The Links From The Past
The Dressmaker’s War by Michelle Vernal is a timeslip novel that entertained me from the start. It is the third book in the Brides Of Bold Street but can be read as a stand-alone.
The action is set in 1982 and during World War II, particularly pivotal is 1945. We learn that for certain characters, Bold Street is a time portal, over which they have no control. For one young mother and her small daughter in 1963, there were life-changing consequences, resulting in a search that has never left hearts.
We see the value of good parents. Sometimes we are not brought up by our biological parents, but by others who love us and treat us with love. There are varying reasons as to why our biological parents have not brought us up, including social stigma on unmarried mothers in the past.
Young children are evacuated at the start of the phony war in September 1939. The young of Liverpool were sent to the countryside. Some were well treated but not all. Bonds were formed in adversity.
All the characters were well drawn and down to earth. They were likable as they pulled together in hardship.
The Dressmaker’s War was a unique read that I consumed in an afternoon. It was entertaining too.
I received a free copy from the publishers for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
THE DRESSMAKER’S WAR BY MICHELLE VERNAL
Buy link: https://geni.us/B0F2SVYS6Lcover
She gazes at her mother’s face in the black and white photograph, her vision blurring as tears build. Could this wartime wedding portrait be the key to finding out why her mother went missing, all those years ago?
Brides of Bold Street is filled with beautiful, brand-new ivory gowns. But dressmaker Sabrina loves it when brides-to-be wear vintage, family heirloom dresses. Seeing wedding day photographs of future mothers and grandmothers beaming – as if knowing the happiness they feel will be passed down to their daughters – is a bittersweet reminder of the mother she’s never known.
And as she and her handsome beau, Adam Taylor, start talking about marriage, not having her mother by her side weighs on Sabrina’s heart more and more each day.
But when a bride walks into the store with a family dress made of rare parachute silk from World War Two, Sabrina feels hope rise again in her chest. Because the bride also has a photograph. A photo Sabrina is sure shows her mother’s face…
With the answers to what happened all those years ago almost within reach, Sabrina decides to risk another journey through the past – and this time, with Adam by her side. He’d never let her travel alone, to a time when air raid sirens broke the silence of the night and bombs fell on Liverpool.
Together, will they finally solve the mystery of Sabrina’s real family? Or will the dangers of the darkest days of World War Two prevent Adam and Sabrina from returning to their own time?
This completely heartbreaking and sweeping historical fiction novel is perfect for fans of Barbara Davis, Sandy Taylor and Jean Grainger. This gut-wrenching tale of love, loss and family secrets tied to the final years of the war will have you reaching for the tissues.
Previously published as The Spring Posy.
Michelle Vernal is the Amazon UK top 100 bestselling author of Christmas in the Little Irish Village. In 2015 her debut novel, The Traveller’s Daughter, was shortlisted for the Love Stories award and in 2020, The Letter won the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit. In addition, The Autumn Posy, Book 1 in the Liverpool Brides timeslip series, was a finalist in the 2021 Page Turner Book awards. She also writes the popular Guesthouse on the Green series featuring the hilarious O’Mara family. Michelle’s books are full of laugh out loud moments and warmth. Her readers describe her novels as unputdownable, feel-good and funny. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, with her husband, two teenage sons and attention-seeking tabby cats, Humphrey and Savannah.
Jess Readett
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