East London, 1888 – a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a
East London, 1888 – a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger’s son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams. But Fiona’s life is shattered when the actions of a dark and brutal man take from her nearly everything – and everyone – she holds dear. Fearing her own death, she is forced to flee London for New York. There, her indomitable spirit propels her rise from a modest West Side shop-front to the top of Manhattan’s tea trade. But Fiona’s old ghosts do not rest quietly, and to silence them, she must venture back to the London of her childhood, where a deadly confrontation with her past becomes the key to her future.
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Exquisite This book deserved to be read. And to be made into a movie! With its 700+ pages long and all the details.. oh so much detail (all essentials too, definitely not fillers), the town, the situations, the every moves of every one. It got you invested in the story. How devastating the circumstances. The murders. The union. The ambition. The business. You grow with them, with the characters. I had a heavy chest reading more than half of the book. But it was so worth it at the end. Though I wanted to…
A long book, but well worth the literary journey This story starts out in a poor section of London in 1888 where hard working parents could barely feed their families or put a roof over their heads. It is a very grim existence. But 17 year old Fiona Finnegan and her childhood sweetheart, Joe Bristow, have a dream. They are working hard and saving every penny they can, to someday get married and own their own shop.Then one thing after another goes wrong. First, Joe’s boss’s daughter sets her sights on Joe, who only had eyes for…
A fantastic first in this trilogy, and a new author for me to love! For more reviews, please visit http://fortheloveoftheread.blogspot.comDonnelly is an author that I’ve never read before, but she will easily become a new favorite of mine. This book was beautifully done. I loved how the author stuck to the accents each character had, adjusting her writing to illustrate those. This is an author who writes delicious sentences and descriptions, and this book is one I enjoyed falling into.I also loved the story, although it was often so…