Memories of Heather House: A totally gorgeous and heart-wrenching novel filled with family secrets

by Rebecca Alexander

‘WOW!!!!… Clear your schedules as once you’ve started you won’t be able to stop!! I was utterly glued to the pages and I could not bring myself to put this down… Gorgeous and heart-warming… I was absolutely in love… Absolutely gorgeous and beautiful!!’ Bookworm86

Ruby stands on the doorstep of Heather House, its stone walls bathed in golden light, the key heavy in her palm. This may be the last time she unlocks the door to her childhood her last link to her family. Time is running out to uncover its secrets…

When Ruby inherits her family’s crumbling old house in the wild English countryside, she is devastated to think it might be sold. Heather House is filled with stories from Ruby’s family from years gone by, such as Clara, a pilot whose love story came to a tragic end. Now black-and-white photographs transport her back to World War Two, revealing a secret hidden for decades…

Then Jake a jumper-clad American author with bright green eyes, investigating Clara’s story. He is captivated by Heather its golden sunsets spilling through tall windows, its hallways lined with timeworn portraits. Yet it is Ruby who holds him spellbound. And soon the house begins to feel alive with romance once more.

But uncovering the truth about Clara means confronting long-buried secrets, Ruby’s own grief… and a revelation about her family that reaches into the present day. Can they save Heather House, and the happiness that Ruby never expected to find?

An unforgettable, sweeping novel about family, loss and new beginnings, perfect for fans of Susanne O’Leary, Tricia O’Malley and Liz Eeles.

What readers are saying about Memories of Heather House:

‘‘Had me in tears… I really got choked up… My heart was squeezed so many times… heartbreaking… my tears burst through… deeply moving and blew my balanced emotions off the scale!’ Cindy L Spear, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Heart-wrenching and captivating… will leave you spellbound… I was utterly captivated by this unputdownable book. The pages flew by… breathtaking.’ Page Turners, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Blown away… I loved this… I get emotional even now thinking of this story. Get your diaries out and cancel your plans because this brilliant book needs to be savoured.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I couldn't put it down… loved every moment……wonderful.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Wonderful… I was really pulled into the story… amazing.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Stunning… I came to love all the characters.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genres: Historical Fiction, Womens Fiction, Fiction

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2025

About the author

Having had a career in psychology, Rebecca Alexander decided to take time out to raise and home educate six children - and home educate herself with an MA in Creative Writing. The Secrets of Life and Death (2013) was a runner up in the 2011 novel writing competition with Mslexia and an agent and book deal for three books ensued. The Secrets of Blood and Bone (2014) and The Secrets of Time and Fate (2016) were published by Del Rey UK. With a historical strand exploring 16th century sorcery and a contemporary story about revenants, the books enjoyed a fantasy readership.

Since then, A Baby's Bones will be published by Titan Books (May 1 2018) and is decidedly crime. A sequel comes out next April, and the books follow the work of an archaeologist trying to solve crimes in the past. And staying safe in the present, with the help of Felix Guichard from the Secrets series. Things are still going bump in the night.

Reviews

["Avonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com

MEMORIES OF HEATHER HOUSE (Wildflower Secrets Book #2) by Rebecca Alexander is an emotional dual timeline women’s fiction story featuring generations of strong, independent woman. While this is the second book in this series, the books are connected by their small village location on the moors in the English countryside with minimal character crossover so they each easily stand alone.

Ruby is a genealogist and historian who has inherited the run-down countryside mansion of her childhood when her mother dies of cancer. For many years she just wanted to get away, but now it is her only connection to her matriarchal line of artistically talented women. Once an artists’ haven filled with bohemian characters, now only two of the elderly occupants remain.

With the future of the mansion uncertain, Ruby is also dealing with a handsome American who is researching her family’s famous WWII female ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) pilot for an American who believes she is also related to the mysterious Clara. As the two work together to dig up Clara’s secrets and try to come up with a solution to save Ruby’s home, they discover not only secrets from the past, but possibly a new love in the present.

This is a wonderful dual timeline story featuring Ruby in the present and Clara during WWII. While Ruby’s story is interesting with its search for Clara and her growing interest in Jake at times, I was frustrated with her always fluctuating in her beliefs that Jake had ulterior motives. It got to be a bit too often and should not have lasted as long as it did in the plotline because it felt repetitive. I was really pulled into the story when it switched to Clara’s WWII story. The WWII research is skillfully slipped into the story without feeling like a data dump. Clara is an amazing and compelling character that lived life to the fullest even in the middle of a terrible war and the tragic ending of her life, which is not a spoiler, was still so sad.

I highly recommend this dual timeline second book in the Wildflower Secrets series and I am anxiously looking forward to the next.

