Saturday 1 November 2014

The Poppy Factory by Liz Trenow

The Poppy Factory by Liz Trenow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A captivating story of two young women, bound together by the tragedy of two very different wars. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Maureen Lee.

With the end of the First World War, Rose is looking forward to welcoming home her beloved husband, Alfie, from the battlefields. But his return is not what Rose had expected. Traumatised by what he has seen, the Alfie who comes home is a different man to the one Rose married. As he struggles to cope with life in peacetime, Rose wrestles with temptation as the man she fell in love with seems lost forever.

Many years later, Jess returns from her final tour of Afghanistan. Haunted by nightmares from her time at the front, her longed-for homecoming is a disaster and she wonders if her life will ever be the same again. Can comfort come through her great-grandmother Rose’s diaries?

For Jess and Rose, the realities of war have terrible consequences. Can the Poppy Factory, set up to help injured soldiers, rescue them both from the heartache of war?


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I must admit that I struggled with this book. I had a hard time getting into the story. It wasn't anything wrong with the book. I just felt that it didn't catch my interest. But around halfway through the book, it got better and I actually started to enjoy the story. Even though I prefer the trial and tribulation of Rose's life than Jess. So, in the end, I actually came to enjoy this book and I'm glad that I kept going with the book and didn't give up. I was a bit stumped in the end because the book ended a bit abruptly. I blame it on the formatting of the text, since it wasn't any breaks between the chapters (no new page when a chapter was finished) and the Book Club Q&A just appeared after what was the last chapter when I had several pages of the book left...or at least, I thought I had. But this was an ARC so I know that the text isn't always perfect.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

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