Cover Image: A Mother’s Hope for the Cornish Girls

A Mother’s Hope for the Cornish Girls

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I am a big fan of this series. It is nice to be back with the characters of previous books. The wartime vibes and community spirit was strong in this book. It is such a heartwarming read.

Was this review helpful?

A heartwarming story that will leave you with a full heart. A orphanage and a mother looking for her baby.
Love romance and friendship, I love the commaradie of the women.

Was this review helpful?

I have read the other books in this series and was glad to be accepted for the next instalment. Really fun reads

Was this review helpful?

I have read and enjoy the three previous books in The Cornish Girls Series by Betty Walker and her latest book, A Mother’s Hope for the Cornish Girls is another well written and touching addition.

Sonya Thorpe works for Lady Barbara Symmonds as her companion in St Ives, and her parents disowned her when she had a baby out of wedlock twenty five years ago. Sonya begins helping at the orphanage and she likes caring for the children, with her employer’s encouragement she tries to find her daughter and she’s successful. Sonya discovers her daughter is married, has a young son and needs a place to stay while her fighter pilot husband is away.

Lily Fisher has returned to St Ives to finish her midwife training, Tristan Minear her first love arrives at the convalescent home badly burnt, he slowly recovers and when he’s fit enough to leave and his father doesn’t want him returning to the farm. Lily shocks herself by proposing to Tristan, they marry and he moves into her little cottage. Lily’s is busy delivering other women’s babies, she realises that she would like to be a mother herself and she needs to convince Tristan for their marriage to be no longer one of convenience.

Mary Stannard is a nurse, she works at the convalescent home, and she’s starting to suffer from burn out. Mary parents live in St Ives, she visits them on her day off and her mother can be rather bossy and controlling. Mary meets Dick Jeffries, a teacher at the local school, she’s attracted to him and she’s shocked to discover he feels the same way about her. Dick is a nice man, he encourages Mary to stick up for herself and she’s considering a career change.

I received a copy of A Mother’s Hope for the Cornish Girls from NetGalley and Avon Books UK in exchange for an honest review. Like her previous books, Betty Walkers writing style makes you feel empathy and care for the characters in the narrative. While some of the personas are new and others are from the previous three books, and it’s nice to catch up with them and what’s happening in their lives. This story focuses on motherhood, being a mother is challenging enough, but being pregnant and raising children during a war takes mothering to another level. You read about the challenges the women faced, keeping their children safe and occupied during air raids, rationing and finding clothes. Five stars from me, I highly recommend this book and the three others in the series and I look forward to reading the fifth book being released in August.

Was this review helpful?

A very enjoyable book which from the start I could not put it down.

It follows the woman from the previous books with their life and the ups and downs they have. The characters are so strong and this book includes more people .

The book flowed wonderfully and of course the author does not disappoint with the story in the book so well written and interesting.

Would certainly recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

Book 4 in the series pretty much starts where book 3 ended & we have some familiar faces & some newer characters taking centre stage.

It’s now spring 1943 & St Ives is still experiencing bombing raids. When her employer Lady Symmonds decides to marry again, Sonya is not only surprised as she is an elderly lady, but worried about her own future. Sonya gave up a baby at 17, and has worked with Lady Symmonds ever since. Inspired by her work at the orphanage, she decides to try to find out what happened to her daughter twenty-five years ago. The decision will bring joy but also difficulties.

Nurse Lily has returned to St Ives to finish training as a midwife. When the man she didn't know she loved is brought in wounded, she must make some difficult decisions about her future. Nurse Mary works at the convalescent home and longs for the romance she reads of in books, but can she escape from her overbearing mother to find love in an unexpected place?

As we have come to expect from this series & similar books, the book is character rather than plot driven and it's almost a snapshot of a few months in the lives of these young women who we have got to know as the series has progressed. I did feel that all of the stories in this installment have very neat conclusions & I would have liked just a little more uncertainty in places!

Overall, it's a nice fourth instalment to the series & has everything that a reader would expect.

Was this review helpful?

