I loved this story, it is a romance but it’s also written as a historical pretence. Imagine going to a foreign country with your boyfriend for him to then abandon you and when you need help you stumble across your long-lost family, 5 star read recommends to anyone who loves a lighthearted book with a great ending but still had lots of twists and turns . I loved that the book went between past and present within the historical timeline and how we got to know each persons story .

Sophie Groenveld is abandoned by her boyfriend while on a vacation trip in York. Deep in denial, but determined not to call her parents to bail her out, she manages to secure a job at The Aviary Inn. The secrets that she discovers there will change her life and those she loves forever.

This book starts out a little rough in writing style, but proves to be an entertaining read which left me rooting for the characters. Some of the scenes contain risqué descriptions, which are un suitable for younger readers.

As a (born) Englishwoman who is now a Canadian (dual citizenship), this story really resonated with me having roots in both England and Canada.

It was also lovely to learn some more English northern slang. My Gran was from Newcastle, so a lot of of the colloquialisms were ones that she grew up with, but I wasn’t aware of, because she wasn’t very comfortable with her accent, so did her best to speak to the Queen’s English. I loved the English colloquialisms, too, as you don’t often hear them in Canada.

The music references were nostalgic to my childhood, and that made the book feel even warmer and cozier than it already did, if possible.

I adored Sophie and Ava’s story. It was utterly adorable, and I’m so glad everyone got happy endings in their own ways.

Trigger warning** unless I misunderstood there is the death of a baby due to wartime bombings.

I enjoyed this story and I hadn't read anything by this author before so I found it interesting. The characters were very likable and the whole thing was well written. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher's for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Not for me, but I’d still recommend it to readers. Personally, I didn’t want to read about the “bulge” in the guys pants or any of the other male part references in chapter one. I’m sure plenty of other readers wouldn’t mind this, but for me it was definitely a turnoff because I was expecting a charming story about an inn and all the wonderful details of the wonderful details of the family secrets, memories, connections, etc. It felt too modern for me, but I know that many other readers would still enjoy it.

I liked the concept of this book. I just had a hard time with it. While I liked the characters, it didn't move quick enough for me. I did not finish it, so it might have picked up eventually. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read the ARC. Others might find it more to their liking.

I really enjoyed the story and the writing.
The use of a dual timeline—one from the past and one following the protagonist—creates a truly immersive experience.
I highly recommend it!

My rating:

Plot: 3. out of 5 stars
Writing: 3 out of 5 stars
Character development: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall: .3 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:


General Fiction
Young Adult


Review:

This book appealed to me because it sounded like an interesting story written over a dual timeline which I always find interesting. The main timeline tells the story of Zoe who came to the UK for a holiday to get away from her family and to find out more about her mother’s origins, the second timeline tells Ava’s story at the end of WWII. This part of the story was the most appealing, but it felt more like a background explanation rather than an actual second story. The main focus in the book is the story of Zoe and her journey of discovery.

Overall: this is an interesting story that is nicely written, vividly at times and flows well; the characters are well described with enough detail to give them a realistic feel.

Good family mystery to unravel🐦

The dual timeline, split between 1945 and 1997, worked here in the telling of a convoluted family saga which began with the tragic separation of young lovers after a bomb attack in war torn London. Sophie, the Canadian student spreading her wings with a summer visit to England in 1997, has her romantic ups and downs and finds new reserves of resilience as she finds her feet after her travel companion abandons her, and sets herself to delve into her family history. Sophie's mom Barbara was originally from York but cut herself off from her family decades earlier and won't explain why. Sophie wants to know the full story. In the process of searching for the answers she befriends a sad innkeeper and her eccentric sister and becomes an integral member of the small staff of the Aviary Inn.

There's a good cast of characters and I liked that most of the story was set in York and the Lake District. Sophie becomes an intrepid investigator and problem solver. And I liked that she was rewarded with romance along the way despite a disastrous start to her York visit. I just found it a bit long and some scenes in the story, like the visit to the football pitch and meanders around the university campus, had too much detail. (It did, however, inspire me to buy my own jar of Marmite to see what all the fuss was about!)

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared 5/14/25 on Goodreads and Bookbub, and with Barnes & Noble. To be shared with kobo and Google Play upon publication.

