Amos Darby is a farmer and Charlotte is the Lady of the manor. Though deeply in love Amos knew it was not meant to be. Charlotte married well but WWI put paid to any happily ever after. Amos returned scarred, withdrawn and isolated. Charlotte had her hands full with a young daughter, her declining estate, with no funds or hands to work the soil and her bookshop Eden Books.
For such a small village there was another bookshop owned by Amos. Though civil to each other the two kept far apart until the war burst over Coventry with a barrage of bombs and destruction. Putting both forces together seemed a good alternative and Amos proved to be the one Charlotte could trust implicitly. Her hiding four spitfire planes on the estate was not even known to her daughter and the protection of these valuable assets was a big responsibility.
The arrival of a young hot shot lawyer with his claims on the estate added more burdens for Charlotte and Eden who were determined to hang on to the legacy left to them. It didn’t help that the lawyer was of German descent and that Eden and Cole were attracted to each other.
Twenty five years on the attraction between the older couple was deep seated and it took only one upheaval to start again, much to the chagrin of young Eden and the resounding support of everyone else.
The story is one of struggle and survival, fighting against the enemy which destroyed the greater part of this area. The sacrifices made by the common man was immense and seemed to be borne with much bravery. The love stories interwoven added so much depth to the read.
Sent by ThomasNelson FICTION for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.
I'm going to look for this book.
ReplyDeleteMary @Bookfan