Secrets of a Charmed Life

This is my first read by Ms. Meissner.

The premise is an interesting choice: sisters separated by the bombings of London in WWII. In fact, the book is based on how our choices carry consequences and how those choices affect those around us.

The majority of the story is told in flashback, with the third part imparted by journal entries.

The characters are well fleshed out with strong motivations. The writing is strong and the read is clean. There are some mature themes, especially as war is involved, though I didn't find it to be overly graphic. Ms. Meissner has a distinct voice that tells the story well.

A good choice for a book club discussion.

Amazon

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden—one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed...