It’s only been a few months since Anna Stuart’s debut historical fiction novel, The Berlin Zookeeper, was published and already we are lucky enough to have another book from this author, The Secret Diary. I really enjoyed this new book, it was easy to get into and there was just enough mystery to have the reader guessing until the final point of reveal. It’s a dual timeline story which goes back and forth between the present day and the years after the conclusion of World War Two. It tells the story of two women Lorna and Nancy separated by many years and who never meet yet both are going through transitions and adjustments in their lives. They are attempting to establish new paths following emotional upheavals and it made for an interesting read.

Lorna arrives with her two young boys to stay with her mother Mary and step father David in Gamekeeper’s Cottage. She needs time and space as her world has been torn apart with the loss of her husband Matt in a car accident. Lorna is experiencing an endless tide of grief which she sees no way out of. She is lost, confused and angry and wishes someone would just come to take things over so she could check out for awhile. You feel every bit of her pain and anguish and wish you could take it away from her. When she discovers a diary in a secret drawer in the annex of the cottage, the history teacher in her is alerted and she soon discovers it belonged to Nancy who was David’s mother. Lorna becomes lost in Nancy’s story, as does the reader, and she can see so many emotions that she too is struggling with. The more she reads the more questions arise and Lorna soon realises there is a story here that needs a lot of answers. She wants to know the truth behind certain things especially as to what the big secret is that the gunner girls were hiding. Reading the book gifts Lorna a little bit of healing and acceptance. It also takes her mind off what she can’t face or confront at the moment.

I loved how Mary and David were so supportive of her and were giving her the time and space she needed to come to terms with the loss of someone who was her rock and anchor. Tilly was another great character who featured mid-way through, she provided the fun element. I enjoyed reading about the Langham base and dome in the present and how Lorna becomes a volunteer and slowly little bits of Nancy’s secret come to the fore. Lorna’s story bridged the gap between the past and the present and it was wonderfully written as I really cared for her as a character.

Both past and present are interwoven seamlessly together and strong connections are established between the two timelines and both female characters share an emotional connection to each other. Usually with this kind of story I would favour perhaps the past over the present but in this case I couldn’t choose as both strands of the story had me deeply invested in the characters and the eventual outcome for both of them. It’s a sign of a good author who can have you hooked on two plots that merge very well together.

It’s 1945 and the war is coming to an end and for Nancy a new stage in her life is starting to emerge. But is it one she is comfortable and confident in? She is writing a diary detailing her experiences as a new wife to Joe and living in Gamekeeper’s Cottage on the Langham Estate with his parents Ted and Betty. Nancy the gunner girl who loved her time working alongside Dot, Peggy and Connie doing their bit for the war effort is no more and she is trying to come to terms with this. The freedom she experienced and the exhilaration of trying to bring the enemy down has disappeared and she can’t reconcile the fact that a wife is meant to stay at home, keep house and have children. What happened to being able to work outside the kitchen? Peace had come at a price for Nancy and she is not willing to accept it. No doubt war had changed them all but Ted and Nancy and many villagers in Langham remain firmly rooted in the past when it comes to their views. Nancy working as a gamekeeper and shooting with a gun is unheard of and they will not allow it to happen.

Nancy, alongside her gunner girls, was a woman ahead of her time. She had had a real taste of the power of what women could do when called to step up to the mark and she didn’t want to let this feeling go. Yes, women had been fighting for their rights ever since the suffragette movement had come to the fore of public consciences but really women’s efforts during the war showed how strong, brave, resilient and capable they were when needed. Nancy wasn’t going to let all she had found go just to stay in the cottage and provide for Joe and Ted. She knew what she wanted and was determined to achieve no matter the obstacles she would face.

I loved her fighting spirit and that she wanted to know more from Joe about being a gamekeeper. She could see the cottage needed repairs and new innovations were needed on the land but money was a major issue. She wanted to help in any way she could but it was like old entrenched views mean she was pushed to one side and made to remain at home. I loved how she defied convention and really followed her heart. Joe seemed very open to having a wife who wanted to work and think outside the box but that’s not to say he would upset his parents. The thrill of life, death and urgency that Nancy experienced during the war meant that she found peacetime dull. How can one go back to normal and continue on life as it existed pre war when so much had altered in six long years for everyone?

