As the weather starts to falter we need to find ways to cosy up again inside, what better way than with a good book. The English Wife by Adrienne Chinn, is a tale of two parts and follows the lives of its two main characters Ellie and Sophie. We find out about how they are connected through family, love and loss. They also hold a family secret that is set to change their lives and the lives of the people around them forever.
Their story follows an intertwining tale, of how their lives are inextricably linked. We learn about Ellie Parsons starting off with her life in Wartime England. We learn of how it evolves when she moves to the Island of Newfoundland with her new husband. We then begin to be fully introduced to the second leading lady of this book, Sophie, who happens to be on her way to New York when strange events take place rerouting her to the quiet Island where her estranged Aunt Ellie has lived for the decades, without any updates of her long lost English niece.
The narrative includes pivotal moments in time, one being the Second World War and the other, 9/11 when New York was changed forever. These moments are not the focal point but set the scenes in these two women’s lives. We learn about their wants and desires and really get to know these two people in this book and wonder how and why they have spent so much time apart.
What do I think of the eBook?
It took me a few pages to get in to flow with this book, I actually went back and read the first chapter again as I was a little lost with it moving from the 1940s to, 2000s and 2010s. But once I got my head around it, I really gained momentum, and couldn’t wait until I could sit down again to read more about this unravelling tale.
If you enjoy a good combination of mystery, romance and historical references, this is the book for you. I want to review this as though I am describing it to my mother-in-law, who I know would absolutely love this book.
Through the eyes a young Ellie, you travel through war-torn Britain and learn of some of the difficulties you might not have been aware of had you not lived through that time. I know I hadn’t realised it, and the learning of these hard moments drew me so much closer to Ellie and the other characters in her part of the story.
Moving on you are then shown the way through the eyes of Sophie and here begins the reference to 9/11. We all are very much aware of its devastation in New York and of the people who were present, however, we forget about all the people that were travelling there, and got caught up in the butterfly effect of havoc. We learn through the book, how people were deposited in towns and cities far and wide for days until some of the chaos subsided.
This is where our two characters join together, and here we see through the eyes of an elderly Ellie and her workaholic Niece Sophie. The characters are different yet you being to unfold their similarities as the story progresses. You see how the characters and their emotions evolve. How Sophie’s experience through the book changes her and also how she changes the people that she meets along the way too.
I really enjoyed how you travelled through each aspect of the story, flitting from the past to the present and back again. Once you are finally back in the present of the story which is set in 2011 all becomes clear and you really begin to understand how these two women can never really not be a part of each other’s lives forever.
Although I took a while to get into this book, by the end I was spending my time in between reading, thinking about the characters and how their lives would progress. This for me is always an indication of a good book, when you can’t help but reassess the story even once you’ve finished reading it. Its a well-written book and really enjoyable, and I looking forward to checking out some more of Adrienne Chinn’s novels in the very near future.
How much is the eBook and where can you buy it?
The Kindle edition of The English Wife is currently priced at £0.99 while the paperback costs £8.99.
About the eBook
Title: The English Wife
Publisher: One More Chapter
ISBN: 978-0008314583
Pages: 400
About the Author
Adrienne Chinn is an inspiring author. She started her life in Grand Falls Newfoundland but was brought up in Quebec. She has since lived in London, England and enjoys spending time in Morocco. This is her second book, and as well writing she has a successful career as an interior designer. She is very much inspired by her trips to Morocco, which is where her first novel is set. When not writing or designing she loves nothing more than a flea market rummage, in a souk in Marrakesh.
Review by: Lex Ward
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* We were sent a copy of the eBook for free in return for a review. All opinions are our own.
16 comments
This sounds like an interesting book, it is a shame that the first chapter didn’t flow quite so smoothly that you could get your head around the time jumping in one read – but sometimes that’s not a bad thing.
No it is not bad at all, this one does pick up as it moves on
I usually tend to put a book down if I can not get into it in the first chapter, but good to know it does get better, I will have to remember that if I read this book x
Great, thank you
The combination of mystery, history and romance has piqued my interest! Definitely going to give this a try.
Hope you do, worth giving it a shot
I love to read and like hearing about new authors and titles. Mystery is a favorite of mine. I have grown to appreciate ebooks over the years, I love the convenience.
Yes I agree, it is so convenient and cheap as well compared to paperback books
I sometimes get confused when a book jumps around to different times, but it sounds like it’s worth sticking with this one
Yes it is, as you might like it eventually
This is such an intriguing premise – so intriguing that I’ve just downloaded this onto my Kindle. (Thank you for your honest review!)
How wonderful! Let me know what you think of the read
I do love a mystery / historical fiction, so I’ll add this to my list! The idea of the story following two women in the different periods of WW2 and 9/11 sounds very interesting. I’ve really been getting into reading on Kindle recently!
How wonderful! So glad you have, reading is so important and relaxing
If the first few pages /chapter of a book don’t grab me I have a short attention spam so would of given in- good for you for seeing it through
I tend to anyway, as things might pick up as the book progresses similar to this