Where the Sky Begins

A Novel

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Emma Griffiths

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A woman’s future is determined by fate and choice in a gripping WWII novel about danger, triumph, and second chances by the New York Times best-selling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Tuscan Child.

London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’ world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go.

Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Awed as she is by the magnificent landscape, Josie sees opportunity. Josie convinces Miss Harcourt to let her open a humble tea shop, seeing it as a chance for everyone to begin again. When Josie meets Mike Johnson, a handsome Canadian pilot stationed at a neighboring bomber base, a growing intimacy brings her an inner peace she’s never felt before. Then Stan returns from the war.

Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again. Her newfound courage will be put to the test if she is to emerge, like a survivor, triumphant.

©2022 Janet Quin-Harkin, writing as Rhys Bowen (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

A great book about England in WWII

I loved this book. The characters were well developed and interesting. I really loved the main character.

Entertaining

Great storytelling ,narration made it very real. It was a romance but also interesting characters were introduced

Delightful

Enjoyed this WW2 story so much. It was a treat to listen to. Looking forward to more.

The characters

I enjoyed listening to the different accents of the characters read by the narrator. The upbeat character of Josie, how she touched other people's lives in such a positive way. How her tea room and her kindness helped the homesick pilots and their ground crew.

great portrayal of various characters.

Enjoyed this book, I like stories of the past centered in England or Europe.

A lovely story

I always enjoy stories by Rhys Bowen, but this one was particularly lovely.
Josie Banks doesn’t have the greatest life and doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere in her life.
A bombing of both her job and home in London by the Luftwaffe sets into motion a new path for Josie in The country, Lincolnshire.
The cast of characters which pass through her days in exhale are rich and invite you to care about each of them.
Although I figured out the “villain” very early on,it didn’t detract my enjoyment or interest in the story. It still remained to see how the identity would be revealed and what would happen as a result to dear Josie.
Overall this is a well written book that draws you in from the first word.
Curl up in your favorite spot and definitely read this book!!!

Amazing

I read this book for a school project, and it was one of the first books I thoroughly enjoyed for the content. The narration was very pleasant with a relaxed and calm female voice narrating everything. The speed of the narration is just right to allow you to digest the information while still being fast enough to not be slow and boring. The story was absolutely amazing with many twists and new locations through the story (3-4 major setting depending how you count it, and many, many twists and unexpected events that occur).

The "sky's" the limit when it comes to a setting

Having read all of Ms. Bowen's stand-alone novels (and all of the Royal Spyness series), I had a feeling this book would not disappoint. It didn't. I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but I did feel like the author wasn't quite sure which book she wanted to write. The plot and setting jumped around a bit and was a little uneven - which is a rarity for Ms. Bowen. I will say I was a little disappointed the author "went there" with the main character (those who've read it will know what I mean, I think) because she's done that in other books and it felt a bit predictable and pat. Also, after all that, this book needed an epilogue!

I would recommend this book, but there are others by Rhys Bowen I would suggest before this one.

Now, about the reader/performance... I almost quit listening after the first few moments because Ms. Griffiths was definitely not to my taste. I got used to her, but her performance did not enhance the book at all. She can do voices, but please do not ask her to perform as a "Yank" (American/Canadian) ever again. That was atrocious.

Enjoyable listen

Story was interesting from a different point of view than usual. Some plot lines were predictable but a few were nice surprise twists. The ending seemed to be slightly contrived and rushed. All in all an entertaining story and worth a listen.

working class accent unpleasant to listen to

decent story but lead characters Cockney accent was rough to listen to for over 12 hours