The Secret Years in Aussie Readers

Apr 28, 2015 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, 2015-release, net-galley, read-on-kindle, arc, historical-fiction, own-read

Arriving back from deployment overseas Lucy Hunter was surprised to see her mother waiting for her at the airport instead of fiancé Sam. But her concern was mostly for her grandfather, her beloved Harry-pa who was very ill in hospital. Her mother Ro assured her that he was in no danger but Lucy knew her mother and grandfather didn’t often see eye-to-eye. Having been fobbed off at every turn by both her mother and grandfather to any question about her family’s history, Lucy was keen to find out m Arriving back from deployment overseas Lucy Hunter was surprised to see her mother waiting for her at the airport instead of fiancé Sam. But her concern was mostly for her grandfather, her beloved Harry-pa who was very ill in hospital. Her mother Ro assured her that he was in no danger but Lucy knew her mother and grandfather didn’t often see eye-to-eye. Having been fobbed off at every turn by both her mother and grandfather to any question about her family’s history, Lucy was keen to find out more; her discovery of an old tin which contained memorabilia of a past that deeply involved Harry, she was astounded to be drawn into the life of a beautiful young woman who signed the back of an old black and white photograph simply as “George”.

Lucy’s determination to find answers found her heading to England, to Cornwall and the old property that was part of her family’s history. The life of the Honourable Georgina Lenton; the war years and a young Captain Harry Kemp from the vast north Queensland property called Kalkadoon enthralled her – the knowledge which was slowly filtering through her senses about the secret years of her beloved Harry’s past was fascinating. But she knew there was more, and the meeting of another descendant; the handsome Nick plus George’s best friend Primrose added more layers to an already complicated issue.

What was it that Lucy’s mother was so desperate to keep secret? With her emotions in overdrive, Lucy gradually came to the realisation that there had been heartbreak and love in a past that was now a torment. Would working together to unravel the truth bring peace to them all?

I absolutely loved The Secret Years by Aussie author Barbara Hannay which is her best yet in my opinion. Filled with heroism, love, loss and heartache, plus deeply moving memories of a past in the war years of New Guinea and Kakoda, this novel includes wonderful characters and magnificent word pictures of an untamed Australian outback. I have no hesitation in highly recommending this historical fiction novel by an author who is fast becoming one of my favourite “go to” writers!

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy to read and review.
...more

23 likes · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2015 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-are, netgalley-reviews

The Secret Years is Barbara Hannay's 49th book, in which she blends a contemporary and historical narrative to present an engaging novel about family, heroism, heartbreak and love.

Army logistics officer Lucy Hunter is relieved to be home in Townsville after her six month deployment in Afghanistan but she isn't prepared for the changes in store for her. Her mother has exchanged her childhood home for a sterile condo apartment she is sharing with a new man, her grandfather's health is failing, and
The Secret Years is Barbara Hannay's 49th book, in which she blends a contemporary and historical narrative to present an engaging novel about family, heroism, heartbreak and love.

Army logistics officer Lucy Hunter is relieved to be home in Townsville after her six month deployment in Afghanistan but she isn't prepared for the changes in store for her. Her mother has exchanged her childhood home for a sterile condo apartment she is sharing with a new man, her grandfather's health is failing, and her fiance, Sam, has cold feet. With several weeks of leave ahead of her, Lucy is at a loose end until she discovers a box of wartime memorabilia that contains clues to her family's history that neither her mother or grandfather are willing to talk about. Hoping to understand the secrets of the past, Lucy travels to Cornwall, a place where she just might find her future.

Moving between the past and present, the narrative shifts between Lucy's journey to unravel her family's secrets, and the story of the relationship between Lucy's cattleman grandfather, Harry, and his aristocratic bride, Georgina. Emotions run high in both timelines through scenes of wartime drama, desperate passion and captivating romance.

I liked Lucy and I sympathised with her desire to understand the past. The mystery stems from the discord between Lucy's mother, Ro and Lucy's grandfather, Harry, which Lucy learns is related to her mother's brief time in England. I also enjoyed Lucy's romance with the dashing Nick.

But it was the story of Harry and George's courtship and marriage that I found particularly entrancing. Their love is touching, and their wartime experiences are exciting, if also sobering.

