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The letters tell the story of a brutal storm on a dark night in the depths of war, and of an injured soldier who begged Patience for help, and asked her to make an impossible choice… The wonderful descriptions of the cottage, landscapes, scenery, the way of life, and just the Yorkshire location in general. The author has a real talent in placing the reader into a stunning location.
Cottage Full Of Secrets - The Reading House A Cottage Full Of Secrets - The Reading House
The two storylines alternate giving the reader a glimpse of two very different times, but also very similar situations.The story piques your interest straight away, with a great opening chapter, which is intriguing and urges you to keep reading. Jane Lovering has a wonderful writing style, and I really enjoyed the touches of comedy straight away in Tamzin’s chapter. Both timelines pull you in and you are rooting for both Stella and Tamzin and want to discover their stories. Katie and Tamzin are shown to be supportive of and helpful to one another. They both dated Dominic, after all, so they know the kind of damage he’s capable of and how destructive his controlling ways can be. There is no competitiveness between the two women, no jealousy, no petty drama. Tamzin helps Katie escape Dominic by offering her sanctuary and a fresh perspective, and Katie helps Tamzin by unearthing information on Stella, even though the two women are little more than acquaintances. I loved the fox though. I think, he was the best character – a three-legged, kind of a mysterious and totally loveable creature.
A Cottage Full of Secrets: Escape to the country for the
The book opens with our introduction to Stella. It’s 1973 and she’s making plans to escape from her violent, controlling husband. This first chapter is heartbreaking as he has messed with her mind so thoroughly that she’s convinced she is useless and to blame for everything. Jane Lovering is one of those writers who just immediately draws you into her story, making you forget that time is passing and you might have things to do. This is true even for stories where the topic (abuse) might be one you avoid reading, which is the case in A Cottage Full of Secrets. I do avoid reading about abuse in the same way that I avoid stories in which I know the dog is going to die. However, fortunately, Lovering didn’t focus extensively on those scenes of abuse, which made it easier to read. Tamzin is escaping a very bad relationship in the South of England by fleeing to an isolated cottage adjacent to the Yorkshire moors. In that same cottage, 50 years earlier, a young newlywed, Stella, is bright eyed at the beginning of her marriage, a marriage that everyone around her questioned her about (Are you sure?), but she loves Andy and he loves her and everything will be wonderful. But sometimes things don’t turn out so wonderfully. Apart from Tamzin’s, there is one more cottage in the isolated moorland. This one belongs to Euan, a reserved, taciturn wildlife painter who isn’t too keen on company. In the process of redecorating the old cottage, Tamzin finds pictures of a young woman taken in the early seventies. This is a dual-time of WWII and the present. During the war, Patience Ellis’ father rescues a young man many believe to be a German sailor. He goes by Dutch. Patience lives life accordingly to her own rules, but after her adopted daughter dies, she loses touch with her young granddaughter. She leaves her island cottage to Ellie with the stipulation that she live there for a year. Life on the island stirs long-ago memories for Ellie, with surprising revelations.Cottage One is occupied by a morose single man who seems to spend a lot of time dressed like a tramp and staring, Tamzin can't decide if he's creepy or a bit simple. Little does she know that she has more in common with her new neighbour than she thinks. A Cottage Full of Secrets by Jane Lovering is an enjoyable contemporary fiction that has a little bit of everything. A relaxing read.
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