Moonlight and Ashes

by Rosie Goodwin

Despite being trapped in an abusive marriage, Maggie still feels blessed with her eight-year-old twins, Danny and Lizzie, and baby girl, Lucy. But when the Second World War begins it seems that her blessings may have run out. Although the war lets her escape her husband when he's sent to the front, she must also lose the twins, as they're evacuated to North Wales. Lizzie seems to be in the perfect family, while Danny is left with a man who seems to resent his presence. But appearances can be deceptive, and while Maggie struggles to survive the bombings at home, her children face danger of a different kind.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction

500 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Before becoming a writer, I was a Placement Support Worker and foster carer, and worked in the social services department after completing a teacher training course. Many children have joined my family over the years. I still live in Nuneaton, where many of my books are set, with my husband, Trevor, and our beloved dogs.

I was thrilled to discover that I'd become one of the top 250 most-borrowed library authors in the UK, and would like to thank all of you who have taken out my books over the last few years! I love meeting my readers and am always pleased to hear from you. I hope you will all continue to get in touch and please do sign up for my newsletter!

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book,a no good husband twins and a little girl.shes in love with her husband brother.war begins twins been sent away to families.there alot of sadness to this story keeps you hooked.love Rosie Goodwin books.great read.

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Not bad, but not emotionally complex. The characters seem like caricatures of real people. The good mother who martyrs herself and is a victim, the abusive husband, the perfect good man who loves the good mother, the sweet unselfish children, kindly grandmothers, the apparently slutty unlikable co-worker............ None of these people seem real. They lack inner life.

If you like your stories and your people simple, you'll like this book.

[Fran Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, couldn't put it down, was really sad in parts

[michelle reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely heart warming book

A lovely storyline with a mixture of romance and heartache. An easy read which I couldn't put down. Another lovely book by Rosie Goodwin

[Layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, read this a few times. Loved it.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars - English Ebook

I really enjoyed reading this book, in fact I'm going to read it again because it was in parts so sad that I couldn't take it all in.

The picture drawn in this book is so real you realy "life" inside the pictures of it.

Danny, Lizzie and all of the characters in the storyline became a part of the joy of the book. Wonderful read,looking forward to reading it again!!

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

My main thought about this book was 'could do better'. I really wonder how much research the author had done? There were a lot of anomalies, for instance her husband Sam (a wrong 'un) somehow manages to become a corporal even though he had gone awol when he was called up!! I think the author tried to do too much with the story, too many strands - prostitution, mental health, evacuees, bereavement, coping in wartime. It was too much, she should have kept it more simple, I don't think there was any need for Jo's storyline or the rather melodramatic Blodwyn Evans storyline. Less is more! I think she could have written several novels concentrating on the different strands rather than throwing them in one novel and not doing justice to any. I think she should have focused on the war and how it was for the people at home; just the evacuees and the bereavement, it would have been enough.

[Anne Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthwhile family saga about a young family during WWII. Maggie Bright's family, 8-year-old twins, Danny and Lizzie, and baby Lucy mean the world to her, especially as her husband Sam abuses her physically and verbally. When Sam is forced to join up and is killed, Maggie's life takes a new turn. Even though the twins are evacuated to Wales, have their own adventures there, and Maggie suffers further heartbreak during the Coventry blitz, she comes through to a brighter and happier future in Wales. The characters are all excellently written and Goodwin has the knack of getting into children's minds. I especially like the character of Soho Gus. One thing I would take issue with, as far as I know, there were no battlefields in France between June 1940 and June 1944.

[Brenda Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book,great author brilliant read.

[Joanne Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well told story about the lives of one family during the war.

[Helen Twydell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay but it felt like the ending all concluded too quickly. Soho Gus telling both everyone what they wanted to know in dreams seemed a bit far fetched (one would be okay) and the David/Jo Maggie/Eric relationships seemed to come out of nowhere. Was a very sad book and you just wonder how much sadness can befall one person?? I knew that Lucy would be David’s as it built up from the start so no real surprise there. Love Rosie Goodwin’s books but think there are better (still read it in a day though!!).

[chlorinda naish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Art and Coventry

Wonderful story of hate of the war ,and how Coventry was bombed so badly, and how the ghost of a lad and another young lad gave up their lives for the friendship of the twins.
Meanwhile Maggie their mother had to send them for evacuation and try to carry on with the love and heartbreak that that entailed.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

[KeRRy BECK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story

This is a lovely story I just wanted to keep reading it. A story of love tragedy happy and sad times but such a beautifully written story. Well worth reading .

[Mrs Margaret Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book

This is a story of how life keeps changing,and brings it home to you about how people managed to over come the war and be happy

[Mrs MJH Compton-Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found it difficult to put this book down, had me in tears in places, and definitely took me back to my past.

