This is a lovely story set just before WW1. Cordelia leads a prividges life in Cornwall with her wealthy parents .Sher meets Isaac, a garden architect who is planning a new garden for her family .They fall in love despite the class divide of those days but when the war begins Isaac goes to fight ,they write to each other and then the letters stop .Cordelia is heartbroken and goes to stay with her friend Tabiltha in the Lakes .The story has a few twists and turns and a very satisfactory ending .A very enjoyable read.Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Cordelia leads a priviliged, but unfulfilling life until she meets Isaac. He works on her family estate and gets her interested in gardening. This time before the First World War is full of class distinction, so any attraction they have for each other is doomed. When war is declared, Isaac and the other men head off for the front. They write to each other, and then the letters stop. How she spends the rest of the war and the friendships she has are signs of the changing times. What society will accept and what becomes important to Cordelia changes dramatically. The characters are great, the story is rich, and the letters fill it all out nicely.

The Hidden Letters - by Lorna Cook is my second book I have received from Net Galley and the Publisher 'Harper Collins Australia' exchange for a honest review.

What a fantastic book. Couldn't put it down. Immensely enjoyed the beautiful love story between two people in different classes of society and in the time of War.

This is the love story between Isaac Leigh a Garden Landscape Architect and Codelia Cornwall a young women who lives with her parents and brother Edwin in a stately home in the English countryside.

Cordelia and Issac meet just before WWI begins. Falling in love immediately a forbidden love began.

Isaac lives in the workman's Cottage with his brother David on the grounds of the estate owned by the Cornwall Family and where Isaac and David are renovating the gardens along with other assistant gardeners.

The house where Cordelia lives with her parents and brother Edwin are staffed with servants - Cook, maids and cleaners.

Cordelia secretly begins learning all about gardening from growing flowers and vegetables that have always ended up on her plate without knowing how.

However, on the eve of the war, a forbidden love blossoms with Issac in the garden of the stately home.

Both Isaac, David, Edwin and many of the other men in the surrounding area all go to war leaving their families and loved ones behind, along with their hopes and dreams of the future.

Cordelia makes a choice that will change her life forever…

As the terrible war gathers momentum Cordelia seeks refuge in the grounds of her family. Continue cultivating the gardens and maintaining the estate grounds on her own with little assistance as most of the men were away fighting the war.

From the battlefields of Europe, Isaac secretly writes to her letters, with gardening instructions (so that her parents do not suspect their love affair) that give her hope for their future plans in peacetime.

Isaac plans to see Cordelia on Boxing Day at his first leave he has been assigned. Will Isaac get to her in time?

Suddenly the correspondence between the two lovebirds abruptly cease, Cordelia must face up to the worst grasping hold of her future – and the fate of the garden they both loved – into her own hands.

Will Cordelia's future be together with Isaac?

An epic, heartbreaking, sweeping tale of love, war and the strength of the human spirit.

Highly recommend this book for fans of this genre. Lorna Cook has written a book that captures your heart and leaves you with a curiosity to see how the book will end. A five star story!

This is a work of historical fiction, set during WWII, although the war by no means dominates the plot. There is a sub plot of a very, very slow burn romance on the side that uses the classic opposites attract trope.

The historical settings and facts scattered throughout are interesting, but not being a history buff, I have no way of knowing if any of them are based on fact or not.

The characters are likeable, but I found the pacing rather slow in some areas. I usually like hostorical fiction and historical romance, but this was hard to get into.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I love Lorna Cook historical fiction books!

I was anxious to read this book from the moment I saw the photos of the ornate, rusted gate on her Facebook post last February.

Cook’s WW1 Cornish setting, her focus on forbidden love and survival during wartime, her carefully placed plot twists and her fantastic character growth made this one a winner. I enjoyed the tension created by love across the social barricade and was reminded that this notion is what has pulled me in from Jane Austen to Pretty Woman. Cook has written a beautiful, slow-burn romance between Cordelia Carr-Lyon and Isaac Leigh. It pulled at my heartstrings, made me gasp aloud, and I couldn’t put this book down to get on with my ‘to-do’ list because I was wrapped up in the war correspondence.

