This book is beautifully written which tugs at your heart strings.
The writing is so exquisite and each page is filled with beauty.
Many weeks after reading this I still think about the characters often. I have to read myself that they are not real.

This book is full of secrets and is focused on the lives of three women. I typically enjoy historical fiction books, but unfortunately, the book did not appeal to me. It did not flow smoothly and the characters were shallow and not well developed. I looked forward to reading the book and was disappointed at many aspects that were lacking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoutre for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I could not for anything get into this story, however, this author is well-loved and I have heard from many patrons that they loved it. I am going to try and get a copy of the audio.

Sisters Connie and Evie live at Cedar Hall a house on the grounds of the orphanage run by her their father Ezra Burroughs at Weirfield in England. In 1934, the orphanage is home to a hundred abandoned children and babies. Connie and Evie help look after the orphans, their father provides a safe place for the children to live and he's a respected member of the community. Newborn babies are found on the doorstep, they stay in the nursery and when they leave and Connie assumes they had been legally adopted. Ezra Burroughs is a complicated man, he’s extremely religious, he can be very nice, and he has a secretive and dangerous side. He converted the upstairs of the old coach house into a room for himself, and sometimes Connie thought she heard crying coming from the building?

Sarah Jennings is devastated when she’s questioned by the police about her husband Alex, they run a successful restaurant together and she has no idea her husband's involved in illegal activities. She leaves London, to say with her father William at his cottage at Weirfield and she needs time to decide what’s she’s going to do. She notices Cedar Hall is up for sale, the old house has always fascinated her and her father William was abandoned at the orphanage as a baby and he’s trying to find out about his birth family. Her father isn’t well, so Sarah decides to try and solve the mystery herself and she visits Connie Burroughs in her nursing home.

Connie promised her father, she would keep his papers private, she questions if she has done the right thing, she did notice some sinister things happening at the orphanage and maybe it’s time for her to expose her father’s past and free herself from the burden she’s been carrying for all these years. The Dual timeline narrative goes between the 1930’s in England and India and present time England and it’s fascinating to read. A story about secrets, family, duty, mystery, adoption, and illegal activities being hidden and covered up in the past and the present.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, it’s well written, hard to put down, and I highly recommend The Orphan House by Ann Bennett and five stars from me. I have shared my review on Goodreads, Twitter, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

An intriguing story of mystery and family secrets stretching from a quiet English village to India. I found I was drawn in from the first pages and liked the characters and couldn't wait for the secrets to unfold

The Orphan House by Ann Bennett is a wonderful historic fiction book that follows multiple storylines all centered around discovering secrets of an orphanage, specially during the 1930s. The book and story overall was captivating and I dreaded finishing it as I wanted to continue to read about the characters and their lives. It is an interesting look at the difference in social norms and values of past decades and how they affect the lives of generations of individuals.

This is what happens when you let your TBR pile get out of control. You end up reviewing ARCS that have been in your TBR pile for nearly a year.

The Orphan House is a dual timeline novel, in fact a three-timeline novel moving from current day, to 1930s to India. On the breakup of her marriage Sarah Jennings arrives at her father’s village and on a whim buys the building that used to house the orphanage her father was brought up in.

Her father is ill and Sarah wants to help him find his birth parents before its to late.

This is a lovely story that as I said dips between past and present, with an unexpected trip to India but there were threads that I felt added nothing to it particularly Sarah’s ex husband Alex who brought nothing to the story.
This is a haunting story with a good plot, without delving into child cruelty which sometimes I can find upsetting.

Three female characters, Sarah in the present, Connie in the present and Anna through diary entries. Sarah helping her sick father find truth about his past. Connie and her sister grew up in Cedar House, an orphanage owned by their father. Now she lives in nursing home but carries secrets about Cedar House, secrets that may help Sarah. The mystery is Anna, who through her diary entries we learn more and more and are treated to her description of beautiful India.
While the story was entertaining enough, I didn’t feel any of the characters were given the option to properly explore their situation, leaving us readers wanting more without ever getting it! It was like being thirsty and then only given one drop of water. Overall I enjoyed it well enough, just not a favorite of mine.
Thanks to Ann Bennett, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

Well-Written story with an interesting plot based off of real life experiences and some suspense. The divorce from a man that she thought she knew started a chain of events she couldn't forsee.I highly recommend this book.

