Josie Gray smiled at her mother, nodding her head. 'Don't worry, Mam, I never do. Toby said he'd meet me out tonight and walk me home, by the way.'
Maggie patted her daughter's arm. 'Did he? That's good,' she said but the worried expression didn't lift...
***
Survival means fighting back.
It's 1890, and Josie Gray is an innocent and beautiful fifteen-year old when Adam McGuigan, the youngest son of a dangerous and influential crime family spots her singing in a Sunderland public house. Adam is handsome and charismatic, sweeping Josie off her feet with his beguiling lies and promises. He charms her into marrying him on her sixteenth birthday, but on her wedding night the fairy tale ends.
Josie finds herself trapped in a living nightmare and there's no one to help her. Events spiral out of control, and when her life is put in danger she escapes with her baby son. Fleeing to a different country, Josie fights to make a good life for her child and then love beckons again.
But the McGuigan family's power is far reaching. When the day of reckoning comes, can Josie survive it?
***
Rita Bradshaw is a prolific author who I have not read before but having read this one I am determined to seek out others.
Set in Sunderland during the latter part of the nineteenth century, the author brings alive the area and time period extremely well. It is an easy and captivating read and I was engrossed in Josie's story.
What we learn from Josie is how to survive under horrendous circumstances. When home should be our place of warmth and safety and it is anything but and how we can be resilient and courageous when we have to be.
The book was inspiring and I found it very hard to put down. It was a dramatic and emotional read, and I was completely caught up in Josie and her story. The setting of the North East of England gave it an edgy feel and kept me captivated from the first page to the last.
It was well written and easy to read and I felt very involved with the story. I felt more like a participant than a reader and felt I knew Josie as a personal friend by the end of the book. This demonstrates how well the author inhabits her characters and involves the reader in her story.
I recommend this book as well worth reading and anyone who likes historical fiction, sagas or books about women will enjoy reading this.
ISBN: 978 1035000326
Publisher: Pan
Formats: e-book, audio and paperback
No. of Pages: 496 (paperback)
Rita Bradshaw was born in Northamptonshire, where she still lives today. At the age of sixteen she met her husband – whom she considers her soulmate – and they have two daughters and a son and three young grandchildren. Much to her delight, Rita’s first attempt at a novel was accepted for publication, and she went on to write many more successful novels under a pseudonym before writing for Headline using her own name. As a committed Christian and passionate animal-lover Rita has a full and busy life, but her writing continues to be a consuming pleasure that she never tires of. In any spare moments she loves reading, walking, eating out and visiting the cinema and theatre, as well as being involved in her local church and animal welfare.
(book and media courtesy of the publisher)
(all opinions are my own)
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