Where the Heart Is

by Sue Moorcroft

Malta 1968: Sylvana Bonnici's parents are dubious about her marrying Rob Denton, a British army staff sergeant, but Sylvana dreams of being an army wife and travelling the world – in mini skirts and big hats, like Jackie Onassis.

Sure enough, Rob is posted to exotic places like Singapore and Gan Island … but, unfortunately, the army dictates that he must leave behind his new wife. Sylvana has little choice but to live with her parents, who have moved to the UK.

In 1971 Rob is finally offered a UK posting and the married quarter that Sylvana has yearned for – but is no longer sure that it’s what he wants. Sylvana’s reaction to his new plans shocks him, but it’s a horrifying accident that proves that home is more than just a place to live.

This is a short story 56 pages long.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author and has held the coveted #1 spot in the Amazon Kindle chart. She's won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, the Readers Best Romantic Read Award, two HOLT medallions and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She writes contemporary fiction of life and love.

She also writes short stories, serials, articles, columns, courses and writing 'how to'.

An army child, Sue was born in Germany then lived in Cyprus, Malta and the UK. She's worked in a bank, as a bookkeeper (probably a mistake), as a copytaker for Motor Cycle News and for a typesetter, but is pleased to have wriggled out of all 'proper jobs'.

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Website: www.suemoorcroft.com
Twitter: @suemoorcroft
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Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sylvana Bonnici is 23, living in Malta with her parents and deeply in love with dashing soldier Robert, who’s stationed on the island. Despite some opposition from her father - and the fact that Rob is about to go on deployment - they get married and when Rob returns, he has a nice little surprise to get used to. After a move to England, a horrifying accident helps him to see that his home is with his wife and daughter. Spanning the years 1968 through to 1971 and set in Malta and the UK, this is full of typically well-rounded characters, who speak and think like real people and who you, as a reader, immediately care for. Sue evokes the time and place superbly, with an insiders eye for Malta and a few well-chosen pop culture references and this helps to bolster the emotional content of the story. Told in a slightly different style to her novels - this was originally a magazine serial - this is nevertheless a great read and highly recommended.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story opens in 1968. It’s about Sylvana, a Maltese girl who has fallen in love with Rob, an English military man. Her family are typically Mediterranean and family-orientated, so they expect her to marry a nice Maltese boy and settle down in their neighbourhood. So although they like Rob, they’re not very happy when he and Sylvana decide that they want to be married.

The book then follows their relationship as Sylvana has to deal with the demands (sometimes quite unreasonable) of the army, and also to cope with the bitterly cold weather she finds when she moves to England for a while. Her bewilderment and culture shock are very believable, as is the contrast between Rob’s family and hers.

Despite being quite a short book, the characterisation is as good as I’ve come to expect with Sue Moorcroft, and the settings so realistic I could almost see them.

Recommended as a good light read.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Sue Moorcroft's writing. This is a relatively short novella that passed an hour or so very enjoyably.

[Sall]

A good easy going heart tugging read. I have to applaud Sue Moorcroft in her writing of this, I found it excruciating to read the broken English and she must have found it hard to write yet this only created depth and truth to the character.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this fairly quick read. I think this is one of Sue Moorcroft's earlier books. There's not as much time for the story or characters to develop as in her later novels, which I love, but a great read and recommended all the same.

[Ellyn (Mrs. Darcy in my Dreams) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had the feel of a debut novel based on someone's life. Maybe a mother or grandmother's story that the author put to a story. It was sweet!

[NicoleHasRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt very "meh" about this book. I felt no emotional investment in the characters and it just didn't grab me at all.

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read...except it finished way too early...I want to know what happened next

[Alison]

kindle -99 pages - short story