Lexi Gordon and her beautiful daughter Daisy return to her childhood home in the Scottish Highlands, after the death of her mother Flora. Lexi had left home to attend a stage school in London, unfortunately her career as a rising musical star is over due to losing her voice.

The story alternates between Lexi and goes back to her mothers story in 1940. Flora is a young woman in love during wartime, battling to survive.

I loved this book. Fiona and Lexie are such wonderful characters and I was fully immersed in their lives. A beautifully written book full of tragedy, but also heartwarming and full of hope!!

Thank you for Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Set in the beautiful Northwest Highlands of Scotland at Loch Ewe The Skylark's Secret is an evocative read. Fiona Valpy's poetic prose bring the setting and the characters alive.

Told in multiple time frames. In 1978 we have accomplished singer Lexie Gordon return home, her career in tatters and baby in tow. Lexie has many regrets and one is not visiting her mother more before she passed away. Now she is home she wants to find out more about her father but she worries the tight-knit community won't accept her back. In 1939 a young Flora Gordon lives with her father and brother. Here we see the affect the war has on the community with a naval base being set up on the shores of the Loch. Fiona Valpy highlights the life in these areas during the war years and the great toll on many families losing their sons to war. There are also themes of PTSD which was undiagnosed and untreated and the evacuation of children from London to board with families in country areas.

I really enjoyed Flora's story, the day to day life of the small community and the class system that was relevant at the time. Flora and her friends were a fun lot, they did their part for the war effort but they also had fun flirting with the American sailors.

Fiona Valpy has created characters to love and characters to hate which makes for engaging and immersive reading.

The Skylark's Secret is a story of love, loss, hope and new beginnings.

This may very well have been a good book if I spoke the dialect that these people spoke and if I understood these Highland terms. Which is probably why I had a such a hard time getting into this book. I think it was because it was written with a dialect that I’m not used to. So, I had to actually stop and think about how to pronounce words. It wasn’t a book that I could easily read through without having to think of how to pronounce the words and I didn’t know what a lot of the words meant that were specific to the highlands. I had very little context to base these words off of so it was kind of annoying to me.

“This book was provided to me by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. All opinions are my own.”

Sadly didn't finish this book.

I really thought that it would be an interesting read based on the description, but despite going back to it a few times, I just could not get any on with it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.

Always enjoy a Fiona Valpy read & this one was another favourite for me. Although I struggle with books that have two stories running side by side, I found this one beautifully written & easy to concentrate on. Yet another bestseller for the author

I have tried for months to read this, I even downloaded the audio from KU. I just can not get into the story. Sorry.

This was a delightful book that I really enjoyed. Characters were believable and the pace was good. Descriptions of Scotland were a joy.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Amazon Publishing UK for the preview copy.

Just an FYI, now available for free in Kindle Unlimited.

Not usually a fan of romantic stories, but this novel is an excellent read for the history, for the character development and prose. The way the author described the setting, puts you in Scotland in both WWII and in the present. It grabs your interest and keeps it til the surprising end.

This book is in Loch Ewe. Chapters alternate between two women a generation apart. Flora's story tells of her life in the village as the gamekeeper's daughter during World War II, I have read several of Fiona Valpy novels but this one fell a little short for me. I loved the romance but lost interest in the book about halfway through. I wanted to love it but only could give it 3 stars

This is the first Fiona Valpy novel I have read but it won’t be my last. I really enjoyed this story. I love books set in WW2 and this one didn’t disappoint. I loved the dual timeline and I really didn’t see the ending coming! A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Aultbea, a small fishing village on the shores of Loch Ewe on the west coast of Scotland, was transformed during World War Two into a Royal Navy base for the Arctic convoys. Into this true history Fiona Valpy weaves the fictional story of Flora Gordon in ‘The Skylark’s Secret’.
In 1977, Lexie Gordon returns to Loch Ewe from London after the death of her mother Flora. Lexie arrives home a single mother to baby Daisy, her West End singing career broken because of her damaged vocal chords. She feels a failure, gossiped about by the locals, seen as an outsider. Living in her mother’s cottage, she becomes curious about the father she never met and who her mother never spoke freely about.
In this dual timeline story, the narrative alternates clearly between Lexie in the Eighties and Flora in 1940-1944. Flora lives with her widowed father, Iain, gamekeeper for local estate Ardtuath House, in a quiet village where the toughest enemy is the weather. Then one day a fleet of warships arrive, the first of many. Loch Ewe is to become the temporary base for the Home Fleet. As thousands of navy ratings and officers arrive, Iain and Flora hope her brother Ruaridh will be aboard one of the destroyers. The convoys are to change life by the loch forever. Flora and her two friends Bridie and Mairi enlist in the Wrens as drivers. Laird’s son Alec also returns home with an English girlfriend. When Alec admits his lifelong love for Flora, the two young people must face the disapproval of the intimidating laird. With both Alec and Ruaridh on separate ships accompanying the Arctic convoy of merchant ships sailing for Russia, Flora fears for their lives. Meanwhile, a group of evacuees arrive from Glasgow, including two ragamuffins who lodge with bossy but kind-hearted Moira Carmichael.
Valpy unravels the story of Flora’s war years, the hardships, the danger, the exhilarating moments of freedom when the two young men arrive home safe. But always on the horizon is the next convoy which must face the twin dangers of Arctic ice and marauding U-boats. In 1978, Lexie must make a place for herself and Daisy in the community which includes her mother’s old friend Bridie, Lexie’s schoolfriend Elspeth, and fisherman Davy. She feels a stranger and takes to walking the hills, remembering times with her mother, trying to find her place in the world.
This is a story of wartime courage, romantic entanglements, fear, grief and gratitude for sacrifices made. A well-researched book that shows that research with a light hand on the page, allowing the fictional story room to breathe. Excellent.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

This was a great book by Fiona Valpy. This was my first and will not be my last. It was written in a dual-timeline which worked immensely well because of the quality of the writing. Fiona and Lexie are the two main characters and they each have their own stories as Mother and Daughter. It is a story of family and the sacrifices you make for them and of past loves and the relationships you build up. Really great read so would recommend it.

The Skylark's Secret is a beautifully crafted tale that is both heartwarming and heart wrenching. The story of Flora and her daughter Lexie enfolds in the alternating timelines of WWII and the 1970's. Lexie reluctantly returns to the Keeper's cottage on Loch Ewe with a young daughter in tow. Feeling like a failure, not knowing anything about her father and not truly understanding her mother Flora, Lexie soon embarks on a path of discovering the past. Her parent's story is tragic and holds secrets only known to a few of the old-time villagers. I loved reading about the Scottish Highlands , the setting and descriptions of the storms painted vivid images. I also enjoyed the history of this area, it was fascinating to me to learn of the brave, compassionate villagers and the men of the Artic convoy to quote Ms Valpy "because humanity has no borders". The theme of music, Scottish folk songs and the Skylark added a unique, uplifting element to this novel Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this spectacular book. These are my honest opinions and I highly recommend immersing yourself in this book.

I just finished The Skylark's Secret! This is also a first read of this author Fiona Valpy. I was not disappointed. I was enchanted with this story....switching back and forth from past to present time. The past portion of this story is told by a young woman Flora, during WWII growing up in the Scottish Highlands. The present portion is told by her daughter Lexi, who was born during the end of WWII.
The story is about the a young woman Lexie finding out about her past ..who she is and where she came from and the secret surrounding the love story of her parents. The daughter Lexie returns home to the Scottish Highlands after a failed relationship and career with a small toddler Daisy and ...unmarried in 1978. Renewing old relationships and finding new ones and creating herself a place in her home community. With the help of her mothers friends she finds out the truth of her mother and fathers love story. She herself finds happiness and peace in her own life with her daughter Daisy and feels she has truly found the comfort of HOME!
Thank you to Netgalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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A beautiful story of a family mystery.

I had never come across Ms Valpy's books before, but I am so pleased that she has a back catalogue as I would like to read more books by this author.

This book is set in the Scottish Highlands, an area I have been to and absolutely loved, but Ms Valpy brings it to life, her descriptions really bring Loch Ewe to life and has made me want to return when we are able.

Not only was this book beautifully written, but I also really enjoyed the story. It starts when Lexie Gordon, a young single parent, returns to her home town with her young daughter. Lexie had left to start a promising career as a singer in London. She had won the lead in many West End shows. When she becomes pregnant, the man deserts her, and due to complications in the pregnancy, she is no longer able to sing to her previous high standard.

Lexie's mother has passed away, but she is welcomed back home by everyone she meets both of her own age group, especially by her mother's contemporaries. Lexie had never known her father Alex, who died before she was born, but is desperate to find out about her background and what had happened between her parents who had never married.

The story is split between Lexie's story and that of her mother Flora, and we learn about what happened during the war in this area of the Scottish Highlands. This was very interesting for me as I was not aware of the terrible danger that the local men had to endure when they were trying to transport supplies and equipment to Northern Russia via the icy Arctic hunted by German U-boats.

Lexie discovers all about her father's work and the tragic love story between her parents as Alex is the son of the local Laird who disapproves of his son's relationship, Flora is not good enough.

As the book progresses, we find out the tragic history of Flora and Alex and follow Lexie's gradual integration back into her home town with new friendships and relationships emerging.

I loved this book and am looking forward to reading her previous work, if they are as good as this I have something to really look forward to.


