#211 (#9 of 2012) - The Woman from Browhead ~ Audrey Howard

IBSN or ebook:

978-0-749-3726-30-340-60704-1

Publisher:

Coronet

Main Characters:

Annie Abbott and Read Macauley

Brief outline of plot and rating:

I have in fact already read the sequel to this book, and so had an idea how it was likely to turn out - is that cheating?

I am happy to report that this book didn't disappoint in the amount of misery served up to the characters, and  also that the story was nicely finished off too - just how I like them.

A good solid 4 star read.

Kay

#162 (#98) - Strand of Dreams ~ Audrey Howard

Molly O'Dowd's happy childhood is left behind after the Great War with the dead of her father and brothers.  She's therefore foreced to make her own way in the world.

She is always drawn to a special place a great house called known as Meddins, and this is where she meets the owner of the factory she works in, Tim Broadbent.

He's inherited the mill after his older brothers were killed in the war, and the shock killed his father, but is not untouched himself, as he has terrible panic attacks when faced with loud noises or intense pressure.

He's captivated by Molly, and she has been half in love with him since she saw him where she was a small girl.  Unusually, Tim offers to marry her and she is catapulted into a new and luxrious life ... and it seems very one of her dreams has come true.

The is only one fly in the ointment though, she met Tim's cousin for the first time at the alter when she married, and felt an overwhelming desire for him.

Joss Greenwood felt that desire too, and it's not long before they cannot hide their true feelings.

What will become of Tim, or the love that Molly and Joss have?

A 3.5 star read, not her best work but enjoyable nonetheless.

Kay

#150 ~ Promises Lost

Promises Lost by Audrey Howard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars















A 3 Star score for this one, would have been a 3.5 score if it hadn't ended so abruptly - it seems quite a few of Ms Howard's books end that way ... almost as if she can't be bothered to finish them off properly, or she is told to cut them down a bit and goes for the red slash right at the end!

I'm hardly getting anytime to read, and thus even less time to review, so just to remind me this is the story of Sara Hamilton, youngest daughter of a country doctor (he is a gentleman, but has very little money) and Jack Andrews a navy who rescues Sara and her sister Alice from a gang of rough railway workers on the randy.

He gets beaten near to death for his pains, and Sara and her father nurse him back to health. Having fallen love with her he sets off once recovered determined to make something of his life and prove to the Doctor that he is worthy of Sara.

Meanwhile the Doctor dies and leaves his daughters penniless and homeless, and Alice is driven by the need to get her sister away from, as she sees it the lowering influence of Jack. She decides the girls shall go to Liverpool so that he will never be able to find them.

Will the girls find a home, and work, will Jack ever find Sara or will she settle for another man?

Buy it at Amazon HERE.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay

#143 ~ All The Dear Faces

All The Dear Faces by Audrey Howard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars















The 3 Star sequel to Ambitions. What was a bit disappointing about this one is that it missed a generation .... and we were left wondering about the early life of Sean (James) Osbourne and his marriage to the cold Serena.

However, the story of Lacy's grandchildren - Elizabeth who marries Sir Harry Woodall and James who marries Irish lovely Mara O'Shaunassey ....... plus thrown also into the mix is the passion between Elizabeth of Mara's brother. The disappointing aspect of this tale is the fact that it simply just ended in a most unsatisfactory way .... it's as if the author simply gives up, or is told to cut some of the story off .... maybe she intends to write a sequel ... who knows?

Buy at Amazon HERE.

Happy Reading

Hugs

Kay

#142 ~ Ambitions

Ambitions by Audrey Howard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
















Review taken from my Blog Post in July 2011, after I borrowed the book from the local library:

A 3.5 Star read .... the story of two very different woman who built a life and business together and who both fell in love with the same man ... obviously one one was lucky enough to win his love .... or was she?

Wealthy and upper crust Lacy Hemmingway, pampered daughter of Charles Hemmingway the shipping magnet witness the terrible death of one of her Father's Irish workers and then goes on to be-friend that man's daughter, Rosie O'Malley.

Together they go on to challenge the accepted way of doing things and build a business together, but with both woman in love with the same man, James Osbourne ...... how will it end?

Buy at Amazon HERE.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay

#141 ~ Reflections From The Past

Reflections from the Past by Audrey Howard



My rating: 4 of 5 stars












Abby Murphy and Roddy Baxter had always known they were in love, but this love was tested, ultimately to be torn apart over the coming years.

Returning from an illicit skating adventure an accident on that day, was to catalyst to the splintering of their young dreams.

The death of Richard Goodwin, forces his tyrannical father to recognise his son's illegitimate daughter, and Abby is forced from her poverty-stricken family and forbidden to see her childhood sweetheart, and trained to be a lady.

Bradley Goodwin is determined to see his bloodline continue, and having got rid of Roddy Baxter arranges for her to wed her Cousin, Noah Goodwin without her really understanding what is going on.

She finds herself trapped in a marriage, merely a possession, but she is determined that she bearing a steadfast passion for her first love.

Is there any escape? Will she ever be with her love, or come to realise that she has to make the best of her life as it has turned out, and make a happy and contented marriage?

Obviously.... you know what I will say .... you will need to read it to find out the answers for yourself - a 4 Star read though, and I am sure you will like it too. As usual from this author, well written with more than its fair share of human misery and torment - just how I like them.

Buy it from Amazon HERE.

Happy reading.

Kay

#138 ~ Between Friends

Between Friends by Audrey Howard





My rating: 3 of 5 stars











Well worth a read and a 3 Star rating from me. Three friends - Martin Hunter, Tom Fraser and Megan Hughes prospects were vastly improved when they were taken from an orphanage at about 11 to work for the Cook, Mrs Whitley, of one of the emigrant Hotels in Liverpool owned by the Hemmingway Shipping line.

They blossomed, each to find their way eventually, but with the coming of the First World War their bright futures were brought to an abrupt end and threatened to separate them.

Over the years Meg had become more beautiful and alluring and both met fell in love with her. Having grown up with them, she loved them too, but in two very different ways.....she is also to bear the child on one of them. What will her choices be, and the decisions made and how will that effect them all?

Actually, now that I've read quite a few of these books I've noticed that the quite frequently the names of people like the Hemmingways, etc crop up across the them, but in a subtle round about way.

Buy at Amazon HERE.

Happy reading.

Kay

#135 (71) - The Mallow Years ~ Audrey Howard

As you would expect well written, if a bit on the long side (can I stress it was enjoyable tough).  A 4 **** Star read.

Kit Chapman, daugher of mill owner, inherits her father's mills by proving that for a girl she was just as tough and good at making money as her is.

In the other Joss Greenwood poor, hard-working and dedicated workers' rights activist.

Surely it would be impossible for these two to get together let alone work out their differences and find love?

#131 (#67) - Not a Bird Will Sing ~ Audrey Howard

ISBN:  0-340-66608-0

Poppy Appleton is taken from her squalid cottage at a very young age to live with the Farmer's Wife, Eliza Goodall, and become the dairy maid at Long Reach Farm.  However, daughterless Eliza has formed a strong bond with the lovely child and brings her up to also be a lady and able to take over as Mistress of the farm one day.

When she was 14 she helped a runaway boy from the prison ship, Conn MacConnell, and fell completely in love with him.  Once back on his feet he returns to his native Scotland to seek out his maternal Grandfather, promising to write to Poppy.

Many years later Eliza, on her death bed, makes Poppy promise to marry her son Richard.  Having given up hope of ever hearing from Conn she agrees.  A terrible accident on their wedding night leaves Richard paralysed and Poppy's life in tatters.

Poppy being what she is though picks herself up and carries on, but is completely unprepared for the effect that Conn's appearance back in her life brings.  She is then torn between loyalty and a deep deep love for this man.

A 4 **** Star read, and well worth it, especially at 62p from ABE Books here in the UK.

Kay

#130 (#66) - Painted Highway ~ Audrey Howard

ISBN: 0-340-82403-4


For a slight change this one is set around the waterways of the Pennines, but does still have a strong link to Liverpool ..... when I first started reading Audrey Howard this Liverpudlian link is not something that I felt comfortable with, but now I think I would miss it.

Ally and Betsy Pearce are two very different sisters.  Ally is hard-working and determined to get on in her working on their parents Narrowboat, whilst Besty is beautiful beyond measure, but lazy and calculating, her only desire is to marry a gentleman.

Their Father has a dreadful accident and is taken to Liverpool to be treated by Dr Tom Hartley, who is the eldest son of a wealthy shipping company owner.

Both girls are attracted to him, Besty because he could be her meal ticket away from the life of the boat people, and Ally because she actually genuinely fell in love with him at first sight.

Which one is Tom going to fall for though?

A 4 **** Star read this time around, with a much more satisfying ending than the last one.

For Reference Purposes ~ Audrey Howard Books

The Skylark's Song (1984)

The Morning Tide (1985)

Ambitions (1986) *READ

The Juniper Bush (1987)

Between Friends (1988) * READ

The Mallow Years (1990) * READ

Shining Threads (1991)

A Day Will Come (1992)

All the Dear Faces (1992) * READ

There Is No Parting (1993)

The Woman from Browhead (1994)

Echo of Another Time (1994) * READ

The Silence of Strangers (1995)

A World of Difference (1995)

Promises Lost (1996)

The Shadowed Hills (1996)

Strand of Dreams (1997) *READ

Tomorrows Memories (1997)

Not a Bird Will Sing (1998)  * READ

When Morning Comes (1998)

Angel Meadow (1999) * READ

Beyond the Shining Water (1999)

Rivers of the Heart (2000)

The Seasons Will Pass (2000)

Annie's Girl (2001) * READ

A Place Called Hope (2001) * READ

A Flower in Season  (2002) *READ

Whispers on the Water (2002) * READ

Painted Highway (2003) * READ

Reflections from the Past (2003) * READ

Distant Images (2004)

As the Night Ends (2005) *READ

Rose Alley (2006) *READ

A Time Like No Other (2007) * READ

The Long Way Home (2008) *READ

The Flight of Swallows (2009) *READ

#128 (#64) - Annie's Girl ~ Audrey Howard

ISBN:  not known

This is perhaps not as good as some of the others that I have read, it just felt a bit wanting ..... and the end was akin to running along and then suddenly realising that there was a dead stop of you would fall right over the edge of a cliff .... and you could be really happy with the adventure as you were not sure what you'd missed!  I've also been wondering if perhaps this is a sequel book to Annie's parents story, if it wasn't it should have been - not sure why I say that but the glimpses of their history sounded intriguing.  Oh dear, another 3 *** Star read in a row I'm afraid.

Beautiful, young and a hoyden, Briar Macauley falls in love immediately with young gentleman, Hal Saunders.  He's obviously slightly above her class, but fortunately as madly in love with her as well.  A happy marriage ensues with a lovely Toddler and another on the way, and wham she loses both her darling love and little boy.

Completely out of her mind with grief Briar runs away to Liverpool and is taken in by a kindly woman and her family, and she starts to build her life anew.

On the other side of the coin is Will Lucas, who is the son of the best friend of Briar's Mother.  A simple farmer, but he had proved that he could stand up to Briar and win.  He only realises that he's in love with her when she marries Hal, and has to watch her build her happy life and the tragedy that unfolds.

His whole world comes crashing down when she disappears and he makes it his business to find her ... will Briar realise that she can love again?