An absolutely beautiful book! So we'll written and pulls you into the lives of two woman unknowingly entwined.
When Sarah leaves her husband she goes back to live close to her father, her father is gravely ill and is determined to find out about his real mother as he was a foundling baby, left at the local orphanage.
Connie and her sister grew up in the orphanage but not as orphans but as children of the man who ran it. Connie is now a frail old lady who has lived in solitude in Cedar House with her sister until her sister recently died. After a fall Connie is forced to move into a care home and sell Cedar house with all its dark secrets.
The two women become connected in the most unlikely way as the story unfolds. Secrets and lies are revealed as this fantastic story goes on. A lovely heartfelt book.

Full of history and mystery, this is a tale of love and loss, and the heartbreak of family betrayal and learning those we look up to have very flawed existence. I was drawn into the depths from the very first chapter and was captivated throughout as secrets were revealed. The threads of each individual part of the story were interesting and evocative on their own, but even more fulfilling, they were woven together into a rich and vivid tapestry.

My thanks for the complimentary copy via NetGalley.

Baby born 5th September 1934 approximately. Place of birth, unknown; father, unknown; mother unknown.

But all these unknowns add up to one thing that is perfectly clear...someone knows something.

It's 1934 and Connie Burroughs sees her father, the Reverend Ezra Burroughs, holding a bundle in his arms. Another abandoned baby left on the steps of Cedar Hall orphanage. But Connie knows that Father will see that the little mite is taken care of as he hands the bundle over to the housekeeper. He will take care of the paperwork and see that the child goes to a good home.

Present day: Sarah Jennings has just experienced the shock of her life. While her chef husband is overseas, police have knocked on her door wanting to go through the financial records of their restaurant business. During this process she discovers that not only was Alex mixed up with some questionable business partners but he appears to be having an affair as well. Packing her bags and leaving immediately, Sarah drives to the small Berkshire village where her father now lives.

But for some reason upon arrival in Weirfield-on-Thames, she stops outside a now derelict and seemingly abandoned Cedar Hall house that once stood adjacent to the foreboding orphanage for many years...until it was demolished to make way for a housing development. There is a For Sale sign hidden amidst the hedgerow and she wonders what secrets lay behind those doors. Sarah knows her father began his life at the orphanage for he made no secret of it and now, as she stands on the doorstep enjoying a cigarette out of the rain, she somehow feels drawn to it. When the real estate agent surprises her with his arrival and offers to show her around she finds she can't refuse. But as she walks through the rooms and its empty halls there is something haunting and sinister about the place. And yet, she is still drawn to it.

Connie Burroughs is the last remaining member of the Burroughs family of Cedar Hall. After sustaining a broken leg in a fall, she now finds herself in long term residential care and that she must sell Cedar Hall to cover her costs. But Connie is the gatekeeper to her father's secrets which lay hidden within the Hall and, according to her father's wishes, she must protect his memory at all costs. Her solicitor removes her belongings and paperwork to keep in trust until she is able to go through them but Connie fears that her father's secrets may come to light if she doesn't personally see to them herself. And yet, all too soon, her promise to her father becomes impossible to keep when, after the Hall is sold, some papers and belongings of his are uncovered.

Before moving into the care home, Connie had some of her most important possessions brought to her and buried deep within her sewing kit is one such thing. A diary, leather-bound and locked, which has remained unread for eight decades even by Connie herself. For in 1934, she found herself entrusted with it by a woman whose face has haunted her since. It is only now that Connie unlocks the diary and begins to read Anna's heartbreaking story.

1934: Anna finds herself in India after a scandal surrounding her father and married off to Lt Col Donald Foster, a man with his own demons. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Anna finds herself largely alone and left to her own devices. She spends days travelling by rickshaw to various places throughout the area to explore and sketch. But one day, she makes a mistake that sends her back to England where she crosses paths with young Connie Burroughs, entrusting her with a secret.

Meanwhile Connie's present dreams take her back to the past as she recalls secrets locked behind closed doors and her desire to know what lay beyond them. But eighty years of secrets has taken its toll on Connie and she wonders how much longer she can protect the truth from being revealed.

Three women whose lives intersect as the past meets the present in tragic circumstances with overwhelming results.

My first book by Ann Bennett, THE ORPHAN HOUSE is a delightful read filled with suspense, mystery and intrigue as Sarah tries to uncover the truth. It is a historical book with a difference in that the only historical timeline is seen through Connie's eyes as she remembers the past and in reading Anna's diary. It was different and yet still enjoyable.

Although I found THE ORPHAN HOUSE a relatively easy read, I thought some of it to be a little convoluted in presentation. For example, when Connie is reliving moments from her past these could have been placed as new chapters and titled "Connie, 1934" to make the past and the present easier to distinguish, rather than throw her memories into the present day chapter. Also with Anna's diary entries, I felt the chapter should also have been given over to Anna completely and titled "Anna, 1934" and kept in italics so the reader knows it is from her diary. Separating chapters into past and present makes for much easy reading and the story flows with greater ease.

