Her Sweetest Downfall by Kellie Wallace
Genre - Historical fiction
Publication Date - April 27 2015
At the height of the London Blitz, Viola Craft, a sexually repressed young woman is trapped in a loveless marriage to her God fearing husband Vernon. She spends her days working in her mother’s dress shop while Vernon pulls the dead from the rubble with his rescue crew.
VTheir marriage is turbulent and Viola feels pressured to bear a child. After failed attempts, Vernon believes she’s barren and alienates himself from their marriage.
One night during an air raid, she meets alluring German born Kristoff Richter. They make an instant connection. He’s young, good looking and emphatic. They embark on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences.
Vickie's Review:
Her Sweetest Downfall is a well written, emotive, bittersweet story and although it is a historical romance a genre which I don't typically read admittedly the author pulled me in and didn't let go until the very last page.
At the height of the London blitz during World War 2, Viola Craft, a sexually repressed young woman trapped in a loveless marriage to her God fearing husband Vernon. She's spends her days working in her mothers dress shop while her husband works on the rescue crews pulling the dead from the rubble. Suffering in a turbulent marriage she is pressured to bear a child for Vernon, after failed attempts he believes her to be barron and alienates himself from the marriage finding solice in the arms of another woman. One night during an air raid Viola meets and feels an instant connection to German born Kristoff Richter. They embark on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences.
I really felt while reading this book I was deeply connected to the characters. I was there on their journey and at times it was tough reading. The difficulties Viola endured, her indecisiveness with her life and the choices she has to make within the social constraints of that era are both painful and frustrating to read at the same time. I can't imagine having to do the things she does and live by the rules her husbands sets, he's quite the tyrant! Vernon was so hell bent of having a child that the lengths he would go to were cruel and I really disliked him. I'll be honest I routed for Viola and Kristoff from their first meeting what can I say I'm a sucker for romance and happiness. I enjoyed the complexities of the other characters they offered further realism to the book and of that era. It's poignant and heartbreaking but sort of redeems itself with the ending, which I was not expecting I even shed a little tear.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to other readers especially those who don't read this genre.
** ARC provided in exchange for an honest review courtesy of Words Turn Me On Book Blog **
Kellie Wallace
Born in Sydney, author Kellie Wallace developed a love for the written word early in life, writing her first story at aged three. Her father used to read to her at bedtime, establishing a deep love and respect for books.
Kellie wrote her first fiction fantasy novel called Giblin the Conquer, an X Files fan fiction and a military fiction while in high school. After finishing school, Kellie moved to the sunny Northern Beaches and carved a successful career in the media/advertising industry writing for numerous Sydney based publications. But that didn't stop Kellie's love to write. An aspiring novelist, she fulfilled a dream in 2008 having her first book All She Ever Wanted published at the age of 22 years old
In 2013-2014, Kellie released her first catalogue of books Darkness before Dawn, Skylark, To lean on Falling Men and Earthwalker. 2015 will be a big year for Kellie with the releases of Edge of Tomorrow and Her Sweetest Downfall.
She currently resides in Sydney with her husband.
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