The Winter Rose: The heartwarming festive novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author

Product Information

Many thanx to the publishers and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity tor read and review this book. Cadi, a young girl, wants to do her bit in WW2-torn Britain and decides to persuade her parents to let her travel to her Aunt with her brest friend and support the war effort in Liverpool. As the title suggests, the picture that’s painted in this novel is a very appealing, rose-coloured image of wartime Liverpool, which I found very easy to get lost in. Having said that, once I had reset my brain to understand this was more of a sentimental piece focusing on love and friendship, I began to enjoy myself.

The Winter Rose (Rose Queen Trilogy, book 2) by Katie Flynn

This is at the time war had been declared too, so it was interesting to see how they would cope by themselves and what life was like in that era too. I knew getting into it that it would be a wholesome and whimsical tale of two girls leaving home to help the war effort, and I wasn’t looking for grit and desolation, however some of Flynn’s descriptions were truly lacking. Two young girls, with minimal life experience, try to do their civic duty and sign up to join the war efffort. The years that come after see Nellie do her best to take care of Lilac as she grows from an infant to a young girl.Cadi and her friend Poppy were eager to move away from their village to have new, more exciting lives with new experiences. In her darkest hour, Cadi is comforted by her friends, and with their support and guidance she begins to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But even though Nellie gave Lilac a step up in the world and it’s better than nothing, it does not mean that their situation is entirely advantageous.

The Winter Rose by Katie Flynn | Goodreads The Winter Rose by Katie Flynn | Goodreads

Judy's unique stories were inspired by hearing family recollections of life in Liverpool during the early twentieth century, and her books went on to sell more than eight million copies.Working for their bed and board, we follow the girls as they learn about life in a big city, make new friends and pursue their dreams of independence from men and marriage. The heatwarming festive follow-up to The Rose Queen , from beloved Sunday Times bestselling author Katie Flynn. She’s the oldest child in her family and takes her drunken mother’s rages while dreaming of running off to find a life that is better than the one she lives. Despite this there are two young lads that seem intent on being part of Cadi’s life; Jez the docker and Greyhound regular, and Aled the farmer’s son, who her father hopes she’ll marry. When she's not writing she enjoys walking her two dogs, Sparky and Tara, in the surrounding countryside, and cooking forbidden foods such as pies, cakes and puddings!

Katie Flynn - Penguin Books UK Katie Flynn - Penguin Books UK

I think having a deeper analysis to why Cadi was impacted this way and how she could overcome these scars left by war would have made her character more developed. The idea that Cadi had nightmares after the explosion at the Greyhound pub was not carried out throughout the rest of the novel, it was mentioned once and never again. I love historical fiction for what it can teach me about social custom, landmark events, and how we lived without the luxuries we have today. Cadi and Poppy may have a Rhos sensibility, but opening their eyes to the outside world gives them choices-will they remain the girls who want to be remembered for competing at the Rose Queen festival, or do they want to become women of the world?The village in which they have grown up is very insular and protected, there is a path expected of them which they step off of when they embark on the journey of a lifetime to Liverpool. She has written under a few different pen names, including Judith Arden, Lydia Balmain, Judy Turner, and Judith Saxton. It begins before the Second World War in Wales as 2 young girls become bored by the life mapped out for them in their community and long to travel further with the approaching storm clouds of war they head off to Liverpool to sign on for the WRAF despite being under age. Then fate leads them to The Greyhound pub, managed single-handedly by Maria, since her husband left for war. It was a pleasurable book however I don’t think I would read anything by this author again, that’s just my personal opinion.