Poppy’s Choice

The Rockwood Chronicles #8

by Dilly Court

*10 Sunday Times Number Ones*




*Over 5 million copies sold*



Escape into the world of Dilly Court this spring, with the latest unforgettable historical drama from the reader's favourite.
Desperate to protect her family, can Poppy put her trust in a stranger?
When Poppy Robbins is targeted by a blackmailer threatening to reveal secrets from her family’s past, she turns to the mysterious Edward Taverner for help.


Taverner proposes an escape to his country manor, and to maintain a respectable appearance, he asks her to pose as his fiancée. She reluctantly agrees, but then finds herself trapped, unwelcome and alone in a threadbare mansion.


Has her engagement secret put her in greater danger, or will it change her life forever?



Readers LOVE Dilly Court!



‘Love the author, loved the book. Family saga at its best’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


'Another truly special book from Dilly. Warm and touching, with friendship and romance in the mix' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


'There were some characters that make an appearance from previous books…another fabulous read' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


‘Can’t put it down!! It’s a 5 ⭐read! Have all her books to date…Just keep ‘em comin’!’


‘A wonderful book by my favourite author Dilly Court, I absolutely adore her style of writing and the rich and warm characters that are interwoven into the story’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


‘I'm a huge Dilly Court fan, and I've yet to read a book of hers that disappoints’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


‘Really enjoyed it and read it right through on this windy and wet Sunday’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


‘Heart-warming historical drama, full of ups and downs and full of lively and interesting characters’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


‘Another great read from Dilly Court, I was unable to put it down’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Dilly Court's book 'The Snow Angel' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-10-14.

Genres: Historical Fiction

474 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2025

About the author

Dilly Court grew up in North-east London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband. She is the author of eighteen novels and also writes under the name of Lily Baxter.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant read from Dilly Court. I enjoyed reading the victorian era,a very engaging read.Poppy works at her family's restaurant rainbows end.her family worked hard to build this business, but who wants to destroy it..poppy friend lottie and her brother Adam are upper class.a trip together lottie and gideon,poppy and Adam comes across a woman in distress but who is this woman? is she trustworthy?..poppy wants more to help others with help from a new friend.will she achieve it, looking forward to reading more of her books.

[Sarah Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another great story by this fantastic author Dilly Court, this book is part of a series but can also be read as a stand alone story which makes it good anyone reading it.

Poppy works with her mum and dad at Rainbows End, which is their home and restaurant, Poppy enjoys her life but does like the idea of finding something else to do, but she doesn’t know what or where?

After a day out with her friends Adam, Lottie & Gideon, they help a mysterious girl whose story doesn’t seem quite true. When she disappears without even a thank you the mystery deepens especially when she keeps appearing when they go out??

Who is this mysterious woman and what does she want?

Great story with a story that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

[Rachel Sellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

[Louise Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rockwood Chronicles #8

When Poppy Robbins is targeted by a blackmailer threatening to reveal secrets from her family's past, she turns to the mysterious Edward Tavernor for help. Taverner proposes an escape to hos country manor, and to maintain a respectable appearance, he asks her to pose as his fiancee. She reluctantly agrees, but then she finds herself trapped, unwelcome, and alone in a threadbare mansion.

I'm a huge fan of Dilly Court. I've read and loved all of her books. We meet some of the characters from the Rockwood Chronicles that we've met before, but there's one character that returns that I think everyone has a dislike for. Poppy works in her family's restaurant, Rainbows End, before she pretends to be Edward Taverner's fiancee. On a day out with her friends Adam and Lottie, they bomp into a mysterious woman who is obviously in distress. Who is this woman? What does she want from them? I enjoyed the journey finding out.

Published 30th January 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction and the author #DillyCourt for my ARC of #PoppysChoice in exchange for an honest review.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book and I persevered because it’s a Dilly Court and very rarely are her books not good. It took me quite a bit to properly get into the plot and enjoy it. I felt that the first half was too tame and the immature Lottie and the juvenile relationship she had with her brother Adam, was boring and too twee for my liking.
Once Poppy left for Domesday House, it began to get more interesting and the feisty side of Poppys character got to show more.
I really enjoyed it from then on and flew through it, unwilling to put it down till it was finished. As always a host of likeable and unlikeable characters filled the pages.

