It is 1940. Prudence ‘Prue’ Carmichael is twenty-three years old and a vicar’s daughter. At the start of the book, we meet her and her family as they move house from rural Bedfordshire to London, where the Revd Hugh Carmichael is taking over a parish in Stepney. They move into St Winifred’s Rectory. Father David Harmsworth is the curate and also lives at the Rectory, where he is quickly enchanted by Prue.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jack Quinn works as an engineer on the London and North Eastern Railway. Despite his job being a reserved occupation, he applies to his manager every week to be allowed to leave and join the army. As soon as he hears the government asking for volunteers for the new Local Defence Volunteers, he signs up.
As Prue and Jack begin to fall for each other, will Jack’s past spoil things?
I got into the story right away and really liked Prue from the first page. I was interested in the story and the setting, especially with the family moving to London in the early part of World War II. I really liked the refugees moving in and finding out more about Prue’s developing friendships with the women of the area (especially Sister Martha) and at work.
Her dilemma over her suitors was well written too. While one is perfect for her on paper, he doesn’t make her world rock like the more unsuitable choice. What will happen? You have to read to find out.
I felt the book was very well-written, the historical aspect felt authentic and the story was well paced too. I was happy to read this book, found it very enjoyable and I look forward to reading more in the Stepney Girls series.
BLURB
A Stepney Girl’s Secret
A brand new heart-warming and atmospheric saga fiction series from Jean Fullerton, charting the loves, hopes and heartaches of three women who move into a rectory in Stepney, East London during WW2.
East London, 1940. At the outbreak of war, hopeless romantic Prue Carmichael and her sister must leave their rural parish behind when their father is posted to a church in Stepney. To Prue, the blitz-ravaged streets of London seem an unlikely place for love to bloom – until a chance encounter throws rakish engineer Jack Quinn into her path. But as their connection deepens, his troubled past begins to emerge, and Prue realises Jack has secrets to hide . . .
Luckily, in between starting work at a railway yard and helping her mother house Jewish refugees in the parish, Prue manages to keep her mind off love and on the wartime effort. However, Jack isn’t the only man who’s fallen for Prue – and when he is recruited into Churchill’s secret underground army, an unexpected suitor offers a fresh distraction.
As air raid sirens sound and the Battle of Britain rages overhead, Prue Carmichael must face some of the greatest horrors of her young life. Meanwhile, she is waging her own battle – the fight between her heart and her head . . .
Amidst the ruins of war, will Prue and Jack’s love find a way to flourish?
Purchase Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BLRB2481/
US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BLRB2481/
Author Bio – Born and bred in East London Jean was a District Nurse by trade and ended her thirty-year career in health care as a senior lecture in Health and Nursing Studies in London Southbank University.
She had published twenty sagas all set in East London with both Orion and Atlantic the most recent of which is the highly successful Ration Book series. She has also recently released her autobiography A Child of the East End.
Social Media Links –
Website: http://jeanfullerton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jean-Fullerton-202631736433230/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanFullerton_
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