#BlogTour – #BookReview of #TheOrphansDaughter by Sandy Taylor @SandyTaylorAuth @bookouture #BooksOnTour

I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the poignant and heartwarming The Orphan’s Daughter by Sandy Taylor. Thanks to Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this gorgeous book.

Ireland, 1924. For thirteen-year-old Nora Doyle every day is a fight for survival in Ballybun, the rural Irish village she calls home. Each night, as she feels the cold wind blowing through the cracks of her family’s cramped cottage, Nora longs to escape the poverty surrounding her and find her place in the world.

When she meets Edward, from the grand house that looms over her tiny village, she feels an unlikely kinship that is impossible to explain, and as she grows from an impulsive child into a beautiful woman, Nora spends every moment she can with him. But Edward holds the key to a secret about Nora’s own family that changes her life forever, and the devastating impact tears Nora away from her beloved village. Now she must start afresh in busy, hectic Dublin. When Nora meets charming baker Joe Lynch, can she dare to risk her heart again?

But sorrow is never far away for an Irish village girl, and when tragedy strikes, Nora must return to Ballybun to see Edward once more and face up to the truth that drove her away. But back amongst the familiar sights and smells of her childhood, Nora feels herself drawn once more to her old life, and love, as she faces an impossible choice. Torn in different directions, can Nora find the strength to be true to herself?

A heart-wrenching story of love, loss and the power of friendship during unimaginable hardship. This book is perfect for fans of Orphan Train and Diney Costeloe’s The Girl with No Name.

Sandy Taylor grew up on a council estate near Brighton. There were no books in the house, so Sandy’s love of the written word was nurtured in the little local library. Leaving school at fifteen, Sandy worked in a series of factories before landing a job at Butlins in Minehead. This career change led her to becoming a singer, a stand up comic and eventually a playwright and novelist.

 @SandyTaylorAuth

Amazon: http://bit.ly/2RTpHo1

Kobo: http://bit.ly/36YeVS1

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2vLhycR

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2tstj7e

As someone who has enjoyed Sandy Taylor’s books in the past, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to be a part of the blog tour for her latest book The Orphan’s Daughter. There is a warmth to this author’s writing that draws you into the story from the very first page, the characters soon becoming living, breathing people that you quickly come to care about.

Historical fiction at its very best, The Orphan’s Daughter begins in 1924 Ireland and tells the story of Nora who lives in a small village in County Cork. Nora is forbidden to go near Bretton Hall, the big manor house overlooking the village, but one day she and her best friend, Kitty, allow temptation to get the better of them and enter the grounds. There they meet Eddie who works there and they soon become friends with him, Nora feeling a connection to him she can’t quite explain. He shows Nora a secret garden, where he teaches her all about the flowers and wildlife that inhabit it. But he is also guarding a secret that could change Nora’s life forever…

As the story continues, we see Nora grow from a girl into a young woman. Her friendship with Kitty is no longer as close as it was, with their lives going in different directions as Kitty begins work at Bretton Hall and Nora moves to Dublin to work in a bookshop, the devastating impact of Eddie’s secret tearing her away from the home and village that she loves. Nora soon begins to make a new life for herself, but then tragedy strikes and she knows she must return home and face up to the truth that drove her away in the first place.

The Orphan’s Daughter is a coming of age story that really does tug at the heartstrings. With its beautiful writing and endearing characters, this is a book that I did not want to end. A tale of love, loss and enduring friendship, I was enthralled from the very first page right up until the mystery behind Eddie’s secret was finally revealed. A book full of a poignancy and emotion that will warm your heart at the same time as breaking it, this is a historical saga I would highly recommend. A fabulous read!