Review: Hope in the Valleys by Francesca Capaldi

HOPE IN THE VALLEYS by Francesca Capaldi

Series: Wartime in the Valleys #3

Release Date: 20th January 2022

Publisher: Hera

Genres: Saga / Romance / WW1

Will Elizabeth choose love over duty?

It’s August 1917 and WW1 continues to take a toll. The villagers of Dorcalon, a mining village in the Rhymney Valley, try to keep hope alive; but every day brings fresh tragedy as more of their sons and fathers are killed on foreign battlefields.

Elizabeth Meredith, daughter of mine manager Herbert, enjoys a privileged position in the village, but she longs to break free of society’s expectations.

Falling in love with miner, Gwilym Owen, brings more joy to her life than she’s ever known… until she’s forced to choose between her love and her disapproving family. Seeking an escape, Elizabeth signs up as a VAD nurse and is swiftly sent to help the troops in France, even as her heart breaks at leaving Gwilym behind.

Separated by society and the Great War, can Elizabeth and Gwilym find their way back together again? Or will their love become another casualty of war?

Elizabeth is in a difficult position. Societies expectations and the expectations of her parents dictate that she choose a man of equal standing but her heart has been captured by someone that her parents would certainly not approve of. Her mother has made it quite clear who she feels would be a good match for Elizabeth and Gwilym Owen is certainly not the man that she would choose for her daughter. Elizabeth is forced to make some difficult decisions and must leave behind the man she loves to do her duty on the front line. With so many insurmountable barriers between them, including a war that has already taken so many of the village, it almost seems impossible that their love could ever hope to survive. Will the death and destruction of war and the miles that separate them sound the death knell on their romance?

I love a good saga and this is right up there with one to love! My only regret is that I hadn't read the other two books in the series. Although this book can be read as a standalone I think that its definitely worth checking out the previous books as the rich tapestry of characters are certainly worth getting to know much better. Each bringing so much to the book and drawing the reader in to become emotionally invested in their lives and what is next for them. Francesca Capaldi has beautifully captured the pain of war and how it decimated communities like the one in the village of Doraclon with so many young men lost to the futility of war.  The complexities of class divide during this period of history are also explored in-depth and the anguish of forbidden love that carries this story along. A great read! Would definitely recommend if you love a book that sweeps you along. Also, check out that amazing cover! That in itself draws you in before you've even read a word of the book.

 

AUTHOR BIO

Francesca has enjoyed writing since she was a child, largely influenced by a Welsh mother who was good at improvised story telling. A history graduate and qualified teacher, she decided to turn her writing hobby into a career in 2006. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Each month she writes a competition post for the Romantic Novelists' Association blog.

@FCapaldiBurgess