[Cindy Spear · Rating 5 out of 5]

What another powerful dual timeline by Rebecca Alexander! She had me in tears close to the end of the novel. I really got choked up as this World War Two, Present Day novel carried me through some deeply emotional threads. My heart was squeezed so many times by the strong transforming message that you can find hope, healing and joy in the midst of pain and loss.

Ruby’s home is nestled in the atmospheric moors and we all know how moody this violet heather landscape can be, from reading such classics as Wuthering Heights. This weathered structure that housed and nurtured Ruby through her childhood and beyond, holds many secrets from the past that will unfold throughout the novel. Thankfully, we get to experience the events in the historical timeline through the life of brave Clara, a famous pilot who leaves behind a legacy of two loves, mysteries and more.

Ruby inherits this large treasured homestead with a colourful past. Heather House was once an artists’ retreat filled with her family and unique friends. But it is in much need of repairs now and the cost of refurbishment could be well out of her reach. She knows she must sell. But her heart is heavy with memories and not wanting to let go of the past. Things get more complicated when another person enters the picture who could challenge the will. Ruby is faced with even more difficult decisions and fear permeates her confidence.

Meanwhile, she focuses on uncovering the story of Clara, a beloved female pilot, who lived an intriguing and at times dangerous life. Her tragic end was heart-breaking (and this is where my tears burst through!). As she was a wonderful character I enjoyed following throughout the historical thread. I was fascinated by her journey through her training and work-life during the war, ferrying aircraft, but also I agonised over her personal love dilemma. Truthfully I was as mesmerised by this courageous woman as Ruby was while she uncovered the past. And I admired her selflessness that was evident to the very end when she sacrificed herself to save many. This passage particularly was deeply moving and blew my balanced emotions off the scale!

There is a romance element in both timelines. So while Ruby immerses herself in uncovering the history of the house and Clara, she meets Jake, an American author, who is exploring this same female pilot’s life. He is also taken with this historic house of secrets and together they team up to find a way to save it, while uncovering Clara’s story. In the process they find love in each other and this adds another beautiful dimension to this novel where past and present intersect and create a new union full of promise. An exceptional solution is rendered for the house-- giving it a fresh start and new purpose. Along with the couple who helped put it all in motion. Memories of Heather House is a glorious, triumphant family focused story, where beauty springs forth in the future out of the trials, tears and ashes of the past. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC.

[Nicola “Shortbookthyme” · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts:
A heartfelt story with family secrets and intrigue.
Memories of the Heather House take us to quaint, cozy villages of the British Isles.
I loved the characters in the story.
Family loss
New beginnings
Hidden secrets
Mystery
Romance
Rebecca Alexander takes us on a journey full of history.

[Caroline|Page~Turners · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruby inherits her family’s old house in the English countryside, a prospect that brings both joy and trepidation. The house is likely to be sold, a prospect that devastates her. Despite the looming threat of its sale, Ruby holds onto warm memories of Heather House, filled with friends and family.

One such memory is that of Clara, a famous pilot during World War II. As Ruby rummages through old photographs, she is instantly transported back in time. When Jake, arrives at Heather House to investigate Clara’s story, Ruby’s heart is torn between her feelings for Jake and the future of her inheritance.

“Memories of Heather House,” authored by Rebecca Alexander, is a heart-wrenching and captivating story that will leave you spellbound. Alexander weaves a tale filled with unexpected plot twists and turns that linger in your mind long after you’ve finished the book.

I was utterly captivated by this unputdownable book. The pages flew by, and Alexander’s prose transported me to the breathtaking Moors. This book is an exceptional addition to the Wildflower Secrets Series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good story.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is told through dual timelines. Clara is a female pilot working for the Air Transport Auxiliary during WW2. She is a brave and heroic woman. I enjoyed reading about her passion for flying. She is torn between the affections of two pilots, Giles and William, whilst trying to do her job and survive the war.

In the present day, Ruby has inherited Heather House after her mother's death. American heir hunter, Jake, reveals that family secrets could mean Ruby has relatives in America that she didn't know about. Ruby's family history is very interesting, although I did struggle initially to remember who was who.

I loved how the story is revealed across both timelines and all of the characters were intriguing. The book is beautifully descriptive and I love the sound of Heather House. An emotional story with mystery, love and tragedy.

[Dee Groocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dartmoor in 1939, and Clara St John-Montpelier is now able to fly planes. With war imminent, she is a pilot for the Air Transport Auxiliary; delivering planes for fighting or for repair. With both Giles and William wanting to be her love interest, Clara wants to wait until war ends before making any decisions.

