From Claire at Goodreads:

“To begin with my expectations were low of this book but I am glad I persisted as the author surprised me by producing a work that, although quite unlike anything I’ve read in the past, produced deep characters and a plot that kept me read till the end. I enjoyed the style of writing; the way Tess experienced and viewed the world and people around her. Another aspect which I favoured was how each item mentioned turned out later to have a significance and meaning beyond it’s initial appearance.

The minor qualms I had on my journey through this book were: at times it felt like life centred far too much on sex!, and I also had a nagging feeling that Tess never really fitted into her ‘new world’ at New Mills…she was too middle class, whereas the place she moved was more working, however, the conclusion resolved my unease about her character and I ended up feeling she was living in just the right place.

There was one serve in this plot which I never expected or saw coming and I felt it was very much out of Tess’s character, but it added a bit of spice to the story and the author had clearly researched the topic well as her knowledge came through in her writing – essential for it to have been believable.

All in all, a good book. I usually avoid romances as I find them dull, but although this book centred around love it was anything but dull…there was enough going on throughout the story emotionally to touch the reader and get you thinking, plus there was a certain one-liner contained within which I found particulary moving. It hadn’t been something I had been expecting but at times I felt the pain and almost laughed aloud at the humour which peppered the plot despite the hard times experienced by the characters…for a book to do that is a sign of a good writer as I am certainly not the sentimental type to cry at movies!”

(Reprinted with permission…Thanks Claire!)