Dexter

Elite Book Group received a copy of the book to review

The Skylark's Secret is a nice book. Well researched and very interesting. I really like books with dual timelines and the author does a good job capturing nd holding the reader's interest.

“I wish the lark had words so she could tell me all she knows”

Oh Heck! Why is it that all these amazing 5 star books I am reading just lately, involve copious amounts of tissues and many tears! Although I really should qualify that a little, to say that by the end of the story, the balance between tears of sorrow and tears of joy, had been somewhat restored!

This is a story within a story and to be honest, either of them would have stood up to individual, independent scrutiny and still come away rated highly by me. Together, they inexorably drew me in and took me on a unique journey, far away from my home, to another pace and way of life that to be honest, I didn’t want to leave behind when the book was finished.

Fiona has researched her premise well and thoroughly, so that whilst the characters and events described in the story are fictitious, they are all inspired by and based on, true events which took place at Loch Ewe during WWII, its connection to the Russian Arctic Convoys and its transformation to a busy naval base and home to thousands of allied military personnel from around the world.

Sure to get under the skin of even the most seasoned reader, The Skylark’s Secret, stirred my spirit and honed all my senses, so that right from the word go! I could imagine myself in the remote crofting village of Aultbea, on the shores of Loch Ewe in The Scottish Highlands, both in those saddest of war-torn years and in the 1970s of Lexie’s homecoming! For me, a well blended mix of fiction and non-fiction in the storyline, offered a more rounded, textured reading experience and the well balanced mix of past and present, secret within secret, struck the balance perfectly between romance and history, tradition and humour.

This multi-layered, well-constructed story, is beautifully written, almost lyrical in its detailing and visually descriptive narrative of the stunning Scottish scenery, blended seamlessly with its overnight transformation to busy naval base, with all the ensuing upheavals, disasters and heart-breaking moments this brings with it; always of course balanced with some fun and laughter to ease the stresses and tensions away. Fast forward to the 1970s, when peace has once again been restored to this sleepy village, and it becomes a haven and refuge for Lexie and her baby daughter Daisy, as they return to the cottage of Lexie’s youth, to reminisce and discover her true heritage, heal mind and body to find a new sense of belonging, away from the hustle and bustle of the London lights.

From an author who is clearly an effortlessly consummate and compelling storyteller, who commands the pages with total authority and confidence, this profoundly touching, dual timeline story is seamlessly and fluidly narrated in two voices, in alternating chapters, by Flora and her daughter Lexie.

For Flora this is a story of growing up with her father and brother in the keepers cottage of the Ardtuath Estate, where life is simple for both children and the son of the Lord and Lady of the Estate, Alec. Romance blossoms and the added power of friendship between Flora, Bridie and Mairi, makes this small group formidable allies in peace and war. Flora has a benefactor in Lady Helen, however social mores and traditions run deep and dark in the eyes of Lord Charles and when forbidden fruit means that those ‘class’ lines have been irrevocably crossed, the consequences are disastrous for so many.

Lexie hopes to fill in some of the blank pages from a childhood which was only ever she and her mother, with her many unanswered questions being met with a stony wall of silence. Flora’s friends Bridie and Mairi are still alive and reluctantly agree to fill in any gaps in her own and Lexie’s history, although it transpires that not even they have all the answers. Lexie reconnects with people she had turned her back on, when she had left this safe haven for fortune and fame, coming to appreciate what a blessing genuine friendships are and how home is always where the heart is.

The exquisitely well drawn and developed characters, are all easy to connect with and become invested in, as there is a genuine synergy between them, despite the obviously inevitable ‘nosy neighbour’ syndrome of small village life. War has only served to make them a stronger community and defined their sense of purpose and future, so that although they still hold on strong to many of their core traditions, including their love of music and the sea, they are open to new blood being introduced to their streets and working as old and young together, finding new ways to blend old beliefs with modern ideas.

There is one constant presence throughout the story of both Flora and Lexie, who comes to play a pivotal role in providing the final missing piece of this jigsaw puzzle. Will this make or break them? A delicious mix of character and story driven writing, which left me holding my breath, with my fingers crossed, until the very last page.

Lexie Gordon left the highland village of Loch Ewe for the West End, London to peruse a musical career on stage. After her mother’s death Lexie returns to Loch Ewe with her Daisy. Lexie pieces together the story of her mother Flora and her father who died in WWII before she was born. Flora’s two best friends tell Lexie of the 1940s village and the base for the Royal Navy!s Arctic convoys with American merchant seamen. Lexie learns long kept secrets and sacrifices made for her.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters, historical facts, timeframes and writing style really grabbed me and made this a quick read but one that I savored. Sometimes dual timelines do not resonate with me but this one did. I found it all fascinating!

This was a wonderful novel about a mother and daughter. We see what the mother faced during the war and how her daughter is learning about her family history and dealing with her own past and future. Loved this novel.