The Skylark's Secret

Product Information

Lexi's part of the story is how Lexi finds out the truth of what happened prior to her birth & also opens her eyes to the locals who she was unsure of. I enjoy historical fiction--but here, I use the term's applicability lightly. I also like dual timelines which this has, but... I was surprised how much I loved this book. The description sounded like something I would love with a Scottish setting, WWII and dual timelines but it exceeded my expectations to make this a 5* book. So the story jumps between Lexi's life and her mothers, and in her mothers we slowly began to hear Flora's story, while poor Lexi still remains oblivious.

This book was incredibly well researched and immersive. I felt very much a part of the story and the unique life in the highlands on the loch. I enjoyed Fiona’s story and definitely learned some things about history that I didn't know. I found Fiona’s story compelling and really loved Davie’s character. As we fast forward to 1978, Lexie Gordon is returning to Loch Ewe with her daughter Daisy after the death of her mother Flora. She had left Loch Ewe years earlier to follow her passion of singing that lead her to London and heartbreak. She’s now coming home to find answers to the questions she has always had about her mom and the father she never knew. Told from alternating timelines by Flora at the beginning of WWII and Lexie from the 1970’s, we follow Flora through her Journey as a WREN and her relationship with Alec. At the same time, we are following Lexie as she is learning the story of her parents and a secret that has been hidden for so long, learning about her village history and how they came together during one of the worst times in history. Lexie even learns about herself and love along the way. The historical aspect is well researched, descriptive, engaging and informative. The complexities of love, family, and camaraderie are well written.

Featured Reviews

This is a wonderful, sweeping saga that tells the story of Lexie Gordon and her quest to find out more about her mother and father who were caught up in the prejudices of the class system and the brutality of World War 11. We learn their fate through chapters that alternate between Lexie and her mother, Flora’s, stories. It’s a beautiful yet tragic story that made me yearn to live in a small, tight-knit, remote community that looks after its own; one that revolves around give and take, and protects its secrets. As much as I enjoyed the characters and the story, the pace of this one was a little rough. The descriptions of characters, landscapes, and events were a bit repetitive and slowed the story down. This is unfortunate because the story is a good one and I especially loved the mother-daughter threads woven through the story. I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an unbiased review. For Flora this is a story of growing up with her father and brother in the keepers cottage of the Ardtuath Estate, where life is simple for both children and the son of the Lord and Lady of the Estate, Alec. Romance blossoms and the added power of friendship between Flora, Bridie and Mairi, makes this small group formidable allies in peace and war. Flora has a benefactor in Lady Helen, however social mores and traditions run deep and dark in the eyes of Lord Charles and when forbidden fruit means that those ‘class’ lines have been irrevocably crossed, the consequences are disastrous for so many. I thoroughly enjoyed this dual timeline tale. Flora’s story is the larger part of the book and rightly so as part of Lexie’s journey in returning to her roots is to learn more about her mother’s wartime life and in particular her mother’s great love - Lexie’s father, Alec, whom Lexie never knew.

In 1939, Flora Gordon lives with her family in the Keeper’s Cottage in Aultbea. Her father is the gamekeeper for the Laird, a surly and imposing man. Aultbea is suddenly tapped as the location for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys and is turned into a military base virtually overnight. At the same time, Flora finds herself falling in love with the Laird’s son. This a place where lives begin and lives ended. A place where the only witnesses were the skylarks and the deer". The Skylark’s Secret by Fiona Vaply is a story about a daughter’s journey to discover the secrets her mother held so close. Loch Ewe, 1940s, the remote highland village becomes the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in the close-knit community changes forever. The gamekeeper’s daughter, Flora, falls in love with Alec, the laird’s son. Decades later, Flora has passed away, and her daughter, Lexie Gordon, is forced to return to the village and the tiny cottage where she grew up. With a daughter of her own, Lexie learns that her mother and the village had secrets, secrets that will question everything she thought she knew about her parents and her village. Lexie is determined to fill the missing pieces in the story her mother always told her. When she finally learns the truth, will she be able to finally forgive, grieve for those lost and find a place to truly call home? For the most part, the book was well-written with wonderful descriptions of Loch Ewe’s beauty and good character development. However, the use of Scottish words and sayings was excessive. I agree they added to the authenticity of place, but it was difficult to keep the story flowing. I had to stop and look things up, or puzzle out what was being said. The book is also much more of a romance with historical fiction tossed in, and romance just isn’t my preference. The book also moved very slowly, with a lot of pointless detail of baby play dates and hunting non-essentials. While there were a few details you might not figure out, the ending was totally predictable.

