An unusual start with Teresa coming across to England as a refugee from Guernica. A well plotted story set in 1926, 1936 -WW2 and present day. Easy to follow what was going on. The ending is excellent. I read it in 24 hours. Also, I am reading this quite close to publication date and hope that the final copy has had the typos and bloopers edited out by now. With thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the e-ARC of this book to read and review.

Rochester Place is a magical house of mystery ,this story is told through 3 times lines 1924,1937 and 2020. In 1937 a young girl from Spain is evacuated to London and is adopted by Mary and her husband and taken to live in Rochester Place.In 2020 Corinne who is an emergency service operator receives a strange phone call that sets her off investigating, Rochester Place ties them all together .This is a story of war ,love ,family and most of all hope .I really enjoyed this book I loved all the characters and was pleased with the satisfying ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I absolutely adored The Secrets of Rochester Place!

The story had me hooked straight away and I couldn’t stop reading. I was intrigued to read the struggles of Mary & Theresa & how these tied them together. The bigotry people face throughout the years is heartbreaking & it was an education to read how this was shown to all ‘outsiders’’, regardless of nationality. It was absorbing & I’m not ashamed to say it reduced me to tears a couple of times.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the opportunity to review #NetGalley #TheSecretsOfRochesterPlace #IrisCostello

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no large gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book therefore a star is lost for this.

This was such a good book. I love historical fiction, especially when it is about eras/ situations that I previously knew nothing about and this was definitely one of those books. It was so well researched and so compelling in its narrative that not only did I love reading it but I felt that I learned too. A really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This was a good well written book with interesting characters. It had a few unexpected twists and turns and went at a good pace. Very recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy. This is a really good book, kept me entertained throughout and I would thoroughly recommend to all.

Set during WWII and the current day ... Theresa. Young orphan brought up by her sister was in Geurnica the day of the bombing, her sister decides she should go to Bilbao and take a ship of orphans to the UK.

Mary, a young Irish girl leaves Ireland in the 1920's to work in London.

Corrine, a young woman who receives a strange telephone call while she was working.

All lives are inter twined. and the real knitting of them all comes together in the last few chapters.

The book was difficult to get into (despite being one of my preferred genres), but looking back t the whole book it was very well written and well worth a read.

What an amazing story ,full of such incredible Characters ,I learnt things I didn't know about as Corrine finds out about the mysteries of her Family after receiving a very strange phone call to her Mobile one night while on Call in the Ambulance Call Centre . This a story which brings so many different cultures together who in one way & another have had their lives torn apart by War ,& this resonated so much with what is happening still in so many places in this twenty First Century ,& I urge you all to pick up a copy & read it . #NetGalley. #GoodReads , #FB, Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk,
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"The Secrets of Rochester Place" by Iris Costello is a sweet little read. The story flows nicely with all timelines, mysteries and characters all neatly put in their place by the end of the book. Whilst it might not win any prizes for gritty drama, this book does tackle some serious subjects including the atrocities of war, racism and family separation.

A stunning historical fiction masterpiece that weaves a really good tale and draws the reader in. Also love the cover

Read this if you like: Historical fiction🔙, mysteries🤔, beautiful houses🏡, LGBTQIA+ representation🏳️‍🌈, love stories♥️, Multiple POVS & timelines👩‍👧‍👧

I’ve been in a sort of reading slump lately so I found this book hard for me to start off. Last month I read so much when I was on vacation that only reading two books this month really got me in a rut…but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy this book!

I am a huge sucker for historical fiction set during the Second World War. It’s a topic I got introduced to in elementary school and I’ve always wanted to learn more about. So that right away got me sucked into the book. Adding in the mystery of the phone call Corrine received and who Teresa and Mary was and you had a recipe for greatness.

*potential spoiler in this paragraph* I really truly did not expect there to be in twist in this story. The fact that I didn’t think there was going to be a twist meant I couldn’t even guess what the twist was but I LOVED IT.

