REVIEW
I absolutely loved Book 1 titled Secrets of Foxglove Cottage of the new Wildflower Secrets series by Rebecca Alexander. It is deeply romantic, heart shaking and engaging. I enjoyed both timelines equally. This novel covers a lot of emotional territory that highlights the myriad faces and fears of war, spousal and child abuse, mental instability, bullying and broken relationships to name a few. But it also features positive aspects such as new beginnings, the meaning of family (both blood and adopted members), building a new life and career, finding and trusting love again and becoming part of a caring community.
Zosia, in the current timeline, has escaped with her six year old son, Kristof, from the control of an abusive ex-husband who is violent towards them. Zosia gets custody and heads to a new place to start over and try to reclaim some stability, peace and joy in her life. She lands at Foxglove Cottage looking for a job and place to stay. Hazel, a warm and welcoming seventy year old kind lady, after an interview discussion, decides to take her in –along with her young son. Zosia is hired to help restore the Foxglove Cottage with its garden, re-open the lore-laden enchanting old café and be a general assistant in anything else Hazel needs—which ends up being a translator for some old letters. Zosia is off to a good start but her past begins to infringe upon and affect her new life. Although she meets new townspeople like Leon, who offer kindness in her new landscape on the craggy Dartmoor moorland, she is uncertain of what to do when trouble comes knocking at her door and threatens both her son and her landlady who has become like family to her.
The past enters the story through a diary owned by Hazel’s father. It contains a remarkable love story as well as Casimir’s adventures as a war pilot which leaves poor Rosie in constant worry. He is Polish and after he literally crash lands into her life, she draws very close to him. But the circumstances that continue to surround them both, lead the reader on a tumultuous journey that see the couple deal with many ups and downs that pertain to war. Although Rosie’s family are not keen initially with her romantic choice and actions, they offer her wonderful support when most needed: especially once she begins her new job near London to be near Cas when he is home on leave.
Learning more about Rosie’s job was quite an eye opener. It was a reminder of how frightening it was for women who worked in munitions factories during the war. The author gives us an accurate description that really gripped my heart. I had previously read a bit about the topic but this story really brings home how dangerous, unpleasant and lethal it was to perform such a job. The female workers had limited protection against the deadly chemicals they had to use. Many lost their lives through explosions, accidents or poisoning from handling chemical explosives. It did make me wonder how much it may have affected their health. Did women like Rosie have much higher risks of miscarriage, stillbirth, and birth defects in their children? I found this part of the novel quite informative and it posed questions in my mind.
There is a theme about living for the moment and dealing with issues when they come. In giving words of encouragement to her friend, Rosie talks about grief and how it eases over time. She experienced it ‘when her grandfather passed away, when her school friend died of TB, when her favourite animals had been put down.’ Her father has always said, that ‘death is a part of life.. to truly live you have to accept death.’ Wise words.
This is a beautiful, honest and warmly written tale that captured me from page one and held my heart captive to the last page. The pacing and two timelines are finely executed plus the physical and emotional landscape moving. I totally recommend The Secrets of Foxglove Cottage with its genuine leading characters, solid romances, well researched WW2 issues and second chance theme. 5 Splendid Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a review copy.
