We meet Alice when she returns to London in the hope of winning her husband, Thomas Lindford back. This is the second book in a trilogy. Very well researched, the words flow and it is easy to visualize the struggles Alice has with Thomas and his family. A new T.V. series in the making?
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the 3rd. Highly recommended.

The Flame Within is the second installment from Liz Harris' series, Linford. I did not read the first book and feel as though I should have before starting this one. That being said, I do believe this was a really good book and am giving it four stars.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting and epic saga of love and relationships.
A good read.

This was just an ok story for me... I thought the beginning was great but then I felt the story just feel apart! Just couldn’t get attached to the characters....

1923 London is not for the faint hearted. It is hard trying to upgrade yourself as a woman and Alice from the time she was a young teenager was determined to better herself. Coming from Lancashire where the only occupation was either to work in a factory or in domestic service, she was determined to better herself and move out of the stifling, tradition bound village she was born into.

Alice did that admirably over a period of time, becoming a fully fledged nurse and then working with the disabled after the War. Meeting Thomas Linford and marrying him was an additional bonus because they were very much in love. Despite being from a lower social class, Alice was accepted by the Linford family but due to bitterness and anger hidden in Thomas the love she had for him slowly began to drain away leaving her open to her brother in laws advances.

When the affair blew wide apart Alice was thrown out by her husband and had to start all over again in Lancashire. This was not for long and she soon found herself wanting to set things right with Thomas whom she felt she still was in love with - she needed to know which way to go and with this in mind found another job in London.

Alice story, more than her own was a lesson in how to survive and how if you are determined to, you can change the circumstances of your life and get what you want. This had a happily ever after but it was so much more than that. Alice was a gritty, level headed person who did not allow one failure on her part to bring her down.

The Flame Within by Liz Harris is an intriguing read from the first to last page. This is the second novel in The Linford Trilogy but is easily read as a standalone (I have not read the first either).This book is set mainly in the 1920s and we meet Alice Linford who met her husband Thomas while she was working as a nurse in Queen Mary's hospital. He had been badly wounded his hand was damaged and one of his legs almost completely blown off, but she fell head over heels for him and he for her. We find out Alice comes from the Industrial North, a mill town and was determined to improve herself. Marrying Thomas with his fathers approval too, is a step above what she was. Alice spends her time caring for Thomas with his disabilities due to the war, but Thomas cannot come to terms with his weaknesses and becomes a shell of himself, becoming a bitter man whose behaviour is disagreeable. Their marriage crumbles and she returns to Lancashire. Alice realises deep down she still loves Thomas, but, on her return to London, she wonders if it is possible to be reunited with him, or will fate take a different turn?
I have always enjoyed a saga, and even jumping in at book two I still loved this bittersweet tale. The characters are well written, I really felt sorry for Thomas, knowing as we do now of PTSD, his suffering is terrible and my heart went right out to Alice. A woman doing her very best to care for this broken man and gaining nothing but a bitter angry man. I do think I shall have to put the other two books on my pile of books I need to read, I am terrible for needing to know the entire story and I love to know what the full conclusion is to these stories.
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources, NetGalley and Liz Harris for the copy of the book for my review today.

The Flame Within by Liz Harris is the second book in a series of Linford family of London. A story about finding oneself after everything seems lost. A story filled with strong characters and memorable fiction. I enjoyed this book very much. Thank you to Net Galley for this advanced copy prior to publication.

3.5 stars is more accurate. I received access to this book (the second in the author's "Linford" series) through netgalley.com and quickly picked up book #1 in the series (THE DARK HORIZON) to read first. Yes, I know each book is advertised as a stand alone, but I'm just the kind of person who NEEDS to read any series in order.

While THE FLAME WITHIN is pitched as historical fiction, I feel it falls more into the historical romance category. It's the story of Alice and Thomas. She is a poor girl from a British mill town who fights hard to find a better life. He is from a much wealthier family, a soldier who returns from World War I badly injured. After they fall in love, however, there are still many other obstacles to face, mistakes to make, and regrets to process.

It's an easy, fast read and the story will carry you along. And you'll get a feel for the difficulty injured soldiers have when trying to return to their pre-war lives. I also felt there was better character development and more subtlety in this novel than in the first one.

But I also felt the pace was uneven. Harris, at times, seems to get side-tracked, bogged down in too many details from her research, particularly about post-war housing demand in Britain. What I love about historical fiction is when historical information is embedded in an organic way, something that feels natural, that you just pick up during the read. But in this novel, it felt a bit heavy-handed and distracted.

The Flame Within by Liz Harris is the 2nd novel in The Linford Series. The Flame Within can be read as a standalone. We do, though, get to catch up with Robert and Lily from The Dark Horizon. This historical tale takes us back to 1904 when Alice Forster is ten years old. Her mother works twelve hours a day in the weaving shed while her father works at the local quarry. Alice is determined to get away from Waterfoot, Lancashire when she grows up. She wants a better life for herself and begins by improving the way she talks. We follow Alice as she attends school, does chores, and spends time with her friend. Life throws a detour in Alice’s way, but that does not stop her determination to get ahead. Alice becomes a registered nurse and gets a position in London at Queen Mary’s Convalescent Auxiliary Hospital where she meets Thomas Linford. Thomas’s family owns a construction company that is doing very well in the post-war economy. Thomas lost a limb along with some fingers as well as being badly scarred. Alice and Thomas fall in love, but their path is a bumpy one. We also spend time with the rest of the Linford family. I thought The Flame Within contained good writing with the story moving along at a gentle pace. The author captured the time-period with the clothing, current events, people’s attitudes, politics, etc. I did feel that some things were described with too much detail. The details allow readers to imagine the scenes but makes for a slow-moving book (that had me skimming at times). We get to see what soldiers who lost limbs went through following the war. How it affected their mood and the prostheses available to them. The Flame Within is a lovely historical tale that will transport you back to learn what happens with Alice and Thomas.

