This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

What a gripping, superb novel! Yet the reader could so easily imagine it as true, given the amount of research done. Evocative of Singapore in two different time periods, and my experience in the 1960s makes a lot of it seem very true. Well written, wonderful characters, and a great slow twist over the book. Yes, I guessed it, but it was brilliantly done and by no means obvious - what a clever idea!
I rarely read historical novels and only did as this one was about Singapore, but I am so glad I did. The tension ratched up as the book progressed, becoming so captivating it was extremely difficult to put down.
I'm not sure it is a beach read - certainly not light material, and I think you would be stuck out there getting burnt whilst wanting to read 'just a bit more'. Much more depth than a beach read, but so definitely worth the time.

This is a completely wonderful and engrossing romantic mystery. Set in Singapore, over two timelines, this book is perfect escapism to lose oneself in during these uncertain times. My first book by this author but certainly not the last.

Island in the East is a dramatic and sumptuous historical drama set in Singapore at the end of the 19th century and World war 2. When Ivy Harcourt is posted to a listening station near Kaula Lumpur following a failed love affair and a traumatic event during the London Blitz not knowing that her grandmother fled the city fifty years before. Steeped with atmosphere, beautifully researched this is a rich novel that plunges the reader into the story.

A well written story told in two different times- 1890s and 1940s Singapore. A place I know well and this book brought back the sights and smells and heat of the city state. Escaping blitz ridden London, Ivy is posted to Singapore being able to speak Japanese, her posting brings back long forgotten memories for er grand mother Mae. One of a set of twins sent to Singapore in the 1890s. Deep secrets. High emotion, and horrifying truth. All makes for great read, convincing characters and moving story.

Last page left me wanting more. 4.8 stars minus 0.2 as it had to end!!!

Jenny Ashcroft's Island in the East is beautifully written and is unquestionably historical fiction at its best. This novel contains everything that I love about the genre; intricately depicted dual timelines, epic romance, complex characters and impressive research.

The novel moves between the story of Mae and her twin sister Harriet who are sent to the island in the late 1800s; and Mae's granddaughter, Ivy, an intelligence officer with the navy who arrives in Singapore in the early 1940's to work as a translator. With the impending Japanese invasion looming, Ivy discovers mysteries from her grandmothers past, a past she knew nothing about. As the story progresses, past and present become irrevocably intertwined as secrets emerge, and loves and losses are revealed. The heartbreak of war, the horrors of existence in an internment camp, the bitterness of betrayal and the agony of love are all written beautifully making this story emotive magic.

From the first few sentences, Jenny Ashcroft transports her readers directly into steamy, exotic Singapore with her skilful lyricism. As the pages are turned, anyone who has lived in the tropics, or even dreamed of nights in such a place, can almost hear the endless song of the cicadas pulsing through the evening air as the close, humid air traces a sweaty trail along their spine. It is obvious that Jenny Ashcroft has lived, and loved, the tropics and there is nothing more wonderful than to be sucked into these exotic locations by words alone.

Island in the East is written with deep emotion, a deep and abiding compassion for those caught up in the horror of war, and with an impressive attention to detail. Lovers of sumptuously written, dual time line stories, this is definitely the book for you.

I simply could not stop reading this book. It has so many twists and turns.. There must have been so much research done into this story.. it was a great eye opener for me. I could not believe some of the things Ivy went through when she was a prisoner of the Japanese.. The story weaves in and out of past and present. Normally I find this quite confusing, but this time the past had to be revealed. I was hoping that Alex wold find Mae again

The story is set in Singapore in the 1890s and 1940s and the two stories are intertwined.

In 1897 identical twins Mae and Harriet, born from an affair have always had each other despite the malicious gossip. They are sent to Singapore by their benefactor for one of them to marry creepy businessman David Keeley. When dashing Alex Blake comes into their lives the twins for the first time in their lives fall out and their loving relationship fractures.

