Sunshine and Showers
In Liverpool in 1926, a young girl, Patsy Doyle, is adapting to her new life as a live-in maid to Mr and Mrs Tanner. All is not well between their new employees since he returned from the Great War, making the tension between the two awkward for their young servant as she performs her duties and becomes an unwilling confidante.
Joy Kirke loses her first love in the war and accepts the security of a marriage of convenience. She has spent years working for Mr Robbie Bennett as his cook and housekeeper, but accepting his proposal brings Joy more drama than she could ever have foreseen.
The two women discover to their cost, that relationships can be problematic for those around them as well as for the people directly involved. Through the love their family and friends share, they overcome the grief and hardships that they experience in their evolving situations and relationships. The characters within the story are all quite complex and believable. The reader is transported convincingly back to the era as soon as they begin to read the first page. The plot is intricate, and the background detail falls in around the story unnoticed. The drama and events build up to a very realistic ending. This is a very satisfying book, which illustrates the power of unconditional love in its many forms.
