The plot of this novel has been used many times before which sadly, made it one of the most cliche filled, predictable pieces, of overly sentimental romantic tripe, I've ever read ( )

I picked this book because of the book shop, the WWII story. The summary had a cute premise, but the truth is that I have a little trouble with plots that go back and forth. The back cover made me believe that the story is in letter form; even though it had letters between Dorothy and Jan, I could understand who was narrating Dorothy's part of the story.
Also, Roberta, the main character, is a weird character, and I felt her story was all over the place.
Finding memorabilia in a second-hand books store is a fun idea, but it didn't give me any input on the story. I am happy that I borrowed this book from the library.
For me, it was a 2.5-stars book. ( )

3.5 stars. Review to come. ( )

An enjoyable read that could have been much more.


It came as a pleasant surprise when I tucked in, that there was not one but two stories running simultaneously; set in the past and the present.

The story begins with Roberta, the heroine who works in a second hand book shop and loves to collect forgotten letters, postcards left behind in books. Interestingly, each chapter that tells Roberta's story starts off with a discovery of a letter or a postcard and the details of the book that she finds it in. I was eagerly looking forward to a treat, but admit to some disappointment by the time I got to the end.

Shuffling through the pages of a book, Roberta chances upon a letter written by her grandfather to her grandmother, raising doubts and forcing her to dig into the past and unearth a long hidden family secret.

As the story flashes back to her grandmother, Dorothy Sinclair, her circumstances and life during the war, the story starts off with a bang but meanders down the middle. Although it is well written, the plot seems a bit stretched. Perhaps the focus was more on painting wartime lifestyle setting and how people lived then but it slows down the plot and makes it more predictable.


However, it is Roberta's story that is more interesting as it strikes a very contemporary note of isolation, the bonding of colleagues at the workplace and eventually romance with her employer.

The book is very well written. Walters has a turn of phrase which makes it a delightful read. Mrs. Sinclair's story wans a bit although Walters' description of life during the war has an authentic and pictureseque ring to it.

What works for it:

The flashback/flash forward technique of story telling, strong female characters and well written descriptions

What doesn't:

Predictable plot that stretches out in the middle and hurriedly goes about resolving itself in the end.

My recommendation:
The blurb and the one liner builds up a lot of hype that unfortunately is not delivered by the novel. However it is a delightful light read and one looks forward to reading more from Ms Walters. ( )

I struggled to get into this book the first time. So this was the second time in a year I tried this one. I liked the young Dorothy character but I struggled a bit more with the contemporary Roberta character. Some of the minor characters felt a bit two-dimensional but otherwise the book would have been epic so it was probably a necessary loss. I enojyed the period nature of the early material which is unusual for me who would usually not pick a non-contemporary novel.

I do think the writing was great and i would totally read something else by the same author as my "not getting into it" was more my taste than the writing or the style. It was a clear and structured story that I think stands up well. the ending was a little weak for me but it was conclusive. ( )