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Brass Buttons
Lucy dreams of finding love which seems impossible whilst living under the influence of her strict father. Then, one day, she meets John Francis who sweeps her off her feet and wins her heart. Against the wishes of her father, Lucy marries John and she looks forward to a long and happy marriage. However, her idyllic world is turned upside down when Lucy discovers the true nature of her husband.When John’s mother dies, his younger brother, George, comes to live with them and Lucy slowly begins to learn that the kind of love she had dreamt of can exist.Then, following the outbreak of World War One, recruiters visit the town and the brothers sign up for service as they are swept along by the tide of patriotism.Waiting for news of the brothers is unbearable, particularly made more complicated, when Lucy discovers she is expecting a baby.Finally one brother returns home; but is it the brother who Lucy longed for?
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Sonya C. Dodd
24 books46 followersSonya C. Dodd was born in Norfolk, England and still lives there today with her two sons: Hugo and Branwell.
Although Sonya has been writing for a number of years, she only recently began to publish her writing.
Sonya writes in a number of genres including: romance, supernatural and thriller. Sonya has also written a number of short stories.
Although Sonya has been writing for a number of years, she only recently began to publish her writing.
Sonya writes in a number of genres including: romance, supernatural and thriller. Sonya has also written a number of short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 10, 2013
An emotional ride!
Brass Buttons is a really lovely little story.
The main character, Lucy, experiences a life full of love, heartbreak, death and new beginnings.
The novel is an emotional ride from start to finish.
Dodd has created well-defined characters which make this a great page-turner from start to finish.
Brass Buttons is a really lovely little story.
The main character, Lucy, experiences a life full of love, heartbreak, death and new beginnings.
The novel is an emotional ride from start to finish.
Dodd has created well-defined characters which make this a great page-turner from start to finish.
August 6, 2013
This is a beautiful story, that takes you through the emotional wringer. I thought the spirit of the time was well captured, and the heroine evoked a lot of sympathy from me. The ending was unpredictable and nearly made me cry. Well done to the author
March 20, 2014
I wasn't sure what to expect of this novel, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's got flaws, sure...some of the historical stuff doesn't really hold up, and it doesn't always feel like England (as opposed to the United States), but the characters are so powerful and the story so insidiously powerful, too, that I found myself not caring about any of that within the first few chapters.
On the surface it's a quiet story, and a simple one. An Englishwoman in the pre-WWI period longs to get away from her domineering father and somewhat mundane life, so is an easy target to be swept off her feet by the first handsome stranger bold enough to show and interest in her and try to claim her for his own. But there is a real darkness to this story, one that reveals itself not too far in, which illuminates the main character as both a tough survivor and a victim of her time period, in that a married woman had few options back then, particularly if her family wasn't supportive.
Enter her husband's brother, George, who complicates her life still more, but not in a reductive, simple way. This book is much more close to reality in a lot of ways, in that the main character doesn't always make what (on the surface to a modern mind) clearly seem to be the "right" choices...nor are her feelings black and white, despite some of the horrible events, but are confused and tangled in her expectations as a woman in her time period and also by her empathy for her husband himself, despite the darker aspects to his character and how those manifest.
Anyway, I don't want to say too much, but if you are looking for a predictable love story, or one that follows most of the modern romance tropes, this isn't it. If you're looking for something that is much darker and sadder and more true to life, then you will probably love this story as much as I did, even though aspects of it made me crazy while I was reading it...more because I was so engaged with the main character, not because it didn't ring true.
On the surface it's a quiet story, and a simple one. An Englishwoman in the pre-WWI period longs to get away from her domineering father and somewhat mundane life, so is an easy target to be swept off her feet by the first handsome stranger bold enough to show and interest in her and try to claim her for his own. But there is a real darkness to this story, one that reveals itself not too far in, which illuminates the main character as both a tough survivor and a victim of her time period, in that a married woman had few options back then, particularly if her family wasn't supportive.
