War bride Ellie finds herself moving clear across the Atlantic to Newfoundland to be with her husband and young son. She has left her father and sister behind and tried to make life a good one for her children despite a harsh mother in law. Once her husband tragically drowns, life really becomes a struggle and she makes a deal with someone from her past.

Architect Sophie is on her way to NYC in September of 2001 to interview with a prestigious firm. The events of 9/11 divert her to Newfoundland where she looks up the aunt she’s never met, Ellie. Time spent with Ellie unveils secrets and hidden talent that Sophie wasn’t aware of. Her time in Tippys Tickle changes her and sets her out on a path of self discovery and a truth once buried deep in the ocean.

This story is so sensual and so touching. Alternating between WWII era and 9/11 era and beyond, you spend much of the book wondering why these two vastly different but strong and determined women had never met before. Ellie’s sister Dottie plays a big part of the story...but it is very easy not to like her until you realize that she has her own issues that she’s dealing with that make her the way she is and plays a part in why Ellie and Sophie are meeting so many years later.

The sense of suspense makes this story a page turner. The characters are all easily relatable. I smiled because there are dachshunds in this book and I’m a dachshund mom so I had a slight personal connection there! Another thing I loved about this book is the subtle use of whales to describe emotion. They spend their lives swimming along on a path that seems predestined but when they leap out of the the water, they become free and life can take on a new direction when they hit the water!

Highly recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for a WWII era book without all of the historical stuff. Thank you to NetGalley and Adrienne Chinn for a chance to read this before it’s publication date! It was wonderful!

This is an epic tale of family, tragedy and love set mostly in the wild Newfoundland Coast. The book is set in three time periods, 1946-1962, September 11, 2001 and September 2011. The story is of two sisters Ellie and Dottie, their husbands and their children Emmy, Winny and Sophie. The characters bring alive misunderstandings between family and how they can have a lasting impact in our lives.

Dottie lets her emotions take hold of her when her sister meets Thomas, a man from Newfoundland. She tries to control Ellie and does things along the way to try and keep Ellie and George, Ellie's longtime sweetheart prior to meeting Thomas together. When Ellie eventually marries Thomas and moves away, the sister's lives are severed forever. The choices and circumstances both find themselves in for the rest of the story impacted their own lives and the lives of their children.

I really loved how author Adrienne Chinn wove the stories between the three time periods. Her characters are well developed and you can see into their personalities clearly. Her beautiful descriptions of Newfoundland and the way she wrote the accents into the story make me want to visit there!!! I highly recommend this book!

****The English Wife is a complex family drama about two generations of women. Ellie came to Newfoundland as a WWII war bride. Sophie, stranded in Newfoundland on September 11, seeks out her relative with whom she has had little contact. Sent back to Newfoundland some years later by the company she works for Sophie reestablishes the relationship with Ellie and others she had met some ten years before. There are secrets and a very tangled web of lies to be revealed that should keep readers engaged. The characters are complex and the writing is good, although the format of going back and forth in time and the fact that the story is written in first person present tense was off putting for this reader. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

This book was so good. I didn't to put it down! The characters were well rounded, and the storyline sucked you into it and made you feel like you were really there. The author did an great job telling this story.