The Hidden Palace: the most spellbinding escapist historical novel of WW2 Malta from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller (The Daughters of War, Book 2)

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Jefferies does not provide clues as to how the story will unfold and I liked how I could not predict whether Florence would be able to fulfil her mother’s wishes. I felt Belinda was no more than padding for the story, and we are told in a couple of sentences that she finally agreed to a divorce. I felt the problems in the book could have been solved with better editing as there were so many soft edges, like the people trafficking, which could have a much more exciting storyline instead of a damp squib. I felt it sometimes slowed the book down, when I would have preferred a slightly faster pace at times.

I felt so sorry for Florence as she really needed her mother to be sympathetic to what happened to her in the first book, but no, all she wanted was for Florence to go and find her estranged sister Rosalie in Malta. Furthermore, the fact that Rosalie and Florence’s stories were not too many decades apart from each other added a level of suspense whether the two would ever be reunited. Second timeline being in 1944 England where this woman Florence gets to visit her estranged mother whilst trying to escape the horrendous war in France and has had to leave behind her two sisters.With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. To access your ebook(s) after purchasing, you can download the free Glose app or read instantly on your browser by logging into Glose.

I had no problem reading this book as a standalone novel but I would recommend reading Book 1 Daughters of War first. It is clear they have had some adventures overseas in the War and are now exhausted, dirty and injured. In this sequel to Daughters of War, the story focuses mainly on the youngest daughter, Florence and her mother's aunt, Rosalie.

If you feel you have been blocked unfairly, you may contact us via social media and plead your case. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Come sempre, l’autrice costruisce la sua storia su basi storiche solide e documentate, regalandoci uno straordinario romanzo e un viaggio entusiasmante tra Malta e il Devonshire. Her relationship with her mother is not good but she is persuaded to try to find Rosalie, her mother’s sister, who disappeared some years before.

Although Dinah and her husband spent five wonderful years living in a small 16th Century village in Northern Andalusia, she's happy to say they now live close to her family in Gloucestershire along with two crazy Maine Coon cats. This book has it all - rebellion, secrets, generational rifts, passion, praise for the character and all in front of the island of Malta (mainly). This book is mainly about Florence who escaped to England in 1942 leaving her two sisters in France. Everything seemed to fit into place really easily for both Florence and Rosalie and there was only a little evidence of the hardships caused by Europe being at war. We meet his family, including the wife he is trying to divorce, whilst Florence makes contact with her mother who is living in the Cotswolds.The Germans ruthlessly bombed the island, troops and civilians went hungry and ran out of medical supplies. Florence soon discovers that the destruction experienced by Malta means that tracing records relating to her aunt or the time she was in Malta is very difficult.

I enjoyed reading a book set in the wars that wasn’t in France, Germany or Britain; Malta’s experience has significantly added to my understanding of this period.So I can tell you that this works perfectly well as a standalone novel even if you have never met Helene, Elise and Florence before. Historical fiction fans and of course like me long time fans of Dinah Jefferies will love every moment of this book.