EMMA'S SECRET by BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

 EMMA'S SECRET

by

BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

THE BLURB:

Paula O' Neil, beloved granddaughter of Emma Harte, believes that the business empire Emma left to the family is secure. However, beneath the surface, tension is mounting and sibling rivalry brewing.

Into this volatile mix walks Evan Hughes, a young American fashion designer. Her grandmother's dying wish was that Evan find Emma Harte. But Emma has been dead for thirty years...

Troubled by Evan's presence, and her uncanny resemblance to the family, Paula turns to Emma's war-time diaries.

Emma Harte comes back vividly to life. It is London during the Blitz. As bombs drop, sirens wail and her sons go off to war, Emma's trademark resilience, willpower and strength all come to the fore. And as the pages unfurl, Paula discovers the secret Emma took to the grave.

THE REALITY:

It was another case of second time around for me, as I first read this follow-up- the fourth in the A Woman of Substance (my favourite book of all time) series around 20 years ago.  Meh. At the time I gave it a three-out-of-five rating on Amazon, and the same applies. Yes, I know that no book in this particular series is ever going to be as good as my favourite, but Barbara Taylor Bradford's style has changed since her first few tomes (AWoS, Act of Will and Voice of the Heart) in that it's not so “adjectival” as she liked to describe her evolving style. And I like adjectival, or purple prose, or whatever you want to call it compared to what's in fashion nowadays. My main gripe, however, is that the characters in this book are all two-dimensional, beautiful, wealthy and intelligent too good to be true “perfect” human beings, with the odd heavy-handed protagonist thrown in for a good measure. The same seems to be true of all of her later work.

I liked the concept of Emma's hidden diaries, and enjoyed the suspense of guessing who the father of Glynnis's baby was, and the discovery of the key to the wooden casket. I was intrigued as to why Evan looked very much like either Paula or the Harte side of the family. Being something of a fashionista I also enjoyed the details of the vintage fashion show, and the descriptives involving Emma's homes, but the storyline was lacking rather than gripping. I found the complete reams of copying Winston Churchill's famous wartime speeches lazy and boring; although I was moved by details of the Holocaust, and what was discovered with the liberation of the concentration camps (and really, these are things that everybody should know about).

But the thing that grated on me the most was the lack of continuity from A Woman of Substance. In that book Emma had chestnut/ russet hair- why is she now a complete redhead? In that book she was pregnant at 16- why now does she recall being pregnant at 15? In that book she refused to marry David as she didn't want to devastate his orthodox mother, who wanted her son to marry within the Jewish faith. Okay, she later didn't want to break up his marriage when he asked her if there was still a chance for him, but why now was there emphasis on the latter? These differences grate- if an author is going to write a sequel, then they should at least re-read the first book to get their facts right. Also, the final scene where Evan gets mugged seems totally unnecessary to the story (unless it becomes something to do with the next book in the series, and there are two more).  I also would have liked to see Emma have a little bit of romance, rather than continually grieving for Paul.  Yes, I know he was the love of her life but... life is for the living, and your 50s are not too old for a bit of passion! (In fact, no age is....😉)

The saving graces were the interesting characterisations of both Glynnis and Tessa, for me, plus the fashion element. But, all in all, a bit... meh.

THE PEARL SISTER by LUCINDA RILEY

 THE PEARL SISTER

by

LUCINDA RILEY

THE BLURB:

CeCe D'Apliese has never felt she fitted in anywhere. And following the death of her father; the elusive billionaire Pa Salt- so-called by the six daughters he adopted from around the globe- she finds herself at breaking point.

In desperation, and armed only with the scant clues her father has left her, Ce Ce begins a search to discover her true origins... a search that takes her to the searing heat and dusty plains of the Red Centre of Australia.

But what is her connection to Kitty Mc Bride, a Scottish clergyman's daughter who lived there over a hundred years ago?

As Ce Ce unearths deeply buried and long-forgotten secrets, she starts to believe that this wild, vast continent could offer her something she never felt possible: a sense of belonging and a home.

THE REALITY:

What a wonderful tome! So good, in fact, that I managed to flatten it in a short space of time, and will keep my eyes peeled for others in this series. CeCe is one of six adopted girls, and goes off in search of her roots and birth family (I think we can safely assume that the others in the series are similarly themed). She was a much-likeable and very real character, with lots of human facets, and very easy to warm to. I did wonder if the jumps back and forth between the present day and Kitty's time, starting in the in the early 1900s, might jar, and they did- but the storyline and clever scenic depictions were enough to cause you to be reabsorbed within minutes.

Covering Scotland, Australia and the Far East (the latter two I am yet to, and would love to, visit) I'm glad that I managed to discover new things, as I'm committed to a lifetime of constant learning. It was good the way the nuances of the Aboriginal culture, along with their people's sad history, were brought to life via their idioms, such as their need to “go walkabout” and their speech patterns. In fact, this author is very good at picking up and describing accents, full stop. The fact that the sisters are named after the Seven Sisters constellation makes me want to pick up my astronomy book and learn more (I've always been fascinated by the night sky; following witnessing a total eclipse of the moon at the age of 10) and I could also resonate with the quiet way the Aborigines choose to define themselves spiritually- by being, so to speak, “at one” with the universe and all her gifts, and taking the time to tune in to the intuition of nature.

I loved the theme of pearls- including a cursed pearl- that formed the backbone of the story, and kind of liked the character of Ace, although a part of me did, for some time, wonder why he was even in the book. But he ties up the story of the just desserts of the beautiful-but-dreadful pearl nicely, and it's good to not to leave threads hanging in a story. One gripe was that (spoiler alert!) Kitty didn't take her pleasure and make a life with her true love, Drummond, when she could, instead opening herself up to years of loneliness and longing, which were all her own fault. I kind of get what drove her, and am glad she eventually got a happy ending, but even so... Another gripe was that I couldn't understand CeCe's constant tiredness (she's someone who could sleep for up to 15 hours, and always rose late) and large appetite- I did actually suspect she might be pregnant, but this wasn't so, so perhaps we have to put it down to jet lag. But that aspect of her confused me.

This book possessed a good mix of characters, with a plethora of superbly interesting plot lines going on, and was a real history lesson. Definitely give this a go.