Ted Morgan's a stationmaster in Dorset in 1935, he’s a bachelor and he's never found someone he wanted to share his life with. Ted’s in charge of England’s most picturesque railway runs, he’s very efficient and the trains run on time. One of the regular passengers catches his eye, Annie Galbraith, she’s beautiful, and he develops feeling for her. Ted’s very shy, with his sister Norah’s encouragement, he tells Annie how he feels about her and he’s shocked when she returns his feelings. Annie’s seeing Bertram Clarke Watson, her father wants her to marry him and Annie’s father isn’t going to consider Ted as a suitable suitor for his daughter. Ted's informed the railway is going to close, he’s devastated, he’s desperately trying to find another job and tragedy strikes on the stations final day..

Tilly Thomson's marriage has just ended, mentally she’s struggling, and she’s lost her chance to have a family and her job. Her best friend Jo comes to the rescue, she contact’s Tilly’s dad Ken and he drives to London to see his daughter. Ken convinces Tilly she needs a break, it’s lovely in Dorset this time of the year and she can stay with him. Ken’s involved in the Michelhampton and Coombe Regis Railway Society, they're restoring the old station at Lynford and he hopes to get Tilly involved in the project. At first she’s not interested, she's struggling to get out of bed in the morning and drinking too much. Tilly finally gets her act together, goes to the station with Ken, she discovers some diaries hidden in the old ticket office, they belonged to Ted and she’s determined to solve the mystery around his lost love and what happened at the railway station on the day it closed.

The dual timeline story seamlessly links the past and the present together. The Stationmaster’s Daughter is a story about love, tragedy, heartache, history, secrets, solving an old mystery, moving forward and making peace with the past. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, four stars from me and I look forward to reading other books by Kathleen McGurl.

Tilly is in a deep depression and coping with it by drinking, her husband has left her, she has lost her job and she is having to stay with her friend Jo so her father, Ken, comes to collect her and take her back to his little seaside village. Ken's passion is railway memorabilia and he is currently working on a project of the local station that was closed in the thirties, so he tries to get Tilly interested in helping. When Tilly finds an old diary belonging to Ted the Station Master she is intrigued, he is a slow methodical man, devoted to his sister, but his life changes when Annie starts to use his station, he falls totally in love with her but why would someone like her be interested in him...... and what was the death at the station about?

A good story, a bit of a slow burner, working well in the two timelines of Ted and Tilly, it is such a lovely love story between Ted and Annie but things were never going to be easy. Ted was a great character and so loyal that you really wanted things to work out for him but there were so many obstacles.

New author. New gem.
I liked this book for its storyline. I was beautifully entertained. This was one of those historical romance books when after reading it, you simply want to read some more! 😊

A lovely read a wonderful story drew me in kept me turning the pages.Will be looking for more books by this talented author,#netgalley #hq

I usually don’t read historical fiction but this one I did enjoy it was told beautifully and I couldn’t put it down

A wonderfully moving story, truly heartwarming. Lovely characters too. I couldn't put it down! Another fab read from Kathleen McGurl.

this is a wonderful historical fiction novel. it was interesting from the first page. it gripped me and i fell in love with all these charcters. thank you netgalley!

5☆ A Captivating and Poignant Read, that Touched my Heart! A real Page Turner

The Stationmaster’s Daughter is a Highly Compelling and Poignant Read that will Touch your heart.

The story is told by dual points of view and over different time periods.

Tilly is going through a very tough Break up.
After going through so many traumatic events, and then realising all her husband cares about is having a baby, he finally leaves her absolutely broken and devastated.

After a little persuasion she moves back home with her Father Ken who vows to help her mend her heart.
Not entirely telling her father everything she closes off.

Ken is currently working on restoring the railway station in Dorset and tries to persuade Tilly to help. I loved learning all about the railway and it's history.

This is where the story slips back to the past.
We are introduced to Ted the old stationmaster, as we uncover his story and his secret love for a passenger Annie.
Which I have to say I think at times I enjoyed more than Tilly's.
I loved Ted's story he is such an endearing character.

I better stop there incase I give something away.

The Stationmaster’s Daughter is a Captivating and Enthralling Historical time slip, it was a poignant and heart warming read that pulled on my heartstrings.
There is a wonderful sense of mystery, intrigue, yet lots of heartache, tragedy, Lonliness and some romance to keep things light.
The Characters are beautifully created and very well written.
What I loved was how seamlessly in which the story flowed between time lines. I found myself eager to turn the pages to read more.

So if you love Historical Fiction, that is full of intrigue, mystery and spans across timelines, then you will adore The Stationmaster’s Daughter, it's the perfect read for cosying up. I can't recommend reading this Gorgeous Book Enough.

Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read a complementary copy of this book in return for review based upon my honest opinion.