The interwoven story is set in 1941 and Ivy and Intelligence Officer is posted to wartime Singapore. She's going to be an absolute asset as she speaks fluent Japanese and will work interpreting and tracking the Japanese's movements. She has ghosts from war-torn London and when she meets gorgeous Kit, she doesn't believe she should be allowed to be happy.. She meets up also with friends of her grandmothers and is truly surprised to learn she'd lived in Singapore. She especially feels close to Alex who knew both twins.

The story is all about love, rivalry, betrayal, war and friendships and I thought it was a brilliant, brilliant novel. I loved the characters, who I grew to care for. Highly recommend.

My favourite type of book. Dual timeline with two interesting historical stories. Captured my interest from the first page and kept it all through this book. Five stars plus 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

An enthralling story of 2 love affairs for 2 generations. The novel, although begins during the war in the UK transfers to Singapore. A well researched story about life in Singapore before the Japanese invasion and after. Descriptions of life in a Japanese POW camp bought home exactly how terrible war is. Interesting to see how the women were treated too. Think 'Tenko' at various points in the story. My only criticism is that it felt a bit too long and drawn out. Difficult to tell when reading on a kindle.

Identical twins, Mae and Harriet, land in Singapore in 1897, and begin a story of love, selfishness, betrayal and misunderstanding. Over 40 years later their granddaughter, Ivy, is sent to Singapore as a listener to Japanese radio signals during the war. Here, Ivy finds friendship and love away from the horrors of the bombing in London. Then Japan invades…
I wish that I had read this when I first received it as I loved the characters and lived with their stories of heartbreak and redemption. I cannot recommend it highly enough – loved it.

A wonderful story of 2 love affairs spread over decades, both connected. Ivy is posted to Singapore and there discovers secrets of her grandmother's past life. Beautiful description of life in Singapore before the Japanese invasion and shocking descriptions of life in a Japanese p.o.w. camp
A really well written and enthralling book, would be wonderful as a tv series/film

I loved this book and was hooked from page one. Beautifully researched this sweeping saga follows the lives of the twins Harriet and Mae in Singapore in the late 19th century. They are embarrassingly illegitimate and are sent to live with a man who will inherite their estranged, father’s fortune when he chooses which one he will marry.

The storyline then takes us to London during WW2, a traumatised translator caught in the blitz.

The past and the present eventually come together in Japanese prisoner of war camp camp. Two love stories spaining the generations.

I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction

A moving tale that links lives from the late 19th century with those caught up in the second world war. Easy to read, but heartbreaking at times with excellent characterisation

I couldn’t put down from the moment I started reading it. I kept trying to find a spot that I could finish reading for the night but there wasn’t one and before I knew it it was 6am and 79% through the book!

Beautifully written dual timelines and characters as well as the descriptions of Singapore making the heat and sounds of the place creep into your subconsciousness, it certainly transported me from my boyfriends front room to a much warmer place thankfully! ( He’s to tight to put the heating on! )

Set in two time frames in Singapore, it is the story of Ivy, a Wren translator sent there at the height of World War 2 and Harriet and Mae who lived there in the 1890s.

Harriet and Mae are identical twins sent to Singapore as young women by their benefactor and forced to live with David Keeley, who is a rather cold, unlikable character who becomes very obsessed with marrying Harriet which will insure his inheritance from the girls’ father.

Ivy, a Wren translator receives orders to leave London to go to Singapore to make use of her expertise in Japanese. After a traumatic event she jumps at the chance of a fresh start even though she has to leave her beloved Grandmother Mae , her only living relative. There she meets some of the people her Grandmother knew but why did Mae never mentioned her time on the island? And the there is Kit! An Australian officer who she starts to fall in love with him. Would either one survive the war?

Their stories are irrevocably linked, past and present becomes heartbreakingly intertwined as secrets come to light and loves and losses are revealed chapter by chapter.

