The task of repopulating the senior library has been an exciting and daunting task aS in a boarding school our aim is to encourage all members of the community to read. Because of this, I have been searching down a wide and diverse range of books to read that will entice a wide cross-section of the school to come in, browse and find books that they love.
Books like this will ensure that the senior students in the school see the library as a diverse, modern and exciting place with books that speak to them and they want to recommend to their friends, classmates, teachers and tutors.
It is an engrossing and exciting read with fully-formed characters and a plot that ensures that it's hard to look away. It is as far from formulaic as it is possible to be and kept me up far too late in order to finish it. I immediately wanted to read all of this writer's other books as I loved their voice and found that it really drew me into the story and made me think about it even when I'd stepped away from this tale.
This is a thought-provoking read which I'm sure will be a popular and well-read addition to our new library; I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it and I know that the students are going to absolutely love it too!

A great read. I enjoyed reading it and it has a great plot and characters. I also look forward to more books from the author.

I loved everything about this book. The characters were very believable and engaging and it took you back to long forgotten times. A great read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Again a very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
Thoroughly enjoyable.

I needed a book that I could sink into and this was it.
I loved it.
I am a sucker for a dual time zone and this book was just spot on.
I read it in a day as it was just so good.

Thank you so much Netgalley, Lorna Cook and Avon Books for coming to my rescue.

I quite like these type of stories; modern day with a link to the past. I find them intriguing and I enjoy the stories unravelling. This book told the story of a household for WWII and linked it to those in the present time. There were a couple of unexpected twists and turns but on the whole it was a relatively average read.

Everything you could want in one book, time travel, war, romance, drama, and mystery. I loved the characters interactions with each other creating a real sense of realism like none I have seen before.

A village requisitioned by the army during World War 2, and never returned. The impact of that event on the villagers then, and seventy years later.

Well written, with a mystery regarding events and identities. Easy to read; perfect for holidays.

The story was written as a third person omniscient narrative where characters are described indirectly. The conflict is a mixture of internal and external as characters battle themselves, fellow characters and sometimes society as a whole. Popular themes that were included were war, prejudice, power and corruption, love, death and survival.

The story is split between 1943 and 2018, where there are two sets of characters. In 1943, the protagonist is Lady Veronica, a lady of society whose family has the power in Tyneham and is holding back a dark secret about her life as married. She is dedicated to protecting herself as well as her staff. The antagonist is Sir Alfred, or more commonly known as Freddie, the younger twin of Sir Albert and the first love of Lady Veronica. Lady Veronica’s confidant is a young maid name Anna, who grew up in the village and is dedicating to helping Lady Veronica. The final character of the past is Sir Albert, a member of British Parliament, who is married to Lady Veronica, but enjoys torturing his brother whenever given the chance. In 2018, our protagonist is Melissa, a young lady who is in the area because of her boyfriend Liam, but is really just attempting to figure out her life. The antagonist is Guy Cameron, a TV historian whom is in town for the reopening of the village where his family once lived. The story begins with the military takeover of Tyneham and Lady Veronica and Sir Albert addressing the villagers and Melissa is attending the reopening of the village. Melissa finds herself intrigued by the story of Lady Veronica and wants to know what happened to her after the village closed off. Guy decides to help Melissa as his grandmother was a maid for Lady Veronica; they begin to learn about the life of Lady Veronica and Sir Albert, but also about the town itself. As Guy and Melissa learn more, they begin to reveal secrets and the last few days of the town are shown.

The ideas are interesting and important as the flow is logical and organized. The voice is individual and appropriate for both the past and present, as the word choice is specific and the sentence structure is expressive. Yes, I would recommend this story. It would be an excellent read for those who enjoy historical tales, combining of past and present ideas, and multiple love stories. It would not be enjoyed by those who dislike tales of abuse, military takeover or white or outright lies.

