Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This book is set in 1875 in London. This is another good book from Dilly Court who never fails to disappoint. A good read

I enjoyed this novel set in Victorian England, France and Spain. Nettie is a determined young lady who has to deal with a wide range of problems, inconsiderate acquaintances and lots of travelling.

I haven't read any other books by Dilly Court but I will now look at reading more of her novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a digital review copy in exchange for a honest review.

I have to admit i have read all of Dilly's books and this is not your usual family saga we would normally expect. Not one likeable character among the 5 leads and Nettie just put up with so much from her Father and Duke yet she still went back for more.

An enjoyable story but also well thought through from a social history perspective. I don't want to spoil but there is one area I would like to have read more about but this doesn't put me off the book.
I enjoyed the style of writing as it flowed easily.

This is the first Dilly Court romantic saga I’ve read, and I enjoyed it.

Set in Victorian England and Europe, it follows the adventures of Nettie and her father, as they flee from the law, in the wake of an art forgery scandal. The plot is gently paced with hardships, romance and mystery, all intertwined to create, an easy to read historical adventure. The historical setting is well- researched and enriches the plot with different lifestyles and cultures and iconic cities and countryside.

The characters are authentically written. Netties’ father is a particularly irritating man. Netties is courageous, intuitive and loyal. You want her to find a happy life, after the constant stress of looking after her father.

This is quite a lengthy read, but it is easy to pick up the story again if life interferes with your reading time.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins UK - Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book although at times I found the plot somewhat pedestrian. However, the characters were well crafted and the rder had a sense of their person;al characteristics. Tnis is definitely a situation where the child is the adult and the adult the child! Set in the late 1800s the story centres around a young girl and her father an artist. He works for someone who uses him to make copies of well known artists work and unbeknown to him sells them at premium rates. Eventually his daughter realises what is happening and convinces her father to sever the working relationship. The story progresses as they flee to France but wherever they go this man appears in their lives.

The story revolves around human fraility, love and hope. Some wondeful descriptions of Paris and the french countryside draw the reader in. I found the book evokative in places, but also found myself getting cross with the story as it seeme so predictable.

Overall I enjoyed it and found it an easy read.

This book has a fantastic story line, excellent characters and is just wonderful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and I enjoyed it immensely.

A romantic novel set in Victorian times where you are given a true feeling of the hardships people had to put up with in their everyday life in order to survive.The main characters are Daisy and her father Robert.He is an artist who paints copies of famous canvases which are sold as originals by an unscrupulous dealer.He has his head in the clouds and feels he has to provide for his daughter Daisy.She is a more realistic person and soon realises that they have been duped by an art dealer who is not all he seems.The story follows this couple through a series of incidents which mean they eventually escape to France where they have to seek alternative arrangements in order to get by.As always there is the love interest and Daisy does not seem to realise her attraction to men.We follow Daisy and her father through various adventures including living on a barge, being taken in by a countess and returning to England via a wealthy brewer’s family home.All in all a fun read with just enough going on to keep your interest.You really do want things to turn out well in the end.

The book starts in London during 1875, with Nettie and her father Robert living in poverty. Her father has unknowingly been painting copies of original paintings, not realising they were being sold as originals. When Duke, who has been commissioning and selling Robert’s paintings is found out, Robert and Nettie are forced to flee the country, heading to France.
Nettie is a likeable character and kind and helpful to her friends, but her father is selfish thinking only of himself, leading to danger and hardship[ for Nettie. Several disparate characters become involved in the story, a quirky, humorous bunch who bring different elements to the story. The characters are well drawn, and the book easy to read, with a real sense of history, though I found it difficult to become totally involved in the story which at times seemed quite slow.
In my opinion, there were too many characters involved in the story, and some of them changed their characteristics frequently as the story progressed. It made this a long, drawn out story which kept changing track, losing its impact. Enjoyable light-hearted read, but went on too long.

An enthralling story set in England and France. It was a wonderful journey following Nettie and the other characters as they tried to avoid being charged with fraud. Love and romance blossomed along the way. An enjoyable, colourful read.

This book takes us from 1870s London across the continent to France, Spain & home again via the hop fields of Kent.
It’s not a bad story but it isn’t believable, in fact it is almost farcical to think that an ever increasing group of people could travel so widely with no money & whilst constantly staying one step ahead of those looking for them! As the story progresses, the group expands from 2 to 7 and includes an artist with no business sense, a young man who speaks fluent French despite not having seen his French mother since he was 4, a spoilt young French woman, a Spanish Contesa who isn’t actually a Contesa and of course our heroine Nettie who knows how to cook soup but not stew ....

I can’t say that I enjoyed this book, though it’s storyline would make a great CarryOn film! I found it unbelievable with characters that were mostly one dimensional & in settings that seemed to jump around between “Victorian London” and the 1920s utilising many stereotypes instead of solid research/fact
Overall it was quite a quick read but not one i’ll be recommending - other Books by this author are far better

Disclosure: I received this book free via NetGalley, but all opinions are my own

Another great book by Dilly Court. Perfect for lazy summer days of reading in the garden.

Nettie is a lovely character and you can help but root for her. The story is fast paced and keeps you hooked till the last page.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of Nettie’s secret by Dilly Court

This was a great wee holiday read. Nettie is a good strong female lead but devotion to her father turned very very frustrating. The move from London to France and Spain is interesting and Dilly does bring some of that flavour to the story. Overall a gentle romance Just suspend too much expectation of heavy historical drama and enjoy the pleasant romp

Lovely read sunk right into the story the people the locations.Dilly Court never fails another warm wonderful saga .Highly recommend this and all the authors well written involving books.#netgalley #harpercollinsuk

An enjoyable, if unbelievable story. There is a large element of farce in the way a group of people run away from London to Paris, then on to other places in France, then Spain, then back to England; with practically no money between them. Nettie is a young woman who tries very hard to look after her father, a painter. He will not let her work at a proper job because the next painting is going to make his fortune. Sadly he is a bit of a wastrel, when he has money it trickles through his fingers fast. Nettie does have a secret, that might actually make her a reasonable fortune, but her father’s brush with the law means they have to run away as fast as they can. No matter where they go the trouble keeps up with them, even when it looks as though they can relax the next crisis occurs. They meet other people on their way who join them in their travels, so two become seven in no time!

An amusing read for a lazy day.

Have read all Dilly Court's books and loved them was so looking forward to this and I was so disappointed Wasn't too keen on the story or the characters did not have the warmth and charm of her previous novel's her fans will probably still read it as I did and it wouldn't put me off her future books this book just wasn't for me sorry

1875, and Robert and his daughtter are in trouble. He is an artist with little care about the practicalities of life. His daughter has to constantly keep him out of trouble, in the shape of debt collectors, inns, and in particular, Duke, who needs him to copy famous paintings. Robert is portrayed as being so innocent that he does not realise these are forgeries but are being sold as the real thing. Unbelievable?
I found the story went over and over the same type of thing, moving on from one place to another but always in trouble. I'm sorry to say that it was not a book I enjoyed.
But thank you for the opportunity to review it.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I don’t usually read period dramas.
It was a lovely romance story set in different countries. The characters and the story kept you interested until the end.
A must read!

A rich, warm, period romance set across Europe, taking in various cultures. Plenty of drama thrown in too. A lovely read.

A nice, lightweight romance that travels around England, France and Spain. An artist in the clutches of an unscrupulous businessman is copying works of art, supposedly being sold to the middle class as copies, but in actually being passed as originals. He, his daughter and a friend escape and manage to remain one step ahead of the police. All the while Nettie is writing her secret.

I enjoyed this book.