A captivating and emotional pull of a read. i was so involved in this book my replies to anything aimed my was became mere grunts.
the way Jan writes her story was so immersive i could truly feel the feels and picture what she was trying to tell me.
i love stories with this layout and add the historical genre and you have a win win win for me.
the first timelines point of the book starts in the 1950's in Greece. we have Cassia who has survived a horrific earthquake. she has also managed with the help of others to save a child. but where are her parents? what the little girl went through though has made her mute and terrified.
with time and healing and being around her sisters to do so Cassia with the little girl begin to build a life for themselves. enough so that Cassia falls in love and all three move to the uk all the while calling the little girl there own.
in the second part of the timelines we have Elina. the little girl finds her mothers journal. and all her past and her story unravels before her. shes hurt and angry. how could everyone keep this big secret from her?
its up to her now she think to find the answers of her roots. and she does so by going back to Greece. she wants to find her family.v
and this is her journey and what a beautiful if heart humming emotional journey we are taken on alongside her.
Cassia and Eleni were wonderful characters and Jan described them so that i felt i new them, i then cared about them and what would happen for them and also to their relationship. i cant imagine what either side must have felt like in their own parts of the story. choices were made and consequences happen.
the males characters in this story were also a delight. like truly. to meet some men in books who are an excuse for macho toxicity was so refreshing and actually at points made me emotional. it made me realise how often we ARE NOT reading of this type of man and thats been something on my mind for a while. these beauties were true men and i loved Jan and this book all the more for portraying them as she did.
this book deserves all the stars. a top top must read.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed this book.

The story kept you turning the pages as you read about secrets being revealed and the impact they have to a family.

The story starts in Greece when a bad earthquake occurs and a lady has a child live with her who has lost its family. When the lady gets married, she moves to Wales as her husband is from there.

After some time has passed, the orphan reads the distracted mother wrote about herself and goes back to where she was born to find out more about herself and realises the importance of family.

I highly recommend this book.

This was a lovely book that introduced me to settings I wasn't familiar with. I don't think I've ever read books taking place in either Greece or Wales, so it was nice to enjoy the rich description of the locations and culture. I would've liked to have felt a bit more connected to Eleni and Cassia, but overall I think it's a solid historical fiction read.

If you love historical fiction and novels set in sunny locations, then you will love The Silent Sister. I really enjoyed this novel. It had enough content to keep me interested and reading until the end. plus there was a great mix of characters and the pacing was just right. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💜 Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This time Jan Baynham takes us to Kefalonia in 1953, when the earthquake struck, and twenty years later.
The events around the earthquake were brought alive through the eyes of young widow Cassia, who is rescued from the shattered ruins of her home with nothing. Many are destitute, many have lost every other member of their family, including Eleni, a tiny child left too traumatised to speak. Along with a Welsh sailor, Tom, Cassia takes care of the girl, but should she go one step further and claim her as her own?
I was especially impressed with this part of the book, so meticulously researched and recreated I could have been there, and the ensuing events which lead to Cassia making a life-changing decision made it hard to put the book down.
1973 finds Eleni an independent young woman, increasingly intent in unearthing the secrets surrounding her past. The island is in the throes of change, and the earthquake casts long shadows between the holidaymakers. Then Eleni meets fellow orphan, Simos, a young man with his own journey of discovery. Could this be when her own really begins?

A moving story filled with secrets and what these secrets can do to a family. Begining in Greece with a tragic earthquake , a young woman from the area takes in a orphaned child, then marries a man from Wales and relocates to that country. Years later, the orphan reads her mother's diary and discovers the truth about who she really is. Returning to her birth place, the young woman discovers her roots and in finding so, will realize how important family is. A terrific read!

I loved reading this book I could not leave it alone but I did find the abrupt change from the storyabout Cassia to Eleni slightly jarring I soon got back into the story.
But I did find the second half of the book seemed to flow quicker than the first but it was nice that everybody resolved their issues and families were reunited new friends found.
I would certainly read more by this author.

Are you a thriller fan? Check out The Silent Sister by Jay Baynham. This was a good read and it's available soon.

This breathtaking historical fiction novel is something readers will enjoy if you are looking for a story about healing, moving on, and reconnecting with family. I will admit I wasn't sure what my opinion would be when I first read this novel but I will say that I am very impressed. The setting was just lovely and the emotions of the characters were on point. I think that the author did a marvelous job at crafting the story. Overall I think this is something just about anyone would like to read.
When the novel first starts the year is 1953 in Kefalonia Greece and we are introduced to Cassia who has just managed to survive an earthquake. She and another woman manage to get a little girl named Eleni out of the ruins. However the aftermath is much of a struggle as the little girls parents are dead and no other family is around. Worst of all the trauma has caused the girl to go mute and suffer from night terrors.
Cassia then makes the decision to go back to her sister's house whom she hasn't seen since she had married her husband a couple of years before taking Eleni with her. After spending some time with her sister and improving her life not only for herself but also for Eleni she decides she is ready to love again and decide to establish a relationship with a man named Tom whom she met Kefalonia. They marry and move to Wales raising Eleni as their daughter.
Years later in 1973 Eleni who can now speak finds her mothers journal and discovers that she is not who she thought she was. She is angered at her family for keeping the secret of her true parentage which causes her to walk out. It is only after a car accident that she realizes that hurting her family was wrong. However she decides that she is going to go out and seek answers for herself.
Eleni decides to travel back to Kefalonia to seek answers about herself and her biological family. From there she will meet someone who was in a similar situation as herself and she will finally have the true answers to the life that was taken from him. In the she is grateful that Cassia and Tom took her in and raised her as their own.
I received an arc copy from Netgalley and all opinions are of my own.