(4.5 / 5)
I have never been a fan of Australian rural settings in novels. I’m not sure why really, when I was younger they never seemed to interest me. I must be mellowing a bit as I grow older, or perhaps I would have always liked them and was just stubborn.. Either way I am glad I read this book, it was wonderful.
Lucy comes back to Townsville from an army posting in Afghanistan and is excited to be reunited with her fiancée. Unfortunately things do not go quite so well with their reunion, and Lucy finds herself at her mothers house. There, she stumbles across an old biscuit tin full of old papers, letters and photographs. She stumbles across a photograph of her grandmother, who she knows little to nothing about, and begins to investigate her grandmother and her family. Her search leads her to England where she goes to find answers, and stumbles across a bit of romance herself. Simultaneously the story jumps back in time and tells the story of “George”, Lucy’s grandmother, and how she met the love of her life, Harry (An Aussie farmer and soldier) during the second world war, and how she came to transform from an upper class member of English society, to a cattle farmer in the Aussie outback.
Absolutely delightful! I must admit that I had my reservations if I would like this book or not. I saw so many friends rate it highly and have such praise for it, that I had to give it a go. So glad I did because its one of my favourite romances of the year!
All of the characters are fantastic, in both time frames. I especially love Harry, Lucy’s grandfather, and I adored the love story with him and Lucy’s grandmother. Lucy’s mother Rose obviously has some issues in relation to her relationship with her father, and it was interesting to discover why she had these issues and I was anxious to see if she could mend ties. Lucy is a great character too. Independent and strong, and although I didn’t particularly agree with some of her choices, she was a great character. I loved Nick, her love interest.
The only thing I didn’t really like about the book was it got a bit corny towards the end. But it was sweet, and it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the novel.
I’m not generally a fan of historical fiction, but the way this book went back and forth in time was seamless, and fascinating. I was absolutely enthralled by the scenes from the 40’s and the war, especially the scenes set when the Japanese invaded Papua New Guinea . It was all written extremely well and I loved the brief mix of action, suspense and romance. This book is not entirely classed as historical fiction, because the majority of the book was set in the present.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely! A must read for any romance and Australian history fan! And anyone who loves the Aussie outback, The Secret Years is for you!
Thanks to the author via NetGalley for a review copy.
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