Nancy constantly wrestles with her emotions and viewpoints and she spills her feelings out into a diary which when it neared completion she rips out part of it and hides the remainder. Within the pages a secret is detailed and one which the gunner girls promised would never come to light. This secret weighs heavily on Nancy and I think it influenced her hugely throughout the book. If it did come to light the life she was establishing with Joe would come falling down and it was like something was hanging over her preventing her from fully striking out and doing what she wanted in her new life. So yes she wanted to be different and work outside the home but at the same time she knew if her secret would come out it would threaten everything.

I had a vague notion as to what the big secret could be that the girls were so fearful of it becoming common knowledge but as to the exact details and reasons for certain things I was certainly very clueless. When things did eventually come to light I thought it all made sense and tied in perfectly with the themes and overall plot. Whilst reading about Nancy she often referred to events during the war and things she did with the gunner girls and initially I was thinking had I missed out on a previous book featuring this character? Scenes were described as if they had already been mentioned and it took a while for that sense to disappear. I would have liked to read even more details about Nancy’s time at the camp and the work she did but that didn’t happen. I loved Nancy’s side of the story and the diary was very well written and all she learned really helped Lorna in the present cope with the challenges she was facing. Nancy had left part of her life story and it was like it was specially there for Lorna to help her when she needed it most.

Anna Stuart has written a great story and as much as I loved her previous book I think I enjoyed this one even more. There are a lot of issues raised that are almost commonplace today but during Nancy’s time they were only emerging and it was fascinating to see how they were being viewed and dealt with at the time. There is plenty of mystery and suspense through the story to keep the reader guessing alongside the more emotional element and it all blended so well together and in turn made for a very enjoyable read. I look forward to seeing where Anna Stuart’s next book will take us.

I love a WW2 historical fiction story and this one ticked a lot of boxes.

Set in the dual timelines of present day and 1945 war time Langham the story unfolds of ‘gunner girl’ Nancy and newly widowed Lorna.

Lorna, along with her 2 sons, seeks comfort and support following the sudden death of her husband from her mother and step-father in the Langham Gameskeeper Cottage. In the perfectly maintained 1940’s annexe she finds the post war diary of Nancy - her stepfathers mother.

Nancy had been based at Langham along with 3 other girls and had the task of coordinating the takedown of enemy planes. Her diary outlines the struggles to keep her new identity, freedoms and place in life when society wanted ‘girls’ to go back to how they were. The diary hints at a secret and documents Nancy’s new life as wife and daughter in law living away from her family. Through the exploration of the diary and trying to uncover the secret, Lorna starts to slowly regain some happiness and forge new friendships.

The characterisation in this book is great from grumpy set in his ways Ted, Homemaker Betty and the rest of the very different personalities of the gunner girls to free spirit Tilly, Loyal Aki and the boisterous boys who are dealing with their grief. There was not a character I didn’t like.

The present day sections were well written with recognisable comparators to daily life with children and the historical elements were written in a way that brought them to life. The story was engaging and kept me entertained and keen to read more.

I would have liked to have read more information about the work that the gunner girls did during the war and maybe have the diary start a little earlier.

Overall I really enjoyed this story and thank #NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy of #TheSecretDiary in exchange for my honest review.
Publish date: 3 August ‘21

I didn't know about the brave 'Gunner Girls' until I read this enjoyable novel. Hopefully, it will increase interest in these women, as well as being a great book for anyone who likes historical novels and WWII fiction. It's also perfect for those who like time-slip novels.

Lorna, grieving her husband, goes to stay with her Mum and her second husband David at their farmhouse in Norfolk, where she finds a secret diary. The diary was written by Nancy, David's mother, who struggled with her marriage and in-laws after leading an exciting life as a 'Gunner Girl'. Joe and his family want to domesticate her, while she yearns for the war years.

Lorna becomes increasingly puzzled by the diary, because Nancy and her 'Gunner Girl' friends are obviously hiding something important. Something which might break up Nancy's marriage... What is this dark secret?

I know that I am reading a lot of books about the war. I have always liked wartime fiction!