This is a well written entry into the Cornish Girls series, where the men are mostly away fighting WWII while the women are home, working as nurses and other necessary occupations. They keep the home front moving
The familiar characters are married, or about to be married, and several of them are going to be mothers. One of the older members of the community had to give up her baby as a teenager, and now has found her daughter and her grandson, giving her the opportunity to be a mother as well.
I enjoyed reading this story, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Was this review helpful?

A Mother’s Hope for the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker is another chapter in the saga of a family who moved to Cornwall to escape the bombs. They found a home there and all are employed and happy. They are all caring young women who have developed greatly since the beginning of the series. There is not really a plot, it is more of a slice of life. In it the women find new careers, love, and new homes. It is really an entertaining look into lives so different than mine, in a whole different time period. Walker had done a terrific job of introducing us to these people and keeping up with their lives in a place that for others might not be so interesting. It is a terrific series.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of A Mother’s Hope for the Cornish Girls by Avon Books UK, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #AvonBooksUK #BettyWalker #AMothersHopeForTheCornishGirls

Was this review helpful?

Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for allowing me to read and review this book

Having read the previous books I felt that I was welcoming old friends back! Time has moved slightly and the girls are a little more grown! The story follows the 3 women during wartime 1943 and weaves some interesting storylines.
Mary, Sonya and Lily bravely take on the trials that many women faced during this time of war and I feel there may be another book in this series, I really hope so! Great author!

Was this review helpful?

A Mother's Hope for the Cornish Girls is the next lively book from Betty Walker. It brings us back to the coast of Cornwall, where young women fight to live the best lives they can in the midst of an ever present and ever terrible war. Join Lily, Rose, and Mary from the first books as they move forward to help the war effort and find love along the way. Also, spend time with Sonja and her daughter Yvonne as they forge a new relationship and discover what it means to be a family. I don't think that you need to read the previous books to know what is going on, as it could be a standalone novel. However, you should read them and then catch up with the girls! I am looking forward to the next one!

Was this review helpful?

This is the 4th book in this series and it is great to catch up with family and friends new and old. This is set in 1943 so there could be many more books to come perhaps even after the war years. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgally and publisher for this ARC

Was this review helpful?

Another great read in this wonderful series. It follows on from the others and I really enjoyed it. Knowing the characters really helps and I settled into this one quickly. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I just love this series set in Cornwall. It can easily be read as a standalone but if you love these kind of books it's better to start from book one. This is one of my (many) favourite sagas set around the war.

Although there are lots of stories woven into the book the main focus is on Sonya. Up until recently she had been an unmarried ladies companion. Through no fault of her own she was forced to give up her baby at a young age. The story focuses on why she gave her baby up and the reunion many years later. This storyline always brings a lump to my throat. It lovely to see the characters moving onto their next chapters in life.

Was this review helpful?

Another wonderful book in this saga. It was nice to catch up with Lily and Mary as well as being introduced to new characters. I absolutely loved Sonya and I'm hoping she'll appear in future books. These brave abd inspiring women are amazing during the scary days of the war. It was heartwarming to read about their friendship and love for one another. I can't wait for the next instalment.

Was this review helpful?

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this brilliant book in this amazing series

i love how this book has central characters but then adds more characters to it to carry on the story....

this is a happy and sad book, its sad only because of the life and times that women had back then... how they struggled on with what life threw at them

sonya found herself pregnant and alone at tender age of 16 and was made to give her baby up and sent away after to become a companion for a rich and elderly lady

and this is her story along with the nurses and families that we met before previously centred around the orphanage and home for the soldiers injured during the war

life and times during the 2nd world war

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I have thoroughbred enjoyed reading the previous books, and this book is another that’s very well written.

Sonya is working for works for Lady Barbara Symmonds as an associate in St Ives, years ago, she was disowned y her parents because she had a baby before marriage. She loves to help at the orphanage, her boss gives her motivation to look for her daughter, in which she finds success. Her daughter is now married and has a son, and is looking for somewhere to live while her husband, a fighter pilot isn’t with them.