This book is told in a dual time storyline. In the present time we have Tilly who has just lost her husband, her job and her chance of having children; she is as down as she can be and can’t see a way out of her despair. She is staying with her friend Jo, but her dad, Ken, comes to collect her and take her to his quaint little seaside village where he feels that she will be able to recover and find herself once again. Tillys first couple of weeks have her drinking quite heavily and then one night she makes the mistake of getting really drunk and sleeping with stranger; Tilly eventually sees that she’s only hurting herself and she starts to go through the railroad memorabilia that her father gave her as a project, this project really puts her back on track and she finds herself involved in the story of the past.

The past storyline is about Ted, the stationmaster for the last 16 years. He is a shy unassuming man who believes in punctuality and a good work ethic. His closest relation is his sister and her children who come to stay with him on some holidays. Life is routine and and then one day Annie walks into his train station and he falls in love instantly. What follows is a slow, sweet love story between two people who see one another every day. Ted finally realizes that Annie likes him too, but she is bound by duty to her father to marry a man of his choosing for his financial benefit. Will love win or will duty claim their love.

This book has mysteries that Tilly feels she has to solve. A death at the railroad in the past and a woman refusing to sell the last piece of the line because of a family grudge. The ending to this book is bittersweet in some ways but left me feeling warm and fuzzy. Lovely story. This author is good at feel good stories.

Wow, this story makes me fall in love more with historical fiction!

I'm not into Tilly too much. Not a fan of her personality and I understood why her attitude about life is like that. She had miscarriages and her ex-husband left her for someone who can give him a family. There is too much depression with Tilly that I truly feel while reading the story but I am happy that in the ending she finally find her home.

Poor Ted! This kind-hearted stationmaster who just fall in love with the right woman in the wrong situation. I cried for him. He didn't deserve what happened to his life after all.

I liked how the past and present stories being connected. The amazing plot twist! I didn't expect that! Kudos to you Miss Kathleen. I just feel bad for Ted. I wish he has a happier ending with his great love Annie.

Thank you so much the very generous HQ Digital and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed reading The Stationmaster's Daughter. It has well written descriptions and the book has a great pace. It also intertwine the past and the present in a nice way.

This is beauty and craftsmanship at its best in the form of this stunning story. The sweeping countryside is used as the backdrop for this moving narrative to set its story upon and together they create an emotional and beautiful piece.

This time slip story weaves the past and present together in a seamless fashion and I was hooked to each and every work of this tale and didn't want it to end. The characters came alive on the page before my eyes and I was swept away on a moving and emotional journey that had me reaching for the tissues on several occasions.

The Stationmaster's Daughter is beauty and love delectably entwined together in an incredible story that had me gripped from the start. As I've come to learn from a Kathleen McGurl story nothing is ever as it seems and twists and turns are waiting for you at every corner so hold onto your seat as she takes you on one unforgettable ride.

The Stationmaster’s Daughter is a beautiful tale of love and tragedy told in a brilliantly executed dual timeline.

This is not my first Kathleen McGurl novel, so I am hardly surprised at her beautiful writing, but there is something very special about this novel. With the dual timelines and alternating POVs, the characters jump off the page and are brought to life. All the wonderful flaws and strengths of the characters were masterfully penned in such a way that these characters were lovable and unlovable in all the right ways.

The descriptions are magnificent and the plot is paced perfectly. I love the timelines and POV changes. Not all authors can pull this off, but in this novel, the stories are aligned perfectly to merge. This is a heart-string pulling story, and I loved every minute of it.

I highly recommend checking this one out.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources. All opinions are my own.*