[Shirley Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several of Rosie's books but I think she's really pulled it off with Moonlight and Ashes. A fabulous story that had me engrossed from the first page. The descriptions were so beautifully written that I felt all the emotions which Maggie endured. The characters are spot on and the children were so endearing, especially Gus who made me chuckle throughout.

As you would expect from any wartime story, it is one of tragedy and loss but I also found it realistic and totally believable. The balance of the parts which told of the forces at the front and those back at home I felt were just right. The horrendous conditions that the troops had to endure during the war was rightfully acknowledged without it being too overwhelming and completely overtaking the rest of the story.

I think this is possibly my favourite work of Rosie's and I highly recommend it.

[Paul Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story by a very talented author.
This is the 3rd of Rosie Goodwin’s books I have read in the last 2 weeks. Like the other 2 this one is a great story. This story is set during the Coventry Blitz of 1940. It changes the life of Maggie Bright and her family forever. Before what turned out to be the worst night of the Blitz November 14th 1940 Maggie sends her twins Danny and Lizzie to live in North Wales. There they are billeted separately one having a good time the other not so good. Things happen that change the family forever with tragedy,heartache and hardships galore. As with all Rosie’s books though this one DOES have a happy ending. This is a heartwarming story of adversity in war and is well worth reading.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Dhananjana Joshi · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like- Moonlight & Trashes! 🗑 🚮 This aptly describes the progression of the book. Started off good, wonderfully captured the woes of the WW2 era, the hardships people dealth with & how they showed great resilience, uniting as a community to survive the barbarism of Axis forces as common citizens.

And then suddenly some deranged whackjob took over and turned the whole narrative into a miserable soap opera for the latter part of the book. Unnecessary & random character deaths, selfish self-service wrapped as "lOvE", tactfulness replaced by sheer stupidity and melodramatic change of affections within microseconds. No rhyme or reason, just 'coz.! 🙄

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written story about a family coping during World War II.

There are some great descriptions of Anderson shelters, their use and how they were introduced into the community to give people somewhere to feel safe. The story also addresses the difficulties experienced due to the rationing of food and other goods and the devastation of death and it's impact on the remaining families.

Maggie Bright is a strong female lead character, a hard worker, a survivor and a protector of her children.

This book is a good read for those who are interested in wartime family sagas.

[pauline coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moonlight and Ashes

When I read this book it affected me deeply as I was a Coventry kid, born 1936 and experienced everything Rosie Goodwin wrote about in this saga. I felt I was reading my own autobiography except I was not evacuated as my mother refused to allow it despite pressure from the authorities. This book is the closest to the truth of the Coventry Blitz I have ever read. She created the attitude of the people and the caring and sharing I saw and experienced as a child. You made me cry Rosie!

[Tiffany Johnstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing Story from start to finish. Maggie is an amazing heroine with everything that she goes through. It shows the Resilience that people had to go through in the war. She is a very strong character. With the threat of war looming, she has to make the heartbreaking choice to evacuate her children in order to keep them safe. Readers will be so Impressed by this story and everything that happens from start to finish.

[Elizabeth Sylvester-Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This started out as a read that was predictable and I almost stopped reading, but I am so glad I continued. I was in tears towards the end and apart from two errors this book is worth a second reading in a few years time. The errors were with using Danny's name when it was Soho Gus. I wanted it to end happily but that would have been predictable and in spite of my tears, I would give this book full marks

[Christine holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colleen put this book down

I've been a avid reader of historical books for over 40 years and it's been a long time since a book has grabbed me as much as this one I cried a lot but also laughed at Soho gus and his colourful language , I fell in love with every character just sad when I finished

[Lisa Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third book by Rosie Goodwin. A lovely read, but very predictable…even so I found it hard to put down. I agree with some of the other reviews that maybe there was too much going on. I didn’t see the need for Jos story or blodwyn , or Danny losing his legs. However, I loved reading about the twins in wales and wartime in Coventry.

[AGilden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still trying to figure out why I liked this. I'm sick of World War II fiction and avoid it like the plague. This novel was also basically predictable and everything ended too perfectly. But there was something quite sweet and beautiful in the story and the characters' struggles, especially the kids.

[charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book what an amazing writer Rosie Goodwin is I could not put the book down!! The story kept it real how it would be! Some writers do these stories without tragedy to the main characters but in this book it portrayed a brilliant story will be reading more of her books

[debbie styler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautifully written

It was a book I couldn't put down .. it was like I was there in the story ,so well rosie explained the village of Coventry and Wales and describing the character's like you actually knew them... beautiful work Rosie

[dawn owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book .

Fantastic story with twists and turns , an eye opener into the Coventry Blitz . Makes you realise what people lost but also the strong spirit that kept people going .

[Geraldine Wadsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again another beautiful book

As always a very good read touching it written about real life times of the past with great detail.
Rosie Goodwin is a brilliant writer and I have read many of her books and look forward to reading lots more