This is an epic tale of family, tragedy and love set mostly in the wild Newfoundland Coast. The book is set in three time periods, 1946-1962, September 11, 2001 and September 2011. The story is of two sisters Ellie and Dottie, their husbands and their children Emmy, Winny and Sophie. The characters bring alive misunderstandings between family and how they can have a lasting impact in our lives.

Dottie lets her emotions take hold of her when her sister meets Thomas, a man from Newfoundland. She tries to control Ellie and does things along the way to try and keep Ellie and George, Ellie's longtime sweetheart prior to meeting Thomas together. When Ellie eventually marries Thomas and moves away, the sister's lives are severed forever. The choices and circumstances both find themselves in for the rest of the story impacted their own lives and the lives of their children.

I really loved how author Adrienne Chinn wove the stories between the three time periods. Her characters are well developed and you can see into their personalities clearly. Her beautiful descriptions of Newfoundland and the way she wrote the accents into the story make me want to visit there!!! I highly recommend this book!

****The English Wife is a complex family drama about two generations of women. Ellie came to Newfoundland as a WWII war bride. Sophie, stranded in Newfoundland on September 11, seeks out her relative with whom she has had little contact. Sent back to Newfoundland some years later by the company she works for Sophie reestablishes the relationship with Ellie and others she had met some ten years before. There are secrets and a very tangled web of lies to be revealed that should keep readers engaged. The characters are complex and the writing is good, although the format of going back and forth in time and the fact that the story is written in first person present tense was off putting for this reader. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

This book was so good. I didn't to put it down! The characters were well rounded, and the storyline sucked you into it and made you feel like you were really there. The author did an great job telling this story.