Thanks Hachette Australia and netgalley for this ARC.

Full of drama, double dealing, and personality disorders. Like a soap operas in kindle form

This book has left me speechless I don’t know where to start, I can say that it is a fabulous story set across fifty years in Singapore, The island in the east, and England and countries in Asia, the characters from both eras are related and connected in many ways, but there were secrets, falsehoods, lies and misunderstandings that separated identical twenty year old twin sisters, who arrived in Singapore under a cloud back in 1897 and this is where the story starts for Harriet and Mae and what becomes of their lives, it is a captivating and gripping story that you will not want to put down.

Harriet and Mae are inseparable they have been sent to Singapore from their country of India to hopefully marry and put behind them their illegitimacy they are sent to live with David Keeley who works for the minister he is related to the girl’s father, with hopes that he will marry one, it doesn’t take long before another man is on the scene businessman Alex Blake and trouble brews between the girls, tears them apart heartbreaking stuff, but there a is a love that grows so strong that fifty years later is still there.

It is now 1940’s England and young Ivy Harcourt who has been bought up by her grandmother Mae, is working in the intelligence department translating, she is caught up in the bombing in London and scarred by it all when she is sent to Singapore to translate Japanese, this brings her back to where her grandmother had lived but Ivy never knew that and it is not long before Ivy meets Alex Blake and is uncovering things that perhaps she should have known. Ivy makes friends and comes alive especially when she meets Australian Kit Langton, but when the Japanese arrive and take over Ivy finds herself in Changi Prison as does Kit and all of their friends. Ivy will do anything to keep herself alive to be back with Kit as he does to meet Ivy again such true love.

This is a powerful story of tough times and happenings that had me crying, it is moving and emotional and shows the strength and bravery of these characters, it shows that love can be so strong, strong enough to keep people alive through wars and hurt. And there is more than one sensual love story that lasts through time, danger and lies that in the end will bring joy over whelming joy. This is the first book of MS Ashcroft’s that I have read but I will be looking for more, I do highly recommend this one, WOW what a book thank you for an awesome story.

My Thoughts

Jenny Ashcroft’s debut novel, ‘Beneath a Burning Sky’, I gushed about - it was brilliant! (Review found HERE). It was historical fiction at its best and so much more. So when Jenny’s second book comes along, of course I am all over it - but how could it possibly be as good? Well I am here to tell you that it is - and perhaps it’s even better! Jenny has gone to the next level (if that was at all possible) and taken on an ambitious dual timeline narrative that delivers in every aspect - rich in detail, setting and drama.

‘Island in the East’ is sensational reading - such a beautifully written heartbreaking tale full of drama and emotion that I found it hard to put down. This book surely cements Jenny Aschcroft as a superior author with a talent to create riveting drama with complex characters in luscious settings. A timeslip narrative set in Singapore that moves between the story of Mae and her twin sister Harriet in the late 1800s; and Mae's granddaughter, Ivy, who is posted to Singapore during the war in 1941. One of the things that sets this dual timeline apart from others, is the strong familial connections as Mae and Ivy are living together initially in London at the beginning of the novel. When Ivy arrives in Singapore, she has no idea that her grandmother had ever lived there. The mystery and tales of both, life at the turn of the century and then during the war in Singapore, are rich and enticing. I had never really read much about the Japanese invasion of Singapore and it was rich in detail that was a real eye opener.

This book ticks all the boxes for me: exquisite writing, complex characters, two beautiful love stories for both the twins and Ivy (Alex and Kit will make your heart beat faster) and an exotic, tropical setting. Filled to the brim with everything from the brutality of war, to passionate soul connections, to heartbreak and betrayal, to tragedy and hope - this is such a compelling read that it will stay with you long after you have turned the final page.

‘Don’t waste time,’ Alex said, voice kind, but with that sadness in it. ‘You never know how much you have.’


This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

What a great read. Loved it and couldn’t put it down.