is moving and emotional and shows the strength and bravery of these characters, it shows that love can be so strong, strong enough to keep people alive through wars and hurt. And there is more than one sensual love story that lasts through time, danger and lies that in the end will bring joy over whelming joy. This is the first book of MS Ashcroft’s that I have read but I will be looking for more, I do highly recommend this one, WOW what a book thank you for an awesome story.
5/5 stars for a fabulous story
Published
November 2nd 2017
by Sphere
