A Country Scandal

Mill Valley Girls #3

by Lynne Francis

Sarah dreams of a more exciting life… but will she get more than she bargained for?The third thrilling novel from the author of A Daughter’s Hope and A Family Secret

Sarah is lonely. Living in a small Yorkshire village with just her grandmother for company, she longs to be reunited with her mother and sisters in Manchester.

When she meets the mysterious Joe Bancroft, she feels her luck might be changing. And, before long, Sarah’s married with a baby on the way.

But Sarah’s hopes for a family home are dashed by Joe’s work, which takes him away from her for months at a time. And when tragedy strikes, Sarah is left more alone than ever.

When all hope seems lost, can Sarah take charge and save her family?

A heartwarming story of family and hope, perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Rosie Goodwin and Katie Flynn.

*Previously published as Sarah’s Story*

386 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 6, 2018

About the author

Lynne Francis grew up in East Yorkshire in the UK but studied, lived and worked in London for many years. It was while she was on a writing course in West Yorkshire that the characters and setting for The Mill Valley Girls novels came into being.
Lynne draws her inspiration from landscapes and the countryside, as well as the history of an area, and now that she has moved to east Kent she's written a series set there in the Georgian era, The Margate Maid trilogy. She has just published the dual timeline novel, The Smuggler's Secret, the first book in a new series.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought this book was absolutely brilliant. When I first stared. didn’t think it was going to be any good,but how wrong can you be . Would thoroughly recommend.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sarah’s Story” by Lynne Francis is set in Yorkshire, England. Sarah lives with and helps her herbalist grandmother while the rest of the family lives in Manchester working in the mills. She dreams of a more exciting life than she has and wants to be with her family. While gathering herbs for her grandmother’s potions, she meets Joe Bancroft, who says he works on the canal. He seems a nice sort and she keeps finding ways to meet up with him. Eventually, she becomes pregnant and he marries her. Leaving her alone for long periods of time, he comes around occasionally and usually just long enough to get her pregnant again. What is his story? Sarah makes all kinds of excuses for him and never questions what he does. Sarah’s life is definitely not exciting but is hard and grinding. She spends her days trying to make enough to feed her family since she can’t depend on Joe to help.

I thought this story was so depressing. I kept waiting for something good to happen. The end of the story was not a feel-good moment at all. I felt very tired just reading about Sarah and her life.

You can find this review on my blog at https://wp.me/p2pjIt-v9, and other reviews on my blog at http://imhookedonbooks.wordpress.com.

[Jessica Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah’s Story is a wonderful tale of family, love, the hardships of life and overcoming adversity. The author’s beautiful descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside, real and sympathetic characters and excellent storytelling had me turning the pages again and again, keen to follow Sarah’s journey. This book is well written, with engaging characters and a compelling story. I thoroughly recommend it for a good read. (If you haven’t already check out the other two books in the saga Alice’s Secret and Ella’s Journey.)

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a cautionary tale than a fun story to read. Sara wants love and happy endings and with Joe she only finds child after child and struggle. He's hiding something (duh) and it's not good for her. This, hopefully, would not happen in today's world. I had a lot of sympathy for Sara but golly, this was just sad. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe is a charmer and dodgy always away. Preferred the other guy Daniel. Felt sorry for her but Nan was right. Nan had wisdom she could smell a rat after all she had been married to a drunkard. Could of had a nicer ending. She deserved it.

[Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book during lockdown and enjoyed it. Sarah is a young girl who lives with her Grandma in a rural area. Grandma is a herbalist and they live quite a frugal existence. Sarah finds herself pregnant at a very young age to a man she knows very little about. Grandma makes them get married and the rest of Sarah’s life has it’s ups and downs as her husband is seldom in her life. Easy reading but the storyline and characters are believable and I enjoyed this book.

[Gloria Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my 2nd time to read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it this time