Lily has come back to St Ives to complete her midwife training. Tristan, who was her first love turns up at the convalescent home, but he’s badly burnt, he gets better slowly, but his father doesn’t want him back at the farm. Lily asks Tristan to marry her, they do and his moves in with her. As she’s helping bring babies into the world, she finds that she too would like to be a mother. She needs to make Tristan understand that their marriage can’t remain one of convenience any longer.

Mary, a nurse, whilst working at the convalescent home, is beginning to suffer from burn out. Her parents also live in St Ives, she goes to see them on her day off, her mother, is a domineering person. She meets Dick Jeffries, he’s a teacher at the local school, she’s finds herself falling for him, and when she discovers he feels the same, she’s shocked. Dick encourages Mary to stand up for herself, Mary considers changing her job.

I highly recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

The lasting impact war and motherhood has had on the beloved girls of Cornwall is the focus of book #4 in Betty Walker’s Cornish Girls series. The Cornish girls are ‘doing their bit” at home in 1943 while sons, fathers, lovers, and friends have left to serve Britain during World War ll. Walker quickly engages readers with Lady Symmond’s announcement of her impending marriage and move to Scotland. From this point on readers are immersed in the lives of the Cornish girls; their angst, fears, worries, nightmares, and dreams for a future with their loved one at war. Some marry and become expectant mothers, some find purpose in caring for orphans or for wounded soldiers in the convalescent home. One is a mother with a son whose father is missing in action. Each of Betty Walker’s endearing mothers of Cornwall finds hope in supporting one another. The mothers and the readers learn that “Love is what we fight for. That, and the next generation.” A heartwarming way to spend an afternoon with a cup of tea, while looking forward to Book #5: A Wedding for the Cornish Girls.

Was this review helpful?

The Cornish Girls series continues to give me glimpses into the life of villagers during World War 2. Many of the villagers situations helped me understand what my mother and her family went through. After all, they rarely talk about living through the war. The story might be fiction, but the historical aspects had me searching to increase my knowledge.

A Mother's Hope for the Cornish Girls was a definite eyeopener. I grew up hearing the whispers about one of my cousins. Her mother was unwed and kept the child. I grew up hearing how the family had been ostracized by some. Now I get it. I understand why a parent, a family, would send a child away to give birth and force them to give up their child. I might not agree with it, but I understand.

Values and traditions were so very different back during World War 2. The story kept reminding me of the opinions regarding women working, and horror of horrors, a married woman working while the men were away at war. I gained knowledge of how those that could not go to war could still help the war effort. I was reminded and shocked over some of the stereotyping.

The opinions of the villagers made for a very interesting and entertaining story. I laughed with them. I laughed about them. I even cringed over the behavior of some. Most importantly, the characters have taken up space in my heart and with every book that feeling grows. The story is realistic. The characters are believable. I can't wait to read more about The Cornish Girls.

Was this review helpful?

0nce again we are back in Cornwall and meet the girls, Lily, Mary and Rose for the next instalment of the adventures.

I love the way Bet ty says 'Goodbye' to previous characters and introduces new ones into the story. Although I have only once been to the area where this is set. I feel I know it very well as the descriptions are very good. Lily who moved here from London and is now training to be a midwife. Rose now married to the local doctor. Mary another nurse. We follow her more than in previous stories. We are introduced to her parents. She struggles with her nursing career and has problems. She questions is a nursing career what she really wants. Her parents also take in an evacuee which causes problems.

A few twists and turns with each of the girls and many problems, but they stick together and help each other.
Another fantastic read like the previous books in this series. This ended towards the end of 1943, so I am sure this series is to be continued, at least I hope so. I can recommend this.

Was this review helpful?

Having read and enjoyed previous books in the Cornish Girls series, I was very keen to read this one - and I wasn't disappointed. Revisiting old favourite characters and being introduced to some wonderful new ones, it really is a lovely series.

This book sees the author tell the story of Sonya, who was forced to give up her baby at the age of sixteen. Can she reconnect with her as an adult, and make up for the years gone by?

The reader is also shown more of Mary's story, alongside the characters of Lily and Rose, who feature heavily in every book.

A wonderfully warming wartime read.

Was this review helpful?