The Girl with the Red Ribbon

by Linda Finlay

Is the legacy of her mother's love enough to survive alone?At just eight years old, Rowan is devastated when her mother dies. And when years later her father remarries a scheming woman who makes it clear she doesn't see Rowan as part of her new family, she finds herself facing a desolate future at the local asylum. Yet Rowan refuses to give up hope. With her mother's cherished red ribbon tied around her wrist, she draws on the strength of her spirit to plot a daring escape to a nearby town. It is here that Rowan finds work as an apprentice to a bonnet and dressmaker, discovering a natural talent for colour and detail that brings success beyond her wildest dreams. But the greatest reward of all is the blossoming of a romance.But Rowan's past still casts a shadow over her happiness. Torn between her new life and the family she longs for, will she ever find a place to call home?The AuthorAs an image consultant, Linda has always had an avid interest in people. Linda's writing has been published in a number of magazines and annuals. Moving to the spectacular Devon coast and learning about its local history inspired her novels set in the area.

Genres: Historical Fiction

444 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2015

About the author

As an Image Consultant, Linda has always had an avid interest in people. Helping them to regain their confidence after they've undergone life changing surgery is one of the most satisfying areas of her work.

Linda has always loved writing stories and won a competition run by the local paper when she was 11.

She has since been published in magazines and annuals. Moving to the spectacular Devon coast and learning about its local history inspired her to write her first novel The Royal Lacemaker. Under the patient guidance of a local teacher, she learned to make lace and is very proud of the 'spider' she produced.

She loves beach-combing, finding it the perfect excuse to indulge in a spot of people watching.

Reviews

[mois reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rowan

What a fabulous read by Linda the story of Rowan and Jack and Sab really lovely story i will be looking for more of Linda's books must give it 5STARS .

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, light fairy tale type story. Not what I would call gritty or real but the author has a great imagination, a perfect book to escape into.

[Jane Woodcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little heartfelt story. Easy to read. Made you want to continue reading to see what happened next. You either loved the characters or hated them.

[janet jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

super reading lovely book i recomend it very good read

[mckailer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly loved this book. This story really got me hooked, let me start of by saying that i wasn't expecting much from this book, but i was pleasantly surprised. I loved the character development and how the plot was developed throughout the book. I love fact that the ribbon was a spiritual/magic tie to her mother it made this book just that much better to me.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story and one I didn't want to end.

[Urtė Jarockė · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought that book because I wanted to practice my English and to read not only reviews in English but books. Every time I read in my native language, so I thought that it would be the challenge for me. But it wasn't. This book could be even more difficult to read for my English level of understanding.

About the story... At first I didn't like too much because it resembles Cinderella which for me it's quite boring when I'm all grown up but later the story gets more interesting. I can say that I really like this book and the mood author was creating. It was cozy reading for evening, morning and little breaks at daytime.

[Georgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and my mum have been hitting the charity shops recently, and this is exactly my mum's sort of book, so I've read a lot of them recently - stories about young girls who go through some tragic experiences but come through stronger than before. I don't hate those kind of books, but I generally don't have high expectations for them - relatively enjoyable, quite predictable, but an easy read for when you want something that isn't that taxing.

However, I was really pleasantly surprised with this one. I'm not going to include any major spoilers as I think that will detract from people's enjoyment of the book, but I will say that the elements of magical realism dotted throughout this book, while unexpected, were a really lovely touch. I saw another review that described it as similar in tone to a fairy tale, and in that I would definitely agree - there are spells, romance, family drama, all things you see in a fairy tale, but woven up into a story that is still appealing for adults. While it was written from the perspective from a young girl, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tone wasn't at all juvenile, and neither was the plot.

My only criticism was that there were some points that I didn't feel were fully explained (e.g. the behaviour of Louisa at times seemed inconsistent with how her character had been initially portrayed), but that is really a minor criticism, as it is no way detracts from your enjoyment of the book.

Overall, I was really happy to have picked this one up, and I will definitely be reading more of Finlay's work in future.

[Ashutosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book carries a pretty good story of a little girl with some unsettling life changing situations. Linda Finlay writing feels soft, pure and vulnerable, the way she carries the tragedies of the girl with such a great intent is pretty impressive, although the book is pretty long and in some cases it loses its essence in a midway, but it holds you through the end, every character is beautifully portrayed, showcasing the importance of the red ribbon throughout the story is poignant with the character thoughts and acts.

[Almira Imran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book to read. In the beginning I find it a bit boring because it was like all the other book like first part of the story was very much like the Cinderella story. But then the characters starts developing and the mood also starts changing. So it is about a young girls who go through some tragic experiences but then become stronger than before. This book is relatively enjoyable and I really loved reading this book.

[Dilsha vijay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why this book is so underrated. It is indeed a really good book even though the plot is quite predictable at times. But if it was another way around the plot would have been a mess. I have been immersed in the book the entire time. Everything was nice and pleasant except that I expected more rowak moments.

[Kaye Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful story of a young girl with a bit of magic in her soul. When her father remarried after his beloved wife passed, Roman is badly treated by the new addition. Off to the asylum she goes, whilst her wicked stepmother digs her claws into her new husband. What follows is a story of cruelty, resilience and eventual love. A great read.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story had lots of interesting characters - the wicked stepmother, the besotted husband to name a few. I enjoyed the story but was frustrated that Rowen never spoke to her father about her stepmother.

[mrs j a button · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow to start

Slow to get into but well worth the read poor Rowan has to go through some hardships before her story ends

[lynn tomlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good easy reading

I got really engrossed in the story, but it ended rather abruptly leaving me wanting more to get a closure to the story.

[Mary Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book,very well written

[Myra McCulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for a light escape

[Naema]

I liked the story it is very heartwarming💖

[Lynda Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely read.Frustrating at first because I didn't like the way Rowan was treated and I absolutely despised Fanny.But I stuck with it and all ended satisfactorily.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed reading this book from the very first chapter until the very end.

It was full of drama, friendship, excitement and was truly a magical story.

The first part of the story reminded me very much of the Cinderella story with Rowan playing the part of Cinderella and obviously her step mother not being very nice to Rowan.

It was a real page turner and full of twists and turns from the onset and through out and in certain parts has you holding your breath wondering what the outcome will be for Rowan.

There are a number of characters in the story who play a large role in Rowan’s life whether that be her father, Fanny her step mother, Sab her adopted brother, Alexander Acland or Louisa to name a few.

Rowan however is the main character through out the book and play a significate role.

You can tell from the beginning of the story that Rowan has a really strong bond with her mother and when she died I think I affected Rowan quite a lot.

I felt Real connection with Rowan throughout the whole story and a lot of the time I felt really sorry for her and I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her everything will be ok.

I loved the writing style as it was very easy to follow and the chapters where of a reasonable size.

This is the first Linda Finlay book that I have read and I definitely will be reading more in the near future.

On that note I hope you have enjoyed this review and will have a read of the book.

Until next time.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! I felt really attached to the emotions of the characters and wished there was another book that told the story of the main characters future. I will definitely be reading more by the same author. Beautiful

[Andrea Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this story of a young girl who has dealt with so much in her short life.

[Maria Shirreff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Excellent, from start to finish. Felt I was there and knew the character's. Sad really when it finished, wanted to read more.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. It was a little slow to start but had lots of twists and turns. The second book I have read by this author I am looking forward to the next one

[Nikki Haskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book from beginning to end