This was a charming and heartwarming story that takes place in Southwold, England, post WWII. I really enjoyed this unlikely group of characters who become like family to one another.

The Orphans of Mersey House by Marty Wingate is a gentle story of English village survivors of WWII. Many women whose husbands, brothers, and sons had been killed in the war had to find new ways to survive. One by one the story discloses the secret pain each person has been carrying. This is a heart-warming tale but enjoyed with a cup of tea.

This was a lovely book , that takes place at a boarding house post War . I loved how each one of the characters found one another at this boarding house . All of the characters it seemed were all meant to find each other as well . A great Read !

Synopsis

Olive Kersey and Margery Paxton each suffered losses in World War II and now find hope and a new reason to live in the Suffolk countryside.

My Overall Thoughts

Picturesque is the word that pops to the top of my mind after reading this novel. I really felt transported to this small country town. It's a quick read with charming characters in a charming setting.

This isn't a book where you will learn more about a historical event, but one set after WWII where you will get to savor a slice of life during that time period.

What I Didn't Love

The story would have been better for me if I got to know Margery better. Olive is the main character, but that is not apparent until half way through the book. At the beginning, I really believed there were two protagonists and I just kept waiting to hear Margery's story. She remains a very enigmatic figure throughout the story, though she is front-and-center through much of it. I would have loved to have her character developed more.

Potentially Offensive Content

Sex (not graphic)
Violence (not graphic)

What I Loved

I was captivated by the setting and the characters. The book is truly scenic. The townspeople are real with real personalities, real flaws, and real charm. I loved that. The growing relationship between Olive and Juniper is beautifully portrayed.

This is a book to curl up with in a cozy chair with a hot cup of tea on a cloudy day. It's quick and delightful and will warm your heart.

This is a beautiful story about a group of people who find themselves living at Mersea House, a boarding house in Southwold, Suffolk. The residents are there for a variety of reasons, but are all “orphans” in one way or another. The author knits these characters together in such a wonderful way. I did not want those story to end.

Thanks to Marty Wingate, to Alcove Press for publishing it, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to red nd review this story.

I love the premise and the setting of this book, and the narrator on audio was fantastic! This was a sweet story, and I enjoyed it. Thank you for the opportunity to read the book.

I absolutely loved this book. It hits on a lot of overlooked topics during the post World War era and I thoroughly enjoyed they way each character developed into their own unique person. I would have loved a little more depth to some of the supporting cast but overall very good.

This was a bit slow for me. Although a novel about post WWII and everyday life with two women, Margery and Olive. Manage Mersey House which Margery inherited and turned what we think of as a B&B and renting rooms. A few other lodgers come into the story and Margery’s ward, Juniper, an old love of hers. I give it a 3 but others may lol it more than me. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

A lovely story that I took to my heart from the beginning, It was lovely to read and a complete change from my usual crime thrillers.

This was a sweet book about several different people lost in different ways in post-war England. They are brought together by circumstance at a boarding house and over time become their own unique family. There is no big drama or climax, except for a situation at the end. I found the characters endearing and the story interesting enough to keep my attention. I would have, however, liked an epilogue showing if things did indeed work out the way the characters had hoped. I got this through NetGalley months ago, but put off reading it for a while; I now wish I had read it sooner.

This is a new author to me but I’m sure I will be reading more of her books! I absolutely love this story! She has covered so many different issues that we deal with every day in our lives and it all took place on a little island after the war in 1957! Thank you for writing such a wonderful book!

New Beginnings

Olive is at the start of a new beginning in her life. She is penniless, her mother has passed away and she is days from being evicted from her rented home. She must find a job and start her life anew. Then something special happens. Olive's childhood friend Margery arrives back in town. She has been given an inheritance of a manor house called Mersea house. Margery wants to turn it into a boarding house and she hires Olive to run it.

Everything appears to be running smooth when Margery gets a letter in the mail informing her that she is the ward of an eleven year old girl named Juniper who happens to be the daughter of her first love. Not only that , but Juniper is the victim of Polio and walks with walking sticks and braces. Olive and Margery work hard to make an accessible room for Juniper.

Juniper arrives along with the trying children's officer Mrs. Pagett. There is no pleasing this lady who pops in without notice. They are at a ninety day probation period with Juniper and Mrs. Pagett has taken a dislike to Olive.

In a small town rumors fly about readily. When rumors are started about the boarders living in the house and rumors about Margery returning to London it causes panic at the house. Will Olive and Margery be able to quiet the rumors and prove to Mrs. Pagett that Mersea house is the best place for Juniper?

This was a good read and I enjoyed it. The characters were wonderful. It has humor and romance and lots of love in it. A few secrets and some soul searching going on there as well. New beginnings for many and some great choices to be made.

Thanks to Marty Wingate for writing such a wholesome and loving story, to Alcove Press for publishing it, and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

The Orphans of Mersea House is a heartwarming story set in a quaint seaside village in England, post WWII.

It’s 1957 and the town of Southwold continues its struggle to rebuilt amidst the devastation, destruction and loss left in the wake of WWII.