I loved this book! I loved having the dual timelines. Most of the time I usually just like the past story but I really enjoyed both timelines in this book. I thought Lorna Cook did an excellent job with both. The mystery was a good one,. it kept me thinking! I, also, liked the romance in the book. It wasn't over done but just there enough to make you hope for the best. I would say this is more women's fiction than anything else. It dealt with a topic that can be tough for some people but I thought Cook did a good job writing about it with grace.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Forgotten Village is the début novel from Lorna Cook and what an impressive story it was that awaited me between the pages of a book with a haunting and intriguing cover. This is a dual timeline story but one which is very closely interwoven, the period over which the events take place is very brief. A matter of days in both storylines and I think this really helped with keeping the plot moving forward and the reader wasn't kept guessing or things too drawn out as to what was happening or going to happen within the next chapter or two. Admittedly I found the first few chapters a bit slow as they were really just setting the scene and I was become used to the characters and the times in which they lived but once I settled into the story I found myself intrigued and my interest was certainly piqued.

The Forgotten Village merges fact with fiction and it was evident the author had undertaken extensive research in order to portray the characters, setting and plot as realistically as possible. Set between several days in 1943 and then 75 years later in 2018 the past and present merge and flow together seamlessly as we weave back and forth between Veronica and Melissa. Two women separated by many years but yet Melissa feels a deep connection to Veronica and is determined to find out what just did happen in the days leading up to one village becoming a ghost town as the villagers sacrificed their homes for the war effort.

The brief prologue really set the tone for the remainder of the novel as Lady Tyneham, Veronica, stands alongside her husband Sir. Albert as he addresses the villagers one last time before the village is given over to the British army to use as a training base for the D-Day landings. The reader can instantly tell that Veronica is a bundle of nerves and you would be forgiven for thinking it is because she too has to leave her home but as the story unfolds it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in the marriage of Lord and Lady Tyneham. 75 years later Melissa is on holiday in Dorset with her boyfriend Liam who has a holiday home in the village. She feels she has been abandoned and ignored. Her feelings are never taken into consideration with Liam preferring to do his own thing. Surely this is a disaster waiting to happen.

Left to her own devices as Liam spends most of his days surfing and having little to do Melissa embarks on her own little day trips and stumbles across the reopening of Tyneham village as a tourist spot having never been given back to the original inhabitants despite promises made that that would be the case. As Melissa explores the village on a warm day she becomes fascinated by the story of a community displaced. Where did they all go? How did they all feel? She meets historian Guy Cameron who is there to reopen the village. Well really he was like the prince saving the damsel in distress when they first meet and I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship that was soon struck up between the pair and fervently hoped it would develop into something more especially as a few truths come to light re. Liam and he is soon shown the door.

Over several days as Melissa and Guy explore the village and visit an exhibition in the old school house a photo catches Melissa eye. There is something about the woman in the photo which Melissa is drawn to. She wants more than anything to find out what happened to her once she left the village. She soon realises it is Veronica, Lady Tyneham, and what follows is a fascinating and gripping story of Melissa and Guy unravelling the past. As Guy's grandmother Anna was a maid to Veronica, Melissa thinks she will get plenty of answers but Anna is not giving much away which only makes Melissa's feelings of anxiety surrounding the intensify. At first I did think why was Melissa so obsessed with finding out what happened to Veronica especially as she herself had no background in history. It's only as she digs deeper, working her way around many walls and stumbling blocks that her motivations become apparent. She sees many comparisons between her own mother and Veronica and hopes that things did turn out OK for the lady of the house.

I did really enjoy the parts of the story set in 2018 but it's the storyline set in 1943 which really caught my attention as I became lost in Veronica's story. The title led me to believe that there would be a character who uncovers a lost village but instead it's the reopening of the village which leads to long buried secrets being exposed and in doing so Melissa hopes to right many wrongs. Although everything occurs over a matter of days the author managed to pack so much in and this was all done without anything ever feeling rushed through or little silly things being flung into the story just for the sake of it. In fact the tension just increased with each chapter and the reader is left thinking that there is nothing but inevitability surrounding the outcome for the Tyneham's.

Lorna Cook did a brilliant job of painting a picture of a trapped woman on the cusp of breaking free yet she is thwarted at every corner. Being forced to leave one's home is very traumatic but for Veronica this is the opportunity she has been waiting for. It soon becomes very apparent that she has been trapped in a loveless, volatile and dangerous relationship. I couldn't fathom how Veronica had got herself caught up with Bertie or did she just go into the marriage with blinkers on? Now was her chance to escape his clutches and the scene is set for her to slip away n the day the villagers are set to leave Tyneham for what they believe to be but a short period. But things are sent to test her. Will she be able to break free?

Veronica was a character who had endured so much at the hands of Bertie and I could see that streak of independence within her waiting to break free. She had had more than enough and wanted to escape from the mental shackles and physical hardship she had suffered for far too long. But once Bertie gets the knife in and keeps twisting it he really doesn't give up without a fight. With the arrival of an unexpected visitor Veronica's plans are thrown into disarray and what follows is a very tense and dramatic story which will keep readers on the edge of their seats. You desperately want a positive outcome for Veronica but can't see how it can come about. I didn't at any stage judge her or think she was making rash decisions because the tide of her plans had turned. Instead I was rooting for her every step of the way. She was clever and intuitive but Bertie was always one step ahead of her. Given the little snippets that Melissa and Guy slowly start to uncover in the modern day, and what we come to understand through the events of 1943, one wonders how did certain things come about. But Lorna Cook had numerous surprises in store for her readers.

Bertie is the character whom every reader will dislike immensely. I had not one ounce of sympathy for him he didn't deserve it in the slightest. Hatred, fear, malice and brutality oozed from his every pore and I thought his justifications for being this way better be good if indeed he had any at all. Monster is the word I continuously thought of when reading scenes featuring Bertie. He created a life of threats, pain and despair for Veronica and quite honestly some of their scenes were hard to read at times being very detailed and not with holding any of the horrors Veronica endured. Veronica deserved happiness but how could she possibly succeed in escaping? Lorna Cook expertly built the tension and unease and you just knew this big bubbling pot was going to explode in dramatic fashion at some point and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. In fact how Lorna ties the past to the present was so cleverly done and I was majorly surprised by the big twist and I was kicking myself that I hadn't spotted the clues or joined up the dots as on reflection they really were there for me to see.

Lorna Cook did really make you feel as if you had travelled back in time but yet I felt just as present with Melissa as I did with Veronica. I was glad this wasn't your typical wartime saga story as instead the focus shifted and centred on what was happening in the everyday lives of one affluent family as the war raged around them. Having the focus on just a specific few characters really helped to tighten the story and didn't allow for rambling or going off track from the main plot. Every character was well utilised, every conversation that took place was necessary and I never felt there was any filling in of pages just for the sake of it. Without doubt The Forgotten Village is an accomplished first novel with a masterfully woven storyline. I sense though that this is barely the tip of the iceberg as to what Lorna Cook can do and I really am looking forward to her next book already. In the meantime I wouldn't hesitate in recommending The Forgotten Village.

The village of Tyneham in Dorset has long held a fascination for me as, living locally, I have visited it many times. The story of a village requisitioned by the MOD, and still being in Government hands long after the residents expected to be back there is naturally interesting and mysterious, and Lorna Cook has added extra layers of intrigue in her book The Forgotten Village.

As a timeslip novel, The Forgotten Village brilliantly weaves together the 1940s and today, with main character Melissa and hot historian Guy investigating a mystery surrounding the residents of Tyneham Hall and a chance meeting at the village leads to a decades-old secret finally coming to light.

Having read around Lorna Cook’s inspiration for writing the book, it seems that she is as intrigued by Tyneham as I have been and it’s great to see the village used in the novel – I’m generally excited to read books set in places I recognise, but this book brings the final days of the village vibrantly to life.

The mystery is expertly revealed and left me with a big ‘OF COURSE!’, and wondering why I hadn’t figured it out before. It’s paced very well and Lorna Cook uses some of the natural menace of a deserted village to set up the atmosphere for a shocking discovery – that’s your lot… Anything else will lead to spoilers, and we don’t want that!

As I said, I live local to Tyneham so I thought that over the Easter holidays, I would take my children to visit, which we did on a cold but sunny day. I also took the opportunity to take my copy of The Forgotten Village to the forgotten village and snapped a photo while we were there…


The Forgotten Village in Tyneham
This view is from inside the old Post Office, one of the cottages in The Row, the first row of houses that you come to after entering the village.

The Forgotten Village is published by Avon books.

To find out more about Lorna Cook and her current and future projects, you can check out her website, or why not connect with her on Twitter?

This post is part of the blog tour celebrating the publication of The Forgotten Village. Why not check out some of the blogs below for more reviews and exclusive content?

