An easy read about the far from easy lives of those living during the Occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War.
I sped through this book but found the ending to be a too little formulaic and the story of what happened to the sisters in the end didn’t ring true to me.

As soon as a saw The Girl From the Island by Lorna Cook on the supermarket shelf it quite literally jumped into my hands. I loved reading the last book by Lorna Cook and find her duel time-timeline packed with mystery and twists and turns fascinating and from reading the blurb I knew that this one would be just as intriguing.

I was not disappointed. The Girl from the Island follows two sets of sisters one set of sisters from 1940 who have to cope with their home island Guernsey being invaded by the Nazis and what occurs during that time effects the sisters from 2016, who are from Guernsey but one of the sisters who has not lived on Guernsey for a long time becomes intrigued by the past and finds her own destiny changed upon discovery the secrets of the past war years.

Duel-timeline stories have to be cleverly written and researched. You can tell that Lorna has done her research and that the plot of the story flows seamlessly. I have read duel-timelines in the past that I could not keep up with but with any book written by Lorna cook that is not an issue. The story is easy to follow and as you move through the years and flip from 1940 to 2016, the pages turn themselves.

The Girl from the Island is an intriguing fictional history lesson that I have enjoyed getting to know the characters and following their individual stories, wondering how they will connect. As each new clue is drip fed to me I become more and more engrossed in their lives and I could not put the book down needed to know more. I was shocked on many occasions and has my heart in my mouth wondering what would end up happening. No spoilers here as it would destroy the reading experience, which was really special. Lorna really knows how to use her writing to take the reader off to not only a new world but back in time to.

After reading this book, I am very intrigued about Guernsey being occupied by the Nazis and so close to England that I will be doing some extra reading to find out more.

I am really excited to see what stories come next from Lorna Cook after reading The Girl from the Island which was an exceptional read.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Lorna's previous two books, I jumped at the chance to read this one. And I'm really glad I did. This was another intriguing read with different time periods, high drama, romance, family ties and more. The mystery elements were really well strung out - just enough to keep you turning the pages, but not so much you got fed up of waiting. The ending was mostly satisfying (there was one bit which confused me, but I might have just misunderstood or missed something along the way) and unexpected. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading this kind of book, and I look forward to Lorna's next!

I loved this evocative tale - timehopping between the second world war and present day Guernsey - a fictional take on a tumultuous era for this lovely island.

The adage 'no man is an island' rings true in Lorna Cook's historical account of Guernsey during World War II. Brave islanders banded together to fight invaders while risking their lives to save others.

Cook depicts Persse and Dido's resistance efforts in which each sister fought the invasion in her own way. Dido spied behind enemy lines where Persey transcribed notes from a hidden wireless radio despite having a German officer stationed in their house.

Masterful storytelling weaves fact and fiction and pens a portion of history that is rarely chronicled. Fans of 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' will fall in love with this story. Thank you to #NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the early edition of 'The Girl from the Island' in exchange for an honest review.

'If there was a chance of happiness to be had, no matter how fleeting it may be, she had to reach out and take it.' (The Girl from the Island)

