Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Set in 1850, this is a tale of a family who are left feeling destitute when Opal finds herself orphaned along with her younger siblings. Then, just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, Opal and her family become ill. Ill with the same sickness that took her father.

Charlie, her brother, takes the younger siblings to the workhouse knowing that they can’t afford a doctor, leaving Opal heartbroken. Whilst trying to gain her forgiveness, Charlie ends up in trouble with the law and on a boat to Australia.

With her family torn apart and left to fend for herself, Opal makes a promise that she will reunite her family again. How will she manage it? Will she ever set eyes on her siblings once more? Will her winter promise come true?

This is a heartwarming story which is steeped with emotion. Despite the hard family storylines, Rosie has written in a way that causes the reader to become emotionally invested and willing Opal to find a way to reunite her family.

With an authentic 1800s feel, it gives a peek into an era where workhouses, poverty and illness due to lack of access to doctors caused family strife constantly. Opal and her family become orphaned, already living a difficult life, made harder by the struggles of Victorian living.

The complexity of the family relationships are well-written, giving you a real understanding and connection with the characters or the story. Opal is an endearing main character, who comes alive among the pages.

Like the sound of this book? Buy it here: https://amzn.to/2JEzpct

Emily x

📚 Book gifted by publisher.