I originally rated this 3.5 stars but had to up it to 4 stars after writing this review. I loved the characters and loved how the plot developed through the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for letting me read this ARC copy of The Secrets of Rochester Place. I absolutely loved reading this story! Pub date is December 8th so add that to your calendar and buy buy buy 📚

Set between 1937-42 and the present day this is an intriguing story. Rochester Place, once a beautiful Georgian Townhouse is now no more than a weed strewn piece of derelict ground. How could a present day ambulance call handler have received an emergency call about a little girl needing help at this address? Though a little slow to get going this becomes a page turner that I have to really enjoyed reading.

I enjoyed this book very much. It is slow for perhaps two-thirds of the book. Not slow as in uneventful, but perhaps in the setting out of the many layers to the story. There are many characters who step in and out of the story, and because some chapters are long, I sometimes got a little frustrated trying to remember who they are, or where they fit in.

It’s a complex story with different historical conflicts to learn about, and understand how they interweave. The Spanish Civil war, WWII and past events in Ireland all interlink within the book. My own knowledge of European history is practically non-existent so I have spent time looking up various events online. Because the book jumps around in both time and place, I sometimes found myself a bit lost. Nothing a little patience doesn’t resolve though, because the last third where all the mysteries and confusion are peeled back reveals an incredibly moving, quite stunning conclusion.

All the characters have a story to tell, one of staunchness in the face of much adversity and all suffer bigotry and racism at some point in their lives. I found the story very affecting, not least because there must be many real people out there who have lived very similar lives to the characters in this book. I find it incredibly sad the way it is always ordinary, innocent citizens who suffer the most from acts of war and this book brings those stories to life.

The ending is absolutely superb I thought, and I was certainly in need of a few tissues. A wonderful book that I will remember for some time to come.

**review to be added to my blog on or around publication day**

Thank you net galley for providing me with a free arc of the secrets of Rochester place in exchange for a honest review.

Although the twists and povs as well as portrayal of racism and grief were well done, the lack of descriptions on both the characters appearance and personalities as well as the simplicity in writing makes me unable to rate this as high as I'd like to. It's clear that Costello has a lot of potential, however this book isn't necessary one I'd recommend due to often feeling as if the author was so focused on leaving no plot holes, making everything come together perfectly, to the point where she didn't focus as much as I'd want her to in actually writing in a more complex way that would make the reader feel more intensely about the story.

The Secrets of Rochester Place is a rollercoaster ride of a novel, bringing together aspects of British, Irish and Spanish history to craft an intergenerational family story with plenty of twists and turns. The book is also a love letter to multicultural London, and shows how ripples from the past can be felt right up to the present day.

A LOST CHILD.
A LONG-KEPT SECRET.
THE HOUSE THAT HOLDS THE KEY


Any fan of historical fiction, or of a ripping good read will be beguiled by this book. Exquisite writing. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you to netgalley.com and Penguin for the opportunity to read and review this compelling novel.
A modern day call handler receives a nysterioys emergency call which carries her back to investigate the history of her family before and during the blitz.
A really clever, quite complex story which vividly depicts the politics and tensions of the time. Despite this, this is an easy read with relatable characters and well paced action. Detailed and well researched.

This didn't quite work for me. There were too many main characters, and it jumps in and out of several timelines. The war setting was signposted by including many of the main well-known events of the time. The later settings were signified in every case by reference to current songs. Both are unsubtle devices. The interconnection between the characters became too complex to believe. There were one or two interesting parts, but overall it failed because it tried to do too much.

I loved this book. A great twist at the end and it all comes together. It jumps from present day to pass events but easily followed.

Characters have meaning and you really get to know them and love the connection at the end.
Read this one is just 3 days. Couldn't put it down.

This had the potential to be a fabulous book.. It may still be, once it’s been edited. Unfortunately there’s something that doesn’t quite work.

It’s a really good story, looking at immigration and racism during the Second World War, as well as family history and mystery. It’s the execution that needs work.

It’s not badly written and the research is strong (although more on each conflict would have been useful for those less familiar with it and wouldn’t have affected the enjoyment), but it’s chaotic in its nature, with far too many coincidences and an ending that is far too tidy.

Characters have some depth, but not enough for true empathy or interest and need more development. Teresa’s story is the most interesting, but Corinne’s lacks credibility and fewer similarities between the various timelines would have worked just as well.

It’s a compelling read and I devoured it in a couple of hours. There are a few surprises but overall it’s clear to work out who’s who. There are also a few unanswered questions.