‘The ending is good, very much in the style of the closing scenes of an old film’ Rosie’s #BookReview of Fate’s Final Destiny by E.T. McNamara

Fate’s Final Destiny: A Novel of Love, Betrayal, Heroism, and Devotion by E.T. McNamara

3 stars

Fate’s Final Destiny is an historical family drama. It begins in the Depression years of American history in the dust bowl region of Oklahoma. Michael and Cindy grew up on adjoining farms; they became friends from an early age and their relationship became closer during their teenage years. All they wanted was to be together but this wasn’t to be.

Cindy and her family moved away and the sweethearts were wrenched apart. Moving forward to the Second World War: Michael joined up and Cindy trained to be a nurse. As the title of the book suggests, fate played a large part in this love story.

I liked the idea of this story with its background set in the farming community of a small town of the era. The Depression years and the hardship for all at these times interests me. I also enjoy stories which feature the war years and as the focus of much of this book was on the battles in the Pacific region, this was different from many of the war era stories set in Europe.

The writing moves the story along at a good pace, but the style tends to fall back on ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’ the details. There are also occasions when the historical events of the time are written more like a report rather than being part of the character’s experiences.

The ending is good, very much in the style of the closing scenes of an old film; it made me smile.

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”Fate’s Final Destiny” is an epic story of two life-long friends who fall in love, only to have fate tear them apart. Set during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, the story begins in Goodwell, Oklahoma. Caught up in the tidal wave of world events, they find themselves beginning new and separate lives. Never fully understanding the reasons for their separation, they find it difficult to move on. As they and their families are experiencing the life-changing events of Pearl Harbor and the war in the Pacific, these members of the Greatest Generation find themselves swept up by both current and future events. Whether it be the life-or-death decisions made on the battlefield or aboard a navy hospital ship, fate affects both their lives. As the two star-crossed lovers become entangled in the major events that shaped our nation’s destiny, readers will be able to go along with them on their journey through one of the most interesting periods of American History.

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‘It’s clear that the author has a passion for this period of history’ @TerryTyler4 reviews #HistoricalFiction The Unveiling Of Polly Forrest by @CWhitneyAuthor @steffercat

Today’s team review is from Terry. She blogs here https://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Terry has been reading The Unveiling Of Polly Forrest by Charlotte Whitney

4 out of 5 stars

A book about America’s Great Depression always piques my interest; this suspense-filled story of sisters Sarah and Polly, living in farming country in Michigan in 1934, certainly conjured up the atmosphere.  Elder sister and vicar’s wife Sarah is dutiful, industrious, a tad self-righteous and bitterly jealous of Polly;  Polly is stunningly pretty, stylish (with a penchant for glamorous hats), and newly married to the mysterious Sam.

It’s clear that the author has a passion for this period of history and really understands the hardship people lived through, with no knowledge of how or when it would end, and I so appreciated all the detail of the every day lives.  As for the characters, I found that at first I sympathised with Sarah and wasn’t so keen on Polly, but as more insight was given, I soon felt the other way round, and felt the claustrophobia of Polly’s life, while disliking Sarah’s attitude.  I very much liked how the truth about Sam and Polly emerged so gradually; a slow ‘unveiling’ indeed.

The book is told from the POVs of Sarah, Polly and Sarah’s husband Wes; I did feel that Sarah and Wes’s ‘voices’ were too alike, and I’d sometimes have to flick back to remind myself whose chapter I was reading.  

I didn’t realise straight away that I’d read another book by this author for the review team, a while back; I refreshed my memory about it, and think this is a much more interesting novel, with a more complex and intriguing plot.  Aside from the start being a little exposition heavy, to set the scene and give background information, I enjoyed the unfolding of the story and was completely taken by surprise when the ‘reveal’ came – that’s always a real bonus!  

– Rural Michigan, 1934

When her new husband Sam perishes in a bizarre farm accident, would-be milliner Polly soon becomes the prime suspect in his murder. As she digs for evidence to clear her name, Polly falls into a sinister web implicating her in a nefarious crime ring being investigated by White House Police. Polly’s life and those of her family are at stake.

Narrated by Polly, her self-righteous older sister, Sarah, and Sarah’s well-meaning, but flawed husband Wesley, a Methodist minister, the story follows several twists through the landscape of the rural Midwest.

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