Find this review and more on my blog: https://www.jessicabelmont.wordpress.com

I have a little and rather embarrassing confession to make. Although I have a couple of Kathleen's books on my mountainous 'To Be Read' mountain, I haven't actually read one yet. Well judging by how much I enjoyed reading 'The Stationmaster's Daughter', I can guarantee that her books will not be on that mountain for much longer. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Stationmaster's Daughter' but more about that in a bit.
There are two main characters in this book. Ted, whose story mainly takes place in the past and Tilly, whose story mainly takes place in the present. I have to be honest and say that it took quite a while for me to warm to Ted. Even after having read the book, I can't say that I like him. He is a stationmaster in his forties, who comes across as a lonely sort of person. He has a sister, a niece and two nephews. His work is his life and he doesn't really have anything outside of work. I think that Ted would have liked to have got married and then had a family but it hasn't happened. One day, his life starts to brighten up when he spots a young lady, who is extremely attractive and he develops a crush on her. To start with he does nothing about his crush but after a bit of encouragement from his sister, he decides to do something about approaching her and initiating a conversation with her. Has Ted found the love of his life? What does fate have in store for Ted? Well for the answers to that question 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 couldn't help but take to Tilly from the first moment I met her. When the story begins, Tilly is at her lowest ebb, for reasons which are unclear to start with. As the story progresses, little snippets of information are dropped into the story that begin to explain things. The way her behaviour is explained leads me to believe that she has suffered a nervous breakdown. How do I know? Well I can't claim to be a psychiatric nurse but I have been in a similar position to Tilly in that I had a nervous breakdown whilst at work. Years and years worth of depression and anxiety built up and then exploded in spectacular fashion. Anyway enough about me. Tilly is desperate to have a child, but for one reason and another her earlier pregnancies don't go further than about 12 weeks. I really could have swung for Tilly's then husband because he moreorless blamed her and he assumed that something she had done led to losing the baby. I haven't had a baby but I do know how desperate people can be to have a big family but for one reason and another it just ain't happening. Nobody can make Tilly feel worse than Tilly makes herself. She carries around an awful amount of guilt with her. Will Tilly find the happiness that she deserves? Will Tilly rebuild 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.
Oh my goodness, 'The Stationmaster's Daughter' was certainly one hell of an emotional read for me for reasons that I explained in my look at the characters. I found that I empathised with Tilly and I just had to keep reading to see what fate had in store for her. I felt for Ted as regards his loneliness and again I had to keep reading to see if he found happiness. I didn't read this book over the course of a day but I had to read it over a few days, because I found that I was becoming too emotionally involved in the story and I would have to put the book to one side for a while. The pages turned increasingly quickly as my desperation to find out what happened steadily grew and grew. All too soon I reached the end of the story which I was so disappointed about. I don't mean that in a negative way but I was enjoying the author's writing style, the characters and the storylines so much that I just wanted the story to continue on and on.
'The Stationmaster's Daughter' is beautifully and sensitively written. 'The Stationmaster's Daughter' is written using two different timelines. One timeline deals with Ted and his life and the other timeline deals with Tilly and her life. At first it isn't immediately apparent as to how the two timelines are linked but as time goes on the link between the two timelines becomes clearer. This way of telling the story really works, the different chapters interlink really well and the story flows seamlessly as a result. The author certainly knew how to grab my attention from the start and she kept that attention all the way through the book. Kathleen writes so realistically that I began to feel as though I was part of the story myself. I even found that I was trying to interact with the book. Yes I know the story is fictional and not real but if I enjoy a book to the extent that I enjoyed reading 'The Stationmaster's Daughter', I tend to 'live' the story as if it were real. Kathleen deals with some pretty tough topics within the story but she deals with them with great sensitivity and compassion.
Reading this book certainly took me on one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. I found that whatever the characters went through, I went through and my emotions mirrored the emotions of the different characters. I found myself welling up with tears on several occasions and at times there was nothing I wanted to do more than jump inside the pages of the book to give certain people a hug.
In short, 'The Stationmaster's Daughter' is an emotional and haunting read and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I can't wait to read what Kathleen McGurl comes up with next. Here's hoping that we don't have too long to wait but whilst I wait I will definitely be reading Kath's books that are currently on my 'TBR' mountain just as soon as I can. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Dual timeline stories seem to be all the rage at the moment, and when they’re as skilfully handled and beautifully written as this one then I’m really glad that they are!
So much goes on in this story, both in the present and past. We have misunderstandings, secrets, love, errors and atonement. There’s tension, fulfilment, disappointments and joy. As a reader you run a rollercoaster of emotions along with the characters.
Every character we meet is rounded, interesting and very persuasively portrayed. Settings are sharply detailed and convincing. That of the 1930s is particularly appealing. It was a time of great hardships – physical, financial and social - but there was also an air of overriding simplicity. That’s not to say the modern part of the story is inferior, because it isn’t, but I got a warmer feeling from the earlier timeline events.
This book is a total pleasure to read and I highly recommend it.

I’ve read most of this author’s timeslip novels, and they keep getting better in terms of mysteries to be solved, emotional, poignant life journeys to be explored, and believable characters that you empathise with from the first page. The genealogy connection between the past and present is always cleverly done and is the author’s unique selling point, something that makes her stories both engaging and original.

Both Ted and Tilly’s stories are very emotional and poignant, Ted’s tragic love story in the 1930s is particularly touching, his honesty and simplicity make him vulnerable, and whilst you empathise with him, you are also horrified by others manipulation of his innocence. Tilly is also on a knife-edge, after the abusive behaviour of her husband, whose lack of compassion is horrifying. Her emotional recovery with the help of her father Ken and friend Jo is heartwarming, and the railway restoration society plays its part too and connects the past and present in a believable, interesting way.

The story is complex but easy reading, as it slips convincingly and effortlessly from the present to the past. Connections are made, clues given, with insights into the time and place, moving the story on, but letting the reader enjoy the experience.

The perfect escape, which will appeal to a wide audience who like genealogy, history, mystery and romance.

