Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for The Women of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby. Thank you Park Row Books for inviting me to participate.
Publisher: Park Row Books
Published: December 7, 2021
Source: Netgalley via Publisher
Summary:
“A luminous and beautiful novel that gently lures the reader into a captivating story with a mystery at its heart.” – Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne
Set on a secluded island off the British coast, The Women of Pearl Island is a moving and evocative story of family secrets, natural wonders and a mystery spanning decades.
When Tartelin answers an ad for a personal assistant, she doesn’t know what to expect from her new employer, Marianne, an eccentric elderly woman. Marianne lives on a remote island that her family has owned for generations, and for decades her only companions have been butterflies and tightly held memories of her family.
But there are some memories Marianne would rather forget, such as when the island was commandeered by the British government during WWII. Now, if Marianne can trust Tartelin with her family’s story, she might finally be able to face the long-buried secrets of her past that have kept her isolated for far too long.
My thoughts:
Historical fiction has really become one of my go-to genres this year and I just cannot read enough books in this genre. I keep finding new authors to read and I never seem to tire of the topics they write about. This is the first time I’ve read anything by Polly Crosby but it certainly will not be the last.
I seem to never tire of WWII books because there are just so many different avenues and points of view to explore and that is so evident in this book. While I wouldn’t say that the war is the main focus of the book, it does come up and I loved how it is worked in. But what really drew me to this book was the idea of going to work on a remote island for an eccentric elderly woman. I just loved that idea and of course, this leads to the heart of the story and what a story it turns out to be.
The dual narrative that we get here really kept my attention as we move back and forth in time from the present to the past when Marianne was young. I was so captivated by both points of view that I would often get frustrated when it was time to switch to the other time period…that’s always a good sign in my opinion! The sense of mystery and intrigue is done so well and I just needed the answers sooner rather than later. My mind was working overtime trying to figure things out.
This has everything I love in my historical fiction novels – it’s well-written, vividly drawn and I learned a bit, too. I definitely recommend this one!
About the author:
Polly Crosby grew up on the Suffolk coast, and now lives deep in the Norfolk countryside. THE BOOK OF HIDDEN WONDERS was awarded runner up in the Bridport Prize’s Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel, and Polly also won Curtis Brown Creative’s Yesterday Scholarship, which enabled her to finish the novel. She currently holds the Annabel Abbs Scholarship at the University of East Anglia, where she is studying part time for an MA in Creative Writing. THE WOMEN OF PEARL ISLAND is her second novel.
Authors Links: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads
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