Enter her husband's brother, George, who complicates her life still more, but not in a reductive, simple way. This book is much more close to reality in a lot of ways, in that the main character doesn't always make what (on the surface to a modern mind) clearly seem to be the "right" choices...nor are her feelings black and white, despite some of the horrible events, but are confused and tangled in her expectations as a woman in her time period and also by her empathy for her husband himself, despite the darker aspects to his character and how those manifest.
Anyway, I don't want to say too much, but if you are looking for a predictable love story, or one that follows most of the modern romance tropes, this isn't it. If you're looking for something that is much darker and sadder and more true to life, then you will probably love this story as much as I did, even though aspects of it made me crazy while I was reading it...more because I was so engaged with the main character, not because it didn't ring true.
July 29, 2016
I'm in two minds about this story, as the First World War subject matter made me a little apprehensive at first.
It's beautifully well-written - it had me in tears, as I knew was likely. Dodd handles descriptions of the war front and domestic life at home in Britain very well. If I loved the characters and the story as much as the style of this book, I'd happily give it five stars.
What I didn't like was the characters or their story. Lucy is a dishrag who permits the men in her life to order her around and control her destiny - down to her very thoughts. I have no doubt there are women like this and she presented very realistically - it's that I can't personally relate to such a person. Domestic abuse happened then as now, but Lucy's story is tragic in the way she just takes it without complaint. Yes, I cried when sad things happened to her - but I admit to wanting to slap some sense into her, too.
It's a beautifully written, heartbreaking story that will make you cry for the injustice in the world - yes, even if it is set a century ago - but it makes me want to donate a large sum of money to a women's shelter after reading it.
It's beautifully well-written - it had me in tears, as I knew was likely. Dodd handles descriptions of the war front and domestic life at home in Britain very well. If I loved the characters and the story as much as the style of this book, I'd happily give it five stars.
What I didn't like was the characters or their story. Lucy is a dishrag who permits the men in her life to order her around and control her destiny - down to her very thoughts. I have no doubt there are women like this and she presented very realistically - it's that I can't personally relate to such a person. Domestic abuse happened then as now, but Lucy's story is tragic in the way she just takes it without complaint. Yes, I cried when sad things happened to her - but I admit to wanting to slap some sense into her, too.
It's a beautifully written, heartbreaking story that will make you cry for the injustice in the world - yes, even if it is set a century ago - but it makes me want to donate a large sum of money to a women's shelter after reading it.
December 31, 2013
A Compelling World War I Story
Brass Buttons, by Sonya Dodd, is set in the time of the Great War. As Lucy works in her father's store, she envies her best friend Emma, with her own home, husband, and baby on the way. After Lucy meets a handsome man in the store, she is shocked and pleased to meet him again as a result of Emma's matchmaking.
Although Lucy's father is vehemently opposed to his suit, John is determined to woo and win her. He continues to court her, and invites her to meet his family. One of his siblings is his brother George, similar to John in appearance but very different with his shy personality.
Lucy is shocked to discover she has misjudged John and his temperament. When she finds sympathy in an unexpected place, events take an astonishing turn.
The well-researched book is a reflection of its time. Women had a different place in the society, with limited choices. Within those parameters, Lucy must make a life for herself.
Brass Buttons, by Sonya Dodd, is set in the time of the Great War. As Lucy works in her father's store, she envies her best friend Emma, with her own home, husband, and baby on the way. After Lucy meets a handsome man in the store, she is shocked and pleased to meet him again as a result of Emma's matchmaking.
Although Lucy's father is vehemently opposed to his suit, John is determined to woo and win her. He continues to court her, and invites her to meet his family. One of his siblings is his brother George, similar to John in appearance but very different with his shy personality.
Lucy is shocked to discover she has misjudged John and his temperament. When she finds sympathy in an unexpected place, events take an astonishing turn.