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Lorna has come to stay with her mother and step father following the sudden death of her husband Matt. Lorna studied history and when given a room in the annex that is a 1940’s time warp as far as the furniture and decor goes, she finds a secret compartment in a dresser. This reveals a diary written by her step fathers mother Nancy as it was his parents house and his grandparents beforehand. Nancy tells in the diary of after her serving in the army, of coming to live in the house and the rather traditional values of her in-laws and many around her. As far as they were concerned she may have served in the war but a woman's place is in the home- something she and her gunner girl friends completely disagree with having done far more. Nancy thought by being here she would help with the estate and gamekeeping which she was looking forward to. but her husband's parents categorically put her in her place- behind the kitchen sink. Alternate chapters give us Lorna's journey and finding out more about Nancy, and the others snippets of the diary and life around Nancy post war. This is a beautifully written and well described book- one easy to lose yourself in the pages or so I found. Of women beginning to become who we are today and thankful for those who trod the path before us. A very enjoyable, interesting read. Of the war and contemporary life, of tragedy and love and how you can find inspiration in the most unlikely of places and situations.
(amazon done- misfits farm)

Another wonderful story from Anna Stuart based between the end of World War II and present day. We meet Lorna who has had the carpet ripped out from underneath her and persuaded by her best friend goes to stay with her Mum whilst she grieves and moves forward with her boys.

Whilst staying with her Mum she discovers a diary in the annexe from World War II and finds herself propelled into the world of the gunner girls and starts to heal her heart as she discovers long forgotten stories and a few secrets from these wonderful ladies.

A story rich in history, written with great care and empathy. I am a massive fan of this author and once again have loved devouring this story and learning more about the gunner girls and the importance of the role they fulfilled when so many men had been sent to war and they needed brave women to step up and join the ranks to help protect the country.

I loved being transported back in time in this story and found the descriptions vivid which really enhanced the story as it played out in my imagination. I can't wait to see what this author releases next as her books are always a superb read.

Norfolk, 1945: Only a few months ago Nancy Jones was fighting for her country as a gunner girl. Now she’s struggling to adjust to her responsibilities as a gamekeeper’s wife. After a whirlwind romance, Nancy is deeply in love with her husband Joe but there is still so much they don’t know about each other. When a secret from Nancy’s war years threatens to resurface, will the terrible truth about the worst night of her life shatter their new marriage?
Norfolk, 2019: Devastated by the sudden loss of her husband, Lorna Haynes escapes to the beautiful but crumbling Gamekeeper’s Cottage, where her mother lives with her new husband. Her mother sets her up in the Annex. When she enters, it’s like going back in time. A soldier’s uniform hangs on the back of the door, the flowery wallpaper still intact, the spindle of the record player frozen and ready to play. At the back of the room, Lorna discovers a red, leather-bound diary in a hidden compartment of a desk drawer. As Lorna battles with heartache, she takes comfort in reading the ink-stained words. Turning the pages of the old book, she learns of the incredible bravery of the woman who lived in the house decades before her. And discovers a shocking wartime secret that will change the course of her own life…

With The Secret Diary author Anna Stuart has written a beautiful historical novel in which the past merges with the present. It is centered around these incredible women, strong and powerful. In the period just after the war we have Nancy, who's desperately fighting for her rights and to be valued the same as a man. She is supported in this by her lovely gunner girls: Peggy, Dot and Connie. But that is not all. Also the daughter of Lord Langham fights for the rights of women. She asks her father to think outside of the age-old gender boxes.

'But don't you see, Daddy, there are no boxes any more. They've been blown sky-high, along with half our houses and far too many of our young men. Bombs don't discriminate, so neither should we.'

In present day Norfolk the story also features are great and independent woman, even though she is at that moment heartbroken by the sudden loss of her loving husband. Together with her two young sons she travels to Langham to stay with her mother for the Summer and to hopefully get some rest and a new perspective on things. She is at her wit's end and wondering if she'll ever get over her grief. Finding the diary and being able to submerge herself in the secret of it, changes her life. Though perhaps she knew all along what mattered in life, she just needed a little reminder.

I enjoyed reading The Secret Diary. It helped me take my mind off a couple of things, just like the diary did for Lorna. I was gripped by it from the beginning to the ending, although I must say that especially the parts in present day Langham had me tearing up. The way Stuart displays grief is in my opinion very accurate. If you've ever lost a loved one, you'll feel the familiar sensation deep inside your heart while reading this book. But luckily not too much, otherwise it would be quite hard to get through it. The relatively short chapters provide the reader with a nice mix of the historical and contemporary parts of the story, making the story easy to read and digest.

So who is Anna Stuart? Stuart lives in Derbyshire with her campervan-mad husband, two hungry teenagers and a slightly loopy dog. She was hooked on books from the moment she first opened one in her cot so is thrilled to now have several of her own to her name. Having studied English literature at Cambridge university, she took an enjoyable temporary trip into the ‘real world’ as a factory planner, before returning to her first love and becoming an author. History has also always fascinated her. Living in an old house with a stone fireplace, she often wonders who sat around it before her and is intrigued by how actively the past is woven into the present, something she likes to explore in her novels.

One last thing I want to share with you is this incredible quote. From time to time Nancy works herself up to quite a little drama queen. (Although I don't blame her!!) Here's one thing she yells at the entire village of Langham:

'I see now - having a title is the only thing that could possibly make up for not having a cock.'

Yes girl! Say it girl!

A hidden diary, a room, a cottage, brings about a merger between the past, of the 1940s into the present. Lorna Haynes, has recently lost her beloved husband, Matt. She and her two sons need to escape Norwich, where the memories of Matt pervade her every thought. With her children in tow, Lorna heads to Latham, where her mother, newly married to David have inherited The Gameskeeper's Cottage. It is a chance for Lorna and the boys to get away and start searching for some peace. It is in the annex of the cottage that Lorna discovers the red leather covered diary with the introduction of "My name is Nancy Jones. ....and I have a secret."

It is through this diary, that we learn of Nancy, and her friends, former ack ack girls whose job it was to fire at the Nazi planes that pervaded their town. It was a job never thought to be held by women but the scarcity of men out fighting the war in Europe and other environs, left the job to the girls. However, now the war is over, and for Nancy and her friends facing the "back to the real world" challenge was a trying ordeal. No longer were they content with the former life of being a housewife, a stay-at-home mother and other things considered "women's work" and Nancy knows that part of the world is not for her. As she and her husband Joe return to the family's home, Nancy finds herself as a part of the battle between new and old. She knows she is ever so proficient with a gun and could be a true asset to the family's job of gamekeepers, but the men, particularly her father-in-law are extremely opposed. Nancy feels hemmed in. She wants to be Joe's wife but struggles greatly with the choice she seems to be forced to make and as she pours out her heart in the diary, Nancy reveals many inner thoughts and desires, plus one large secret, she and her ack ack girlfriends have between them.

As Lorna becomes entrenched in the words of the diary, we get to relive both of the ladies' lives, their hopes and dreams and of course their sorrows. Lorna is ever so anxious to get to the end of this diary, but finds the last few pages have been ripped out. The diary has so consumed her thoughts, that she is determined to find an ending, to track down these former ack ack girls and find an ending. However, so many years have passed that it is doubtful any of the girls are still alive, but Lorna must try.

I enjoyed the story and felt the author did a fine job of merging the past with the present with a bit of mystery and suspense tucked within its pages. Thank you to Anna Stuart, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this story due out August 3, 2021.

There is always, it seems, more than one place to keep a secret...

In this case it is in a red leather-bound diary which is at the heart of this beautifully told story that spans the decades.

2019: Lorna Haynes, recently and tragically widowed, arrives at the Gameskeeper Cottage in Langham with her two young sons Charlie (9) and Stan (5) in tow. Norwich holds too many memories of life with Matt so Lorna has escaped to the country for the summer to find some healing and learn how to move on without her loving husband.

Upon arrival, Lorna is greeted loving by her her newly married mother Mary to the kind and gentle David, a retired GP and inherited owner of Gameskeeper Cottage. Mary leads them to the back of the house to the annex, an add-on to the quaint old thatched cottage after the Great War. And as soon as Lorna opens the door it is like stepping back in time. The annex serves as a separate living area with a kitchenette, living area as well as bunk beds for the boys and a bedroom for herself. It is, however, untouched from the forties in decor with it's old furniture, cerise wallpaper even down to the old wireless sitting on the mantle.