The second time period focuses on Flora and her fellow WRNs during the war years between 1939 and 1944 and the separations and losses they suffered during that time while they played their own supporting roles as ambulance drivers and canteen operators.

I was brought to another time when a lowly employee like Flora was ridiculed for falling in love with the Laird's son (her boss's son). I was emotionally drained when war tore Flora and Alec apart over and over again. The sense of a caring community in both time periods was very well done. I thoroughly enjoyed the character development. Both stories highlighted the sacrifices mothers make for their children and how important a good support community is in raising children. The author wove the two stories, of mothers and their daughters, together in a unique way with a couple of twists that were pleasantly surprising. I had read other books by Fiona Valpy but I have to say I loved this one the best. It grabbed my attention from the beginning and I had a difficult time putting it down when I had other things to do. This book occurs during two timelines; one during WWII and the other in the 1970's-1980. It is about a daughter searching for her way in life after a disappointing change in her career and uncovering a secret about her family. Lexie (the daughter) searches for who her father is and who her mother (Flora) was growing up. She finds friendship and a home in the process of her search. It is about a young lady (Flora) dealing with her life during the war along with longing for a romantic relationship between differing lifestyles and social status. Chapter titles are provided to keep up with the timelines in the book. It is about town and land that loves deeply and has to adjust to how the war affects their lives. The characters are realistic and the writing flows easily throughout the book. It did take me a bit to learn who some of the characters were and how they all fit together in the story but it was not frustrating to keep up with the characters and two timelines. I could easily put myself in the story line and the events of the book. I read one of Fiona’s books fairly recently, The dressmakers gift’s. It seems Fiona’s style is to start slow and gently ease you into her fictional world. A little too slow for me in my present mood.

Publication Year

The story of her parents is told from her mother's perspective. World War II has started - and comes to Flora's small village. Her father is the gamekeeper for the estate, a long time family position. Flora and her friends volunteer for the WRNS, doing their part to contribute as their loch becomes a secret stash for merchants and the English navy. As the war continues, Flora shares the impact on the close knit community - taking in young children from the larger Scottish cities, the impact of young men's deaths on families and a community doing their part to support the war effort.

I greatly enjoyed this family story. Lexie discovers who she really is - without her voice. She builds an amazing life for herself and daughter, learning to enjoy the close connections of her small community. Thank you to Netgalley, FIona Valpy and her publishers for allowing me the change to read and advance copy. And I promise I will reread at some point and rereview, when my head is in a better place. But overall I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to others, particularly anyone who enjoys fiction set in this time period. Flora's story is told during 1944 and World War II when the little town in Scotland becomes a "hub" for the Royal Navy's arctic convoys. Growing up, Flora and her brother Ruaridh spent a lot of time with Alec - the son of the man that owned a house where Flora's dad was the gamekeeper. Ruaridh and Alec join the war effort and Flora, Bridie and Mairi become WRENs assisting on land.

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I have recently been reading quite a few stories set in and around WW2 and this is one of the best with plenty of information to keep the historians among us satisfied along with a good solid tale of mothers and daughters. Fiona is also very descriptive of the Highland area and this really sets the scene for you as the reader to be enveloped into the village. PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Skylarks_Secret_-_Fiona_Valpy.pdf, The_Skylarks_Secret_-_Fiona_Valpy.epub