Natasha Lester
Reviewed by Helen
I have just finished this book and wow, I am feeling so many emotions at the moment and I am not sure where to start, I have loved every one of MS Lester’s books that I have read, they just have so much heart and feeling in them the characters are so real and historical events are described with so much truth that she makes you feel that you are back in these eras going through what the characters are at the time, this is a must read set over three timelines, I loved getting to know Skye, Liberty, Margaux and Nicholas and I hope you will as well.
Skye and Liberty Penrose live on the coast of Cornwall with their mother, growing up without a father, their mother teaches Skye to fly a plane at a young age, Skye is filled with so much energy, she is bright and lovable, when she is a young teenager she meets another young teenager Nicholas Crawford and after a cartwheel they become firm friends. But life moves on and Nicholas moves away and Skye and Liberty are sent to France to stay with an aunt, but after the death of her mother Skye wants to get back to her beloved Cornwall.
In 1939 Skye is flying planes for the war effort, were she meets up again with Nicholas and her estranged sister Liberty, Nicholas is now engaged to a French woman Margaux but her feelings for Nicholas have grown stronger but she must turn her back on him. Times are really hard and there are a lot of secrets being kept for the war effort, Skye shows her strength and caring nature at all times and does what she must to help the war effort.
In 1947 in Paris fashion designer Christian Dior releases his first collection of fabulous clothing with mannequin Margaux Jourdan, he has named the collection after his sister Catherine who worked with the resistance during the war and who is very good friends with Margaux, they have a special bond.
2012 in Sydney Australia and Kat Jourdan who is a fashion conservator is asked by her beloved grandmother Margaux to check up on the cottage she owns in Cornwall where Kat discovers sixty five of the most gorgeous Dior gowns, this starts a lot of questions from Kat as to where they came from and when author Elliot Beaufort gets in touch with her from England and starts asking questions about her grandmother, there are more questions to answer and secrets to uncover.
This is a heart wrenching story from start to finish, it shows what people will do to protect the people they love, it is a love story, a story of friendship which lasts a lifetime, a story of families, of war time, but it was a story I could barely put down. MS Lester has a magical voice with words, she knows how to transport the reader back in time and to different countries, I bow down to you the research you put into this one was awesome. I loved it, there are so many emotions, so many tears and smiles as well, this book has it all and I can highly recommend it. Thank you Natasha Lester and Hachette Aus.
5 stars
Expected publication:
March 31st 2020
by Hachette Australia