Absolutely amazing book that had me riveted from the first chapter and also in trouble with the other half as I couldn’t put it down.
I loved the way the book swapped from 1943 to the present time and the way the author conveyed Veronica’s feelings, and how Melissa in this present day related how Veronica May have coped with her husband abuse in this present day.
I’ll certainly be looking to read more of this author.

This story is a mystery with lots of interesting history going on. I was drawn into the story as the WWll aspect unfolds with the requisition of the village called Tyneham. Told in duel timeline of 1943 and 2017.....to bring the past and present together, makes this story fascinating.
What an incredible intriguing story this is as you watch it all unfold. So many twists and turns, so much mystery going on. Very well planned out, believable characters that will captivate you right from the first pages to the last pages.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author, Lorna Cook, for the opportunity to read this wonderful book. Looking forward to reading more books by Lorna Cook!

This is a sweet romance and really good historical mystery. I liked that it was set in a real town requisitioned by the Ministry of Defense during WWII and that the research done by present-day characters was accurately portrayed. The characters were charming and real, and I enjoyed the honesty about how relationships work and the communication necessary for them to do so. For readers who like romance but not extra-explicit sex, I think this will be perfect, and readers who like Kate Morton's books and others of that kind will enjoy it immensely.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lorna Cook’s novel The Forgotten Village. The book is set in the village of Tyneham in Dorset, which was requisitioned during the Second World War and the villagers were evicted, never to return, and has a dual timeline.

One story plays out during the last days of Tyneham as the villagers prepare to move out and Lady Veronica looks to seize her only chance to escape from her violent and brutal husband, Sir Bertie — only to be thwarted at the last minute by the arrival of Bertie’s brother. In the present, newly-single Melissa and handsome celebrity historian Guy meet for the first time on a visit to the forgotten village, find a photograph of the old days and set out to track down the story behind it.

The concept — dual timeline, lost village, past secret unearthed in the present — isn’t original but I did find Lorna Cook’s telling of her tale appealing. The older story had everything. There was drama, there was passion, there was betrayal, there was death, all playing out against the background of war and a sense of impending doom.

The present day story couldn’t hope to match it, and for me the book suffered a little from that, as Melissa and Guy’s tribulations seemed very frivolous compared to those that had gone before. I’m afraid I didn’t really engage with either of them in the way I did with the hapless Lady Veronica and I tended to race through the modern scenes to focus on the compelling story in the past.

The book bills itself as: “the most gripping, heartwrenching page-turner of summer 2019” and I felt that it was overselling itself a little. The way one story overshadowed the other made it feel a little unbalanced: I would have liked a little more action — and drama — in the present. Melissa’s relationship problems passed with little more than a shouting match and a lot of internal agonising while Guy’s (I can’t give detail without spoilers) mostly played out off the page.

So in short, I think I would have liked an added dimension, but I did enjoy the story of Tyneham in the 1940s, so much so that I think it would have made a terrific novel in its own right, with the opportunity for a little more development of the characters involved. That apart, it was most definitely an enjoyable read, well-written and nicely set.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

An absorbing and enthralling tale of love, loss, new beginnings and second chances, The Forgotten Village is an impressively written debut novel by a fantastic new writer: Lorna Cook.

When Melissa had gone on holiday to the Dorset coast with her boyfriend high-flyer Liam, she had hoped that some time away would help to put the spark back into their floundering relationship. However, rather than restore the bond they once had, this holiday seems to have sounded the death knell for even the most remotest of hope that they could have any chance of a future together as Liam seems to be more concerned with spending every spare moment riding the waves than with her. With nothing to do and desperate to alleviate the boredom, when Melissa hears that the village of Tyneham that had been taken over by the army during the Second World War and never returned to its residents since then is now about to be reopened again, she decides to head over there and spend the day exploring and discovering this forgotten village. However, little does Melissa realise that her decision to visit Tyneham will have far-reaching consequences that will change her life forever.

As Melissa begins to dig deeper into the history of Tyneham, she finds herself striking up a friendship with charismatic TV historian, Guy Cameron. Guy has his own reasons for being interested in Tyneham. Guy’s grandmother had worked as a maid for Lady Veronica and Lord Albert prior to the village being requisitioned by the army. Guy has always been intrigued and perplexed by his grandmother’s life in Tyneham and by her reluctance to discuss anything about her time in service save for saying that Lady Veronica was a beautiful and kind woman. With the past being shrouded in such mystery and intrigue, Guy and Melissa find themselves determined to uncover the secrets of the long-forgotten village that have been buried for so long, but are they prepared for the shocking revelations that will be revealed?