In the present day, Ruby has recently lost her mum, Fiona. Ruby grew up surrounded by artists living in the home she shared with her mum, her two grandmothers, Alice and Marissa, as well as Max and Pony. With the prospect of losing her home, Ruby lets American heir hunter, Jake, help her to find out if she can keep it.

This is a stunning story told over a dual timeline. I came to love all of the characters in the tale, they each had their own quirks. I was invested in the story and found it emotional at times.

This is a tale of bravery, romance and family.

I was interested in learning about ATA - the Air Transport Auxiliary. To know that so many women helped to pilot the planes back and forth, to ensure that the RAF had the planes needed for the men to fight the Germans. It was a fascinating subject to read and learn about.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Emma Crowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading back over my review of the first book in this series, Secrets of Foxglove Cottage which was actually the first book that I had read by Rebecca Alexander there were one or two things that I had mentioned that I felt weren’t quite right with the book despite the fact that overall I had enjoyed it. I had found the chapters too short and I had said there was too much of a strain to keep the dual timeline going therefore I found the book to be a bit of a mixed bag for me. Well this second book in the series, Memories of Heather House, rectified those issues and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of reading this wonderful story. The dual timeline in this case worked perfectly. The balance struck between past and present was ideal and the uncovering of family history and secrets was a joy to read. The chapters were longer but not overly so. I felt the right amount of time was given in each time period and that both viewpoints helped me to understand how things which occurred in the past had an impact on events in the present.

Within the first chapter, I found myself quickly settling into the story as I got to know the main character Ruby in the present day as she tries to navigate life after the loss of her mother Fiona. She feels cold and empty and questions whether she will ever feel warmth again. There are so many questions she wishes she had had the time to ask her mother most importantly who was her father. This is something her mother had not divulged. This theme of love, family, heritage and belonging runs both strongly and vividly throughout both strands of the story and there are many similarities which make themselves apparent the further I delved into the book.

Ruby has been left Montpelier House, a manor house on Dartmoor where her grandmothers Alice and Marissa had resided for many many years and had turned it into an artist’s commune. But now it is just the elderly Max and Pony who remain and with the house in significant disrepair and a huge inheritance tax on the horizon Ruby is faced with an impossible decision. Should her beloved Montpelier House which is full of amidst the happy times is full of ghosts, memories, tragedy, secrets and sadness be sold or can she find a way despite her lack of finances to keep it going? After all Max and Pont can’t be thrown out.

It’s obvious that the house and all the associations she has with it mean so very much to Ruby and she really is caught between a rock and a hard place. She knows renovations need to happen, yet she doesn’t have the money to start them. Max and Pony need care that she can’t provide on a daily basis as she has her own life working away as a genealogist. But yet she doesn’t want to let the legacy of Alice, Marissa and Fiona down. The history of the family and how Ruby is connected to Marissa and Alice is detailed early on although not quite everything is revealed which is good as it kept me guessing but initially I was confused as to who was whose mother etc. Now maybe it was the frame of mind I was in when I started the book as my concentration levels were a bit all over the place or else maybe a small family tree included at the back for reference would have been helpful to keep things straight in my head. I am being purposefully vague about the connections because to say anything would ruin the story.

It was evident that Ruby was lost and adrift and seeking a constant in her life. The support system that she had always had was gone and she had to be that person for Max and Pony but at the same time she was wrestling with what to do with the house. A major spanner is thrown in the works with the arrival of Jake who is a historian who researches genealogy for law firms. He reveals startling news that questions everything that Ruby had believed to be true. There is a family wartime mystery waiting to be uncovered and it is necessary to do so because the future of the house depends on it.

Ruby is worried and quite rightly so that Jake will take away the home that she has known for all her life and there are too many memories for this to happen. I won’t specifically say what brought Jake to the house but it does throw a different slant on things and delving back into the past reveals many surprises. Ruby goes on a very interesting journey which shows how complicated love is and how it can bring people together but also cause so much anguish and pain. I was a bit wary of Jake at first because I felt he had his clients interests at the centre of everything that he did which naturally he was going to do because after all he was getting paid to find out something and prove whether it was true or not. But I was on Ruby’s side and given the recent trauma she has been through and now that she is facing monumental decisions and challenges I wanted him to be real and genuine and to help her not go against her. Slowly over time they work together to discover the truth of the past and how it has a forbearing on Montpelier House and how it has led them to this point in time.

