This sweet story was not what i was expecting due to the title. However, the storyline was well written and enjoyable showing love and family are not always connected by blood. Follow the ups and downs in the daily life of Olive and the care that she takes of her Guests and Margery, Olive's friend of many years who returns after the death of her Uncle. Mersea House becomes a guest house and home for a odd mix of people who become friends and make a very happy family together. A light and happy read!

Having read this author before I was delighted to read this new book and certainly did not disapoint.
This tale will leave you with a beautiful full heat of joy and wonder its rather special ❤

This was a beautiful heartfelt story.

From the very beginning of this story we are introduced to Olive and Margery who themselves are like sisters, both alone and deciding to work together to build a life.

When Margery is given custody of a young girl, she welcomes her in, but with her hectic schedule, Olive is the one bonding with her and finding out how strong loving someone can be.

Juniper is a lovely girl, she is resilient and has such a big heart. I admire her adventurous spirit and her honesty in her approach to life.

This story shows you the different ways to love and that families are not always conventional.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for a digital copy of this book to read and review!

Right from the start this book was easy to read and it kept me interested. The story was well written and had interesting characters. I would defiantly recommend this book and the author and would happily read more from Marty Wingate.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a really positive historical fiction set in post war Britain in a seaside village. It is not what I had expected when I read the title but I loved meeting all of the wonderful characters in the story. It is a quick read and one filled with friendships in all age levels and strong women. It is and not filled with negative dysfunctional families. It shows clearly that families can consist of strangers bonding together to help one another. The main characters are Olive and Margery who run a bed and breakfast. One day a social worker knocks on their door to deliver a small girl identified as Margery’s ward. She has suffered from the effects of polio and needs special care. As more guests arrive at the home each contributes to the story in their own way and are presented in a positive, caring light. This is a book for all age levels and is really a sweet reads. Do not miss this one.

This was one of the best post WWll historical fiction novels I have ever read. I loved it so much. The writing was evocative and the characters were so memorable. If I had to give it a star rating, I would say four stars, but more like a 4.5.
Set in a seaside village outside on London, Margery has returned to town, and Olive has never left. Margery has come into possession of a property that she enlists Olive to help her turn into a bed and breakfast. Olive will also be in charge of cleaning and feeding the guests. Shortly after opening, Margery is made aware of a child who has been left parentless and named as her charge. Enter juniper, a child of ten who survived a polio attack at four, who changes everything.
The Orphans of Mersea house explores themes of love and loss, motherhood, and what exactly makes up a "family." Through the book we come to understand that not only parentless children can indeed be basically 'orphans.'
You will root for Juniper's every success and her friendship with Billy. Ultimately, told from Olive's perspective. this beautiful work of historical fiction will warm your heart It certainly won mine.
Bonus points: I loved all of the side characters and the inclusivity as well as the descriptions of life at an English seaside B&B.

Another heartfelt historical fiction set in 1957 about Olive who has now lost all of her family and has to re-asses her life. Then there is her childhood friend Margery who comes back into Olive's life where the friendship is reignited.

This is a book that I found so easy to read, it was so very heartwarming and to a point sweet. It told stories of life, friendship, accepting past and present and so much more. The characters were great and although the Three main characters were obviously the best the others had great parts in this book and brought their own stories too.

A great book, an easy read and a book that I would recommend.

A charming, sensitive novel, not at all what I was expecting from the title. A cast of individuals, each with their own story to tell. It’s a book where everything is ‘nice’, the characters, the storyline, the setting and the ending. The two central figures are a young girl, Juniper, who had suffered from polio, and Olive who takes on the role of housekeeper at Mersea House. I was amused by the numerous cups of tea and coffee that were consumed, along with seedcake and shortbread.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting story. My favorite is usually historical. I am often drawn to WW2 stories. This Story was different because it was not driven by historical time period, but by strongly portrayed characters. Since the story takes place in England and a boarding house there were quite a lot of characters. Sometimes too many characters make a story hard to follow. But the author, did well to focus on the diversity of town residents, instead of focus on location, time period, or what everyone wore. The element of romance was subtle, which appeals to me. There was just enough mentioned about what the housekeeper Olive was serving to add a British flavor to the story. There was also enough mention of "new" items like electric toasters, and polio to set the time period. It was not my favorite recent book read, but it was a satisfying read and the young girl with a handicap from polio, Juniper, made me like the story. The title fits well after get half way into the story.

This is a beautiful story of love and loss, family and growing up in a small town. Margery and Olive were the best of friends for most of their lives, until Margery decided to move to London and to take part in the war effort. She returns home to their little village of Southwold, Suffolk to claim her inheritance left to her from Uncle Milky. Olive it seems has lost everyone she loves. First her boyfriend and brother in the war, than her dad and lastly her mom and their home. Margery needs Olive to help her run the store and the lodging house she has inherited. Which greatly helps Olive in her destitute state. The third main character in this unusual family is an eleven year old orphan Juniper Wyckes. Margery receives a visit from Child Services letting her know a former boyfriend has named her in his will to take care of his daughter, should anything happen to him. There is a large cast of sub-characters who are just as intriguing. This was a well written book of heartfelt acceptance and second chances.
I want to thank Alcove Press through NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions in the review are my own.

Oh this is a lovely book. I have been caught up in post WW11 stories lately and this one is right up in that genre as well, but with a twist.
War leaves all kinds of Orphans., not just children without fathers or mothers, but wives without their husbands and friends that never see each other again. Add in the debilitating disease that was polio and you have a whole slew of people that are left out of the mainstream, once life goes back to normal.