While the story is probably somewhat predictable, THE ORPHAN HOUSE is still an enjoyable read taking place in both British India in the 1930s and England both in the past and present day. The ending is a heartfelt and somewhat heartbreaking touch that had me in tears.

Haunted with secrets and regrets, THE ORPHAN HOUSE weaves a tale that spans across oceans and generations that comes full circle by the story's end.

Recommended for a light and yet fulfilling read.

I would like to thank #AnnBennett, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheOrphanHouse in exchange for an honest review.

The Orphan House will grab you from the beginning and won't let go until the end. It is a story of three women intertwined. It is a story of love, secrets and loss. A great travel book to read and a good gift to give. I couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting. I loved it! 5 stars, wish I could give it more.

Overall a Good read. I found this book a bit hard to get into, but once I got my stride I kept wanting more. I enjoyed how the past and present day stories wove together. In the end it was a very enjoyable book!

A delightful tale stretching from exotic India to a small village in England. There are enough twists and turns to keep you interested and longing for more when the end comes much too quickly.

I did not want to put down this novel about family, secrets and corruption. Sarah leaves her husband after he is involved with money laundering, and In the drive to her father’s house,she passes an old house for sale. Drawn to the house, she will purchase it and slowly uncover the history of the family who lived in the house bordering an orphanage. At the same time, her father is searching for his birth mother as he faces his own health crisis, with Sarah helping him uncover his past. The former owner of the house, Connie, is in a nursing home and facing her own truths. I highly recommend this engrossing story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Sarah Jennings arrives at Weirfeld looking for some peace and solace at her father’s home after discovering a betrayal by her husband. She falls in love with this old home that her father lived in for a short time when he was left there as a baby. It was the local orphanage. Connie Burroughs grew up in this home as well. Her father ran this orphanage and her, her sister, and her mother covered up numerous secrets and atrocities for years. Connie is forced to move into a care home and sell her house. Sarah purchases this old home and renovations begin. She digs up much more than old dust and dirt. Are the secrets that Connie has buried for years about to be unearthed?

This is just an amazing story of the human spirit and the ability to go on despite horrible circumstances. I loved how this story connected the lives of Sarah and Connie. The constant switch between modern day and years ago kept me so enthralled to this story. I knew there was a connection between the woman from Connie’s diary and the present day. This was so well written and very believable. As so many women really had no recourse during the early 1900’s, I can definitely see how these things did occur. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you are an historical fiction fan, this one is for you. Four out of five stars for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Just finished this book in one day! This book had me intrigued from the first chapter. The story is told in England. It weaves an emotional, mysterious story between an older woman and newly separated woman. Their lives intermingle as they both put pieces together to find answers they are looking for. They both find closure and are able to move on with their lives when the find the truth in their pasts.

Sarah has left her husband and is headed to her Dad's home to stay. After a visit from authorities she has to get away from the situation with their business. On the way she stops to look at a house that was the orphanage her Dad grew up in. One of the sisters that lived there is now in a nursing home and the other is deceased. The secrets that the house holds has Connie the sister is still living at odds. The way she was raised in the house has put her life on hold. These 2 women are both dealing with situations in their life with both past and future. Both are dealing with secrets that affect their lives. Finally after speaking with Connie several times about the house Sarah may have been able to connect enough info to assist her Dad with answers about his mother. In the end everyone will find some peace in their life.

An orphanage in the 1930s harbours dark secrets. In the present day, Sarah Jennings leaves her husband and buys Cedar Hall, former home of the Burroughs family who ran the orphanage next door. Connie Burroughs lives nearby in a care home, haunted by her father's past and the lies she tells to herself and others to protect his memory.
The Orphan House is quite an emotional read. We have the grief of a broken marriage, the hunt for a birth mother and the emotions of being in a loveless marriage and being forced to give up a child. There is also hope, for a better future, of love that endures.
I enjoyed the historical parts of the book set in India and felt that Anna's story was well written. However, I admit to being a little frustrated as I thought the hints about what happened in the past, as seen through young Connie's eyes, were too vague. I wanted to see more of the past, especially in the final chapters: I felt that more time could have been spent on discovering the truth at the end of the book and found I still had questions that weren't answered.
I enjoyed the present day characters of Sarah and her father. Connie remains enigmatic until the end: why does she insist on feeling fear of her deceased father. I also found it difficult to understand why Tommy didn't come back and stand up for himself. This makes them both complicit in what happened at the orphanage and ultimately unsympathetically portrayed to my mind.
Overall, The Orphan House was an enjoyable book due to the writing style and emotional depth of the plot.