The well-researched book is a reflection of its time. Women had a different place in the society, with limited choices. Within those parameters, Lucy must make a life for herself.
April 14, 2014
Sonya Dodd’s Brass Buttons is a deeply felt book that plunges you into the life of a repressed girl who snatches at the first opportunity to escape her emotionally stunted family life. Readers will root for Lucy’s freedom…but if that were all, this would be a very short story. Dodd is not afraid to explore the darker side of the ‘good old days’ and to show us how difficult life could be for woman at the turn of the last century, and indeed, how difficult it can still be. The author handles her characters well, though at times has issues with her depiction of the time-period. This will in no way detract from the emotional roller-coaster. At times reminiscent of ‘Atonement’, Brass Buttons is the work of a sensitive writer who will go far.
August 10, 2016
"Brass Buttons" by Sonya Dodd is a bittersweet but beautiful war time story about Lucy, a young woman of 22 who falls for one of her customers in the shop she works at in 1913. The courtship leads to marriage, but soon her bubble bursts in more than one way when her marriage doesn't quite work out as wonderful as she had planned.
Dodd writes with a compelling voice that makes us care deeply for Lucy and her sorrows. The historical setting is authentic and well researched.
Lucy's broken heart gets more than its fair share when the war comes and takes her, brother, her husband and his brother to the front. There are great chapters about her complicated emotional turmoil and fascinating parts about the 'home front' during WW1.
A very engaging and worthwhile read.
Highly recommended.
Dodd writes with a compelling voice that makes us care deeply for Lucy and her sorrows. The historical setting is authentic and well researched.
Lucy's broken heart gets more than its fair share when the war comes and takes her, brother, her husband and his brother to the front. There are great chapters about her complicated emotional turmoil and fascinating parts about the 'home front' during WW1.
A very engaging and worthwhile read.
Highly recommended.
March 30, 2015
ridiculously good!!!
The minute I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down.
Set in a time where you needed a chaperone to speak to a man, Lucy marries a handsome young man to escape her tyrannical father. Unfortunately she trades one hideous existence for another. Her husband, John, is an abusive pig of a man, I don't want to say too much and spoil the book but this book is amazing. Relatable characters, engaging premise and twist and turns that will leave you desperate to turn the page,
I don't much care for romance novels. But when I do read them, I usually read a Catherine Cookson. Now it will be a Catherine Cookson or a Sonya Dodd.
Five Out of Five Brass Button
Highly Recommend.
The minute I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down.
Set in a time where you needed a chaperone to speak to a man, Lucy marries a handsome young man to escape her tyrannical father. Unfortunately she trades one hideous existence for another. Her husband, John, is an abusive pig of a man, I don't want to say too much and spoil the book but this book is amazing. Relatable characters, engaging premise and twist and turns that will leave you desperate to turn the page,
I don't much care for romance novels. But when I do read them, I usually read a Catherine Cookson. Now it will be a Catherine Cookson or a Sonya Dodd.
Five Out of Five Brass Button
Highly Recommend.
February 17, 2014
An English love story set during a world war, but there is another war raging--one of domestic abuse. Sadly, it went on back in the day just as it does today. Here we have a love triangle, two brothers, a lonely, abused woman, and a war raging both in the outside world as well as on her insides. Full of love, passion, pain, heartache, and joy as well as war. The author takes you through a journey of domestic abuse and war. At times the reader may want to shake the heroine and tell her to wake up and not just take it, but however you feel, you'll share her pain, heartache, and joy.
May 12, 2014
Powerful story. To be honest, I am not a big historical romance reader but this story was truly amazing. Wonderfully written too. Lucy, the main female character, goes through every bit of the emotional roller coaster. Lucy's husband, John was a character that I loved initially but quickly found myself hating him then despising him. Without giving away too much of the story, it wasn't until the last page when I finally liked him again. Very riveting and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
March 9, 2016
Full review can be found HERE --> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
~Lisa
~Lisa
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews