Two Silver Crosses
Two Silver Crosses
by Beryl Kingston
3.5 out of 5Synopsis
A big, poignant and heartwarming story of war, flight, a divided family . . . and the power of love to change lives.
In 1926 the Holborn twins, Ginny and her blind sister Emily, disappear from their comfortable home in Wolverhampton. Why? No one knew. Ten years later, aspiring solicitor Charlie Commoner is dispatched to France to track them down. What he finds instead is a mystery, a tragedy and a love affair.
But as the Second World War darkens over Europe, so, too, does the legacy from a terrifying disease that holds the family in its grip . . .
As warmhearted as Maeve Binchy, as compulsive as The Shell Seekers, Two Silver Crosses is unputdownable.
Review
The Holborn family's secrets are enough to break them apart; but hopefully their love and determination will bring them back together.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows 10 year-old twins Ginny and Emily, and their mother Hortense; who are chased from their elegant home in England by a painful secret Hortense has tried to keep buried.
They flee to her homeland of France, and try to make the most of life, despite their mother's restless nature, they drift from town to town.
As time goes on, their English aunt and devoted old governess do everything to try and track the girls down, and bring them home.
After the death of their grandfather, and with a will worth millions driving the incentive, their solicitors will stop at nothing to find the heiresses.
I found this a really sweet and intriguing.
It was interesting to see life in France, between the First and Second World Wars. The contrasting lives and ambition of Ginny, who wants to become an independent young woman, who wants to work and have friends and all life has to offer. Emily is blind - she is equally intelligent, but she is drawn to the joys of a warm and familiar home.
They both have to deal with their slightly-neurotic mother, Hortense; who insists that they cannot contact England, and that they must never ever marry. There is the stigma of disease and certain illnesses that Hortense would rather carry to her grave, than share the burden with her two cursed daughters.
I found this book slow, and hard to get into at the beginning. There are a lot of meandering plots, and there is a surplus of background information about minor characters that don't matter.
If I'm very honest, I didn't think the Commoner family antics added anything to the story, and I ended up skimming a lot of their sections.
It may just be the review copy that I was given - but it needed editing and formatting. The text blurred between scenes. One paragraph you were in England with the Holborns, the next you were with Ginny in France, etc. There's no distinction to show a change in scene, which left me going back and having to re-read. It didn't happen every time, but often enough to be frustrating.
The ending was very abrupt, and not particularly satisfying. After all the in-depth stuff that could have been cut early in the story, it was surprising that Ginny and Charlie should have such a non-ending.
Overall, this was an interesting read and a 3.5 out of 5 for me.
Thank you for your honest review Kelly. The book really didn't suit you at all, did it, so it was kind of you to write about it.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Beryl. Best of luck with the rest of the tour.
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