Story of a young girl, Alice, in the early years of the 20th century who had big dreams to escape the extreme poverty of small town England. After training as a nurse, she meets and falls in love with a severely wounded soldier, Thomas Lunsford. They marry, but something terrible happens causing the marriage to end. This isn't a spoiler as you learn that early on. The story is what happened told in flashbacks and how to move on. An enjoyable quick read.

The Flame Within by Liz Harris is the second in The Linford series, however, each can be read as a stand alone. In this book Alice dreams of leaving her small factory town and going to London. Her chance arrives when she trains as a nurse and the Great War comes along increasing the need for nurses. She meets Thomas Linford and falls madly in love, but Thomas has some war wounds that deeply affect him. This is a family saga of the Linford family as well as Alice's life. An enjoyable read, but simply written. The story and dialogue are not complex so this should be a fairly easy book no matter if you are on the beach or curled up with a nice cuppa.
Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to give an honest review of #TheFlameWithin.

The Casualties of War

Alice meets Thomas when she is a nurse at the hospital after he loses a leg and the use of one hand in the war. They fall in love and are soon married.

Alice comes from a poor family and has to adjust to being married to a wealthy husband. Her marriage, however, is not all joyful. Thomas cannot come to terms with his disability and is very hard to live with. This leads to a mistake that Alice makes which has lasting consequences.

This is a story of war and the heartbreak caused by it. The loss of life, the loss of limbs by others, and the nightmares and rage that many returning from the war suffered with causing so much pain and anxiety for those brave soldiers and did so much to destroy so many happy families. The men that went to war were not the men that returned. Many returned with physical and mental wounds that kept them from adapting to their return to society and to their families. They often felt like they were not whole and that their wives couldn’t possibly love them leading to them clinging to their wives and often suspecting them of unfaithfulness when none occurred, or sending them into the arms of the first person that showed them kindness. Many returning soldiers were hurt and frustrated when their wives could not adapt to their disability. It was such a troubled time in history, war destroys so much.

I did enjoy the details to the clothing of those on the London social circles which was described in great detail. I enjoyed how the scenery was described in so much detail I could actually see the flowers and the moors.

It was a good book; I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it.

Thanks to Liz Harris, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Flame Within is intriguing from start to finish and a page-turner. It is the second novel in The Linford Trilogy and just as great a read as the first. Each novel is stand alone. Alice Linford is married to Thomas but things go wrong. The marriage is in trouble because Thomas cannot adjust to being disabled during WWI. In the nineteen twenties divorce is still frowned upon. The novel opens three quarters of the way in and casts back. It is an extremely well- structured book . We see Alice's humble upbringing in the north and her career as a nurse during the zGreat War. We understand how Alice comes to marry into the Linford family , is accepted by the family and in particular how a family member falls in love with her , reasons well explored and outcome very perceptively described.. The Linfords are a wealthy buildining family. I enjoyed the author's light touch on this baxkground which is well-researched. The expanding suburbs described in John Betjamin's poetry of the era are fascinating. Much of the scene setting in this novel in Hampstead as well as the north present contrast and is exceptionally well-done. I loved Alice as a protagonist as she presents as multi dimensional and her relationship with Thomas is perceptive and movingly written in the novel. Thomas , too, grows as a character. This book is the portrait of a marriage subtly and sypathetically expressed . I highly reccomend the novel especially to anyone who loves Barbara Pym, the Casaulet novels and those of Barbara Taylor Bradford. The story would make engaging television.

"A sweeping saga set between the wars, which tells the story of the Linfords, a family simmering with secrets, lies and betrayal." A great and powerful story, great characters and a superb writing. Truely recommend this book.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the story itself. I hadn't read the first book but still enjoyed the read.

The Flame Within by Liz Harris is the second book in a series of Linford family of London. Alice was discontent living in a small mill town in northern England. She wanted more and prepared herself by becoming a nurse. She met Thomas Linford when he was a patient in her hospital after losing his leg in WWI. They married, but he had a difficult time adjusting to life with his disabilities. She took his frustrations out on Alice. She turned to his brother to find comfort. When the affair was discovered, Thomas kicked Alice out. The rest of the book is the story of Alice finding her way back to a meaningful life.

The book is a little tedious and was not one of my favorites. I was allowed to read this on NetGalley and it is due to be released October 1, 2020.

I’m sorry I don’t think this book was my cup of tea which is a shame as everything in the description sounded like it would. I don’t know about anyone else but I personally found it “dry”, even towards the end I was just reading it just to finish it and say I had done it.

None of the characters made me overly interested... even though it’s well written in other ways. Personally I like a book that the characters capture my full attention within the first three chapters.

Liz Harris has done a wonderful job in capturing interesting characters ,Alice is a strong independent gal in a drastically changing world set on the cusp of the 1st war ending , the aristocracy family of her husband Thomas is a contrast to her simple life back home ,,,the struggle of marriage to a permanently damaged man leads to trouble... I am looking forward to the next of the series

Alice lives in a house owned by violet osbourne. Alice had lost the man she loved Thomas . I really liked Alice. I wasn't hooked to the story but not very boring.