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

I have read a number of books by Lorna Cook now and have enjoyed them all. The Hidden Letters is no exception. It is easy to read, undemanding in many ways, but satisfying. Set at either end of England, the descriptions of Cornwall and the Lake District are appealing, as are the characters. It is they who drive the novel. The plot is slight and at times contrived but I never stopped caring about the fate of Cordelia, Isaac, Edwin, Millicent and the rest.

Lorna Cook’s historical fiction is an auto-read for me. They are rich, warm, evocative and, while this story is not a dual time line, it is a wonderful story. I adored it and would highly recommend

Beginning a short time before World War I this story goes right through to the end of the war and a bit beyond. However, the actual war doesn't take center stage, that spot goes to Cordelia, the daughter of the big house and Isaac, the gardening architect who comes to help plan the new gardens. The difference in their status in life does not stop them falling in love, albeit secretly. Cordelia initially starts work in the garden to see more of the handsome architect but soon realises she has a flair for it and enjoyment in the task. The garden is only central in the first half of the book and fades out after that.
This is a slow burn and is all the better for it. The love between Cordelia and Isaac is beautifully written. It could have easily turned schmaltzy but didn't because of the wonderful writing. Cordelia grows and matures as the story unfolds and I liked her as a character. She handled what life threw at her with dignity.
Every chapter contained more surprises and one in particular stunned me. The end is neatly tied up and I do like this in stories. I loved spending time with Cordelia and needed to know what happened to her.
This is my first read of the year and what a fantastic one to start with!
I absolutely loved this book.

Many thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an early copy.

Thank you, Netgalley and Avon Books UK for giving me an ARC!

I made a decision this year to review more books and be a bit harder with my ratings but, my gosh, I don't think there was a single thing about this book that I did not enjoy so it greatly deserves the five stars I am giving it.

This story follows Cordelia, an upper-class young woman recently back home from her season in London, and Isaac, a landscape architect recently commissioned to redesign and work on the estate. Cordelia begins to gain interest in gardening and Isaac (but mostly the head gardener of the estate) begin to teach her. As Isaac and Cordelia spend more time together they can't deny the ever present attachment they begin to form which is abruptly cut short by the start of the first world war.

I genuinely loved both Isaac and Cordelia. I found them both to be extremely relatable and realistic characters. At first I was a bit put off by how many chapters it took before the men were actually shipped out to war (because let's be honest, I was impatient for the letters), but once the war began it was obvious that the build up was necessary. We get to witness so much character growth for not only Isaac and Cordelia but for supporting characters, as well. There are also a few plot twists that I absolutely did not see coming, and I'd like to toot my own horn and say that I am normally able to spot a plot twist pretty early on.

This is a sensitively written story about the relationship between Cordelia and the landscape gardener working at her father's house. Her family would not approve of a match between the two, but the turmoil of war eclipses the differences of the classes and the letters become their only link. But when the letters stop Cordelia realises she has to make her own way in life. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure.

A nice cross-class romance with some well-done narrative tricks and reveals. I liked the grit of the main character, who changes from vapid society girl to someone very capable on her own during the course of the story. I also liked her transformation into a gardener, unafraid of hard physical work and of working for other people. This is the kind of story where the romance is brief and doomed, but mostly manages to avoid cliche.

Set in England just prior to the Great War, this novel explores the lives of Cordelia Carr-Lyon, a well-to-do young woman, and Isaac Leigh, landscape architect. The two begin their tenuous relationship by bonding over a shared interest in gardening and cement their feelings for one another just before Isaac leaves to join the war. The two correspond via letters until Cordelia fails to receive any more. Trying to come to terms with what this means, she bravely tries to continue her life with this heartbreak.

I don’t want to give away too much of this story as there are many twists and turns that should not be revealed. Though I did guess at some of the mysteries, the author added additional surprises that enriched the story. The reader gets to watch Cordelia blossom from a rather vapid socialite to a truly selfless and respectable woman. I did not connect with this book until after Isaac left for the war, and I think some of that has to do with Cordelia’s maturing. As the story unfolded I became more and more intrigued and invested in what would come next. I would recommend this book to someone looking for a historic romance and think anyone would enjoy imagining the vivid English countryside settings the author paints.

This is a must-read for historical fiction fans. The book starts a bit slow but WOW, the ending will keep you turning pages. Thanks to the author Lorna Cook, Avon Books, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Hidden Letters builds a story around two young people who fall in love just to lose each other to the war.

Cordelia was a beautiful upper class lady and Isaac was a landscape architect working on Cordelia's family estate. They fell in love in an unexpected way and kept it in secret. While their romance blossomed, country was swept into war and Isaac enlisted in the war while Cordelia took over gardening. They exchanged letters dreaming about the end of the war. When Isaac got his first leave, they arranged to meet in a hotel and anxiously waited to be together again. However different faith awaited them that changed their lives forever.

This is my first book I've read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a captivating book with turns and twists, focusing on love and survival during the brutality of war.
There is more fantastic and brave characters in this book besides Cordelia and Isaac that touched my heart.

This is a historical fiction book but this story is for all readers.

A beautiful, evocative story of love and coping with loss that kept me turning the pages late into the night. A triumph!

Lorna Cook is fast becoming one of my go-to favourite authors for historical fiction! I was excited to see this title was available on Netgalley and requested immediately.
Although war time fiction has been done in many different ways, this put a fresh twist on a classic 'away at the front' romance. Set initially in coastal Cornwall, heroine Cordelia lives with her upper class family in a Downtown Abbey style 'big house.' Here she meets Isaac Leigh, landscape architect - not quite 'the help' but does not slot into her family's world of garden parties and seasons in London.

As the country is swept into war, Cordelia and Isaac begin a tentative romance that grows at a whirlwind before Isaac must leave and join his younger brother in France. There are many twists and turns in the plot - and although I suspected the one of the bigger twists, Cook keeps us guessing almost until the end. The title makes the most sense right in the last few pages and I did enjoy the story immensely.

Full of warmth, never too twee, morose or predictable, settings are painted in gorgeous rich detail with characters we as readers can really believe in.
Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book by Lorna Cook that I have read, and it was magical.

The Hidden Letters shares a women’s strength during love and loss. Set around The Great War a woman in a forbidden love and a secret that she can only trust one person to keep.

I couldn’t put this book down it has a wonderful ending, a beautiful heart-warming story and tissues handy are a must for this novel

Highly recommended.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK, Avon as I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A nicely written book, covering the years of WWI and after, following Cordelia, daughter of a wealthy family, falling for someone she shouldn’t have. It moves around England as she follows her heart and her dream. It also gives a brief idea of the horrors and futility of war. Obviously well researched, I’m afraid I found the first half very slow, and it took me until part two to really get into the rhythm of it. The second half was so much better, faster paced and it pulled me right in. I did find it a bit predictable so, having loved the previous books I’ve read by this author, I was slightly disappointed not to be as enthralled by this one. However, I’m still grateful to have read it. 3 1/2 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A rather predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless, romance that felt really drawn out for the first half. Cordelia daughter of the big house falls for Isaac the architectural landscaper tasked with redesigning the gardens. A sweet romance across two cultures of high and lower society starting just before the First World War and set in Cornwall. Cordelia's brother, many of their servants as well as Isaac and his brother sign up in 1914. We then jump very rapidly through and beyond the war mostly by letters between the main characters and some close friends. There are deaths, some vivid descriptions of life in the trenches, adjusting social mores and very clear changes in Cordelia's life. She moves from Cornwall to the Lake District, then on to East Anglia with a very shallow storyline I'm afraid. The book is well-written and researched, that is obvious, but the very slow development of the romance and subsequent gallop through life sees awry somehow, Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Cordelia meets issac. The garden architect and they fall in love. Then comes the war. As life goes along the good and the bad shape Cordelia’s life. A great story of life during the long wait for your love to come home or to not.