It’s my stop on the blog tour for Mrs England by Stacey Halls and I’d like to say a massive thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers, Zaffre Books and Stacey Halls for kindly gifting an ebook copy in return for an honest review.
About the book
When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England. Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby is forced to confront her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there’s no such thing as the perfect family – and she should know.
Simmering with slow-burning menace, Mrs England is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, weaving an enthralling story of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception. Set against the atmospheric landscape of West Yorkshire, Stacey Halls’ third novel proves her one of the most exciting and compelling new storytellers of our times.
Mrs England is published June 10th.
My thoughts
I fell in love with Stacey Halls writing when I first listened to The Familiars on audio, I then went on to listen to The Foundling and was absolutely mesmerised by them both so when I heard about Mrs England the excitement was immense and I certainly was not disappointed.
Ruby May a trained Norland children’s nurse is sent off to West Yorkshire to live with the England family, she’s to be in charge of their 4 children which she immediately falls in love with. Mr England is a friendly gentleman who has a lot to do with his children, Mrs England on the other hand is very absent from the family life. As Ruby settles in it’s clear that this wealthy family may not be all they seem to appear to be to the outside world.
One of the things I’ve found about Stacey Halls writing is her ability to transport the reader right into the setting and time of her novels. It’s so easy to picture everything as you’re reading but it’s not overly described and I absolutely loved being transported to West Yorkshire, 1904.
The characters were vivid and utterly compelling and as the story unfolds it seems there are many secrets hidden with each of them and Halls has a way of making you have your suspicions with each and every one of them.
I found myself so totally engrossed in Mrs England, I was pulled right in from page one and it’s a really hard book to set down. I found myself picking it up at every opportunity I got. I had this desperate need to know what was going to happen next, it was almost like an addiction.
Mrs England is beguiling, suspenseful and utterly addictive. With its fantastic characters and atmospheric landscape it’s definitely one of my most favourite reads of 2021 and I can not blooming wait to see what Stacey Halls comes up with next. Five massive stars from me.
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Oooh sounds fabulous!
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It’s sooooo good.
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