Blog Tour Review: The Girl on the Doorstep by Lindsey Hutchinson

The Girl on the Doorstep by Lindsey Hutchinson

Published: 7th August 2018

Publisher: Aria

Pages: 494

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

Left an orphan, five-year-old Rosie Harris is found and raised by Maria, a Romany gypsy. Life on the road is hard, but the little girl soon feels one of the tribe with the travellers.

As she grows older, Rosie realises she has ‘second sight’ and is able to read people’s palms and see into their futures. Needing to make a living of her own, she befriends the canal folk, known as the ‘cut-rats’ traversing the Black Country waterways with their cargo, and so offers readings to anyone who can pay.

Pursued by Jake Harding, a Romany bandolier who wants her for his wife, Rosie instead finds herself falling in love with a married man. And despite growing ominous signs that her future may be cursed, Rosie can’t quite break away from the dream of a happily ever after…

Lindsey Hutchinson is a master storyteller, and her Black Country sagas are heart-breaking, uplifting and truly addictive. 

Review

Lindsey Hutchinson latest novel set in the Black Country centres around the life of Rosie Harris. Orphaned at just five Rosie spent much of her childhood growing up with gypsy Marie and living the Romany way of life. It’s here that Rosie has the gift of “second sight” and can read palms, a skill which comes in handy when Marie dies, and Rosie is left alone once more. Seeking solace with the “cut-rats”, the name given to the cannel folk at the time, Rosie settles into life afloat and its here where she finds herself falling in love with an older, married man. Rosie’s longs for her happy ever after but is met with disaster so often she begins to lose hope. The only man who’s ever shown her love is gypsy bandolier Jake Harding, a man Rosie has no intention of marrying.

Like previous novels by Ms. Hutchinson that I have read I was soon addicted to Rosie and her plight for happiness. Life on the “cut” has really been brought to life through the vivid array of characters which Rosie meets. Most of the characters were likeable, my favourite being Margy Mitchell. The cannel folk and the gypsies all had a grit and determination to make an honest living despite being viewed by most of society as outcasts and a lower social class than people of the land and the town. I loved the loyalty and spirit which flowed through these two communities, especially down by the cannel where even strangers were given a bed aboard a boat if needed.

I loved all the twists and turns which Rosie and the wider Mitchell family faced as they all looked for work and their own piece of happiness. With so many threads developed during the story I was a little disappointed with the ending as I felt the story ended abruptly in the final chapter. I was rather hoping there was going to be a sequel as I felt there was more story which could have been told, but this is a feeling I always get when I’m really enjoying a family saga.

The Girl on the Doorstep is a wonderful tale of love, loyalty and family deceptions and it’s a novel which will keep you hooked until the very end. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys family sagas with plenty of twists, turns, laughter and tears.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a copy to review and to Aria for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

About the Author

Lindsey lives in Shropshire with her husband and dog. She loves to read and has recently discovered photography. Lindsey is the daughter of million-copy bestselling author Meg Hutchinson.

Follow

Twitter: @LHutchAuthor

Facebook: @Lindsey Hutchinson

Buy links:

Amazon: mybook.to/TheGirlOnTheDoorstep

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2z5VMlf

iBooks: https://apple.co/2uJjGya

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2KIHKL4

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

Blog Tour Review : The Lost Sisters by Lindsey Hutchinson

The Lost Girls by Lindsey Hutchinson

Published: 1st September 2017

Publisher: Aria

Pages: 442

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Orpha Buchanan and Peg Meriweather had a very different start in life. Orpha surrounded by wealth and riches, Peg dumped on a doorstep as a baby with nothing to her name but a scruffy blanket and tatty clothes. But one thing they had in common from their very first day, was a mother who despised them and wished them gone.
Hortense Buchanan wasn't made to be a mother. Bullied herself when she was a child, she continues the tradition with her own children, loving money and finery more than her own flesh and blood. When her daughter Orpha runs away from home, Hortense celebrates, never once worrying for her safety.
Circumstances bring Orpha and Peg together, and before long they're as close as family, making their way in the hustle and bustle of a booming Birmingham and the smoke-filled Black Country. But before long, Hortense realises that her daughter stands in the way of the one thing she really cares about, and the bitter legacy of the Buchanans looks set to destroy them all...

Review

The Lost Girls by Lindsey Hutchinson is just the type of family saga that I love to read, it was one where after just a few pages I was completely immersed in the story of the Buchanan’s.

Hortense Buchanan was not a woman cut out to be a mother, bullied by her own mother she has no love for her first born daughter. She takes the poor baby and leaves her on a doorstep in a neighbouring town, then claimed that gypsies took the little girl. When she is blessed with a second child Hortense is no different and makes poor Orpha’s life a misery. Until one day when Hortense so jealous of her own daughter throws her out and says she’ll kill her if she returns.

For many girls of fourteen this would have been a disaster and they probably would of ended up in the workhouse or worse but for Orpha it’s a relief to be away from her dreadful mother. Luck shines on the young girl and she finds herself taken in by some kind people who give her a roof over her head, money in her pocket and a taste for the delights of chocolate making.

Eventually Orpha decides that she must try to be reunited with her father who she misses very much, but this time fate decides to throw Peg Merriweather in her path. Peg is a little older than Orpha but the resemblance between them is unmistakable, both sharing sparkling emerald eyes. Having found her long lost sister, Orpha finds a home at last but it’s not long before thoughts turn to her father once more. Again Orpha sets off to reunite her family but this time she unravels more drama and secrets surrounding the Buchanan family.

I loved this book, I’ve read quite a few family saga books this year and this one is my favourite so far. I just loved the way that just when you think everything has all settled down for the characters another twist occurs and there’s more drama. I loved all the drama, even the bits which are a little far-fetched were thoroughly enjoyable. Despite being a long book I never felt the story dragged as so much was going on with the many characters.

This book has to have one of the worst mothers ever written about, Hortense Buchanan is a disgrace! Never have I known someone stoop so low just to get some money, she was a truly horrible character with little or no remorse for her actions. Saying that I thought she was very well written and a great character to have in the book. I like Orpha and Peg but Hortense was the one I enjoyed reading about the most.

The Lost Sisters is a book about revenge, families, murder, redemption, secrets and lies and even a little romance. It has a darker tone than many family saga books and there is a lot of violence so it may not appeal to all readers. For me it was a winner and not just because of the chocolate.

Thank you so much to Aria and Netgalley for the review copy and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. I’m looking forward to reading more books from Lindsey in the future.

About the Author

Lindsey lives in Shropshire with her husband. She has a son and a daughter and three beautiful grandchildren. She is the daughter of million-copy bestselling author Meg Hutchinson.

Follow Lindsey

Twitter: @LHutchAuthor

Facebook: Lindsey Hutchinson