Both plot strands were compelling and normally in a book written in this way one part of the time line tends to resonate more than the other but in this novel I loved both settings.

The capitulation of Singapore and the atrocities perpetrated by the invaders were wonderfully written with an obvious amount of research to do the subject justice and making it tragically real.

This is a novel that has a bit of everything – love, war, betrayal, heartbreak, tragedy, redemption and hope. And as clichéd as it is, I really do highly recommend it, particularly if you like historical romance with a lot of suspense. This is by far the best book in this genre I have read for a long time!

And now that I have finished it … maybe I can catch up on my sleep!

What a beautiful and fluid book, I was captivated by the setting and enjoyed reading the book in one weekend to keep the 'flow'. Jenny Ashcroft is a very accomplished writer this is the second book of hers I have read and thoroughly enjoyed.

A beautifully written historical read. I loved reading about the characters and was charmed by their stories. One for lovers of historical fiction and romance. I would recommend. 4* from me.
My thanks to the publisher & Net|galley for the advance reader copy.

Absolute page turner! I cannot say how much I have enjoyed this book. The dual story lines were each wonderful in their own way and I adored that one of the main male characters, Kit, was Australian. It's so rare to see that. The settings and characters jumped from the page.
Fabulous!

Incredibly well researched and written narrative. Witty, full of life and sparkle. Clever enough to still use Ceylon for Sri Lanka.i read this well into the night and got a bit confused with the two narratives ( my fault, shouldn’t have read it tired) went back to point of confusion and reread afresh this morning.
So many different plates up in the air, how did author keep it going so well without boring the reader? I was so immersed in the story of Mae/Harriet, Ivy, Kit and Alex.
A really good book, should be read by anyone interested in history.
There are so many films and books of the time Bridge over the River Kwai immediately jumps to mind, but there are som many. Apart from the TV series Tenko, the womens story is so often overlooked.
Thank you for writing so well about the treatment dished out by the Japanese to POWs without overdoing it.

I loved Jenny Ashcroft’s previous novel so was excited to see this one up for review on NetGalley.
As in the last book, this one was very well researched which made for a wonderful historical suspense novel.
Set in two time frames in Singapore, it is the story of Ivy, a Wren translator sent there at the height of World War 2 and Harriet and Mae who lived there in the 1890s. Both plot strands were compelling and eventually linked up.
Harriet and Mae are identical twins sent to Singapore by their absent father who wants them married off due to their illegitimate background. He is a distant figure and the girls have never met him. They are forced to live with David who is obsessively strange, rather cold and suddenly very keen to marry Harriet which will insure his inheritance from the girls’ father.
When Harriet meets Alex and falls in love with him she sees a way out of their predicament but things don’t go as planned.
Meanwhile in 1940s London Mae’s granddaughter Ivy suffers two awful events which push her so close to the edge that she needs to see a psychiatrist. When her orders come to go to Singapore due to her expertise in Japanese she jumps at the chance of a fresh start even though she has to leave her beloved Grandmother Mae , her only living relative.
Ivy’s story in Singapore before the Japanese invasion is well described as she meets some of the people her Grandmother knew but finds it strange that Mae never mentioned her time on the island.
This is an historical romance with a lot of suspense in both plot lines. Normally in a book.constructed in this way I prefer one part of the time line but in this novel I loved both settings.
When Ivy meets Australian officer Kit and starts to fall in love with him I had to hold my breath as I knew what was coming with the capitulation of Singapore and the attrocities perpetrated by the invaders. Would either one survive the war?
Jenny Ashcroft was very knowledgeable about Singapore and I really was transported to the hot and steamy tropical island.
The characterisations were excellent and I definitely felt I got to know Ivy, Harriet and Mae. Jenny Ashcroft certainly knows how to bring people to life so they become more than characters in a book.
Highly recommended particularly if you like historical suspense. I raced through it transported to a far away island and now I would love to go there to check out all the places described in the book! Five stars from me.