I received a copy of this book from HQ Digitial via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Despite being separated by over eighty years in time, Ted and Tilly are dealing with similar challenges.

Tilly is recovering from traumatic events in her personal life and the unexpected breakdown of her marriage to Ian. Both have brought her to the brink of despair. Thankfully her dear friend, Jo, and her lovely dad, Ken, are there to support her. Moving down to Dorset to stay with her father, Tilly initially rejects his wise advice and his attempts to encourage her to focus on the future. She turns to drink to soothe the anguish she feels until a chance encounter changes everything. Soon, Tilly finds her interest piqued by what she finds while working on the archives of the railway preservation society to which her father belongs.

Ted is a simple soul who has always found relationships with other people difficult and never imagined himself having a wife or family. That is until he meets Annie and a different life suddenly becomes a possibility. However, the announcement of the closure of the railway throws Ted’s life into turmoil. How will he cope with a change that threatens his job, home, routine and – most importantly – his relationship with Annie? The author really immerses the reader in Ted’s dilemma so you experience along with him each doubt and fear of this sweet, gentle man. Luckily, Ted has his sister Norah to provide a little reassurance and wise advice, although even she is unable to prevent the tragic events that will follow.

At the end of the book, the two storylines come together in a completely satisfying way. And when the full story of the dramatic event described in the prologue is finally revealed, there is sadness but also a new understanding and appreciation of the choices made by those involved.

The skilful writing and heartfelt, poignant story really drew me into the book. The Stationmaster’s Daughter will warm the cockles of your heart and quite possibly cause you to shed a tear or two

I thought that this was a brilliant book, the plot was really well developed, I warmed to all the characters from the outset and loved getting to know them all as the book progressed, it was a heart-felt tale and you could feel the author’s enthusiasm

The author has an excellent writing style and she really transported me back in time and she brought the whole period to life – and the setting for the book was spot on and I loved the dual time period and way that the story was told – it really was very good

Very well written, a lovely plotline with some excellent and well developed characters – 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!!

Back in March, I discovered Kathleen McGurl’s writing for the first time with The Forgotten Secret and I fell in love with it. Kathleen writes stories that I love: contemporary and historical fiction, a mystery, characters I can easily connect with, well researched, beautifully told. Needless to say that I was really excited when I was contacted about taking part in the blog tour for The Stationmaster’s Daughter.

Kathleen McGurl knows how to tell a story and a heartbreaking one at that. The Stationmaster’s Daughter starts in the present day with Tilly Thomson at a pivotal time in her life and and her dad, Ken, coming to rescue her. The story then alternates between Tilly’s recovery and 1936 with Ted Morgan’s story, the stationmaster at Lynford station.

Oh, dear, sweet Ted. I warmed to him immediately. He is proud to be a stationmaster and lives for his work. Then he meets Annie, one of the regular passengers, and his life changes forever. I did feel for him and, on occasions, I wanted to jump into the pages to hug him.

One of the many things I liked about this story, and The Forgotten Secret, is how Kathleen McGurl intertwined the historical story with the present. Tilly’s dad volunteers for the local railway restoration society and asks Tilly to get involved, archiving the documents they find and displaying them in the railway museum at Lynford. In doing so, Tilly comes across Ted’s diary and so his story plays out part in the present day as well as in ‘real time’.

Although there were these parallels between Tilly’s and Ted’s stories, I was quite interested in the parallels between Tilly and Annie, in terms of how women were viewed in society in their respective periods.

The historical part of the story is set 4 years before World War Two, when a woman’s place was either at work whilst living with parents before she got married or in the home after she got married. Fast forward 80 years and to Tilly living with her dad after her marriage has ended and working out her way forward as a single, independent woman. The relationships that both women have with their father’s are therefore different. Annie’s father saw his daughter’s place in society for his gain whereas Tilly’s father is so loving, caring and supportive and just wants her to be happy. How times have changed for the better.

The Stationmaster’s Daughter is an escapist timeslip novel about love, tragedy and overcoming bad times for brighter futures. I’m looking forward to Kathleen McGurl’s next story.

In this twin timeline story, the author handles the two threads with aplomb. I particularly enjoyed the earlier story which was set in the 1930's in what can seem like an innocent time before the Second World War arrived and changed people's lives beyond recognition. You have to feel for Ted and Annie, especially when the full truth of what has happend emerges. Secrets from the past and a terrible tragedy hangs over the story with the hint of resolution coming near the end.

The present day story which centres on Tilly's situation has a contemporary feel as Tilly tries to face up to her new reality. She has some profound sadnesses to face up to but there is a touching theme of the power of family ties to underpin her situation. Central to both stories is the glorious Devon countryside and the old Station itself which is part of everytday life in the 1930's but relegated to a project for enthusiasts in the present day. With some relatable characters who have flaws as well as strengths, this is an enjoyable read with a twist in the tail.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book