Not for me. I really wanted to love it because of the setting but make the romantic lead a Nazi and I’m not there for it (yes I know he insists he isn’t one and doesn’t behave like one but he’s still matching around in a uniform) when literally any other non nazi male character could have been the romantic lead.

~~~ I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

What a wonderful WWII story this book is! It is a dual timeline (WWII and present day) and takes place on Guernsey Island (British Channel Islands). This book follows the story of two sisters (Dido and Persey) during WWII while the island was occupied by the Nazis, while the present day storyline follows a distant descendant (Lucy) who uncovers the sisters' stories after Dido's death. This is a well written story of survival, courage, sacrifice, family, and love. This book offers a unique viewpoint of the war as felt on the tiny Channel Island under Nazi occupation until V-E Day. This book did start of slow and it took me a bit to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys WWII historical fiction and family drama books. This is the first novel by Lorna Cook that I have read and I'd definitely read something by her again.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion

I love this author’s works. Her words set the stage perfectly, the characters so human and relatable, the stories heart wrenching and hopeful. I love that her books are based on true events in history and the research she does is wonderful.

This book is set in two time periods, in the present, 2016, we have the story of sisters, Lucy and Clara. Lucy returns to Guernsey after several years as her elderly cousin has died and she is to help her sister Clara settle the estate and get the house ready for sale. There seems to be a lot of tension between the sisters. Lucy left Guernsey as quickly as she could and never looked back, Clara made a life there and has a husband and a child, both sisters seem to think the other is jealous of their lifestyle. As Lucy, stays in Dido’s house, named Deux Tourelles, she discovers that Dido has a sister, Persephone, that neither her or sister had heard about. She discovers, boxes of secrets and sets out to find out what happens to Persephone with the assistance of the hunky neighbour, Will. The past storyline it’s from the 1940s, it’s the story of Dido and Persephone, the heart wrenching story of what truly happened to the sisters.

The dual timeline is done magnificently, it was a very good lead up from one chapter to the next, the story was revealed in seamless fashion. I definitely recommend this book, there’s a wonderful story about an area I knew very little about. Sometimes it feels like so many of the war stories are set in the same areas and it was really nice to read something from a different area. I knew very little of the Channel Islands and did a lot of googling afterwards. Would love to visit someday.

Beautifully written story set in Guernsey, both in the present day and during the occupation in the Second World War. This was definitely a page turner which I enjoyed from start to finish. Recommended.

I was drawn to The Girl from the Island because of the time period (1940's, my favorite historical fiction period) and setting, Guernsey (I adored The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society). This is a lovely dual storyline novel with a story set in the 1940's and discovered -- through old letters -- in recent years. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend this novel for fans of historical fiction, and especially for anyone interested in the 1940's.

A beautiful book, so well written, totally captivating and for me also an education.
My sister in law is Guernsey born and bred and I have recommended this wonderful book to her, I recall some stories of the occupation from my visits to the island but never knew very much, so this book was very informative for me.
I really enjoyed the interwoven story between the war and present day, and how the strands wove together, and parts made me cry (no spoilers!) the horrors of war and occupation are very stark.
A wonderful, emotional read which I thoroughly enjoyed, it is different to any other book of this genre that Ive read as it weaves past and present beautifully, a truly great read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the advance copy

A beautiful read. I always enjoy books that cover the present day and the past. It was clear this book was well researched, and I learned a lot about the occupation, Loved reading about Dido and Persey and their lives, sacrifices and bravery. Beautifully contrasted.

Beautifully told dual timeline story. Absolutely love this authors books, and this was no exception. I've long been fascinated by the WW2 and Guernsey, and this told the tale wonderfully. All round a fantastic book.

I was interested in this book having lived in the Channel Islands during my 30s. We mainly lived on Jersey but visited Guernsey a few times and was fascinated with the events of the Occupation during WW2.
The book is really interesting and uses a dual narrative to explore sisterly relationships, love and fulfilling one's destiny. The detail of the island is rich and vivid and the war-time characters provide lasting impressions of what it would have been like to live through those times.
I especially enjoyed the aspects of the WW2 storyline, as it matched up to the authentic experiences I read about while visiting the Occupation museums and war tunnels of the Channel Islands. The author also manages to evoke a real sense of place on Guernsey, employing that 'je ne sais quoi' about living on the islands - not quite British and not quite European - but definitely unique!
Overall, a really satisfying story to read with enough plot twists to keep me turning the pages until the end. I will be looking for more Lorna Cook books to read in future.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for pre-release copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl from the Island By Lorna Cook is an excellent dual timeline historical fiction novel that kept me interested from beginning to end.. Two sisters in wartime occupied Guernsey, and two sisters now. The stories run alongside each other as modern day Lucy researches the history of the house she and Clara have inherited from an elderly aunt, uncovering secrets and sadness.

