Tracy Rees

"It makes me laugh that women are permitted so few alternatives, and are then punished for resorting to the ones they have."

This is another one of those books that I've been sitting on for well over a year, and now that I've finally gotten around to reading it I could kick myself for not picking it up sooner.

Part Jane Austen, part Charles Dickens, and part "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life," this novel is about a baby (Amy Snow) abandoned on the estate of an aristocratic British family. While the estate's owner's are aghast that an orphan would sully their home, their daughter, Aurelia, insists on raising the child, and thus begins a life-long friendship.

Rees writes lyrically and listening to the audio was a sheer pleasure. I was transported to the English countryside and moors of York as Amy Snow traversed the land on a "treasure hunt" of Aurelia's design to uncover her friend's deepest secrets.

Thank you to NetGally and Simon & Schuster for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

… (mais)

Heerlijk boek zoals ik dat van Tracy Rees verwacht. Het speelt zich af in de jaren na WOI, in 1925 en beslaat het jaar van de zomer waarin de hoofdpersoon, Blue, 21 wordt tot en met haar 22ste verjaardag. De familie van Blue woont op een landgoed en Blue is een graag geziene gaste op allerlei feesten en partijen in de hogere kringen. Haar vader houdt een speech en roept daarin mannen op om een liefdesbrief te schrijven naar Blue en dat diegene die de mooiste brief schrijft na een jaar de verloofde van Blue wordt. Als het verhaal daarna in de krant wordt besproken is dat voor even groot nieuws. Blue is geschokt om wat haar vader heeft gezegd, maar ze krijgt toch een paar brieven van jongemannen.
In dat jaar gebeurt er van alles. Leuke dingen maar ook een heleboel drama. Een van de verhaallijnen gaat over Delphine, een jonge vrouw die aan haar huwelijk probeert te ontsnappen en toevallig terecht komt in Richmond en daar kennismaakt met Blue en haar zus Merrigan.
Het boek had wat mij betreft wat korter gekund. Soms iets te veel herhalingen en uitgebreide beschrijvingen van de omgeving. Dat kost een halve ster.
Gelukkig krijgt alles een goed einde en ik heb weer wat tranen gelaten tijdens het lezen van de laatste bladzijden… (mais)

Set in the 1920’s and told in alternating points of view between Blue, Midge and Delphine, 3 women that are nothing alike but brought together through love, grief and above all else – family.

The story centres around Ishbel “Blue” Camberwell, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood as she tries to find her own way into the world. She wants more from life than becoming a wife, she wants to be a writer and although money has never been an issue for her and her family she still wants to work and hold her own as a journalist.

As we follow her through the trials and tribulations that come hand in hand with the courting world and the attentions of several young men she comes to the rescue of the quite, scared, stuttering Delphine.

Delphine has escaped an abusive marriage and has run away when she is rescued by Blue and her sisters. And as Delphine story unfolds she soon becomes fast friends with Blue, Midge and the Camberwell family.

Although the Camberwell’s appear the perfect family who want for nothing their lives have been anything but perfect. A family who have suffered tragic losses and 1 family member with a secret so great that it could shatter it all.

The three woman’s stories intertwine bringing them all closer and at the same time putting them all in danger, the story plays out full of courage, hope, love and grief into an unforgettable conclusion.

Be prepared to be swept off your feet and submerge yourself into a stunning setting as well as back in time to the 1920’s where women are finding their independence and a bobbed haircut was considered outlandish. Where writing becomes a life line and the past that won’t stay in the past.

I have read all of Tracy Rees’s books and whilst Amy Snow remains my favourite Darling Blue is a worthy runner-up! Beautifully written and researched this book will restore your faith in true love.… (mais)