Once settled, Lorna takes in the history of the room and all therein, even the dressing table with its triple mirror. She opens the drawer and reaches in unconsciously for a hairbrush that isn't there. Instead she feels the telltale ridge of a secret compartment, commonly found furniture pieces of this era. With a tug and a pull and up comes the flap revealing a rich red leather-bound book that was obviously a diary.

Tentatively Lorna opens the pages and begins to read, transported back to 1945 and a different time...

1945: The war is over! And to commemorate the occasion, Nancy has bought herself a beautiful red leather diary to preserve the memories of her new life with Joe here at Gameskeeper Cottage. When Joe had first brought her home to this beautiful little cottage with the rose arboured entry and the slightly "squint" thatched roof, Nancy couldn't wait for her new life as a gameskeeper to begin.

But it seems her in-laws had other ideas. Ted and Betty were very welcoming of her as the daughter they never had but having lived through two wars, they had firm ideas on where her place should be. Not out on the estate shooting pheasants and getting her hands dirty. She may have been a gunner girl at the nearby Langham RAF airfield during the war, but in civilian life she was a wife with a home to keep, meals to make and laundry to do. There was no time nor place for her out on the estate with the men.

Joe, however, knew of Nancy's desire to be a gameskeeper and what's more he'd supported it. At least that's what he said. He'd fallen in love with a woman full of life that could he really see her tied to the kitchen and laundry and a life of domesticity? And then came 1st Ocotber - the first day of open season - and there was Nancy in her best frock serving finger food to the men who were about to begin the season. And then she saw Merry, daughter of Lord Langham, dressed and ready for the shoot. When questioning why Merry, being a woman, was allowed on the shoot and yet she wasn't Ted told her because she was aristocracy. Nancy was livid. She was so angered that Joe stood there silently beside his father and did nothing to back her up that she threw the most shocking words at him in front of the villagers joining the shoot before storming off to pack her bags and leave Langham.

However, that stand-off proved to be a turning point and life in the chocolate box little cottage turned something of a corner as Joe and Nancy made some compromises with Ted and Betty which served to enrich their lives in ways they didn't think possible. But still Ted was adamant on one thing - that guns have no place in a woman's hands. Nancy must then resign herself to a life of partial domesticity and helping out on the estate...but her desire to be a gamekeeper still burns deep within though Ted remained unmoved on the matter.

So Nancy poured her heart out on the pages of her leather-bound diary - her loves, her joys, her sorrows and frustrations...and even the secret that she and her fellow gunner girls swore to keep. Then in a moment of clarity, she ripped the pages of those entries out but not wanting to destroy them, sought another hiding place for them. For there is more than one place to keep a secret...and keep it she must.

This historical tale has a unique story to tell and Anna Stuart has captured it beautifully, weaving the two eras together seamlessly from present day to post-war Norfolk through the secret diary that has Lorna discovered. She discovers that Nancy is not so different from herself despite the seven decade gap between them and what the diary reveals is the difficulty that Nancy had adjusting to civilian life after the adrenaline of that as a gunner girl.

THE SECRET DIARY is a tale of transition for both women as they find their feet in a world so different to the one to which they had grown accustomed and must now get used to living without. Both women are stronger than they realise as they come up against challenges that force them to question everything they thought they knew. The traditional lifestyle to which Nancy finds herself within when she yearns to break out of the mould tradition had shaped for women. I can't understand why others find this aspect so frustrating to read about because it was just how it was then. Just because we live in different times doesn't make those that lived before us wrong. It was just a different way of life and while times have changed, not all of it is good. While people may look back and think men had no respect for women with their traditional views, it is in fact the opposite. Men had far more respect for women then than they do today and it is because they respected them that they preferred to maintain the traditional roles. It's not something that people today can understand and that's fine.

The present day story was good but probably not as engaging or as equally strong as Nancy's, which I loved. Each time I was in the present day, I found myself wanting to go back to the diary and lose myself to time and uncover the secret Nancy and her friends had vowed to keep. It was the past that was true escapism...for both Lorna and myself.

The story weaves seamlessly from past to present and back again in alternating chapters with Nancy's predominantly through her diary which is always a perfect segue into the past. It is so expertly done the reader feels as if they are the only ones privy to Nancy's thoughts having discovered the diary themselves.

A hugely enjoyable read, THE SECRET DIARY is the post-war tale of one woman trying to transition to civilian life and another endeavouring to find the strength to move on in the wake of tragic loss. I loved it so entirely that I didn't want to leave Nancy behind or the characters I had come to know and love.

Perfect for fans of historical WW2 fiction and dual timelines such as Lorna Cook and Kathleen McGurl.

I would like to thank #AnnaStuart, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheSecretDiary in exchange for an honest review.

I literally could not put this book down! From the very beginning I found myself pulled in to the storyline and I loved the dual timelines between Nancy and Lorna. Historical fiction is my favorite genre and this one added a bit of mystery as well. I enjoyed learning about the post-war challenges and the expectation for things to go back to normal among society - all of which was heavily endured by Nancy and her friends, the gunner girls. I couldn’t put this book down and I finished it in two sittings. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author!

I loved Anna Stuart's previous book so I jumped at the chance to read this one.
To be honest , it took me a while to warm up to the character's in this book. I'm glad I persevered though because I was totally immersed in the storyline by a third of the way into it.
This is a dual time read that links the intervening periods through the pages in a newly discovered diary in the modern timeline of the book.
A really enjoyable read and so interesting too. The historical context relating to the war and the aftermath was thought provoking .

Two women in the same house, decades apart. A secret diary hidden and along with it some secrets that shouldn't come to light. Or should they? What exactly are the secrets and why did a group of women vow to never speak of these things again.

In a nutshell, that is how this book starts off and yet it is so much more. Lorna Haynes is grieving the sudden loss of her husband. On the advice of a friend, she decides to take her young sons and stay with her mom and step-dad for the summer. She is hoping the change of scenery will help with the roughest parts of the grief. What she doesn't know is she is about to embark on a journey of learning about the woman who used to live in the house her mom and step-dad now live in. The woman who fought for her rights to be seen not as a woman, but as a capable human.

Nancy Jones was part of a group of four women who helped spot enemy aircraft and do the computations for lining up the guns that the men would fire to bring the aircraft down. At the end of the war, Nancy and her husband marry and move in with her in-laws. Nancy is promised by her new husband that she will be able to be a gamekeeper like him, which is what she feels will help her transition to her new life.

Upon arrival, Nancy realizes her in-laws are very traditional and thus begins her fight to be seen as a person capable of doing whatever she sets her mind to. To help deal with her adjustments and frustrations, Nancy begins writing out her story in her diary. She stores it in a hidden compartment in her vanity. As she reaches the end, she decides that the final pages need to be ripped out and hidden so that certain parts of her story are never discovered.

When Lorna finds the diary, she cannot stop reading and becomes curious as to what the secret is. In talking with her step-dad, she learns that Nancy is his father and that there are parts of her story even he didn't know.

The dual timeline and switching back and forth to slowly reveal Nancy's story was so very well done. I loved how I would be on the verge of learning something new and the author would switch timelines to keep the suspense going. I also truly loved the way the author dealt with death and loss. The insights by the characters, often the children, spoke to me on such a personal level.

I highly recommend this story to fans of WWII historical fiction, dual timelines, and strong female characters. Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Stuart, and Bookouture for the copy of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I finished The Secret Diary by Anna Stuart late last night and it is such a good book. I would find myself looking for my Kindle to read just a bit more whenever I had a few moments to spare.
I had gotten rather bored with the WWII genre that I have been reading and I needed something new. This book does involve WWII, but it mainly takes place after the War and deals with how people in the UK were moving forward with their lives. It totally held my interest and kept me reading late into the night.
I was getting so fed up with stories that go from the past to the present. The books have all started to read like the same one I had just finished. However in the Secret Diary there were a few chapters that I didn't want the story line to stop. Sometimes it was either with the diary story or even with the present story. Kind of left me hanging in a few chapters, but that was good since it kept up my interest and I wanted to see how everything turned out.
As for characters, there aren't so many that you can't keep them straight. I remembered everyone of them while Ms. Stuart was telling the story and going back and forth. My favorite characters were Mary and David. What a wonderful mother and step-father to take such good care of Lorna when she needed the support of her family after Matt had died. Mary had such a hard life raising Lorna by herself and finally found someone who was perfect for her. Loved both of them.
The author wanted you to believe and feel how bad the pink roses in the annex bedroom were, I started to believe it and could visualize the wallpaper. YUK.
When I thought the book was over, I was concerned as I still had some questions. As I continued reading, these questions were quickly answered. Before we learned about the "secret" in the diary, I thought it might have been something really bad. It probably was at the time, but you will just have to read the book to find out what it was all about and decide for yourself. I was so glad Ms. Stuart told us where the money had come from to fix up the Gamekeeper's Cottage, but the real surprise came when Nancy saved Tom. Didn't see either one of those events coming. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity for me to read this book.. I did enjoy it. and I hope you read it too.