As with all dual timelines, it is a tricky business to balance the past story with the current day. Ms Cook pulled this off quite well. In 2016 Lucy is returning to Guernsey after three years, her cousin Dido has died and she is going to help her sister Clara sell Dido’s house. Lucy is intrigued about Dido’s sister Persey, apart from an old photo of the two sisters together and an old letter, there are no other possessions of Persey’s. Lucy starts to look into what happened to Persey. We go back to 1940 during world war 2 where we meet sisters Dido and Persey. The Germans have arrived on the island and life will never be the same again.

This is a fascinating book which gives a real insight into life under German occupation on the island and shows the conflicts and battles that the islanders had to face as well as the occupying German forces as well. The book certainly pushed your expectations to make you think of both sides during the war and for that I commend it.

The stories interweave distinctly backwards and forwards and with an added piece of romance just made the story more intriguing as it added another element to the puzzle that Lucy was trying to solve about the house and its occupants.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK, the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully told story of 2 sisters during the Nazi Occupation of Guernsey. This book is so well-written, so emotional, and completely engrossing. As with all war books, it has a few parts that are hard to read, heavy moments, but they're absolutely worth pushing through and remembering the hard and the good parts of history.
A must read for fans of WWII fiction.

Romance, heartbreak and bravery
This story has a dual timeline, weaving between the present-day and the German occupation of Guernsey during WW2. Lucy goes back home to Guernsey for the funeral of her distant relation. Her sister Clara still lives there with her husband and daughter. The two sisters have a difficult relationship. Their relative, Dido, leaves them her wonderful old house. While getting it ready for sale they discover Dido had a sister Persephone and over the course of the book they find out what happened to the occupants of the house during the German occupation.
The Girl from the Island is a great read for those who enjoy romance, family saga or historical fiction. Fact and fiction are blended with great skill by the author. It’s a great story, my first from Lorna Cook and will not be my last. Well-written, well-paced and with several great twists, I would recommend it.
Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for my honest review.

Unputdownable, Passionate, Captivating, and Magnetic!!
Lorna Cook has introduced us to a different glimpse into what life was like for others during the World War II. The Germans actually did occupy the area from 30 June 1940 until it was liberated 9 May 1945. Not only did the author incorporate informative facts, but the characters were so poignant and strong that they made the pages flip themselves. I even forgot to eat lunch and start dinner I was so engrossed in the storyline. I would definitely give this a solid five stars plus more if I could.

The storyline flowed between two different time periods, but it was definitely no hindrance. Lucy & Clara were from the present and like all siblings they had differences that needed working out. Lucy found a box in the house of their Great-Aunt who left them the house and it seemed that they had another Aunt they never knew.
Lucy was now determined to find out about this missing Aunt from the WWII era and a new neighbor man was going to aide her in the hunt.
Things were going to heat up in more ways than one on this journey for all those involved to include the new neighbor because there are secrets from the past that are going to unfold!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.,

I’m pleased to say that this is another enjoyable historical fiction novel from Lorna Cook. This novel is based in Guernsey, a place I would like to visit after the Covid 19 pandemic has finished. It is only in very recent years that I became aware of how the Channel Islands had been occupied by the Germans during the Second World War.

This book looks at one family, who had to deal with the occupation, where neighbours were deported to prison camps, the wireless was banned and neighbours would inform on each other. How would Persephone and Dido cope with the challenges?

In this time slip novel, Lucy is back in Guernsey in 2016, after the death of her distant cousin Dido. When clearing out the house, Lucy becomes interested in some of the old papers she finds and sets out to solve the mystery about what happened to the residents of the house.

I enjoyed how the characters developed, the secrets revealed, the parallel sister stories and the historical details. As you would expect from a novel set during the occupation, there are some heartbreaking stories. But we also have happy and humorous moments too, when Lucy spends time with her new neighbour.

Happy to recommend to readers who enjoy time slip historical fiction nov

I had not read any books by Lorna Cook previously, but i absolutely loved this story. Highly recommended.

The story is set in Guernsey during the second World war and now. Two sisters who lived in a house on the island during the occupation by the Germans and two sisters who inherited the house now. It is a story of love, resistance, coming of age and compassion. It was easy to read and switched easily between the two time periods. I couldn't put the book down as I just wanted to know what happened.
The author wrote well, feelings experiences, the location and time setting were well described. I was unaware how Guernsey had been treated during the occupation having heard more about the treatment of the inhabitants of Jersey. It was clear that the author had done her research.
I must now look for her two previous titles to read.