The strand of the story set in the past during World War Two was as captivating as intriguing as Ruby’s in the present. The journey to integrate the two strands was seamless. Clara is our female protagonist and we first meet her in 1939. She resides at Montpelier House with her mothers Alice and Marissa. Alice is a photographer and Marissa an artist. They are what I would call alternative but the love for their family unit is there in abundance. Clara was an incredible character. A young woman so ahead of her time. She knew what she wanted when it came to her career and with the outbreak of war she wanted to put her love of flying to good use and would let nothing get in her way of achieving many things. She went against convention and was not someone to be stuck at home doing her war work by knitting and supporting the troops. No she wanted to be up in the skies and although women were not allowed into combat and couldn’t join the R.A.F, the A.T.A (Air Transport Auxiliary) was just the place for her. I loved how she always kept pushing forward and wanted to prove that women could do just as much as men and even better in some cases. She was a heroine, stylish and a strong and charismatic young woman who loved fun and adventure with such a fantastic work ethic.

In the present as Ruby delves back into Clara’s history it was like she took on a mythical quality but this didn’t feel contrived at all. I adored Clara as a character but I felt her weakness was when it came to matters of the heart. Two men catch her eye both for very different reasons. One quite close to home and the other an American who arrives to try and join the R.A.F. The friendships and closeness that develop between Clara and the men individually weren’t in your face or rushed and at all times she out her career and helping to win the war at the forefront of everything she did. I felt she was under pressure to choose one or the other and she just wasn’t ready for that kind of commit given the circumstances but whether she ever would be was the big question. Here is where the author shows the complications of love and commitment and how the both the heart and head can struggle. There is a tangled web that emerges around Clara which impacts significantly on what Ruby and Jake are trying to uncover in the present. There is mystery, love and tragedy here in abundance and all with family at its centre. I really loved this book and really think it was a step up from the first book in the series and needless to say this very much can be read as a standalone story although it was lovely to see Zosia pop up briefly every now and again. I would definitely recommend this one, Clara and Ruby will both find a place in your heart.

[Amie Derricott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby’s mother Fiona has just passed away and she is now set to inherit her mothers sprawling moorland estate house, Heather House, and its two long term artist residents who have been in the house as long as she can remember. The house is falling apart and going to cost her a small fortune in repairs but she’s desperate to hold on to it and it’s history, the history of her aunt Clara who was a pilot in the ATA during WW2, ferrying planes around the country to support the war effort. Enter Jake, the rather attractive, American genealogy expert, who believes that Clara may have been his clients mother. Ruby struggles to come to terms with the fact that she is most likely going to lose Heather House, be that to a potential other heir to the estate or having to sell, whilst battling with her burgeoning feelings for Jake.

Once again Rebecca Alexander has written an absolutely stunning novel that explores loss, grief, family and the connections we make on our journey. This book is written in a dual timeline again, following Ruby’s story in the present and Clara’s story during the war, so we discover the information that Ruby finds out about her Aunt at the same time as she does. The story is a really emotional one that grips your heart and there was definitely some tears towards the end! There is a romance element to both of the timelines but the main focus is definitely on the historical elements of the plot and it was fascinating to discover more about the civilian pilots and the work they did during the war.

[Elaine - Splashes Into Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Returning to her childhood home once more
Turning the key and opening the door.
What has happened since she went away
Inheriting it now, will she choose to stay?

A funeral to organise and lots more to do
With special memories all running through.
Ruby's future isn't certain now
She needs to make plans somehow.

After the funeral, at the wake, she's introduced to a stranger
Jake's an American, could he bring danger?
He's searching through her family's past
Will secrets be revealed at last?

Clara was a pilot during the Second World War,
Who tragically died, home to return no more.
As Ruby and Jake start to seek more of her history
Will they solve this historical mystery?

An artist's haven is what the house was for years
But it is dilapidated now, for its future Ruby fears.
Can Jake and Ruby work together now
To save her old home somehow?

A moving dual timeline story about family loss and tragedy
With secrets to uncover and a new future to see.
For my copy of this book I say thank you
As I share with you this, my honest review.

[Melissa * bookedwithmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m always fascinated by books that are about female pilots in wartime. I couldn’t pass this one up either. The dual timelines are also a draw for me. We get both Clara and Ruby’s stories. Ruby is trying to hold her life together after losing her mother and figuring out what she’s going to do with Heather House. Clara’s story is all the pieces that Ruby is missing, and the connection between Clara and America.

Ruby’s job is so cool to me. I would love to discover family’s histories and connect paths that others wouldn’t. I would love to do something like that. Her job also helps her learn more about her family’s history.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy of this book.

[Paulette Ondara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy how she shows you the present and then pulls you back to the past. When she does that more and more in the present becomes clear. She shows you how the past affects today and how important family history or really just history in general is important. And then to top it off she puts a little romance in there.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't warm to any of the characters, so this was a bit of a slog.

[Jeanette Quaintance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

Couldn't put the book down . Excellent read. Look forward to reading book 3. The Lost Letter of Bluebell Farm when released next January.

[Tracy Fraley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!