Lorna finds a diary in a secret compartment. Written by her new stepfather’s mother immediately after WWII, the diary provides a welcome escape from grief following her husband’s death. Nancy Jones had been a gunner girl, calculating the trajectory for an anti-aircraft gun in England. After the war, men tried try to force women back into the cubbyhole of the kitchen. Nancy and the three women in her team persevere in realizing their dreams. Their journey revitalizes Lorna as she discovers their secrets. Enthralling dual time story. At first, I had a hard time with the attempts by Nancy’s in-laws to box her in, but that’s the way things were, and the story quickly drew me in.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

A dual timeline story set in present day that follows Lorna and the other post WWII that’s from a diary written by Nancy.

The book was a page Turner, and both timelines were just as good, whereas sometimes, ones better than the other. All the characters were lovely, but I liked Nancy most. The story is heartwarming, of friendship and about moving on.

Recommend It.

The story of 1946 Nancy and modern day Lorna both girls adjusting to their new life’s changes. Lorna using Nancy’s diary as a lifeboat to help her escape her own grief.
I identify so much with both of these girls, missing my past more adrenaline filled life like Nancy and dealing with crippling grief like Lorna. My grief of missing my much loved dad who told me many stories of growing up as a child during the war. To find a diary would be such a gift and feeling so connected to this family it gave me a little comfort and escape from reality similar to how it did Lorna.
Such a lovely read, my only negative would be that I would’ve loved to have heard more about life as a gunner girl. Thank you for a warm, comfortable yet emotional read. #TheSecretDiary #NetGalley

Newly-widowed Lorna returns to Norfolk to stay with her mother and her mother’s husband, David, in the quaint Gamekeeper's Cottage in a bid to gain comfort as she works through her grief. Whilst the cottage still maintains its quaint yet lurid 40s décor, history teacher Lorna quite likes her new room – especially when she finds a diary. Tucked into a secret compartment in a drawer is a genuine diary, belonging to a woman called Nancy. As Lorna dives in, she soon uncovers a genuine account of post-war life in that very same cottage.

In 1945, former ‘gunner girl’ Nancy moves into the cottage with her new husband Joe, ready to settle into life following the war. Whilst Nancy is excited about helping on the estate, Joe and his parents have other ideas – old-fashioned ones to be precise, that involve cooking and housework. Having worked in the war with her fellow gunner girls and best friends, Nancy is keen to keep working rather than falling into traditional roles. Yet convincing Joe’s father seems impossible.

As Lorna reads more of the diary, she uncovers more about Nancy’s life – her woes about having a baby, her frustrations about what she’s allowed to do on the estate – and the secret kept between her and the other gunner girls. A secret so dangerous it’s been torn from the back of the diary. Reading Nancy’s diary is helping Lorna, and she’s desperate to find out more about Nancy. Who was ‘Connie’, and what were the girls so desperate to keep a secret?

I really loved this novel - I particularly like wartime novels that focus on women, and this one was especially interesting with the dual storyline. It worked really well, and I was drawn in from the beginning. These two women, roommates several decades apart, brought together by circumstance. This was a lovely, emotional book full of hope, and a glimpse into the life many women led before us.

