Author: Rachel Hore
Released: September 2011
Photographer Lucy Cardwell has recently lost her troubled father, Tom. While sifting through his papers, she finds he'd been researching an uncle she never knew he'd had. Intrigued, she visits her father's childhood home, the once beautiful Carlyon Manor. She meets an old woman named Beatrice who has an extraordinary story to tell ...Growing up in the 1930s, Beatrice plays with the children of Carlyon Manor - especially pretty, blonde Angelina Wincanton, Lucy's grandmother. Then, one summer at the age of fifteen, she falls in love with a young visitor to the town: Rafe Ashton, whom she rescues from a storm-tossed sea. But the dark clouds of war are gathering, and Beatrice, Rafe, and the Wincantons will all be swept up in the cataclysm of events that follow. Beatrice's story is a powerful tale of courage and betrayal, spanning from Cornwall to London, and Occupied France, in which friendship and love are tested, and the ramifications reach down the generations. And, as Lucy listens to the tales of the past, she learns a secret that will change everything she has ever known...
Rating: 4 Stars
Positives: I found myself instantly enthralled with Beatrice's story and even though I knew she and Rafe ended up together I found myself right on the edge of my seat throughout the book. She shows exactly how hard some of the decisions were that people made during the war, and she has an amazing strength to her. It seemed that nothing would stop Beatrice from doing what she felt was right. The other characters were perfectly well written too, inclduing the horrible Angelina, who I must say somewhat reminds me of my younger sister both in looks and nature. Of course there were going to be casualties throughout the book as it's set during one of the most devastating wars we have ever known, but nothing had quite prepared me for the sadness I felt at Guy's death. I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear then, as well as one when Beatrice returned from France and was unable to see her son Tommy.
Negatives: The big twist? Yeah it's really not that big. From the moment Beatrice tells us she had a son, it is obvious what the twist is going to be, especially given Hetty's remarks in the prologue. The fact that even whilst telling the story to Lucy, Beatrice never mentions her sons name, not until she returns from France, only further shows what this big twist is. Plus we had the warnings from Peter Wincanton himself about how toxic his family is.
Would I recommend this book? Yes I would. I enjoyed A Gathering Storm very much, even if parts of the story were somewhat predicatable.
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