The Girl from the Island
by Lorna Cook

An exceptionally well written book set between a family past and present. Lucy and her sister have inherited a house in Guernsey from a distant cousin Dido. Lucy returns to the island having left there as soon as she could in her youth. Whilst sifting through the house they find secret of Dido and her sisters past during the war and the German occupation of the island and difficulties encountered.

A fabulous story heart wrenching in part , humour ,sadness , hope and many more emotions in this immensely entertaining dual timeline book. Lorna Cook did not disappoint.

Well done historical fiction that hits a sweet spot for fans of WWII fiction because it explores life on Guernsey during the German occupation. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Another pretty good dual timeline novel from Lorna Cook, this time with the historical parts based un occupied Guernsey - as Dido and Persephone navigate a world under German rule, Lucy unravels their story in 2016, while using the example of the two sisters to unpick her own familial relationships and future needs.

The historical detail about the occupation of Guernsey is excellent, and it’s a period that seems to be coming to prominence in romantic fiction - certainly in the varied books I have seen!

Lorna Cook’s writing appeals to me and the interweaving of the different time periods is beautifully paced to build the suspense and I especially liked that this book did not have a traditionally happy ending - although many things worked out ok, there were other things that did not, which was incredibly fitting in the context of this book.

It took me a while to get into this book, but the last quarter or so really gripped me and I flew through it. Some of the characters annoyed me at times with their hypocrisy, but people are hypocrites and such is life. A very sad ending for more than one reason.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. An entertaining book. Recommend for those who loves romance

I enjoyed the setting and the premise of this story, but the execution of the storytelling fell really flat. Right as the story got interesting, it ended. I’ve never read a book by this author before and I’m not sure if I’d jump to pick up another. Although this didn’t quite work for me, I would recommend it to historical fiction and romance lovers.

Another great read from Cook: well-written and captivating, this was a dual-timeline narrative that was equally interesting and thought-provoking. I knew next to nothing about the occupation of Guernsey during the Second World War and have finished the book feeling far more informed.

Lucy’s relationship with her sister is clearly strained and her return to Guernsey to help organise the estate after her grandmother’s death, leads to some truths being uncovered. Maintaining a distance from her sister, Lucy starts to discover secrets about her grandmother, Dido, and her life during the German occupation of the Second World War. The way that Cook structures the narrative means that present day discoveries are then enveloped into the war narrative as readers uncover the reality about what really happened.

I think this was why I enjoyed the historic narrative so much: it was revealing and provided so many answers. Whilst I have read many war novels in the past, this one was so refreshing because of the different setting. It was a strange war to experience on Guernsey because whilst shots were not necessarily fired, it was a war on civilians through fear, control and propaganda. Even more so, the island became completely isolated from the rest of the world and I found it fascinating how Guernsey clocks were showing German time, wireless radios were confiscated and that the islanders had very little knowledge of how the war was progressing. It must have felt so isolating.

Dido’s character does not dominate this narrative, even though Lucy is exploring her home in the present day. Instead, we follow Persy and how her experience of the war shaped so many futures. I could not have foreseen how Cook would develop the narrative and I found myself truly invested in her story, especially with regards to previous friendships and protecting oneself. The aggressive manner of informants is heavily emphasised in the novel and I was shocked at how much hatred fuelled local civilians; it was like the arrival of the Nazi soldiers revealed the truth about people’s personalities.

This was a clever story and I liked how the Prologue established the importance of letters, which became increasingly significant as the plot progressed. Also, the title was symbolic of Dido, Persy and Lucy, creating a cohesion across the decades. It is Lucy’s discoveries that allow the past tales to be told and I think I appreciated the celebratory tone in the closing chapters because it felt so fitting after such a tense climax.

I really enjoyed this read and Cook’s research makes this a vivid, realistic story. Set in a time of such uncertainty, I think the writer expertly captures the feelings of civilians when the world was at war.

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Why it took me so long to get around to reading this book, I do not know; but I'm so glad that I finally did. It is a captivating read. set in Guernsey and gives an in depth insight into the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WW2.
Told through dual timelines ; the 1940's and present day, the stories are cleverly interwoven. Brilliantly written, Lorna Cook really made the characters come to life and I will definitely be reading more of her books soon.

An absorbing, emotional historical drama set in Guernsey during the WW2 German occupation and present day. The story and characters were well written. A well researched and immersive read.

Lorna has the ability to write completely seamless timeslips. You always know where you are and who is speaking. Her characters are worth rooting for and I absolutely loved this.

This was a fantastic read that had me hooked from the beginning.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this title. I apologise that it took me so long to pass my feedback on NetGalley, I wasn't quite so familiar with the platform back then and was simply posting my feedback on Amazon and GoodReads.

Another masterfully written historical saga from an author who is fast becoming a master in her genre. Here she explores wartime in the Channel Islands, a heroic topic, little explored in the fictional world. She conjures up the most wonderful scenes that make you feel transported to the tragic time of war in the young lives of her characters. It is very much split between light and dark; the reader can feel the depth of sorrow and tension right from the off, the atmosphere is dark and traumatic. It is quite a welcome relief for this tale to be interwoven with the lighter tones of the modern era where dilemmas feel trivial in comparison, yet we are drawn to keep reading, to keep returning to war time, so close we feel to the characters that we want to know where their tales will take us. The concluding chapters feel like some kind of ascension... I felt bathed in light, not that the endings is all happily ever after, but some kind of epiphany to the continuation of the human race, despite everything. Simply wonderful, this book will stay with me for a long long time and I will stay glued to social media as I eagerly anticipate her next publication. For fans of Rachel Hore, Lucinda Riley and Kate Morton... Lorna sits easily up there with the very best.

I think that anything based in Guernsey I love and this was no exception. Strong women, strong stories and easy to rea make this historical fiction top notch.

After coming back and rereading the synopsis, I no longer believe I would enjoy this book to it’s full potential. Some of my most trusted book friends have written reviews that show me that I am probably not going to enjoy this one so I am going to spend my time elsewhere. I look forward to reading her future books.

I love when an author uses historical events and mixes it with fictional characters. Lorna did THAT! Omg this book was amazing! I had to google everything to see if all of this is real!

The Nazis occupy a small island that sits between England and France, and this is scary!!! Because we all know what Hitlers plans were, and anywhere there were Nazi soldiers there was trouble.

The characters were amazing, each and every single one of them all showed strength and resilience, and I know even though these are fictional characters there were a lot of hero’s in those times, even the soldiers themselves who didn’t agree with the Occupation, and the wars.

Persephone, Dido, Jack and Stefan are just perfection! There is romance, there is suspense, there is history, Even til the end, I enjoyed this book so much I don’t even have anymore words, a must read for sure.

Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing book.

Two stories of sisters connected by a special house in Guernsey. One story is during the second World war and the occupation, the other story is in 2016 as two sisters are preparing the house to be sold and finding out its story as they do. Really well told, both stories are engrossing, so was sad to finish it

I have been going to Jersey since I was a child and have recently returned. I have, however, never visited Guernsey but after reading this book I would love to visit it. I was already familiar with the history of the occupation of the Channel Islands but some things I read in this book were new to me. It was a fascinating read with lots of history which was very well researched. I loved the dual timeline format and the characters were quite amazing. Excellent read.

I was given a copy of The Girl From the Island by Lorna Cool by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I have read other books by the same other which I really enjoyed, this book did not disappoint. The book is set in dual times 2016 Lucy returns to Guernsey for her aunt Dido's funeral. In 1940 Dido and Persey are living on the island when the Germans come to the island. Lucy tries to find out what happened to her Aunt's sister during the war. I loved the characters and how the stories were told. This is a beautifuly told story, a must read.

The Girl From The Island is a duel time novel set in the 1940’s and 2016 on the island of Guernsey. During the Second World War, Pursey and her sister Dido are forced to accommodate a German Officer in their home who, coincidentally was a childhood friend of theirs. They do not accept the German occupation laying down, and find their own way to take back the island they love.
In 2016, Lucy travels back to her childhood home of Guernsey after the death of a relative, and discovers some interesting letters. After an awkward meeting with neighbour Tom, they work together to research life on the island under German occupation.
This is a well researched novel with some interesting characters. I found it quite slow to begin with, but soon became invested in the story.

This was a captivating story of the German occupation of Guernsey during the Second World War. I had no idea about the history of the Channel Islands around this period, and found it fascinating and clearly very well researched.

The present day part of the dual timeline took a little longer to draw me in, I found the relationship between Lucy and Clara a little odd. But by the end I grew to like them, and enjoyed the development of the relationship between Lucy and Will as well.

I'll definitely be looking out for Lorna Cook's other books.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.