[Edie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the first historical romances that I have read and I did like it. I would say this book is not a romance book but I would call this book a historical drama with a hint of a romance plot.
I really did like the main plot of this book I thought it was good and I liked all the drama that happened.
After the FMC and MMC only interacting like 3 times the mother of the FMC said something along the lines of there is more to their relationship than the fake engagement and I was like how, they have barely talked.

[VickydpBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Poppy Robbins is targeted by a blackmailer threatening to reveal secrets from her family’s past, she turns to the mysterious Edward Taverner for help.

Taverner proposes an escape to his country manor, and to maintain a respectable appearance, he asks her to pose as his fiancée. She reluctantly agrees, but then finds herself trapped, unwelcome and alone in a threadbare mansion.

Has her engagement secret put her in greater danger, or will it change her life forever?

[Norma Narey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love dilly court
The story was so compelling to not put down ..kept on picking it up...dilly stories always are read with a voice in my head taking me places and saying the storyline to make it real..Fantasy even..
A book that was spellbound and riveting and not for putting down for long..needed to pick up again and again to follow the characters and to make sense of the storyline..can't wait for dilly s next book.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3:5🌟

✨ This was such a fun different book. I wouldn’t normally get books like this but I’m so glad I picked this up , there was a lot going on in the story and I couldn’t anticipate anything that was going to happen.

✨ I loved Edward and was rooting for him the whole time , I found Adam irritating at times as well as Poppy when she just couldn’t make her own decisions but I loved seeing her character growth and can’t wait to read more of this author.

[Sue Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poppy is the daughter of Flora and Daniel who we have met in previous story. It’s a really great storyline but best to read in order so to understand the characters more. Based around 1899 onwards an honest portrayal of life between the rich and poor. Thanks to Dilly Court and her publisher.

[Samantha Louiisee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't bad but it wasn't a page turner I felt like it lacked a proper back story for the characters and also for the romance in the story there wasn't a spice to it ... it just kind of came out of nowhere

[Trudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dilly never disappoints with her writing, although this is a standalone there are a few old characters who appear in the story. Poppy is a strong character who isn't afraid to speak her mind or race off at a moments notice. I enjoyed this.

[Raven Dinkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devoured this book in three days (in between work and being a house wife)
it is a heart warming story following on from Lucky Penny … to have the story continue was lovely… i now definitely have to read the rest (the first lot of the series) of Rockwood Chronicles… i only have two books missing)

[Sue Hickling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all Dilly Courts books

[Izabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book,lots of action.

[Dan Hooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follows on from the others in the series loved it real page turner

[patricia mctaggart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book left me wanting more. Please have a second book to it

[Kylie Dowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite of the series

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down reading about Poppy and her adventure will she find happiness?

[Corrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read with lots of twists and turns. Didn't think it would end the way it did

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book by Dilly Court, loved this book very much, and was great to catch up with characters frome the rest of The Rockwood Chronicles series too.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dilly Court never fails, another compelling read. Next book ASAP!

[Patricia Moren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful story from Dilly Court. She manages to invent appealing characters and absorbing story lines repeatedly. This was another, keep them coming.

[Pam Tait · Rating 5 out of 5]

poppy’s choice

A wonderful read with really good characters! I would recommend this author to anyone wanting to good and interesting read!!!

[Melanie Vallance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read as always
Love Dilly Court's books

[Wendy Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so good I enjoyed it I hope you do to if you like romance and mystery.

[Jennifer Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A amazing read from Dilly Court as always just would have the text size to be double the size that it was in my copy. As it took my longer to get through the book

[Sam Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice easy read

[Mr Brian A Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polyps choice

This book really held me. I had a job to put it down. Lovely story with romance as well. Looking forward to the next book