I love dual time line stories and this one was wonderful!!
Sometimes it takes a long time to set up the present story before the past one begins but not here. The author was straight in with both stories and this is what I like best.
Lorna, in the present and Nancy, in the past had two different but very interesting story lines. I normally read these books for the past story, as I love history but both timelines are equally good here.
It's a book about loss, love, family and endurance. For Nancy, who's living in a time where women were supposed to keep their place and be guided by men, it's especially hard as she's just spent years doing her bit in the war and now is expected to fall back into the old routines.
I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in this genre.

“There is always, it seems, more than one place to keep a secret…”

One timeline in this historical fiction features is a gunner girl who has been keeping Britain’s skies safe during WW2 and after working so hard for the war effort, she discovers that returning to ‘normal’ life is more difficult than she ever imagined. The second timeline picks up 76 years later, when a grieving widow becomes a housemate across the ages. Realizing that her daughter needs emotional support, a mother offers the cottage on her estate to her daughter and young family.

This book frustrated me to no end! NOT THE WRITING, the mindset of the 1940s. I threw the book down several times, disgusted at the narrow-mindedness that was so prevalent in this time. High five to Anna Stuart for representing this monolithic thinking around gender roles so accurately. It came across so very authentic and the protagonist’s resentment was portrayed masterfully. It was as if someone was attempting to shove a beautiful, colourful puzzle piece into a part of the puzzle where it didn’t belong! What a shock to come home jubilant, a war heroine with a husband who survived the war, only to find there wasn’t much to celebrate. Necessity forced them to live with his parents who innocently provided them with nothing to celebrate, let alone a ‘home-sweet-home’ life.

The modern-day timeline is good, but perhaps not as equally strong. When Lorna finds the journal, hidden away since 1945, and reads about the gunner girls and the secret they’ve kept, it’s exactly what she needs to initiate healing. Where the first timeline’s theme is ‘transition’, this one is ‘moving on.’

I loved reading about these strong, formidable women whose very presence triggered significant cultural and social change and forced employers, unions and governments to rethink. There was a huge social shift occurring at this time in history and these women were part of the transition. Changing direction is very difficult, especially midstream, and especially in a post-war situation. It’s an ongoing process and women today still struggle to find a happy balance.

Stuart highlights infertility, the need for workplace nurseries, Churchill’s eagerness to include women in the war effort, and women in the military. Her extensive author notes at the end were like the giftwrapping of this spectacular story and I read them with as much excitement as I did the rest of the story.

My favourite take-away is:

“War has changed them all. The things they’ve seen, the things they’ve done, the secrets they’ve shared. The world is different now, and you can’t just pack the past away with your gas mask and your ration book and ‘go back to normal’, because normal is different too.

Replace ration book with hand sanitizer and delete the word ‘gas’ and what you are left with is our reality over the past 15 months. This quote hit me like a ton of bricks. Normal will be different. Let’s make it better.

This STEM teacher and strong woman will now hop off her soapbox and thank Anna Stuart, Bookouture and NetGalley for the gift of this advance copy. I was under no obligation to provide a review.
Publishes August 3, 2021.

I love this book. Not only the bravery and sacrifice of the 'gunner girls' in a time of war but for their movement in the progression of women and girls in all parts of life following the war. Both timelines are so beautifully done, a picture of the time, the countryside and the situations were always so very clear to me. This is a story, and an author, that I would love to re-read and I highly recommend this book to other readers. Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

The Secret Diary by Anna Stuart is a historical fiction with dual timelines from 1945 at the end of World War II to the present day. Lorna has just lost her husband. Everywhere she goes is a constant reminder of him. She finally decides to visit her mother in hopes of finding some kind of peace as she and her children struggle to find their new normal. As she walks in her room for the first time she feels that she is transported back in time. The room remains the same as it was when her stepfather’s mother entered it in 1945. It is in this room that she finds a diary that has been hidden since 1945. The story of Nancy and her Gunner Girls and the secret that they have kept is just what Lorna needs to begin her healing process.
I usually do not like dual timelines. I always feel torn as the time period changes. Anna Stuart did an amazing job of switching between the time periods. It was a wonderful story that I hated to see end. The characters were well developed and both timelines were important. I love it and it has made me an Anna Stuart fan. Thank you Bookouture, Anna Stuart, and NetGalley for an advance copy of “The Secret Diary” in return for an honest review.