The story takes us from Australia's coastline and outback, to London during the Blitz, from the wild bluffs of Cornwall to the jungles of Papua New Guinea as the Japanese invade. Both the contemporary and wartime settings are vividly described, as are the characters experiences of them.

The Secret Years is well written with appealing characters and a moving story. Another winning romance. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2015 Tien rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, australian-author, romance, australia

I find that I’m fascinated by love story in war time… The preciousness of life, of happiness, are just so keenly felt that finding love is such a bittersweet experience. This is what drew me to The Secret Years… asides from my penchant for rural romance, of course ;)

The novel tells of a love story which spans three generations though the middle one is somewhat neglected. It tells of the glorious once-in-a-lifetime love of Harry and Georgina who found each other in the midst of great uncertainty I find that I’m fascinated by love story in war time… The preciousness of life, of happiness, are just so keenly felt that finding love is such a bittersweet experience. This is what drew me to The Secret Years… asides from my penchant for rural romance, of course ;)

The novel tells of a love story which spans three generations though the middle one is somewhat neglected. It tells of the glorious once-in-a-lifetime love of Harry and Georgina who found each other in the midst of great uncertainty but the fates were quite generous to them as proven by the existence of the next generations.

In the present times, we follow Lucy, Harry and Georgina’s granddaughter, as she returned home from being deployed in Afghanistan. Home, however, didn’t quite turn out the way she dreamed of. Being at loose ends and burdened by a great curiosity of her family’s mysterious past, she goes to England in order to unveil some of her family’s secrets.

Lucy and Georgina are two loveable characters. They are both courageous women; strong, intelligent, grounded, and just so easy to be with. Rosie, on the other hand, was a bit of a mess. Unfortunately, her perspectives is very limited in this novel. I found it a little strange that the “secret” weren’t more fleshed out the novel. The secret was revealed in an almost-dry voice and it was over very quickly. I am comparing it to Kate Morton’s works where the dirty secret hung over you right from the very first word and when it was all revealed, you’d have this stab-in-the-heart sort of pain. There’s no such pain in The Secret Years.

If you adjust your expectation to a good rural romantic novel, I think you will really enjoyed this book. It was so easy to get into and proved to be a delightful relaxation companion. This was my first Barbara Hannay though I just found out that she’s really a prolific writer so can’t you just see my tbr becoming ever more insurmountable?

Thanks to Penguin Australia for paperback copy in exchange of honest review

Pssst, there’s an excerpt that you can check out. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 16, 2016 Kira rated it it was amazing

Shelves: keeper, historical-fiction, romance, aussie-author

I picked up The Secret Years at my local mall recently. I'm behind on my challenges so needed to get reading if I want to make my reading targets by the end of the year. I didn't know what to expect, other than it met the criteria for my challenges (I haven't read any other books by Barbara Hannay before).

I felt like the book was a little slow to begin with, but once it got going I was well and truly hooked. The novel is told through multiple viewpoints: Lucy, her mother Rose, and her grandmothe ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2015 Sheree rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviews, own, historical-fiction, aussie-author, read-in-2015

4.5 stars

This was my first Barbara Hannay read. What rock have I been living under?? ... I have no idea why Hannay hasn't come to my attention before now but I've been missing out.

The Secret Years is a multi-generational story blending contemporary and historical narratives into an utterly captivating read.

It's a story where the past bleeds into the present, the effect of long held secrets rippling through generations.

Lucy returns home to Australia from a 6 month deployment in Afghanistan. Her ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 11, 2017 Janine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks

This is the second book of Barbara's that I have listened to and I really loved it. She tells the story of 3 generations going from World War 2 to the present day and set in Australia and England. Lucy is on leave from her army job and looking forward to planning her wedding. She comes home and finds that her fiancee is intimidated by her position in the army and the engagement falls through. She is curious about her ancestry and decides to travel to England to discover more about her Grandfathe ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 02, 2015 Helen rated it it was amazing

This is such a beautiful story set in two wonderful eras it tells of the struggle during World War 2 and the course of true love that spans many years from Bombings in London to the jungles of New Guinea and then to Australia, Townsville and the Queensland outback, it is the story of families and the secrets that are kept and what happens when they are unearthed.

Lucy Hunter is a beautiful young woman she is in the army and has just returned from Afghanistan ready to marry her fiancé but things a ...more

Like · see review