If you are into dual timeline historical fiction, this book is for you. While I found the book interesting and easy to read and I liked it, I didn't love it. I felt some of the characters who should have been more fleshed out were a little neglected and others, too much time was spent on. Zoe comes across as very childish and naive on occasion, which I just couldn't blame a sheltered upbringing on, but she did grow and mature through the book, which I guess was the point. I also found that some of the events and storyline tested believability and the end was a little predictable but still satisfying.

However, the hotel sounded amazing, even more so after Zoe's little changes, as did Rupert's property.

Overall, a decent dual time line historical fiction novel about a young woman who learns about herself and her family's history.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review a digital copy of this book. All opinions are mine and freely expressed.

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

From beginning to end, loved reading this book.

The best thing that ever happened to Zoe was when her boyfriend "accidentally" takes her backpack to take off with others. Now Zoe has no money and no passport. She goes to the local employment office to find a temporary job. Only she finds so much more as she dives into the secrets of the past at Aviary Inn.

Thank you for this ARC.

Thanks NetGalley and MaryAnn Clarke for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I am a huge fan of dual time novels, and I thought this one was very well done. All of the characters felt so incredibly realistic. Sophie, Zoe, Nick, Elliot, Ollie, all of them truly felt like people I could meet out at a bar, or on the street, or at a museum.

The story itself was also really good! I was invested in the mystery and intrigue the whole time, and felt that the conclusion flowed naturally and gave a satisfying ending to the stories in both times. The romance subplot was also fun; although I wasn’t too keen on really any of the male characters when they were introduced, I feel the romance storyline the book took was a very natural progression of Sophie as a character.

My one negative is Zoe and her romantic relationship. Although it truly is realistic for how some relationships go, I was really rooting for her to stand up and dump him at some point.

Again, thanks for the opportunity to read this book before publishing!

I’m not the target reader for this book. DNF ~25% due to drug use. The tone of the novel is too dark and intense for me. I can’t connect with the characters, and Sophie is TSTL.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I love a good historical fic book and this one was no exception. The writing was simultaneously relatable, fun, mysterious and easy to digest. I enjoyed meeting and following the characters, particularly Sophie, on her journey abroad and throughout life with a new job (even if she was dealt a short straw to begin with)!
Thank you BooksGoSocial, NetGalley and MaryAnne Clark for the opportunity to read this.

Secrets at the Aviary Inn by MaryAnn Clarke. BooksGoSocial, 2025.

This dual timeline book by award-winning, best-selling author MaryAnn Clarke has two engaging stories about young women.
In 1945, Ava is meeting her boyfriend Rupert at 11am at London’s Holborn Circus when a bomb is dropped on their meeting spot. She finds Rupert’s damaged dove cage on its side, with Ares and Kythereia, his two beloved doves curled up dead inside and no trace of Rupert. Ava searches but finds no trace of him so accepts that he is one of the hundreds killed there that day.

In 1997, aspiring-writer Sophie with a new English degree and plans for grad school, is travelling in the UK with her architecture grad student boyfriend Marc-Antioine, flakey, undependable and a compulsive flirt. When he abandons her in York, he takes her backpack containing her Canadian passport, cards and almost all her money instead of his own, with his laundry and shaving gear. Sophie gets a job as night clerk in an inn where she befriends a cast of slightly quirky people as she continues to wait for Marc-Antoine to come back for her.

Sophie is one of the most decent, caring, positive and appealing characters I’ve ever encountered. This book is well written and satisfyingly predictable in the best possible way.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Secrets at the Aviary Inn free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #SecretsattheAviaryInn #NetGalley

this was a historical fiction right up my street. MaryAnn Clarke has such a breadth of book writing and her genres span many i love. you can really see her talents help add perfect element to each book ive read from her. she has the historical with the added mystery and romance nailed.
i love this journey she went on and i was intrigued too. i wanted to find out her answers just as much as she did by the end. and the mixture of the other aspects of her journey was eqaully as compelling. i love how her stay and job at the inn added yet more ingredients for a perfect read. you then get all the side characters and arcs that come in to play. and perhaps a little romance. and heavens this girls deserves some sort of happy ending please. so will that come from knowing the answers or knowing herself more. or perhaps a bit of both can settle this girls heart and show her home.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read Secrets at the Aviary Inn by MaryAnn Clarke. I enjoyed my time at the mysterious Aviary Inn and getting to know a.host of eccentric people associated with the inn. Good jib!