⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Set between the present day and the years following the end of World War II in Mid Wales, The Drowned Village is a beautiful, but heartbreaking story. Sixty-five years ago, Elin Jenkins, a young Welsh girl, and Al Locke, an American sailor, had their whole lives ahead of them and, after Al proposed, the plan was for Elin to move to Pennsylvania and marry the man she loved. However, life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to.
Present-day and Sophie is running a bunkhouse in Wales, and one of her guests is an elderly gentleman in his eighties...
I thoroughly love a book that is based on historical facts and makes me want to research more about what I’ve read, This is definitely true of The Drowned Village, I only live about 3 hours drive from Mid Wales, yet I wasn’t aware of entire villages that were flooded with water to create a reservoir, to provide water for industries, just over the border in Liverpool.
The descriptions of the Welsh countryside, with its towering hills, beautiful green countryside and sparkling lakes are perfectly written, and it’s apparent that the author loves the country she was born and brought up in.
I really enjoyed reading The Drowned Village and would recommend this to anyone who is interested in fiction, based on fact, with a good love story thrown in.
I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Drowned Village by Norma Curtis.
Book Description
The Drowned Village: A heartbreaking and absolutely gripping WW2 romance by Norma Curtis
As he reaches the top of the familiar hill, a startling brightness draws him in like a vision. A glittering lake fills the entire valley. The pretty stone village, and all trace of the girl he loved, are gone…
Wartime Britain. Pushing aside drooping hollyhocks, Elin Jenkins tosses back her dark hair and runs up the familiar path to her family’s farm in the village. Laughing, Al catches her around the waist. ‘Marry me,’ he whispers. ‘I’ll use my Navy liberty leave. I don’t want this to end.’ Tears prick her eyes as she smiles up at him.
Three days later, Al is gone. And in the months that follow, Elin’s frantic telegrams to him go unanswered. Then she receives an invitation to his society wedding in Philadelphia. Scribbled on the back are three words: No hard feelings.
Present day. Al Locke, retired Navy Captain, smooths his silver hair and finishes up with a spritz of aftershave. With a spring in his step he hasn’t had for decades, he sets off up the well-worn track through the valley. He has no doubt he will meet her in the village today. He will at last hear the horrible truth of what happened to Elin after he left, and he’ll confess why he couldn’t face returning to her… until now.
But what he finds in that silent valley is a mystery that is greater even than his and Elin’s own. The village, once lively, is underwater. A shimmering ghost town in the depths of a vast lake. The tragedy of Elin and Al’s broken engagement sits at the heart of what happened here – Ellen's irreparably devastated heart, and the home she tried so desperately to save.
A beautiful and heartbreaking read about secrets, heartache and forgiveness, based on a true story. Fans of Fiona Valpy and Lorna Cook will love this book.
(This book was previously titled The Captain’s Wife)
Norma Curtis's first published stories were for teenage magazines and she began writing novels when she joined the Romantic Novelists' Association. Her first novel won the New Writer's Award and was chosen as a WH Smith Fresh Talent title. A couple of years after being invited onto the RNA committee she was made chairman and following her two-year term of office, she studied creative writing at City University before taking an MA in Prose Fiction at Middlesex University. The Drowned Village is her sixth novel and she lives in North London with her family.
Author social media:
Twitter: @The NormaCurtis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ncurtis.books
Website: www.normacurtisauthor.com/
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