With the recent death of her mother, grieving Olive Kersey finds herself alone, with little money or no place to live. Struggling to move forward, Olive is resigned with the knowledge that she will likely have to leave the comfort of the community she grew up in to seek opportunity for employment that will afford her room and board. Meanwhile, her childhood friend Marjory has returned from London to settle the affairs of her late uncles estate. She has inherited his large house and shop, yet feels as though there is no one or anything to keep her there. After running in to Olive, she finds a newfound need for belonging and sense of purpose, and decides she will stay, renovating her newly acquired home into a boarding house and modernizing the shop and its wares, making it uniquely different from anything else. Unable to run both shop and house, Marjory enlists the help of her friend. Olive to run Mersea House. Slowly the house begins to fill, each resident an orphan of sorts, suffering from post war loss, yet as they find strength to overcome the individual hardships they faced, these strangers become family to one another.

This was such an uplifting read. There was no major conflict, it was a simpler time when people came together to support one another. It was heartwarming to see the growth in each of these characters, who despite being knocked down time and again, managed to pick themselves back up. The love and support they found in their new found family, brought promise for a brighter future. This was a beautiful story brimming with hope and possibilities.

When I’m sad to leave the characters behind at the last page, I know it was a great story.

A hearty thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of this story in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

The Orphans of Mersea House was a charming cosy read. Both Olive and Margery were engaging characters and I was compelled to continue reading to hear more about their lives and struggles. I enjoyed Juniper as a character and found her struggles to be well developed. Overall, this is a lovely read and pairs exceptionally well with cups of tea and blankets.

Great historical fiction with smart characterization. I loved Juniper.
Many thanks to Alcove Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the fact that this book talks about events occurring after the war. I usually read HF books that all take place during the war. The author did a wonderful job developing the characters. The story was a bit slow for me in the beginning, but it picked up and kept me engaged.

With so many historical fiction books set during WWII, it was refreshing to read a book regarding life after the war. This is a quaint story about how a group of strangers come together to become a hodge-podge family. Each person living in the boarding house is dealing with their own wounds from the war or life in London, which is why they've escaped to a small seaside town. When a young girl disabled by polio enters their life, they band together to create an unconventional family unit. This book feels like a light read where it's a lot of just day-to-day life for these characters, but it also deals with a lot of heavy topics, such as ignorance, the intolerance of homosexuality during that time period, grief, and alcoholism among other topics. It was a wonderfully balanced and heartwarming story that is worth the read.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Taking place after WW2, and everyone trying to find their new normal and repair all the devastating losses.

Following her mothers death, Olivia needs to find a man until her old friend returns having enough of London and makes the shop she has inherited into a boarding house. Olivia becomes housekeeper.

Juniper, an 11 year old orphan arrives. Who arrives with braces on her legs following a contraction of polio when she was 4. However, Juniper is treated with caution by some of the village as they seem to think she would still be contagious. This part of the story was so carefully described as I imagine that this is what it was like for people back in 1957 and it’s heart breaking.

The story follows the ups and downs of running the boarding house and you really feel like you have got to know the boarding house.

Lovely story, perfectly telling how unconventional relations ships can bring us the most love.

Not your "typical" orphans
USA Today best-selling author Marty Wingate is presenting "The Orphans of Mersea House. A Novel", published by Alcove Press. The story takes place in 1957 at the Suffolk coast in Southwold, England. Olive Kersey is alone and without funds and urgently looking for employment when she gets hired by Margery Paxton, her old childhood friend, to run Mersea House. Margery just inherited the stately old home and wants to turn it into a lodging house. Their first two lodgers are Hugh Hudson the manager of the town cinema and Abigail Claypool who is a recluse and a war widow. The relationship dynamics between those four "orphans" are already very interesting when a fifth individual is added. Juniper Wyckes is Margery's new eleven-year-old ward, being the daughter of Margery's ex-boyfriend and having suffered from severe polio as a child. To make live more interesting there is, e.g. Lucie Pagett, the local children's authority in charge of Juniper's welfare or Charlie Salt who is in charge to give Olive driving lessons. The relationships have their ups and downs, coming to a peak when Juniper runs away. Will this be the end of her being at Mersea house?
This is the first book by Marty Wingate which I read. I liked the heartwarming and believable characters, the inspirational story, and the good writing style. I highly recommend the book to readers who want a novel who deals with more topics that just with romance.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheOrphansOfMerseaHouse #Netgalley

The main setting of the book is an old house in a seaside town in England. The year is 1957. The house has been repurposed into a boarding/rooming house. Olive is the housekeeper. Her old friend Margery is the owner of the house and also runs a shop in town. There are 3 boarders. One of the boarders (my favourite) is Juniper, an 11-year-old orphan whose ability to walk has been affected by polio. She has been placed in Margery's guardianship.

The first half of the book ambles along at a sleepy pace. It’s not a bad thing, it's like a comfort read. There is a strong undercurrent that not everyone is as they are presented to the reader. Of course, everything is in the open in due course.

The town is portrayed as I think a British seaside town should be, in MY mind. There are some interesting characters. The one that stood out the most was Constance Binny, the local busybody who knows it all. It seems that her job is to dig out every little bit of gossip available. Even her name suits her character.

And, Olive, the housekeeper/manager of the home was extraordinary. She was intuitive in dealing with her guests and showed patience, empathy and understanding to the young girl, Juniper. To paraphrase Olive, the household consisted of an odd lot, but a lovely lot.

This is not the book for someone looking for a fast-paced book with lots of action. The plot is character driven. To me, it was a cozy, rainy day read. Ideally, I would cozy up with a cup of tea and this book. I think that fans of Rosamunde Pilcher would enjoy it. I found the writing style and tone quite similar.

This is a perfect book as a palate cleanser away from domestic thrillers, bodice ripper romances and action filled stories. A good reset.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.