Darling Blue

by Tracy Rees

'Tracy Rees writes from the heart' Kathryn Hughes, author of The Letter. Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and The Villa in Italy.

Blue lives a charmed life. From her family's townhouse in Richmond, she lives a life of luxury and couldn't want for anything - well, on the surface at least.

Then on the night of her twenty-first birthday her father makes a startling toast: he will give his daughter's hand to whichever man can capture her heart best in the form of a love letter. But Blue has other ideas and, unwilling to play at her father's bewildering games, she sets out on her own path to find her own destiny...

• ISBN10: 1786486695
• ISBN13: 9781786486691
• Publish Date: 26 July 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 April 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Quercus Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 576
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

What a beautiful book! I knew once I had read the review by Over the Rainbow book blog, that I had to read this book. Check out her review here and you can see why!

I have not read a lot of historical fiction in my time but it has always appealed to me! I mentioned this book to my mum as I know she loves these types of books (when not reading horror) and I may try to get her to write something! LOL


So again, this is such a beautiful book, not a damsel in distress but more of what is this situation my dad has put me in distress! It is set in the 1920s when the father’s still have a say over their little girls and who they can marry. (Glad I am not in that situation!) But this is a proposal with a twist, instead, the potential suitors must write a letter to Blue.

This is not the only story occurring here, we also have the story of Delphine, her escape from a marriage that was just plain cruel, and Blue and her Midge (her step mother) take her under their wing.


Whilst the theme of the book is predominantly love and romance, the book focuses on some hard-hitting subjects, especially for the time era it is set, homosexuality and post-partum depression. This is done with such care and tact but at the same, not sugar coating how real and raw these subjects are. Do not be fooled, however, there are some twists and shocking revelations that were, to me, unexpected, and quite frankly shocking!

This is the first book for me of Tracy’s and I am glad I had the chance to read this, I can’t wait to go back and discover some of the magic of her writing. I was enthralled with the story, the descriptions, the glamour, the plot and most of the characters each had a charm about them, well most not all.