Having read another book by the author I was excited to read another by her.
Told from alternating points of view of 3 generations of a family.
An American woman's nursing license is suspended when she is found intoxicated on the job, after this she battles alcoholism and tries to stay away from it. When her beloved grandmother dies, she inherits her Yorkshire cottage. She doesn't really know too much about her or understand why her grandmother kept a cottage no one knew she owned.
As she spends time in the UK this lovely book comes alive, and we see nursing skills demonstrated from WWI.
1915 France. Lady Emile is a nurse during WWII, she comes from royalty. Her family is strict, and they expect her to enter into a marriage with who they approve her. She ends up having a forbidden love affair.
2014 England, Audrey arrives to clean out her grandmother's cottage and she discovers family secrets in this little cottage. Why did her grandmother immigrate to America as a seventeen-year-old when she seemed to have it all while being born into nobility?
I loved how the secrets were slowly revealed chapter by chapter as each family member's story is told.
Recommended!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a really great novel. I strongly recommend it. .It is a historical that covers three generation.

The Forgotten Cottage was truly transportive. I really enjoyed the story and felt immersed in the times, places, and the characters' lives. In 2019, Audrey, who lost her job due to drinking and is searching for her life’s purpose, inherits her grandmother’s cottage in Yorkshire, and wonders why her grandmother abandoned it years ago. In 1915, wealthy Emilie (Audrey's great-grandmother) escapes to London to serve as a nurse in the hospitals of war torn France. Emilie is a marvelous character, strong, ambitious and independent I found both stories compelling as the two women deal with hardships and heartache as they search for love and a place to call home.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Historically accurate, this tale of WWI is beautifully drawn with great character development. Nice twist at the end when the real story is exposed. A story of war and love. Can't wait to read the next.

The pacing and tension is on point even with the alternating timelines/voices. Each time that Audrey discovers a clue to her gran's history, the novel steps back to tell Emily's story -- revealing the truth behind the clue. Courtney Ellis delicately balances these twin timelines to keep the reader engaged.

A dual timeline novel, set in 1914 and 2019, the book tells the harrowing story a nurse during WWI. Emilie does not want to be married off for her family’s sake, and as the men in her life enlist, Emilie decides to join the VAD to assist the nurses. Facing the blood and stress of battle wounded men, Emilie finds herself between two, one she is supposed to marry, and one she loves. In 2019, Audrey loses her job and home as she fights alcoholism. When her grandmother dies and leaves her a house in Yorkshire, Audrey leaves the US to find answers as to why her grandmother left England and why she left Audrey the house. Both storylines held my interest, and there was much to learn about WWI and it’s impact on the soldiers. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book so much! I felt like I, too found a home, within it's pages and never wanted to leave. This was utterly charming, romantic, while wrapped up in a family mystery. It reminded me of a Kate Morton novel, which is high praise!

A heartbreaking, yet uplifting dual-era novel of love and survival set in both 2014 and WWI, a forgotten English cottage connects American Audrey Collins to her grandmother’s clandestine past.

After her nursing license is suspended when she was found drunk on the job, Audrey battles alcoholism. When her beloved grandmother dies and leaves her a Yorkshire cottage—that no one knew she owned—Audrey heads to the UK to sell the property and perhaps learn why her grandmother concealed this part of her past. And if it was a secret, why keep the property and then will it to her?

Yet Audrey finds more than she ever expected—a welcoming village, a kindred soul in a handsome contractor, and hidden Edwardian-era letters and treasures that reveal an impossible love story between her great-great grandmother Lady Emilie Dawes and an unsuitable writer turned soldier. A slow simmer as Audrey and Emilie learn to balance love and self, both narratives weave together seamlessly to find a satisfying happily-ever-after.

If you love “Downton Abbey,” you don’t want to miss this. I love this kind of read. Well done. Easy to recommend “The Forgotten Cottage” by Courtney Ellis.

The Forgotten Cottage an historical romance told in dual timelines over 100 years apart. An inherited cottage in the countryside of England holds the truth to Audrey's family's past. Emilie, a nurse in WW1 and Audrey's great-grandmother, and Audrey, also a nurse but on probation due to alcohol abuse, both struggle with independence, finding purpose and starting over. A poignant, vivid and beautiful novel.

Book Review: The Forgotten Cottage, by Courtney Ellis
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Berkley Publishing house for the opportunity to read this fantastic historical fiction novel. Historical fiction is at the top of my favorites for reading choices because I always learn something from the experience.
In The Forgotten Cottage, the author blends through time the current storyline (2019) in England and in the historical story which took place in both England and France in 1915. In the current side of the story, American Nurse Audrey Collins inherits her grandmother’s home in the English countryside after she passed away at 100 years old. Audrey had been her caregiver. Audrey is a trained nurse; but due to some difficulties she was having related to her indulgence in alcohol, she was placed on probation. Once in recovery, she learns of her inheritance and feels a fresh start in a new place will be a positive change.
Back in 1915, Lady Emilie Dawes is distraught over both her brother and a close male friend (that she secretly loves) headed to the Western Front in World War I. She sees this as an opportunity and without telling her family, leaves home and enlists in the VAD to work as a nurse in France. She fled home to avoid marrying Rhys to whom her parents have pledged her. When she meets Isaac, In her work as a nurse she is grateful for the opportunity to learn and the freedom and independence she feels in her new surroundings, despite the horrors of the war. When a familiar face shows up in one of the hospital beds, it changes everything for Emily.
In the current timeframe, Audrey is determined to unravel her grandmother’s past and discover how she came to own the delightful yet abandoned stone cottage she has left to Audrey. All Audrey knows is that her grandmother immigrated to America as a teenager, and that she had some type of nobility in her family’s past. When she arrives at Sparrow Cottage, she discovers it was literally left unchanged as well as learns more about grandmother through the items left behind: A VAD nurse uniform, a medal and a letter. Her first instincts were to sell the cottage, but now she yearns to know more.
The book is delightful, and the reader runs the gamut of emotions from happy to sad to concerned and finally as the author did an excellent job of tying the two stories together, I felt comfort with what I learned as I read. Highly recommend.

England 2014: Audrey has inherited a cottage in a small little village she has never heard of, after her grandmothers passing. She is a recovering alcoholic and in need of funds to continue her nursing career back in the states. Her Gran leaves a note behind asking Audrey to uncover the mystery of her family and their secrets. While unraveling this mystery, Audrey has found a place that finally feels like home and meets people that feel like family. Should she listen to her dad and sister and sell the house….or she should she follow her heart?

France 1915: Lady Emilie Dawes is desperately wanting a life her own, but her family has other plans for her. They expect her to keep her role in society, further along the family’s standing by marrying into a dukedom, and to give up education or even a career. When the war hits, Lady Emilie runs away from home and the life she always knew, in order to find herself and be a nurse saving lives. Will Lady Emilie give up her family and money for a life of a love with freedom, or abandon her love out of familial duty?

My thoughts:

I absolutely loved this one. I can’t decide which timeline I liked the most. Modern day story was good with characters I loved. The old ladies group that met for tea and gardening made my heart happy. Historical story had so much detail and depth that I was engrossed in the unraveling story. Pick this book up. It’s so good.

Audrey, a recovering alcoholic, impulsively flees to England following the death of her grandmother. Her grandmother had basically raised her and her sister after their mother died and when Audrey's life spiraled out of control, it was her grandmother who helped her pick up the pieces. Now, having inherited a cottage that the family knew nothing of, she is looking for answers. But will she find more answers than what sent her grandmother to America in the first place?

The Forgotten Cottage is a dual timeline story set in the English countryside. The first timeline, and one we spend the most time in, is set during WWI. Lady Emilie is already chafing against the role of women in the early 1900s and her parents' pressure to marry the man who she felt was more childhood friend than suitor - yet he is the heir to a dukedom. A chance meeting at a late ball of the season and England's increasing presence in the war in Europe sets her on a new course - only if she has the courage to turn her back on everything.

I don't read a lot of WWI stories so I found that storyline interesting. It had the feel of Downton Abbey and Lady Emilie reminded me of Lady Sybil. But Lady Emilie's mother isn't as progressive as Lady Grantham.

Unlike most dual timeline stories, the chapters do not alternate between the two periods. We get several chapters with Emilie before switching back to present-day with Audrey. There's actually not much going on with Audrey and I felt the present-day timeline was just to prolong the mystery of why Audrey's grandmother Dottie (Emilie's daughter) never talked about her past.

Having a recovering addict as a main character made this women's fiction story a bit unique, and I'm sure readers who are also recovering will appreciate seeing themselves reflected on the page. There is also a little bit of a romance. But really there isn't much of a plot or character development. I liked the characters and would have liked to have seen more done with them.

Really the selling point of this book is the mysteries. Why did Emilie not return to her family's home after the war? Did Emilie marry Lord Bridgmond or follow her heart with Isaac? What made Dottie flee Yorkshire for America in the middle of the second World War? It was my desire to have answers to these questions that really had me turning the pages.

It is definitely a pleasant story for a weekend of light reading.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Thursday, Aug. 18 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/08/the-forgotten-cottage-by-courtney-ellis.html

I always enjoy a dual timeline novel that has strong ties between the two narratives, and The Forgotton Cottage is no exception. The journeys of the two female MCs are powerful in their own right, yet also complementary, and both worlds are fully realized. I particularly liked spending extended amounts of time with each character, rather than alternating chapter by chapter; this structure choice allowed me to get deeper into each story.

Do you ever wonder about your families past? Do you feel like an outcast in the family and want to learn more about your family to find your place in the world? If you answered yes to either of those questions than this book is for you. In this book we have Lady Emily who is being pushed into a marriage of convenience with an royal family, though she yearns to find a life of her own with purpose and love instead of a title. The other main character is Lady Emily’s great-granddaughter, Audrey, a recovering alcoholic who is trying to figure out about her grandmother’s past after she died and left her a cottage in the English countryside.

This book is a great read and both timelines kept me hooked. I will say that the love interest between Audrey and Leslie kept me so vested in the country I was longing for more of their story. I listened to the story on audiobook while reading along to the book. Thank you to @prhaudio for an advanced digital copy for review purposes and to @netgalley and @berkley for and advanced digital copy.

The audiobook had two narrators and so with each timeline being told by the character it made me love the story more. This is a book that I truly loved and I hope you grab a copy and give it a chance too.

4.5 stars, rounded up.
The Forgotten Cottage is an absolute beautiful story about a family and its history, both past and present. I genuinely loved both time lines. Audrey, in the present, is working so hard to turn over a new leaf and do better. Emilie, in the past, is fighting for her independence, to be valued for who she really is and not what her family wants her to do. I would find myself so invested in each story that when the story would switch, I was eager to continue reading and trying to piece together the clues of the past. If you enjoy historical fiction with romance, particularly around the time of WWI, then you must read this book!

*descriptions of war injuries, one vague open door scene, some language (including 1 f-word)

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for my e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.

4.5 Stars

Thank you #NetGalley @BerkleyPub #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen #BerkleyBuddyReads for a complimentary e ARC of #TheForgottenCottage upon my request. All opinions are my own.

A grandmother has secrets!

In The Forgotten Cottage, dual timelines (1914 and 2019) follow two young women (a great-granddaughter and great-grandmother) who work as nurses and find their way in life and love. Emilie (1914) leaves home to find independence from her life of privilege and expectations (such as whom she will marry) and joins the VAD (Voluntary Aide Detachment) on the Western Front. Audrey (2019) leaves home (in America) to reevaluate her life after she loses her nursing privileges due to her alcohol use. Upon her grandmother’s death, she Inherits a home in England. This offers Audrey the perfect excuse for a time away and space to grieve. Expecting something grander in North Yorkshire, she discovers she’s inherited a run-down cottage. As she works to uncover her grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s secrets, the locals help her fix up the cottage.

It seems that a grandmother’s secret that a granddaughter must discover is quite popular in recent historical fiction. Even though a tried and true trope, it works well in this story. From page one, I was invested in the mystery and the connections that would be made.

Truly, I enjoyed both storylines in The Forgotten Cottage, was curious about how they would converge, and felt invested in both main characters. If I had to choose a favorite timeline, I think the present-day timeline was most engaging for me. Although the past timeline provides interesting details about nursing during WW1.

Emilie and Audrey are both independent and ambitious in their search for a meaningful life. In different ways, both are looking for an escape. Emilie rebels against societal expectations in England during 1914, rejects her marriage to her childhood friend, wants more meaning in her life, and escapes to London to begin nurses training to aid in the war effort. In 2019, Audrey lives in America and is a nurse, but she is on probation because of problems with alcohol abuse. She is grieving the loss of her 100-year-old grandmother, and upon hearing the news that her grandmother has left her a cottage in North Yorkshire, Audrey seizes this opportunity to escape/reevaluate her work situation and find out more about her grandmother. Both Emilie and Audrey face challenges and complications, but the author infuses the story with hope.

Throughout my reading experience, I appreciated the author’s vivid descriptive details of WW1 and life at the time, the abandoned and rundown stone cottage, and the small remote village and its colorful characters.

Poignant and compelling themes in this engaging story include friendship, loyalty, family dynamics, sacrifice, taking a risk, starting over, second chances, grief, and romance.

I wholeheartedly recommend The Forgotten Cottage for fans of engaging, dual timeline histfic with gentle sides of mystery and romance, for readers who love the WW1 subgenre, for those who appreciate reading stories featuring strong and independent women, and for book clubs.

For more reviews visit my blog www.readingladies.com where this review was first published.

Every genre has its tropes, and historical fiction is rife with them. Some of the more popular ones include inheriting heretofore unknown property, the elderly relative who dies with a secret, a modern-day protagonist with a burden, and of course, world war. But just because a book includes some or all of these tropes doesn’t mean it’s not good. Historical fiction writer Courtney Ellis utilizes all of them in her latest novel, The Forgotten Cottage. She still creates a unique, captivating story that never feels predictable.

For the rest of the review, click on the link below.

I was so engrossed in this story that I was shocked when it ended. It definitely pulled me in and I loved both storylines.
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In France 1915 Lady Emile is working as a nurse during the war. She comes from a privileged family but her life changes from the war and a forbidden love.
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In England 2014 Audrey arrives to find her grandmother’s cottage that she knew nothing about. The only things she knew about her grandmother’s past was that she immigrated to America as a 17 year old and that she was born into nobility, which she always thought was just a story. She is soon about to discover her family’s entire history here in this forgotton cottage.
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I love how the storylines weaves together and discovering their history and let me tell you I would love to stay in this cottage!

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read Courtney Ellis’s debut novel last summer, At Summer’s End, and good lord was it ever good! I devoured it and it was one of my favorite reads last year. So naturally when I saw this one coming up for review I was thrilled! This one has a great dual timeline aspect which I know is often overdone in historical fiction, but for me it never gets old! I love readling dual timeline books!

This book promises long buried family secrets and complex characters rich in historical detail. And it certainly had all of those things! Ellis write beautiful historical fiction with lots of historical details and heart and this second book was not a disappointment in that regard. I know that fans of the historical fiction genre will not have missed Ellis’s first novel (not with that stunning cover that’s for sure!) but this book doesn’t quite have the ‘curb appeal’ that the first book did. The cover was more simple and not nearly as eye catching as her first book but it was still a wonderful read so don’t let the basic cover fool you!

If you are a fan of historical fiction this book and author should be on your TBR list. Ellis is clearly one to watch in the genre and I for one am going to be eagerly awaiting the next book she writes! This book had a lot to recommend itself based on my expectations from the first book, but at first I did have my doubts that I would love this book though that was quickly dispelled.

Summary
Connected through time to her great-grandmother by a shared English countryside home, an American nurse tries to piece together her family’s tangled history in this new historical novel from the acclaimed author of At Summer’s End.

England, 2014: Audrey Collins knows only two things about her beloved grandmother’s past: She was born into nobility and she immigrated to America at seventeen years old. So when Audrey inherits her gran’s home in North Yorkshire, she arrives expecting a sprawling country estate fit for lords and ladies. Instead, she finds an abandoned stone cottage perfectly preserved as Gran left it when she fled in 1941–ration book and all–and begins to uncover what secrets her family has been keeping.

France, 1915: Lady Emilie Dawes is working as a nurse on the Western Front, grateful to have escaped the restraints of her restrictive, privileged home life. But the independence she fought hard to earn is suddenly jeopardized when a familiar man shows up in one of her hospital beds. Facing him means facing her past, and the decisions she had made in fear. As the war rages around her, Emilie realizes she cannot continue running from who she is until she decides who she truly wants to be.

Over a hundred years apart, Audrey and Emilie each struggle to find purpose, love, and a place to call home in this enchanting family saga celebrating the courage of underestimated women–and the power a secret can hold across generations. (Summary from Goodreads)

Review
When this book started, instantly I was put off by the main character Audrey. She is a recovering alcoholic and I feared I would have a hard time relating to her. There is a history of alcoholics in my family so instantly when I read a character as an alcoholic (recovering or not) I have a hard time connecting or feeling sympathetic toward them. Obviously that I my own personal bias so when within the first couple of pages it’s established that Audrey is a recovering alcoholic, I feared I simply wouldn’t like the book because of my own bias. But I tried so hard to put it aside and enjoy the book mostly because I was so excited for this one.

For me personally, I felt like try as I might, I couldn’t connect with Audrey at all—-but I did love reading Lady Emilie’s story and felt like of the two main plots this was my favorite and what ultimately saved the book for me. The WWI chapters were a little more detailed and lengthy than the modern day ones but I didn’t mind as it provided historical background and established different plot points that were necessary so naturally I assumed they would be longer and the focus of the book—–this is a historical fiction novel after all! I loved how much of a life Sparrow Cottage took on in the book. It was essentially its own characters and I loved that about this book and would have loved to have visited this wonderful house! It seemed so charming and idyllic.

While I might not have loved Audrey’s character, her plot was well written and I liked how it took shape throughout the novel, especially with Isaac. Even if I had my own personal bias about her character, I still found her journey interesting and engaging and I think that many readers will connect with her and cheer her on as her life takes on a new meaning and shape. I loved discovering the past secrets and lives of the characters and those secrets made the book for me. This was a well written novel and a great follow up the Ellis’s debut novel. I ended up giving it 4 stars and felt content once it was complete. I am eager to see what tale Ellis will craft for us next, this is a historical fiction author to watch!

Book Info and Rating
Paperback, 416 pages

Expected publication: August 9th 2022 by Berkley Books

ISBN 0593201310 (ISBN13: 9780593201312)

Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: historical fiction, romance, war romance

When I read Courtney's debut last year I knew I had encountered a true artist: Ellis paints with words. Here, she exquisitely threads the lives of two women in a canvas of a gorgeous Yorkshire and a harrowing view of a nurse's life on the Western Front --- both tapestries rich with the complexities of life, love and how a woman etched out her own place as history remarkably ebbs and flows. A treatise on family and resilience, hope and recovery , your trip to Sparrow Cottage will be beautifully drawn, exquisitely told and wonderfully hopeful