Book thoughts: They skylark’s secret by Fiona Valpy

The blurb: 

Loch Ewe, 1940. When gamekeeper’s daughter Flora’s remote highland village finds itself the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in her close-knit community changes forever. In defiance of his disapproving father, the laird’s son falls in love with Flora, and as tensions build in their disrupted home, any chance of their happiness seems doomed.

Decades later, Flora’s daughter, singer Lexie Gordon, is forced to return to the village and to the tiny cottage where she grew up. Having long ago escaped to the bright lights of the West End, London still never truly felt like home. Now back, with a daughter of her own, Lexie learns that her mother—and the hostile-seeming village itself—have long been hiding secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew.

As she pieces together the fragments of her parents’ story, Lexie discovers the courageous, devastating sacrifices made in her name. It’s too late to rekindle her relationship with her mother, but can Lexie find it in her heart to forgive the past, to grieve for all that’s lost, and finally find her place in the world?

My thoughts: I read one of Fiona’s books fairly recently, The dressmakers gift’s. It seems Fiona’s style is to start slow and gently ease you into her fictional world. A little too slow for me in my present mood. 

There is no denying that Fiona is a very talented writer, and normally I would love reading her books, but at present due to how tired I am most of the time because of my Crohn's if the book isn't fast paced with lots going on, my thoughts tend to start drifting. 

As with the dressmakers gift this is a book I would want to go back and reread when I am a little more with it. 

This book tells the story of Lexi, in the 1970's and her mother back in the 1940's. Lexi is trying to learn more about her father, a subject her mother was always somewhat reluctant to discuss. When her mother passes away, she  returns to her childhood home, with her child and finding herself in a similar situation to her mother, sets out to find out the truth about her fathers side of the family, But it's no easy task, as she finds it difficult to get her mothers two best friends to open up. 

So the story jumps between Lexi's life and her mothers, and in her mothers we slowly began to hear Flora's story, while poor Lexi still remains oblivious. 

It's an interesting read, with a lot of great historical information. The second world war is clearly a subject Fiona is very knowledgeable about. 

I think she is definitely an author that it is worth giving a try, and I apologise for not being able to give the book the attention it deserves at present but I will go back and reread once, my head is in a better place. Sadly, I'm not sure when that will be at the moment, due to the Chemo, and as always apologies for any error I might have made I sometimes get names and words muddled these days. 

Thank you to Netgalley, FIona Valpy and her publishers for allowing me the change to read and advance copy. And I promise I will reread at some point and rereview, when my head is in a better place. 

That said I did find the story very relaxing, and interesting. So it is indeed worth a read.