I was not to get interested in this book and I did not finish it. The characters and the plot did were not able to catch or keep my attention

The Hardie Inheritance, first published in 1990 and recently reissued, is the last in a trilogy of novels following a family of English wine merchants from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. The first two books are The House of Hardie and The Daughter of Hardie, but if you haven’t read them it shouldn’t be a problem as the author provides enough of the backstory for new readers to be able to pick up the threads, without completely spoiling the plots of the other two books.

While the previous novel covered the period of World War I and its aftermath, The Hardie Inheritance takes us forward to 1932. There are now only three Hardies – Grace, Philip and their mother, Lucy – still living at Greystones, the family estate in Oxfordshire, and they have settled into a quiet, uneventful life together. Grace, now in her late thirties and expecting to remain a spinster, keeps herself busy with her sculpting, while her brother Philip, who returned from the war suffering from shell shock and weak lungs, fills his days looking after the gardens. Then, one sunny day in July, four unexpected visitors arrive at Greystones and set Grace’s life on a different course.

First, there’s Ellis Faraday and his six-year-old daughter, Trish. Ellis, a photographer, is the son of the architect who designed Greystones and he is keen to take pictures of the interior. At first, Grace is reluctant, aware that due to lack of money she has not been able to maintain the building properly, but she agrees to let him see the house and soon he and Trish have become part of her life – although not quite in the way you might expect. Also that same day, they are visited by Rupert, a cousin who has just discovered his connection with the Hardie branch of the family. And finally, Andy Frith, the gardener’s son who had once been Grace’s beloved childhood friend, returns from France to see his dying father.

The novel follows the stories of all of these people and more, but with a particular focus on Grace as she comes to terms with the changes in her household and faces some important decisions to secure the future of Greystones, and on Trish as she grows into a woman and begins her own search for happiness. Meanwhile, the outbreak of World War II poses new challenges for the Hardies and their friends. The whole novel takes place within a domestic setting and we don’t actually see any of the fighting, but we do see the impact it has on the lives of those left at home. One of my favourite storylines involves Trish being sent to Oxford to collect a family of evacuees from London who, it seems, would rather not be evacuated at all. And although there would obviously have been many people who suffered much more greatly, I still had sympathy for Rupert whose beautiful home, Castlemere, is requisitioned for use as a boarding school!

I think The Hardie Inheritance is my favourite of the three books in the trilogy. There were a lot of new characters introduced early in the book, but I had no problem keeping track of them all and I became very fond of some of them, particularly Trish. Some parts of the book were quite predictable, but others took me by surprise, particularly the ending which I hadn’t expected but which, when I thought about it, was the perfect way to bring the saga of Greystones to a close.

This is the final book in the Hardie Family trilogy. There were too many characters introduced at the beginning of the book and I feel like it made it hard to find one you cared about. It kept going to time warps and just when you were getting invested the time frame would change and it was almost like you had to start all over. The ending felt like it was just thrown together.

A very interesting read!. Story if Grace, that will make you love her and value her, feel for her and cheer for her. If you like WW2 Plots With twists, this book is for you!

First of all, what a lovely cover for this book! It connects with the story so well, and I love it!

The Hardie Inheritance is book 3 in the Hardie Family series. I do think that this book can stand alone even though it is a part of a series, so if you haven't read books 1 and 2, you can still enjoy book 3 without being lost.

The time frame for this book was extremely interesting to me. Struggling from the aftermath of WWI and heading into WWII, the story gave me a good perspective on life at that time.

The characters offer a wide variety of personalities for readers to enjoy. While I didn't feel connected to each character, there were some that I quite enjoyed.

Overall, this was a good historical fiction book with a nice romance plot and family story.

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

The Hardie Inheritance. The story was good, but left me wondering in places about what happened. I don't plan to read it again.

It started out interesting, but then it felt like it got a bit dull - then interesting then dull, and i got somewhat confused when it was so many people into just one book, that i didn't manage to like or see so much character development.

I loved this book, loved the story and loved the way it was written.
A story of family, problems reflected of the era, friends, relationships in all their forms and of course inheritance.
Grace was given a home by her grandfather which she loved, she was a loner, an old maid (according to the times) and an artist. Things we take for granted now where not the norm but Grace seemed to deal with life the best she could.
This story was her story but the other characters where all fantastic and formed the core of this tale. It was written with 'grace' and although there was tales of controversy she was able to tell the story of these without the crudeness used by some authors which I enjoyed.

Grace was given Greystones Manor when she was a baby. She had trouble breathing so a tower was built for her. She sleeps there to this day. Greystone Manor is her home.
Through the years Grace has never married until she meets Ellis and his daughter. They marry for convenience. Him to hide the fact that he is a homosexual and Grace because her unborn child needs a name. The little girl, the daughter of Ellis is an added bonus.
Now Grace is at the end of her years. Many people have come and gone through Greystone Manor. She would like to leave the home in hands that appreciate what it stood for. Especially the family that owned it.
There are many who would love to claim the manor as their own. But few who deserve it.
A historical novel of a woman of great strength and knowledge.

#TheHardieInheritance #NetGalley

I had a hard time with the beginning of the book. It was hard to connect with the characters. It was more interesting the further you read though.

Thank you to Agora Books and Netgalley for an advance reader copy, the opinions are my own.

The Hardie Inheritance takes place in one of my favorite eras, which is WWII. I enjoyed the scandals between the Hardie family and the Faraday family. It was amazing to see Grace grow as an artist, deal with an unconventional marriage, and becoming a stepmother for Trish Faraday. This story introduces so many characters into the lives of Grace and Tish. I would definitely say the author did a wonderful job weaving their stories to gather.