As a strange photograph of a woman is unearthed, Guy and Melissa find themselves believing that they are edging closer to discovering the truth about the mystery that has consumed them. As they set about untangling this web of deceptions and secrets, Guy and Melissa wonder whether their discoveries will shed any light not just on the shadows of the past, but on the hopes and dreams of tomorrow.

A fantastic dual narrative that held me spellbound from the very first sentence, The Forgotten Village is a dazzling, heartbreaking and compulsively readable tale written with style, sensitivity and flair that kept me engrossed from beginning to end. You simply cannot read just one chapter of The Forgotten Village as its beguiling blend of terrific writing, richly drawn characters, dramatic twists and turns and searing emotion will keep you up till dawn turning the pages desperate to find out what happens next.

Lorna Cook is a wonderful writer with a very bright future ahead of her and I am already counting down the days until her next novel.

Melissa had hoped a holiday in Dorset with her boyfriend Liam might cheer up their relationship. Instead she finds herself twiddling her thumbs whilst Liam goes off surfing! In an attempt to find something interesting to do she ends up in the village of Tyneham. This is the day it is being given back to the people after being requisitioned by the military in 1943. Whilst looking round an exhibition, she is intrigued by a photo of the Lord of the manor. It is the wife who she cannot forget. Lady Veronica looked terrified in the picture & she wanted to know why. He quest for the story leads her to meet Guy, the popular TV historian whose grandmother came from the the village.

Running parallel to Melissa's story is the story of Tyneham in the last days before everyone left.

This was a really interesting storyline. I really liked Melissa- she seemed so real & ordinary, especially when attacking the custard creams!

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I really loved reading this fascinating, enthralling book and am excited to have discovered this new author!

I read a lot of books based in world war two but had never heard of Tyneham, The Forgotten Village before so found it utterly fascinating to learn about it. This is actually based on a true story which meant I wasted lots of time looking it up on the internet. The idea that parts of the village are still as they were when the village was evacuated intrigued me and it’s definitely a place I’d love to visit in the future!

The two timelines were very interesting and I found I enjoyed them both equally which is unusual for me. Melissa is someone I found I immediately liked as she seemed so normal. She’s impulsive, makes mistakes and is slightly ditzy at times which made her very loveable in my eyes. She’s also a lady who loves her food which made for a refreshing change! When we first meet her she is going through a hard time and lacking a bit in self confidence so I found myself thrilled about her budding romance with the very handsome Guy. I enjoyed watching their romance develop and found myself hoping that there would be a happy ending for the two of them.

Veronica’s story is also interesting as it focuses on the events and feelings in the village up to the forced evacuation. However it had a bit of a serious note to it due to the sad occasion and dealt with a serious subject which combined made for a sober read. I did feel a lot of sympathy for Veronica as her situation becomes more apparent and I found I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to her.

This is a very absorbing story which is easy to lose yourself in for hours at a time. I ended up reading this far too late into the night as I was so caught up in this wonderful story. The two timelines are well plotted and engaging which makes for a very intriguing read. The mystery and unravelling of old secrets was superbly done with the two timelines coming together in a shocking but thoroughly satisfyingly way.

This unbelievable is the author’s debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future. I’m normally a bit skeptical of comparisons to Kate Morton as she’s one of my all time favourites but I think it is justified in this case as I thought this book was, dare I say it, even better!

Huge thanks to Sabah from Avon for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book which is going on my keep forever shelf!

An interesting period of British history, explored through a dual time frame narrative. The historical story is strong on characterisation although a little weak on setting, lacking much in the way of visual detail of the imagined Tyneham House.
The modern is better on setting, both in the village and other venues. The characterisation of Liam, important at the beginning of the story, feels a bit superficial. It's easy to warm to Guy and Melissa, and to Anna who plays a pivotal role in the events in both time frames.
A pleasant read, though a little overwritten in parts (seriously, who 'throws' their face under a tap?), with an interesting storyline.