Book Description:
A heart-wrenching, poignant and totally unforgettable tale of a young woman who must finally face up to the secret she has hidden for a lifetime. A beautiful World War Two novel for fans of Wives of War, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe, that will have you reaching for the Kleenex.
1943, England: On a foggy night during the blackout, twenty-five-year-old May Robinson’s mother is tragically killed. Heartbroken, May isn’t sure she has the strength to harbour the secret she has kept for so many years – a secret her mother devoted her life to hiding, that would tear their broken family even further apart.
Vowing to make her mother proud, May trains to be a nurse at Edgemoor General hospital in South Shields, against a backdrop of wailing air-raid sirens and the eternal drone of enemy planes. Tending to wounded, ashen-faced soldiers and fighting to save lives, May is immediately drawn to kind-hearted Richard Bentley, who works tirelessly alongside her. He has sparkling brown eyes, and makes her laugh.
In the darkest of days, amongst death and despair, May and Richard are beacons of hope for one another. But why isn’t he fighting in the war like thousands of other brave young men?
May knows how she longs to escape her own past, and her mother’s. In this perilous time of such uncertainty, she finds herself asking – how well do they really know each other? And when the shocking truth of May’s secret comes to light, just as the war comes too close to home, can their love survive the impossible?
My Thoughts:
Right from the opening chapter I could sense just what an emotional journey the author was going to take me on. May, my heart went out to as she has a lot on her plate for someone so young.
The author weaves a tale of which had me spell bound. From picking the book up, I didn’t want to go anywhere as I was so wrapped up in the era that I had been transported to. You could feel the emotions from the characters and their hopes and worries about the war.
There are some lovely characters in the story. It always amazes me how people would open up their homes and help others out in times of need. May’s friendship with some of the characters was so endearing and a good reminder of what is really important in life.
Our Last Goodbye is a wonderful saga of love and friendship. It is a truly emotional read that had me shed tears of happiness and sadness. The authors writing skills brings the world war era very much to life in what it was like to live in those times. May’s story is one that will certainly pull on the heart strings and I loved every minute of it. An emotional and compelling read.
My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
Our Last Goodbye is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link).
About the author
Shirley Dickson is the author of The Orphan Sisters, her debut novel.
She lives under the big skies of Northumberland with her husband, family and lucky black cat.
She wrote her first short story at the age of ten for a magazine competition. She didn’t win but was hooked on writing for a lifetime.
For many years she wrote poetry and short stories and got many rejection slips.
Shirley decided to get serious about writing novels when she retired.
She signed with Bookouture in 2018 for a two-book deal. She has written two stirring World War Two historical novels.
Shirley says she is a prime example of ‘never give up on your dream.’
Follow Shirley on her Facebook ‘Shirley Dickson Author’ page.Follow Shirley on Twitter – ‘ShirleyDWriter’
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