#BlogTour: The Abandoned Daughter by Mary Wood @Authormary @panmacmillan @EllisKeene #TheAbandonedDaughter

Book Synopsis:

Voluntary nurse Ella is haunted by the soldiers’ cries she hears on the battlefields of Dieppe. But that’s not the only thing that haunts her. When her dear friend Jim breaks her trust, Ella is left bruised and heartbroken. Over the years, her friendships have been pulled apart at the seams by the effects of war. Now, more than ever, she feels so alone.

At a military hospital in France, Ella befriends Connie and Paddy. Slowly she begins to heal, and finds comfort in the arms of a French officer called Paulo – could he be her salvation?

With the end of the war on the horizon, surely things have to get better? Ella grew up not knowing her real family but a clue leads her in their direction. What did happen to Ella’s parents, and why is she so desperate to find out?

The Abandoned Daughter by Mary Wood is the second book in The Girls Who Went To War series.

The Abandoned Daughter is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

I’m such a huge fan of this author’s books and always look forward to reading more from her as I know I’m going to enjoy them.

The Abandoned Daughter was another fantastic historical read from the The Girls Who Went To War series. One of the things I most like about this author is her ability to tell things as they would have been. She doesn’t shy away from the hard, uncomfortable facts to spare the reader’s feelings but instead tells the reader the hard truths which I really admire her for. This does mean she often makes me cry though.

Once again the author has created some wonderful characters that I warmed to very quickly. I especially liked the main character Ella who I couldn’t help but like even if I found her story truly heartbreaking at times. The poor girl seems to have everything thrown at her but battles through it bravely. Just when it looked like everything might be going right for her something happened and everything changed again. Her relationship with Rowena was wonderful to read about and I loved watching it develop. Rowena is a fantastic friend to her just when she needs one and their interactions were some of my favourite parts of the book. I found I desperately wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to them and to see if they get the happy ending I felt they deserved.

Mary always manages to find a part of history I haven’t read much about before which I always find fascinating. This time it was about the treatment of the returning soldiers and what their families were dealing with. It was so sad to read about how many of the soldiers ended up homeless, begging on the streets and how their families were just left to deal with any problems that they had.

This was a very gripping, fast paced read that I couldn’t put down and often found myself sneaking away to try and read a few more pages. Whilst this book could be read as a standalone it’s probably best to read the books in order as it gives you more of an understanding of the background to this book.

Huge thanks to the lovely Mary Wood for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Ellis from Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book. If you like well researched, emotional historical sagas then you need to read this book.

About The Author:

Born in Maidstone, Kent, in 1945, the thirteenth child of fifteen children, Mary’s family settled in Leicestershire after the war ended. 

Mary married young and now, after 54 years of happy marriage, four children, 12 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren, Mary and her husband live in Blackpool during the summer and Spain during the winter – a place that Mary calls, ‘her writing retreat’. 

After many jobs from cleaning to catering, all chosen to fit in with bringing up her family, and boost the family money-pot, Mary ended her 9 – 5 working days as a Probation Service Officer, a job that showed her another side to life, and which influences her writing, bringing a realism and grittiness to her novels 

Mary first put pen to paper, in 1989, but it wasn’t until 2010 that she finally found some success by self-publishing on kindle. 

Being spotted by an editor at Pan Macmillan in 2013, finally saw Mary reach her publishing dream.

When not writing, Mary enjoys family time, reading, eating out, and gardening. One of her favourite pastimes is interacting with her readers on her Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/HistoricalNovels
And on her web page: http://www.authormarywood.com
She is also on Twitter: @Authormary

Mary welcomes all contact with her readers and feedback on her work.