Lesley Pearse: Survivor

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Another gutsy heroine from Lesley Pearse
Lesley Pearse has written a number of books about strong-willed young women who suffer and eventually overcome great  adversity. "Survivor" is a standalone successor to her very successful "Belle". In this book Belle has overcome her adversity and in 1938 she is happily married to Etienne, her French lover from the days of WWI, with a daughter and two sons, and is living in Russell in the beautiful Bay of Islands in New Zealand.

Belle's daughter, Mariette (Mari) has always been forthright and strong-willed and when she is seventeen a dalliance with an undesirable young man threatens her reputation in the small close-knit town. Despite the world being on the edge of war, Belle and Etienne decide to send Mari for a visit to old friends in England. During the voyage Mari meets a handsome Cockney steward, Morgan, and the memory of their meetings remains with her for a long time.

After settling down in great luxury with a caring and loving family a better part of  London, Mari soon gets caught up in a whirl of upper class dances and parties. When war breaks out things change when all of this gets taken away by a well aimed a bomb in the Blitz. Mari is left completely on her own and moves to London's poverty stricken East End where she finds the kind of friendship she has never had before.

Once again Lesley Pearse has written a story about a strong and gutsy heroine who struggles to make a difference in a dangerous world. Of course it is a bit formulaic because that is the kind of books she writes. Of course there is a thread of impossible love because that is also what she writes about. The plot line is a bit convoluted and a few parts of the plot that could have been developed disappear without trace.

While this kind of book is not my normal genre did enjoy this overlong book, but not as much as her previous book "Forgive Me".  I gave it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars because I am sure that most Lesley Pearse fans will still love this book (my wife did).

Lesley Pearse: Forgive Me

"Forgive Me" is an emotional and gripping story full of suspense, drama and mystery which is destined to be another best-seller for Lesley Pearse. It is one of her best stories I have read for some time. You will remember Eva Patterson, the strong and gutsy prime character for a long time.

A few days before her 21st birthday Eva returns home to find that her mother Flora has committed suicide leaving a simple note "Forgive me". From that time on Eva will find that everything she believed about herself and her comfortable and secure family life with her loving mother and father is based on a web of lies.

In her mother's will Eva is left an artist's studio in a trendy area of London which Eva didn't know anything about. Her father's cold reaction to Flora's death and her will and his almost immediate rejection of Eva will alter her life forever.

Eva discovers that her mother had been a successful artist before her marriage. Eva finds diaries, paintings and a box of baby clothes and sketches in the attic of the studio that tell her something about her mother's past which prompt her to track down the full story.

This is a fast-paced, page-turning and emotional read as Eva searches for answers about her mother's past and meets people who knew her before she married. The characters from all parts of the spectrum are superbly crafted especially Phil who helps her to renovate her studio and find out the truth about her life.

Lesley Pearse builds her plots like a fast game of snakes and ladders. A fortune teller warns Eva to avoid disturbing the Serpent as it will only bring her pain. In facing the Serpent Lesley Pierce skilfully steers Eva through traumas, violence, and lies which change Eva forever and affect her chance of happiness.

If you are a Lesley Pearse fan you will love another dose of her emotional, easy-reading magic books filled with unforgettable characters. If not, please try this book and I am sure that you will join the ranks of Pearse's many fans. It is easy to see why Lesley Pearse has been a number 1 best-seller in the UK and Australia for many years. So many of the top UK authors are also very popular in the US and it astounds me that her books, published by multi-national Penguin, are not released in the US on Kindle and Amazon is only selling print versions in that market via third party booksellers. Maybe someone can tell me why this is so.