In the small industrial town of Ridley, West Yorkshire, two young women walked out of the shirt factory gates together... They were looking forward to the weekend...
***
It’s March 1941 at the shirt factory in Ridley, Yorkshire. Ness is a typist in the office, and her friend Eileen works as a seamstress on the shop floor.
Nobody could have imagined the consequences when as a result of a prank Eileen plays on her friend, Ness’s name and address ends up in the pockets of two shirts destined for Royal Navy personnel on active service.
The fallout from Eileen’s action takes Ness on a challenging, life-changing journey where she must develop her talent for dressmaking and acquire the skills needed to run a business.
It is not easy during wartime, when money is short, clothes rationing is widespread and negative attitudes prevail.
Can she win through?
Or will a painful secret she must conceal destroy her chances?
***
The book begins in 1941 with carefree friends Ness and Eileen leaving work in anticipation of the weekend ahead.
The main character of the book is Ness and she is a wonderful main character. When Eileen jokingly puts Ness' name and address in two shirt pockets that she is packaging up at work, she unknowingly sets into motion a set of challenges that Ness will have to face.
What I loved about this book is how we see Ness develop throughout the story. The novel begins in 1941 and we follow Ness right through to 1953, and observe her grow from girl to woman. At an early point in the novel she faces a life altering event which she keeps secret for many years. However, it dogs her path significantly and we witness her bravery and courage throughout.
The secondary characters were equally well drawn. I loved Ness' mum and her friend Rose, as well as the devoted George. The author creates characters extremely well.
This book had everything that you would expect to find in a book of this genre; challenges, romance and secrets. It was extremely enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who likes fiction about strong women set again a working class background during World War II.
ISBN: 978 1838421045
Publisher: Horstead Books
Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)
No. of Pages: 362 (paperback)
About the Author:
Ninette Hartley is a writer, mother, grandmother, wife and teacher. She has followed many paths – from acting and dancing to magazine publishing, and even driving a pony and trap – but she has always come back to storytelling.
Ninette has an MA in creative writing and has been published in three short story collections. Her first memoir Dear Tosh, published in May 2021 was shortlisted in the Selfies Book Awards and long-listed in the Dorchester Literary Festival Writing Prize 2022. From 2008 -2016 she lived in Italy on an olive farm, returning to the UK to live in Dorset for eight years. Never one to stay in one place for long, she has recently moved to France where she plans to continue writing more works of fiction and poetry.
Loose Ends is her debut novel. You can read more about her on her website: www.ninettehartley.com and you can also follow her on social media.
(e-book and media courtesy of Zooloo's Book Tours)
(all opinions are my own)
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