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Florrie Buckley is an orphan living on the wind-blasted moors of Cornwall. It's a hard existence, but Florrie is content; she runs wild in the mysterious landscape. She thinks her destiny is set in stone. But when Florrie is 14, she inherits a never-imagined secret. She is related to a wealthy and notorious London family: the Graces.
This breathtaking novel travels more than a century between two love stories set in the Australian seaside town of Lighthouse Bay. In 1901, a ship sinks off the coast of Lighthouse Bay in Australia. The only survivor is Isabella Winterbourne - escaping her loveless marriage and the devastating loss of her son - who clutches a priceless gift meant for the Australian Parliament. Suddenly, this gift could be her ticket to a new life, free from the bonds of her husband and his overbearing family.
It is 1831 when eight-year-old Aurelia Vennaway finds a naked baby girl abandoned in the snow on the grounds of her aristocratic family's magnificent mansion. Her parents are horrified that she has brought a bastard foundling into the house, but Aurelia convinces them to keep the baby, whom she names Amy Snow. Amy is brought up as a second-class citizen, but she and Aurelia are as close as sisters. When Aurelia dies at the age of 23, she leaves Amy 10 pounds. But Aurelia also left her much more.
An enthralling story about love, motherhood and choosing who you belong to in the world by best-selling author Kimberley Freeman. 1874: only days before she is to leave the foundling home where she grew up, Agnes Resolute discovers that, as a baby, she had been abandoned with a small token of her mother: a unicorn button. Agnes always believed her mother had been too poor to keep her, but after working as a laundress in the home she recognises the button as belonging the daughter of a local noble.
Three women linked by their blood, their dreams...and their sins. From Leningrad in the '70s to America and London in the present day, Kimberley Freeman's new novel follows the lives of two sisters, Lena and Natalia, and their cousin, Sofi, as they move away from Russia and all they have known. Despite promising to always take care of each other, a pact to meet every winter is shattered as their lives change and long-held resentments begin to surface. Can that resentment turn to hatred? To murder?
A compelling tale of two women separated by a century who discover long-buried secrets in an Australian manor house. In 1891, Tilly Kirkland is reeling with shock and guilt after her tempestuous marriage ends in horrific circumstances. Fleeing to the farthest place she knows, Tilly takes a job on Ember Island in Moreton Bay, Australia, where she becomes the governess to the prison superintendent's precocious young daughter, Nell.
Florrie Buckley is an orphan living on the wind-blasted moors of Cornwall. It's a hard existence, but Florrie is content; she runs wild in the mysterious landscape. She thinks her destiny is set in stone. But when Florrie is 14, she inherits a never-imagined secret. She is related to a wealthy and notorious London family: the Graces.
This breathtaking novel travels more than a century between two love stories set in the Australian seaside town of Lighthouse Bay. In 1901, a ship sinks off the coast of Lighthouse Bay in Australia. The only survivor is Isabella Winterbourne - escaping her loveless marriage and the devastating loss of her son - who clutches a priceless gift meant for the Australian Parliament. Suddenly, this gift could be her ticket to a new life, free from the bonds of her husband and his overbearing family.
It is 1831 when eight-year-old Aurelia Vennaway finds a naked baby girl abandoned in the snow on the grounds of her aristocratic family's magnificent mansion. Her parents are horrified that she has brought a bastard foundling into the house, but Aurelia convinces them to keep the baby, whom she names Amy Snow. Amy is brought up as a second-class citizen, but she and Aurelia are as close as sisters. When Aurelia dies at the age of 23, she leaves Amy 10 pounds. But Aurelia also left her much more.
An enthralling story about love, motherhood and choosing who you belong to in the world by best-selling author Kimberley Freeman. 1874: only days before she is to leave the foundling home where she grew up, Agnes Resolute discovers that, as a baby, she had been abandoned with a small token of her mother: a unicorn button. Agnes always believed her mother had been too poor to keep her, but after working as a laundress in the home she recognises the button as belonging the daughter of a local noble.
Three women linked by their blood, their dreams...and their sins. From Leningrad in the '70s to America and London in the present day, Kimberley Freeman's new novel follows the lives of two sisters, Lena and Natalia, and their cousin, Sofi, as they move away from Russia and all they have known. Despite promising to always take care of each other, a pact to meet every winter is shattered as their lives change and long-held resentments begin to surface. Can that resentment turn to hatred? To murder?
