Emma and her Daughter

In 1927, after the death of her beloved Seth, Emma and her daughter Fleur leave Canada to return to England. Emma buys the Nase Head House, where she once worked as a servant and is immediately surrounded by bittersweet memories of Matthew Caunter, the man who once helped her through some of the most difficult times of her life. But Matthew is in her past, and that’s where he must stay. The only problem is the secret she’s keeping from her headstrong daughter, who’s determined to uncover the truth. And it turns out that Matthew is not as far away as she thought. This is a beautiful story about love, love between friends, a man and a woman and between a mother an a daughter

Emma and her Daughter is the final book in a trilogy which started with To Turn Full Circle, which I haven’t read, and continued with Emma: There’s No Turning Back, which I have read.

This final chapter in the trilogy is set years later and much has happened that we have no knowledge of. I think you could quite easily and quite happily read this as a stand alone without missing too much.

Elements of the story do rely heavily on Emma: There’s No Turning Back but where required we are brought up to speed on the relevant events from the past so that it jogs the memory, or would serve to flesh the back story for those who haven’t read preceding books.

A widowed Emma returns to England from Canada with her reluctant teenaged daughter Fleur. They return to the same area Emma and her late husband left all those years ago and Emma is determined to make a new life there.

Elements of the story were quite predictable and even as the twists came into play you could guess what was going to happen relatively easily. There weren’t a lot of surprises but that doesn’t detract from interesting storytelling and characters you could grow attached to; and if you have read preceding volumes characters you are already attached to.

Emma left everything behind when she went to Canada with Seth and baby Fleur so there is quite a lot of history for her to return to. Fleur on the other hand knows nothing of England, she doesn’t remember living there as a baby and is devastated to be leaving her life and her friends behind in Canada.

On her return to England Emma is after a new life, not necessarily a return to the one she left which is why she chooses not to rent the huge house she worked in before her departure. She rents a house, starts a business and looks up her oldest friend but she doesn’t try to track down the person she probably wants to see the most.

It is interesting to read Emma’s story and get a glimpse of what life was like for a woman in her day. Emma is a strong, capable, independent woman and she was very limited in what she could do by the period she lived in. She couldn’t own property and people wouldn’t associate with her because she was on her own. I think the thing that surprised me the most was that nurses weren’t allowed to be married, I can’t understand that and it would have made anyone with a passion for their work find it difficult to decide what their future might hold.

Emma and her Daughter held no surprises but it was a touching story of family and bonds that transcend blood, of a strong woman building her life her way and of friendship. It tells us that sometimes if things are meant to be they will be, eventually. This was an enjoyable read which nicely concluded Emma’s story and tied up all the pieces of the puzzle.

Linda Mitchelmore can be found on Facebook, Twitter and her Website.

Emma and Her Daughter is available through Choc Lit digitally and will be available in paperback this December.

Emma Jago decides to return from Canada to her home in Devon two years after the death of her beloved husband but her daughter Fleur is not so happy about it, she was happy and settled in Canada and didn't want to leave her friends

Things however start off well and she finds a nice house and starts up a dressmaking businesses and Fleur meets an Italian boy that takes her mind off Canada but Emma had a secret from the past and suddenly all of her fears are realised when it comes back to haunt her!

There is also the thought of Matthew Caunter the man she had never entirely forgotten, is he still around and will the spark still be there?

A very enjoyable read when I started it I had not realised there were two previous books but the writer tells the story well so that it was a good stand alone story

Although this is the third in a series, it can be read without reading the previous books. Emma and her Daughter is a compelling story with wonderful characters. It was hard to put down.

This book is the third one about Emma Jago. I had not read the others but was able to catch up and follow this story without any problems. Emma and her daughter Fleur have returned home to England from Canada. The year is 1927 and Emma has been widowed for two years. Emma has enough funds to rent a house and start up a dressmaking business. There are quite a few adventures ahead for Emma and Fleur but they both do eventually find happiness. A good story which I thoroughly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical romance. Emma and her Daughter is a captivating story of family, secrets, second chances and true friendships.
The author’s depiction of 16 year old Fleur was very convincing. She was full of passion and drama, lying to get her own way but also sweet and considerate, showing the competing feelings a typical 16 year old would have.
Emma is a great character. She is feisty and forward thinking for her time. I loved how she never worried about gossip and started her own business, drove a car. These were things that most women just didn’t do. Her friendship with Ruby was where her true character shone through and it made me even more endeared to her that she stuck by Ruby and didn’t judge her.
The story wasn’t too sappy or angst ridden. Although I thought some of the events were a little too convenient this was still a nice light read for a very rainy summer’s day.

I didn’t realise until the end of the novel that there are two previous novels about Emma Le Goff/ Jago which is a good sign that this novel stood on its own very well.
I’m looking forward to heading back in time to where it all started and reading “To Turn Full Circle” and “Emma – There’s No Turning Back”.

With my thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

Emma and Her Daughter is the third and final story in the Emma Le Goff series – and whenever possible I would try to read the previous novels in an unknown to me series before reviewing the final act. Unfortunately, time was not on my side and I will have to go pick up the previous stories later.

You do not actually have to have read the earlier novels to understand what is happening in Emma and Her Daughter. While it wouldn’t be fair to call this story a standalone, there is enough details around previous events when mentioned that you have a good idea of what is going on.

I found this story to be very realistic and believable, even without the background of the previous novels. Emma is such a strong woman who now has the chance to make a new life from the ashes of what once was. As a widow with a teenage daughter, Emma is returning to the one place she feels is home – over the protests of a young girl who does not want to move away from her friends. Her deceased husband has left his family well enough off that she can decide where to make her new life and she wants to go back to Devon – in spite of or perhaps because of the memories held there.

Matthew might still be here – although she had no idea if he would be as unattainable as before. Still the thought that he might be close enough to run into occasionally makes returning to this place a good decision. Life changes us all, and who knows what might have changed Matthew or his circumstances. She’s already taking a risk, a bit of wishful thinking cannot be a bad thing.

Secrets rarely stay that way forever and when one secret is revealed lives will be changed. The important part is life after the secret is told. Life moves on and how that happens will determine the future happiness of several people.

I enjoyed Emma and Her Daughter very much. It is insightful, engaging and shows us that time periods really don’t matter that much – love remains the same whether it’s today or yesterday. Finding happiness is often a risk and one that we choose to either take or ignore and live with the consequences.

*I received an e-ARC of Emma and Her Daughter from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

(on a side note – I hesitated to release this review today (I try to release reviews closer to launch day) since Amazon is showing the Kindle edition available but the paperback is not yet available until January 2016. So if you have been waiting for this release and want to read it right now – as of this date Amazon had it for the Kindle)

Good read. Liked the characters and story flow. Captivating from start to finish. Recommend reading. Given copy by NetGalley for honest review.