BAY OF SECRETS by ROSANNA LEY

BAY OF SECRETS

BY ROSANNA LEY

THE BLURB:-

Set between England and the Spanish Canary Islands, three women discover a surprising truth about their shared pasts.

Spain, 1939

Following the wishes of her parents to keep her safe during the war, Julia is forced to enter a convent in Barcelona. Looking for a way to maintain her links to the outside world, she volunteers to help in a maternity clinic. But worrying adoption practices at the clinic force Sister Julia to decide how far she will go to help those placed in her care.

England, 2011

Six months after her parents' shocking death, thirty-four-year-old journalist and jazz enthusiast Ruby Rae has finally found the strength to pack away their possessions and sell the family home. But as she does so, she unearths a devastating secret her parents, Vivien and Tom, had kept from her all her life.

THE REALITY:-

“Three women discover a surprising truth about their shared pasts...” says the blurb. Well, actually no, I read the story and it's two women and one man who discover a surprising truth about their shared pasts... Could those that write the blurb at the back of a novel kindly read the story first, or otherwise leave it to the author? Please and thank you.

This was a wonderful story that was really heartfelt and touching, starting with the tried and tested formula of one of the characters finding a shoe box containing mysterious things pertaining to her parents. It slipped between Ruby's current, modern-day life and Sister Julia's nicely researched historical life as a nun with superb and page-turning ease, continuing pleasantly when the two collided.

All the characters were definitely there for a reason- not superfluous fluff- making this a compact story and an great read. The descriptions of West Dorset and Fuerteventura were so lifelike it made me want to go and visit both of 'em, right now! This novel dealt with the situation of “delayed registration” on a birth certificate- this was not something I have ever come across before and, as I always like to learn new things and keep improving myself constantly, was a very good subject springboard for a story.

My only dislike- and it's a BIG one- is that the story was not tied up properly. If you are going to have a character find out that they're adopted, and go off in search of their birth mother, then at least let them get to actually find and meet her at the end, otherwise the book ends up being unfinished.

Rant over. This novel is still worthy of a read and was a bit of a gem, it's just a shame about the disappointing lack of a real ending.