About the Book:
THE SWEETHEART LOCKET
BY JEN GILROY
Publication Date: March 17, 2022
Orion Dash
Genre: Historical Fiction
What if the key to your present lies in the past?
London, 1939
On the eve of the Second World War, Canadian Maggie Wyndham defies her family and stays in England to do her bit for the war effort. Torn between two countries, two men and living a life of lies working for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Maggie’s RAF sweetheart locket is part of who she is…and who she isn’t.
San Francisco, 2019
Over twenty years after Maggie’s death, her daughter Millie and granddaughter Willow take a DNA test that’s supposed to be a bit of fun but instead yields unexpected results. Willow has always treasured her grandmother’s sweetheart locket, both family heirloom and a symbol of her grandparents’ love story. But now she doesn’t know what to believe. She embarks on a search for the truth, one she doesn’t know will reveal far more about herself…
A gripping and heart-breaking dual timeline novel about love, loss and buried secrets, The Sweetheart Locket is perfect for fans of Lorna Cook, Rachel Hore and Suzanne Kelman.
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Review:
"That's the thing, isn't it? Women sacrifice but the stories of their sacrifices usually aren't part of the formal historical record. Women's lives might veer off course for a while but then they get back on track and do what's expected of them and, well, it's still not much different, is it?"
After Willow takes a DNA test, she receives some unexpected results. She has always believed that she is mostly English, but the test results have strong French, Jewish and Italian ancestry as well. Willow asks her mom for details, but she is quick to change the subject. Willow takes a trip to England to look into her family history and the heirloom sweetheart locket that she thought represented her grandparents, Maggie and Will's, great love story. In London, Willow begins to learn about her grandmother, Maggie and the many secrets that she kept during World War II.
The Sweetheart Locket is a sweet historical romance with many unexpected twists and secrets revealed. I absolutely love dual time stories, so the two points of view between Maggie in World War II and Willow in the present day worked well for me. At points, it seemed like the points of view switched back and forth too quickly, but I was never confused about who I was reading about. I was drawn into the story immediately as Willow received her unexpected DNA results, I wanted to know what stories were hiding behind the unknown ancestry. I loved learning about Maggie's story. Her strength and fortitude for staying in England to do her bit and her meaningful friendships made her a wonderful character to follow. I was very interested in learning about her time in the Special Operations Executive as many of the stories of those women are lost to time. Willow's story in the present was equally engaging as she researched her family history with help from a new friend and uncovered more secrets than she was looking for. Willow's romance was engrossing to watch form as she figured out who she was and who she could be.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
THE SWEETHEART LOCKET
BY JEN GILROY
Publication Date: March 17, 2022
Orion Dash
Genre: Historical Fiction
What if the key to your present lies in the past?
London, 1939
On the eve of the Second World War, Canadian Maggie Wyndham defies her family and stays in England to do her bit for the war effort. Torn between two countries, two men and living a life of lies working for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Maggie’s RAF sweetheart locket is part of who she is…and who she isn’t.
San Francisco, 2019
Over twenty years after Maggie’s death, her daughter Millie and granddaughter Willow take a DNA test that’s supposed to be a bit of fun but instead yields unexpected results. Willow has always treasured her grandmother’s sweetheart locket, both family heirloom and a symbol of her grandparents’ love story. But now she doesn’t know what to believe. She embarks on a search for the truth, one she doesn’t know will reveal far more about herself…
A gripping and heart-breaking dual timeline novel about love, loss and buried secrets, The Sweetheart Locket is perfect for fans of Lorna Cook, Rachel Hore and Suzanne Kelman.
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Review:
"That's the thing, isn't it? Women sacrifice but the stories of their sacrifices usually aren't part of the formal historical record. Women's lives might veer off course for a while but then they get back on track and do what's expected of them and, well, it's still not much different, is it?"
After Willow takes a DNA test, she receives some unexpected results. She has always believed that she is mostly English, but the test results have strong French, Jewish and Italian ancestry as well. Willow asks her mom for details, but she is quick to change the subject. Willow takes a trip to England to look into her family history and the heirloom sweetheart locket that she thought represented her grandparents, Maggie and Will's, great love story. In London, Willow begins to learn about her grandmother, Maggie and the many secrets that she kept during World War II.
The Sweetheart Locket is a sweet historical romance with many unexpected twists and secrets revealed. I absolutely love dual time stories, so the two points of view between Maggie in World War II and Willow in the present day worked well for me. At points, it seemed like the points of view switched back and forth too quickly, but I was never confused about who I was reading about. I was drawn into the story immediately as Willow received her unexpected DNA results, I wanted to know what stories were hiding behind the unknown ancestry. I loved learning about Maggie's story. Her strength and fortitude for staying in England to do her bit and her meaningful friendships made her a wonderful character to follow. I was very interested in learning about her time in the Special Operations Executive as many of the stories of those women are lost to time. Willow's story in the present was equally engaging as she researched her family history with help from a new friend and uncovered more secrets than she was looking for. Willow's romance was engrossing to watch form as she figured out who she was and who she could be.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
About the Author
Jen Gilroy writes sweet contemporary romance and dual timeline historical women’s fiction—warm, feel-good stories to bring readers’ hearts home.
A Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist and shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon award, Amazon named her third book, ‘Back Home at Firefly Lake,’ a ‘Best Book of the Month: Romance’ in December 2017.
A dual British-Canadian citizen, Jen lived in England for many years and earned a doctorate (with a focus on British cultural studies and social history) from University College London. Returning to where her Irish family roots run deep, she now lives with her husband, teenage daughter and floppy-eared rescue hound in small-town Eastern Ontario, Canada.
When not writing, she enjoys reading, ice cream, ballet and paddling her purple kayak.
Visit Jen online at www.jengilroy.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, and Goodreads.
Jen Gilroy writes sweet contemporary romance and dual timeline historical women’s fiction—warm, feel-good stories to bring readers’ hearts home.
A Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist and shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon award, Amazon named her third book, ‘Back Home at Firefly Lake,’ a ‘Best Book of the Month: Romance’ in December 2017.
A dual British-Canadian citizen, Jen lived in England for many years and earned a doctorate (with a focus on British cultural studies and social history) from University College London. Returning to where her Irish family roots run deep, she now lives with her husband, teenage daughter and floppy-eared rescue hound in small-town Eastern Ontario, Canada.
When not writing, she enjoys reading, ice cream, ballet and paddling her purple kayak.
Visit Jen online at www.jengilroy.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, and Goodreads.
RSS Feed
