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Monday 19 October 2015

Rita Bradshaw - Break of Dawn & Forever Yours

Both books reviewed on the bookshow October 2015 by Maggie Perkovich
1880 and Jeremiah Hutton is the uncumbant in the little village of Southwick Here he
lives with his wife Mary and his four children, three girls and a boy inheriting the
living from his father and having married the Bishop's daughter who was very plain,
having all the blessings of her father. Into this comfortable mix comes his sister Esther,
who left home many years ago and has come home very pregnant and with no sign of
a husband. Jeremiah is shocked and his wife furious that he never related the story of this black sheep.
When Esther gives birth she dies, leaving a baby to be cared for by her relations. Mary would
have preferred her to die but Bridget and her parents the hard working staff bring her up
to be a dear and hardworking little girl. Sadly Mary hates her and treats her evilly, culminating
in a day where she nearly murders her and if Jeremiah and his daughter had not intervened
she would have died. Her devoted carer and parents having been thrown out for interfering.
Sophy is sent away to school with her cousin Patience and when she is sixteen she returns
home to the Vicarage only to be told by her Aunt of the shame of her birth. She leaves
Southwick for ever with some money Patience gives her and goes to London to
seek her fortune on the stage. Once she finds a toe hold in the performing arts she is
a great success. With the help of an older man Kane Gregory she is safe and secure
in her new profession. Unfortunately she falls for a nice looking young man who marries her
and makes her life a misery. It is the time of the Suffrage movement and she loses her best
friend Claribel, or Cat, who is kidnapped by an Aristocrat who uses her and later has
her murdered.How Sophy finally finds her happiniess and a partner to finally care for her
is very enthralling. She is also reunited with her childhood carer Bridget to make her world complete.
Highly recommended Maggie Perkovic. 

Forever Yours by Rita Bradshaw.
We meet the villain straight away in this book by an author who tells us like it is.
A sweet young couple are asleep with their brand new baby Constance when our
villain sets fire to their little cottage in a fury because he thought the young mum
should have married him ,mistaking her kindness towards him as overtures rather
than pleasant gestures. As the flames  take hold, the young father rushes to the window
and drops the baby into a young boy's arms who is underneath. Matt Heath catches her
and from now on there will be a connection between him and Constance.
Our villain, Vincent McKenzie, is the man in the Coal Fields who checks the amount
of coal the men collect, and woe betide any one who upsets him for he'll make sure
their amount is less than that which they collected. Matt suffers a lot as he caught the
baby which Vincent hoped would die with her parents.
As she grows she looks so much like her mother her safety is in doubt when Vincent
threatens her to wait for him or else, so her grandparents send her away to work in
an area as far from Sacriston village as possible and although he batters the Grandad
to find out where she is, he is unsuccessful.Constance is homesick but understands
the necessity and as Matt is to marry Tilly, who has her own secret to keep, she wants
to go away from him although he is her idol.She works in a huge Country house as a
Scullery maid but after some years works her way up to a higher standing.When she
saves the little son from being trampled by the Sir Henry's huge stallion she is asked
to be an assistant to the nanny and her life becomes much happier.
Her Grandma dies and she returns for the funeral only to be thrown into all the problems
she ran away from.
The ending is as you would expect from this author, satisfactory, but my word we go
through some nasty happening to get there.
Highly Recommended. Maggie Perkovic.

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