A compelling tale of two women separated by a century who discover long-buried secrets in an Australian manor house. In 1891, Tilly Kirkland is reeling with shock and guilt after her tempestuous marriage ends in horrific circumstances. Fleeing to the farthest place she knows, Tilly takes a job on Ember Island in Moreton Bay, Australia, where she becomes the governess to the prison superintendent's precocious young daughter, Nell.
After a failed apprenticeship, working her way up to head housekeeper of a posh London hotel is more than Sara Smythe ever thought she'd make of herself. But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibility - no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America, where a person can rise above one's station.
Maeve Fanning is a first-generation Irish immigrant born and raised among the poor, industrious Italian families of Boston's North End by her widowed mother. Clever, capable, and as headstrong as her red hair suggests, she's determined to better herself despite the overwhelming hardships of the Great Depression. However, Maeve also has a dangerous fondness for strange men and bootleg gin - a rebellious appetite that soon finds her spiraling downward, leading a double life.
In 1920s Glasgow, Beattie Blaxland falls pregnant to her married lover Henry just before her nineteenth birthday. Abandoned by her family, Beattie and Henry set sail for a new life in Australia. In 2009, London, prima ballerina Lydia Blaxland-Hunter is also discovering that life can also have its ups and downs. Unable to dance again after a fall, Lydia returns home to Australia to recuperate.
THE PRESENT - After her mother’s death, Emilie de la Martiniéres finds herself the sole inheritor of a chateau in the south of France. There she discovers an old notebook which leads her along a journey to unravel the tragic love story of the mysterious Sophia. THE PAST (1943). Constance Carruthers, arrives in occupied Paris at the height of conflict. There she stumbles into the heart of a wealthy family and is drawn into a web of deception, the repercussions of which will affect generations to come.
From the London pop scene, to the opera stages of Europe; from a tiny Greek island, to a stifling manor house full of secrets and deceptions; from the sun-drenched Queensland coast, to the silent outback; Angela and Ellie are two women both looking for something. One in search of her identity and her memory; the other in search of the love that she had and lost; theirs is a duet whose last note will not be sung until the heart-stopping climax, when a shadow from the past returns to claim them both.
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.
Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life in New York: He's the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor house in England, they had a fairy-tale romance in London, and he's recreated her family home on the banks of the Hudson. Yes, there are rumors that she's having an affair with the architect, but rumors are rumors. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball; Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned; and the papers go mad.
A long-forgotten secret, a scandalous attraction and a place where two women's lives are changed forever. 1926: Violet Armstrong is one of the few remaining members of staff working at the grand Evergreen Spa Hotel as it closes down over winter. Only a handful of guests are left, including the heir to a rich grazing family, his sister and her suave suitor. When a snowstorm moves in, the hotel is cut off and they are all trapped. No-one could have predicted what would unfold.
In 1944, 23-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly ends her engagement to the love of her life when she marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina, a small town struggling with racial tension and the hardships imposed by World War II. Tess' new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows no interest in making love. Tess quickly realizes she's trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.
London, 1955: Grace Monroe is a fortunate young woman. Despite her sheltered upbringing in Oxford, her recent marriage has thrust her into the heart of London's most refined and ambitious social circles. Then one evening a letter arrives from France that will change everything. Grace has received an inheritance. There's only one problem: she has never heard of her benefactor, the mysterious Eva d'Orsey. Told by invoking the three distinctive perfumes she inspired, Eva d'Orsey's story weaves through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London.
At the end of a long and useful life, Penelope Keeling's prized possession is The Shell Seekers, painted by her father and symbolizing her unconventional life, from bohemian childhood to wartime romance. When her grown children learn their grandfather's work is now worth a fortune, each has an idea as to what Penelope should do. But as she recalls the passions, tragedies, and secrets of her life, she knows there is only one answer...and it lies in her heart.
When high-powered fine-art agent Flora Sykes is called in to assess objets d'art in a Paris apartment that has been abandoned since WWII, she is skeptical at first - until she discovers that under decades of dust the treasure trove of paintings is myriad...and priceless. The powerful Vermeil family to whom they belong is eager to learn more and asks Flora to trace the history of each and every painting.
2014. Nora has always taken success for granted, until suddenly her life begins to fall apart. Troubled by anxiety and nightmares, she finds herself drawn to the sweeping beaches of Tenby, a place she's only been once before. Together with a local girl, she rents a beautiful townhouse and slowly begins to settle in to her new life. But Tenby hides a secret, and Nora will soon discover that this little town by the sea has the power to heal even the most painful memories.
1950. Chloe visits Tenby every summer. She stays with relatives, and spends the long, idyllic days on the beach. Every year is the same, until she meets a glamorous older boy and is instantly smitten. But on the night of their first date, Chloe comes to a realisation, the aftermath of which could haunt her forever.
The Hourglass is a moving novel about finding love even after it seems too late and the healing power of a magical place by the sea.
Such depth of character and a meaningful story that unfolded perfectly. Bah to everyone who didn’t like the ending, it was exactly as it should be, it ended as it began and that’s all you need to know in order to realize that everything works out. I’ll give it a month and probably listen again.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
The story line and narration were both superb. This delivery had some of the most consistent and accurate accents. Even male dialogue was well delivered. The scenery was beautiful and the characters were richly woven into a charming storyline.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
As a fan of Kate Morton I was pleased to find Tracy Rees.
The characters where well formed the story while not a cliffhanger kept me entertained throughout.
The narration was spot on as I am a big fan of Imogene church second only to Caroline Lee.
I plan to read Florence Grace in the near future.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I did not enjoy this book by Rees as much as her other two....mainly because of the narration. The voice for Chloe and the other teens in Wales went from cloying to shrill and
the Welsh accents were a little hard to understand. The narration for "Nora " was fine.
I liked the story a lot and the character development was good.
However I must say I am a little tired of the style of writing that jumps back and forth between
generational characters. I wish authors would go back to a straight forward style and just tell the story the way Ann Tyler, Rosamunde Pilcher or Nevil Shute does.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to The Hourglass the most enjoyable?
Characters were immediately interesting and engaging. Narrators did a nice job with the different voices and accents. But the story was wound at just the right pace of foreshadowing and moving the plot forward, with a wonderful payoff at the end. I laughed, I cried, I LOVED IT!
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Hourglass?
The last several chapters. I would hate to spoil it for anyone. One great one, though, was the coffee/lunch scene with Nora and Logan. Perfectly crafted!
What does Charlotte Strevens and Imogen Church bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
How one would pronounce some of the Welsh words! Great job by both narrators.
If you could take any character from The Hourglass out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Leo, for his perception and authenticity.
Any additional comments?
Wish we had more from The author. I have really loved every one.
I really enjoyed this story.....this was my third book of Tracy Rees. The story is interesting and has a certain amount of intrigue that keeps the reader thinking and wondering about. Enjoy!!
Did not want to put it down. Very good. Will look for more by this same author.
Great story, lovely characters and a good narration. A book that you look forward to listening to, it leaves one with a feeling of contentment at the end,
Tracy Rees weaves a beautiful story! I felt I was walking the beach with them.
My 1st experience with this author was Amy Snow. This effort was different, and also wonderful. The characters, dialog and story were spot on. Loved it! Performance was excellent.
Lovely story and characters. The narration was great and captured the Welsh accent/culture. Can't wait for another book from the author.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
took me a bit to get into the characters but once there i loved everything
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
So enjoyed this book! Not only charming and sweet story but full of twists and turns to keep you gripped to the story!
I was drawn in almost immediately the characters all seemed so real just couldn't stop listening what a great book just hope there is a follow up I would love to find out what happened to Nora
Lovely story that kept me interested all the way through, didn't want it to finish
A lovely heart wrenching and heart felt story.
Had me gripped from the start. It finishes the way it started...on a prayer....one you wish to come true.
Lovely listen didn’t want it too come to an end. Loved Norah so strong and loved.
Quite a pleasant story but it was spoiled for me by the narrators their awful accents were so grating! Why try to use colloquial accents and phrases that are almost a insulting to the listener. I gave one star to the performance but it's not worth it!
A little long for such a basic but sweet storyline. No surprises along the way.
I've been listening to this Author since her debut. This novel was equally enjoyable. The dual time period and two narrators really brought this story to life. Couldn't wait to get back to listening. Highly recommend.
A wonderful story, beautifully written and I could not stop listening to it!
Charlotte Strevens and Imogen Church are great readers with a wonderful character interpretations bringing the book to life!
Brilliant all round, simply loved it!