The English Wife by Adrienne Chin

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC Book Tour for Adrienne Chin's The English Wife. 

At the start of WWII, Ellie Burgess, an art student with a promising new job, is happily engaged to a man she's know much of her life. 

By the end of the war, Ellie has traveled across the ocean to live in a new country, with a new baby, and a husband she barely knows. 

In 2001, Sophie Parry is on her way from London to New York when her plane is rerouted to Newfoundland. Her world is turned upside down when she learns that the World Trade Center is under attack. But, this is also the first time Sophie has the opportunity to meet her Aunt Ellie, a woman her mother cut ties with completely and never explained her her daughter. 

Then, in 2011, Ellie is to return to Newfoundland under directions to convince the locals to sell their land for the creation of a new hotel. This time, Ellie must make some of the toughest decisions of her life. 

The English Wife brings to life a little piece of history I was still completely unaware of, even in spite of the glut of WWII novels in print at this moment: soldiers from Newfoundland who were sent to England during the war and the war brides (just one in this instance) they brought home. 

But the book is, of course, much more than that. While it also touches on 9/11, the book is more about family and family secrets. Namely the secret that caused the decades-long rift between Sophie's mother and her Aunt Ellie. 

The story unfolds in alternating timelines. Most of it focused on Ellie from the early days of WWII and Sophie's time in Tippy's Tickle (the tiny Newfoundland town Ellie and her family call home). 

The characters are deftly drawn, but I must admit that Ellie's WWII timeline is the one that pulled me in most. Her relationship with her family and her fiancé and the evolution of her character throughout the war were my favorite parts of the novel. As was seeing her relationship with Thomas grow and blossom and finally learning why Dottie turned so bitter in the wake of her sister's leaving. 

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. 

For more on Adrienne Chin and her work you can visit her website. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. 

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble