The Wife’s Promise – Blog Tour – Review

Alice looked at the young girl standing alone on the platform, sensing the same vulnerability she’d once felt entering the village she now called home. Then, as the child gripped her hand, the pain and sorrow Alice had held in her heart for so long softened… And in that moment, she vowed she’d always protect her – whatever the cost…

England, 1939: When Alice marries twinkly-eyed, kind-hearted vicar David, it means leaving everything from her old life behind and moving into the draughty vicarage in the beautiful but remote village of Goswell, Cumbria. Though homesick, Alice is determined to make a new life there for herself and her husband.

But soon tragedy strikes, and she is devastated when war breaks out and David chooses to sign up to fight. But everything changes when Alice is asked to take in a child evacuee, and she makes a promise to protect this girl, no matter what it costs her…

Now: When Jane and her family move to the small coastal village of Goswell where her husband grew up, she’s afraid she might have made a huge mistake. Their new home – in what had once been the vicarage – feels a million miles from their previous fast-paced life in New York City, and Jane struggles with her empty days that seem lonely and purposeless.

But then she finds a small note, forgotten behind a shelf in the pantry. A note written in the Second World War. By a woman named Alice, whose incredible story has the power to change everything…

Two wives’ stories – told over 70 years apart – about courage, finding a home, and how the unexpected arrival of someone else’s story in your life can change your own. Perfect for fans of Fiona Valpy, Lucinda Riley and Barbara O’Neal.

Previously published as The Vicar’s Wife by Katharine Swartz.

This is a historical fiction and the first book of the Goswell Quartet series.

The story starts with Jane, who moves to the small town Goswell, England with her British husband Andrew and their three children. Goswell is a small picturesque village in England and Jane, having lived in New York, wasn’t used to living in the village. While she is dealing with culture shock, many years before, in the 1930’s. a woman named Alice also moved to this small village after getting married to a vicar. The story is basically about these two women, Alice and Jane and how their lives were as they settled down in the small village.

The story is said dual times lines–1930s told in Alic’s POV and present day told in Jane’s POV. I do understand the frustration that Jane is feeling–I have had experiences with culture shocks most of the time, whenever I move to a different country so I can relate to Jane in someway. I liked reading about Alice’s POV, the life in the village during the war and how she looked after the children. Overall, this was an enjoyable historical fiction that will keep you hooked into from the beginning to the end. Worth five stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC and getting me involved in the book tour. The review is based on my honest opinion only.