I enjoyed this book but did find a few parts boring. I did however like the plots of love lost and love found. It is apart of a series but can be read as a stand only. I would definitely recommend this as a good book club read. It can discussed from so many points of view.

Lucy Hardie is contented with her lot. Having had one love affair when she was very young, she is now content to look after the property bequeathed to her and live peacefully with her mother and her brother Phillip. Though there is no money (not even for shoes!) she survives very well off the fruit of their own labour.

When four visitors turn up on one single day, it is a turning point for all three of them and how. Ellis brings about the world of photography and art and sees in Lucy's primitive sculptures something which will appeal to art enthusiasts everywhere. He brought with him his very young daughter Trish, who was going to be a major change in Lucy's life in the future, Rupert is the long lost cousin from the side which discarded her mother when she married into trade, Andy is the long lost love from times past.

The story described as historical fiction, is also a family saga and most importantly for me a story of a house and the history behind the house is also a story in itself. Apart from Lucy, the story of each of the characters is very well developed and a story in themselves and Lucy is though the centre of the story is definitely not the entire whole.

History and a family saga which will appeal to many.

The Hardie Inheritance is a delightful book filled with well thought out characters and story lines. The novel is an easy read - a Warm and welcome treat to come home to after a long day. Highly recommended. Thanks to Timeless Fiction and the author for the ARC.

I found this book tricky to connect with, both at the beginning and the end. The first quarter of the book I was bored and disengaged. I felt overwhelmed by the number of new characters being introduced and found it difficult to follow the plot. Yet, the majority of the book became far more interesting and I was drawn in to learning more about characters that I had grown to recognise. However, I felt the ended was abrupt and frustrating, leaving me feel like this was a “sandwich read”: a brilliant filling, but poor bread!

I did not like Grace. She is portrayed as so stuffy that, whilst she is commendably an independent woman, so difficult to achieve in 1930s society, I could still not grow to like her. The story begins with her but I was relieved when the focus shifted to Trish, Grace’s stepdaughter. Trish was far more interesting and because I had not connected with Grace at the beginning, think this established how much I enjoyed the rest of the novel.

There are some interesting issues that are discussed in this novel – none of which I were expecting. This definitely gives this saga more depth and makes it more different to other war stories on the shelves. Despite this being the third of a series, it was easy to read this as a stand-alone. Maybe if I had read the earlier books in the series, I would have been more sympathetic towards Grace!

Undoubtedly, the novel grew more interesting as I understood the different characters. I enjoyed the majority of the book but was put off by the slow start. Trish is far more feisty and I sympathised with her desire to be more adult and understand the world. Having had an unusual upbringing, I enjoyed watching her journey of maturity and discovering herself.

The plot moves across several decades. At times, I felt like the plot was only just starting to develop before the time shifted again. There is not too much emphasis on the Second World War: this novel explores how people outside of London were impacted. It was interesting to witness social changes and how class privileges were eroded by the impact of the war.

Grace was a disappointing character and I could not fathom her relationship with Andy. I was sad for her at the end but, like many elements of the plot, felt like the writer could have developed the ending more. Whilst I relished the metaphorical closing sentence, I was yearning for something more. Maybe just a cheeky little Epilogue?

Whether I will read another book by this author, remains an unanswered question. I always enjoy discovering new authors and different writing styles. However, I think I would look to a different book beyond this series before I completely decide whether I enjoyed Melville’s writing. Unquestionably, I liked reading this book but the dissatisfaction at the beginning and end left me only able to award this an average rating.

With thanks to Timeless Fiction and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

read the othI hadn'ter 2 but it didn't matter. I enjoyed the book. It was first published 30 years ago. A historical fiction that takes place at the end of WWI and the ensuing years, including WWII and after. The book follows the life of Grace, from one afternoon when 4 people come to her house. She lives a solitary life, with her mother and brother, until this afternoon. The 4 that show up becomes almost secondary main characters in the book. I liked following Trish's life as she grew from a child to a young adult. I felt that she overshadowed Grace. The book was good, though. Characters well developed.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book.

Even tho this is book three in a series which I hadn’t read the previous ones. I had no trouble following the story. It was well written with an interesting story line. I do think the last half of the book was the most interesting and I flew through the book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

Thank you to NetGalley and Agora Books for a digital review copy in return for a honest review.

This is actually book 3 in a series being re released by Agora Books after almost 30 years. I haven't read the previous two books but didn't find that this was a problem.

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected - the characters and their lives were interesting - they were dealing with the changes in England after both the First World War and the Second World War. Anyone who enjoyed the recent BBC series "Back in Time" or Downton Abbey, would probably enjoy this novel.

A good historical fiction, well written and entertaining.
I liked the well thought cast of characters, the well crafted and engrossing plot and the historical background.
I was happy to discover a new to me author and will surely look for other books by this writer.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Agora Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Refreshing take on the theme of impoverished gentility with the usual family tensions , romantic relationships, money issues around the time of WW2.

Story is well paced and well written with interesting characters and storylines you want to follow. No long pages of war battles, suffering , romantic angst , self pity, sentimentality which can spoil many of these books.

Characters were believable and realistic with the focus on several strong female characters.

Overall a very enjoyable read. I believe it part three of a trilogy but I read it as a stand-alone , will now read the previous two books.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the book in exchange for a review.