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

If there’s one thing this Ginger Book Geek likes, it’s historical fiction and especially fiction set in Wartime Britain. So imagine my excitement when I read the synopsis for ‘The Girl In The Pink Raincoat’. I just knew that this was one book that I needed to read and I am so glad that I did read it because I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, but more about that in a bit.
Gracie is a young woman, who works in a factory making raincoats. She falls for the owner’s nephew, Jacob. The problem being that they start to fall in love just as war is declared. Although Jacob is Jewish, he is actually a German national, so the less tolerant members of society assume that Jacob is a Nazi on account of his German nationality. Gracie has to make sense of all sorts of hateful attitudes that are flying around. Jacob is interned as an enemy alien and he is taken to an internment camp. Understandably, Gracie is devastated by this turn of events and at first she thinks that people are being supportive out of the goodness of their hearts but have they other aims in mind? Gracie is one of those characters that seems very much like the girl next door. She is a lovely, loyal, feisty young girl, who like most people of her age has her own dreams and ambitions. Will Gracie find Jacob? Will Gracie be able to move on with her life? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
I have to be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into ‘The Girl In The Pink Raincoat’ but that has more to do with the fact that I was tired when I read it and should not be taken as a criticism of the book itself. Once I got into the story then I soon became addicted to reading it. I simply had to keep reading to see how the story panned out. I began to think of Gracie as a friend and so I kept turning those pages to find out if she found Jacob again and if she managed to move on with her life. The further I got into the story, the quicker the pages seemed to be turning and the faster I got through the book. I seemed to race through the latter half of the book and I was most disappointed to reach the end, as I was enjoying the story so much that I just wanted the book to continue.
‘The Girl In The Pink Raincoat’ is well written. The author has one of those writing styles that draws you in and refuses to let you go. I was completely in the author’s grip as it were but then I was a happy captive. The author uses such powerful and realistic descriptions that I really did feel as though I had travelled back through time in a time machine and that I was part of the story myself. It was as if everything Gracie went through, I went through and everything she felt, I felt. I even found that I was interacting with the book in the sense that I began to argue with or talk back to the book. Yes I know this is a work of fiction but if I enjoy a book, I tend to ‘live’ the story as if it were real. There were several times during my reading of this book where I wanted to jump inside the pages of this book to sort certain people out or to give Gracie a shoulder to cry on.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Girl In The Pink Raincoat’ and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Alrene’s books in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

4☆ A Compelling and Enthralling Historical Romance, with a Saga/Mystery Twist!

First of all I want to start by just mentioning how captivating the cover is! I love it!

THE GIRL IN THE PINK RAINCOAT is a wonderfully compelling and enthralling historical romance/ saga set in Manchester in the 1930s.

I love historical romances especially ones set in the war times.

Gracie works in the Rosenberg Raincoat Factory making Raincoats. It's not the best job and the conditions are awful, but one good thing to come from it was Jacob!
It's here she falls in love with Jacob.
They are not meant to be together and life isn't easy for them, but they just cant help being drawn to each other.

So when the are due to be married, Gracie is left bewildered and devastated when he never turns up. With no explanation or reason.
She is determined to find out what has happened to him no matter the outcome.

Gracie is a wonderful character, she's strong, independent, resilient, determined, She is kind and has a big heart, a breath of fresh air when such devastation surrounds them.
My heart went out to her when she lost Jacob. The two of them had been through so much.

THE GIRL IN THE PINK RAINCOAT truly is a wonderful mix of intrigue, passion, romance, heartache, devastation, mystery, underhanded tactics, friendship and strength.
ALRENE has created an atmospheric and poignant account of war times and how life was for people.
The Characters are strong, likeable and well thought out.
There are a few cleverly plotted twists and turns to keep you on your toes which I loved.

If you enjoy Historical Romances with a Saga/ mystery twist with a passionate yet heart breaking romance, then you will adore
THE GIRL IN THE PINK RAINCOAT

Thank you to Aria Fiction for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A terrific wartime saga - this one has lots of reading in it!

Since the death of her father, it's only ever been Gracie and her mam; like most other families they struggle but manage to get by. Gracie works at Rosenberg Raincoats as a machinist and, for the most part, enjoys her work and the camaraderie there. When she falls in love with the boss's nephew, it causes all sorts of friction in her life. When Jacob does a vanishing act, it almost destroys Gracie - how can she continue not knowing where her sweetheart is?

Set in Manchester at the very beginning of WWII, this is a beautiful and enigmatic tale with it's basis in truth. The story is skilfully woven into real events and is all the more exciting for it. The characters are well-rounded and the writing is carefully structured, turning this novel into a very attractive read. There are a lot of ups and downs along the way and the conclusion is very satisfying indeed. With it's fair share of sadness and happiness, it's a very accurate reflection - in my opinion, not that I was around to know - of domestic life in Britain during that period.

I loved Gracie; she was a flawed character and all the better for it. I could easily place myself in her position, and really enjoyed everything about this book. Full credit to Alrene Hughes for her skills in writing and creating this one, and I'm absolutely delighted to have another of hers in my tbr list. Absolutely a full five stars!

My thanks to publisher Head of Zeus for my copy via NetGalley, and in particular to Victoria Joss for inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour. As always, all opinions stated here are entirely my own.

First, I would like to thank Head of Zeus for asking me to review this wonderful book. I hadn't read anything by Alrene Hughes before but I love a romance set in war time and this was amazing. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I adore Gracie who has much more courage than she realises. She goes through so much but yet comes out the other side as a much stronger person. Her romance with Jacob is so amazing to read and how it blossoms brings a smile to your face but there is sadness to for them but this makes it much more real and it has such a lovely positive message. Romeo and Juliet set in war time England. I adore the plot and how the message comes about but I cannot say anything here as it would ruin the reading experience. The characters in this story are so real and the situation they find themselves in due to the war is something I had heard about but had not read about in a story. The Italian and German Jews who had made England their home before the war and were then took away to camps, it added real depth to the romance.
This is such a well written story full of friendship, love and hope. I wen through so many emotions. A must read for all romance fans this is truly a story that will stay with me.

Gracie is an endearing character, young, naive, but optimistic and full of life, with a smile never far from her face. It is this bubbliness that attracts Jacob, even though he realises that any relationship between them would be fraught with conflict.

The setting and era of this story are vividly portrayed, you can imagine the raincoat factory, the bombsites and the people, as they try to live their lives during wartime. Anyone who has listened to their grandparents and parents stories about 'the war', will recognise familiar concepts, and it is this relatability that makes the story so powerful.

The plot is well constructed, with a mystery and romance. The prejudice rife at the time is evident and is an important theme. Wartime romance with a twist. Family drama, strong friendships and a menacing undercurrent of betrayal and obsession, something for everyone in this wartime tale.

I received a copy of this book from Head of Zeus in return for an honest review.

Affecting, absorbing, and twisty!

The Girl in the Pink Raincoat is an intriguing story that takes you back to the streets of Manchester during the late 1930s, and into the life of Gracie Earnshaw a cheery, resilient, young woman who suddenly finds herself confused, overwhelmed, and heartbroken after her bridegroom-to-be unexpectedly goes missing, and family secrets threaten everything she believed about her past.

The writing is clear and fluid. The characters are resilient, hardworking, and determined. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel subtly into a compelling tale of life, loss, love, family, heartbreak, friendship, secrets, betrayal, obsession, and war.

Overall, The Girl in the Pink Raincoat is an uplifting, atmospheric, emotive tale about surviving wartime, taking chances, following your heart, and the power of first love.

An enjoyable wartime saga of love, war, secrets and courage, The Girl in the Pink Raincoat is a dramatic historical tale that touches the heart and will keep readers riveted to the page from beginning to end.

Life was anything but easy in 1939. Jobs were scarce, food wasn’t always easily available and keeping your loved ones fed, clothed and with a roof over their heads was a struggle that so many people got used to. With employment opportunities not exactly being plentiful, people would take what they could get and make the most of it which is why Gracie spends her days working on the factory floor of Rosenberg Raincoats factory. The hours are long, the pay is minimal and the stench of chemicals, the heat and the deafening noises absolutely unbearable, but Gracie has no other choice but to turn up for work, day in, day out and make the best of it. Gracie thought that she had absolutely nothing to look forward to on the factory floor – until the boss’s charismatic nephew, Jacob strides into her life and turns her entire world upside down.

Gracie and Jacob quickly find themselves falling madly in love with one another. Despite the vast social differences that separate them, Gracie and Jacob are drawn together by a love that simply could not be denied. However, they are very much aware that theirs is a romance that was going to be fraught with difficulties and hardship. Many people do not want them to be together and do not imagine that they would have much of a future. Chief among their detractors is Charlie Nuttall, who is driven by a relentless jealousy to make Gracie his. Charlie is not going to stop until he has succeeded in his quest to make Gracie his possession – and he will go to any lengths to achieve his objective…

But when Jacob goes missing, a determined Gracie vows to find him. She will not compromise on her happiness nor will she let anybody or anything stand in her way to be with the man she loves with all of her heart. As she prepares herself for the fight of her life, Gracie finds herself needing all the strength and courage which she possesses to find Jacob and be by his side.

Can she find Jacob? Or will dangerous foes succeed in tearing them apart forever?

Alrene Hughes has the storyteller’s gift and with The Girl in the Pink Raincoat, she has penned a mesmerizing, searingly emotional and heart-breakingly poignant saga that had me reaching for the tissues on many an occasion. The Girl in the Pink Raincoat captivates, delights and entertains from the very first page and features a brave, courageous and determined heroine which readers simply cannot help but admire, a powerful love story that is simply outstanding and plenty of pathos and twists and turns to keep them spellbound.

Alrene Hughes is a writer to watch out for in the saga field and I cannot wait to see what else this gifted writer has in store for us.

Shattered dreams.

Gracie Earnshaw, although well-read, comes from a relatively poor background. Brought up by her single mother, Sarah, she has found work in a factory making raincoats.

Jacob Rosenberg, the owner’s nephew, realises that there is something extraordinary about Gracie and against all the odds, (he's German and Jewish) they fall in love. On the day they are supposed to get married, Jacob is arrested and interned as part of the round-up of all Germans as war with Hitler has broken out.

Gracie is devastated by this and thinks that Alan, a fellow worker at the factory, is merely being supportive, but does he have other intentions?

I found the storyline lacking in so many areas. Or maybe that this story of boy meets girl, so played to death.

Alrene Hughes is an excellent author who has done research on the era she's writing about. Unfortunately, that was not enough to save the storyline for me.

Imbali

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This is a rather typical war time love story with a bit of a twist. Enjoyable for what it is but it took me sometime to read as it did not grip me completely. My Mum would love it and I will recommend it to her.

I found this book hard to put down so i savoured my reading of Gracie,Jacob,Maria,Sarah and all the others what a lovely story of love and determination.Gracie is a very entertaining young girl she loves to tell stories and keeps her fellow workers happy.Once war is declared Gracie and Jacobs love for each other grows stronger and they make a date to marry.At the registry office they wait for Jacob and they wait until Sarah takes Gracie home and comforts her,a knock at the door brings Maria into the house with news that Jacob has been arrested as an enemy alien.Grace is determined to find out where he has been taken and get him released.I have loved reading this book and i will highly recommend it.