phyllish
Written on Mar 21, 2019
My rating is 3.5 stars
Jim didn't feel that he had many talents, yet his skills as a gardener helped Abby's uncle transform his estate into a place of great beauty. I really liked Jim's humility, care for his mother, and his ability to enjoy life without worrying about what others thought about him. He was a little insecure, however. Then again, aren't most of us?
Abby was a little bit of a spoiled brat, at least at the beginning of the book. She sulked over her parents sending her to America where she would be further away from the war that was threatening to come to England. And when her aunt treated her less than kindly, she did everything she could to avoid her. Abby did grow on me, however.
One of the things I really appreciated about When Valleys Bloom Again was the way the garden theme carried subtly throughout the story, and yet gardens played a role in Abby's life in many ways.
I also liked the way that the Queen Mary was the same boat that transported Abby to America and then transported Jim to England for his military service.
The story spans several years, and I have found novels that encompass a span of time like this can often drag as the author interjects snippets from the intervening time. Pat Jeanne Davis actually did quite well with this and had a good sense of when to add a glimpse of life at a point in time.
The plot was interesting and, for the most part, was executed well. There were some things I didn't feel made sense or seemed a little out of character. The characters did not quite seem three dimensional, and I didn't relate to them as well as I like to. While the author used a conversational method of imparting historical details in places, some of these felt forced and a bit like an information dump rathen than showing the reader these things.
I do recommend this for lovers of WWII fiction.
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I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.