Mersea House is a boarding house run by two best friends, Olive and Margery. During the war Margery worked in London and Olive stayed home to look after ailing parents, friends that needed help and just managing to keep herself afloat through all the air strikes and other efforts during the war.

Margery leaves London and comes back to Mersea House (which an uncle had left to her). It underrgoes renovations and starts accepting boarders.

Juniper ( a young girl who survives polio) becomes Margery's ward, but truly it's Olive who becomes her daily helper/caregiver. Under Olive's management and care for the boarders, Mersea House becomes a "Family" home and each of the boarders becomes family to each other!

This book is a really good read with life lessons for all of us. Understanding, caring and love can overcome everything and help to heal all things!

I just reviewed The Orphans of Mersea House by Marty Wingate. #TheOrphansofMerseaHouse #NetGalley

This was a sweet book with well developed and likable characters and a wonderful story. Based on the title, I thought this book was going to be centered around a boarding house for orphans. I was partly right but not in the way one might think! This book covered many topics unapologetically such as death, disabilities, faithfulness, and trust. I loved how this book reminds it’s reader that your family is who you make it!

This is a heartfelt historical fiction set in a small town in England in the 1950s. It is a story of love and kinship between a few people who have no connection to each other except that of love and adoration. It is the story of folks who find each other at a junction in their lives when they have all been dejected and hurt. Heartwarming is what comes to mind when I think of the characters and the story. I enjoyed it.

I received this book for free through the publishers and NetGalley for a review. I went into this novel with no clear idea of its plot aside from the title. What I enjoyed was learning about post-world England, not London, and how people recovered and remembered the war. The issue I had with this novel is it was mostly character based and not as plot driven. It read more like character profiles than a story, which was enjoyable and not what I expected. If you are interesting in Post-WWII European History, this is a book that would interest you. One of my favorite aspects of "The Orphans of Mersea House" were that is really focused on female friendship. That is a theme I can always relate to and enjoy.

One of the most wholesome books I've read in years! There's no conflict here...set in post-world coastal England, it's a gorgeous setting. The novel is beautifully populated with an engaging cast of characters I found myself rooting for. I will say that it was strange reading a story with no central conflict. I kept waiting for something to happen, and...nothing did? In its own way, that made this story unique. Highly recommend if you need something light and lovely.

Refreshing and delightful to read a book about post-war England with a real sense of place and characters that are so vivid and memorable. The diverse cast of characters makes life in the seaside town of Southwold, realistic and lively with everyday type of problems. Very relatable and it feels as though you are a guest at the table at the House Of Mersa.
The reading is easy, and I could not have access to this book without the great Netgalley.

<i>The Orphans of Mersea House</i> is a historical fiction about love and family in post-war Britain. The protagonist Olive is a lonely, single woman whose parents have died recently and she know she needs to get her act quickly to find her way. <i>The Orphans of Mersea House</i> is written by the prolific author Marty Wingate.

Olive has lived in the small village Southwold, Suffolk her whole life. When her mother dies, she finds herself with no employment and no place to live. Fortunately, her friend Marjery comes back to town from London and informs Olive that uncle Milky has left Marjery a shop and a boarding house to run. She asks Olive to help her by running the boarding house. Olive agrees but soon after starting her new job, she is presented with a young 11-year-old girl, Juniper, who is Marjery’s ward and Olive must take on the daily responsibility for this girl’s care. Juniper has issues that challenge Marjery and Olive, but there are many other secrets in the household that also bring about challenges to this newly formed “family”. Social services are monitoring Juniper’s new living conditions to ensure Juniper has a good home. Life in the village becomes quite hectic. Olive becomes attached to Juniper but she also becomes increasingly concerned that they’re going to take Juniper away.

Wingate is a master of developing interesting and unique characters. The most fascinating characters are small town people. Of course, there is the town gossip. There are those who have checkered and mysterious backgrounds. Finally, there are people who have gone to the big city of London and have now returned carrying secrets that everyone would like to know. All these characters enrich and round out the story.

This is not the genre I normally read but I enjoyed it. The story is a simple but very rich in its treatment of love and family. It is a warm and inviting novel that will leave the reader contemplating life by the sea.

The story is placed in 1957 and I expect the vocabulary is very typical of speech at that time. The politeness everyone shows whenever someone comes to the door is reminiscent of a simpler time. The reader will undoubtedly have an urge to search for a pot of tea and a piece of cake to enjoy while reading.

I recommend this story to people who enjoy a good book about the love and compassion among neighbours and friends. I gave it a four on five. I want to thank NetGalley and Alcove House for providing me with a digital copy of this novel. I provide this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this book.
I enjoyed the book. I loved the characters and the story. Would love to see this as a series.

Suffolk, England - 1957 - friends - polio - acceptance - family - love

An extremely well-written sweet story with enjoyable characters. Think: the Island of Misfit Toys meets a British seaside boarding house! All the characters have secrets and problems of their own but they become family. Quick read, highly recommended!

I was gifted this advance copy by NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I really enjoyed this book. I received it from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

The setting is England in the late 50's where Olive has lost her brother and boyfriend in the war, her father has passed and just now her mum. She's come to a point in her life where she has nowhere to live or work.

Olive's best friend growing up, Margery, returns to the little seaside town from London to claim an inheritance and offers Olive work and a place to live as caretaker and overseer of a lodging house.

The cast of characters are full of intrigue and secrets, and they all pull together when Margery's ward, who is afflicted with polio, comes to live at the house.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, romance, or just a nice easy-to-read book.