Heartbreak and Happiness

by Rosie Harris

Two friends discover that life doesn’t always turn out as one would expect in this absorbing family saga.

It’s not always easy living in a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Growing up in a quiet West Country village, butcher’s daughter Rebecca Peterson and her best friend Cindy Mason are keen to expand their horizons and see more of the world. On leaving school, Rebecca heads off to university in Cardiff, while Cindy gets a job at the new local supermarket – but dreams of becoming a model or actress. The two friends promise to keep in touch.

But when tragedy strikes, rumours and suspicion engulf the village, and the longstanding friendship between the Peterson and Mason families looks set to be torn apart. Will Rebecca and Cindy’s friendship survive? Will Rebecca ever see Cindy again?

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2016

About the author

Rosie Harris was born in Cardiff and for several years worked in the City Hall. Her husband, Ken, was from Wallasey and after they married they lived on Merseyside for many years.
She has been writing since the 1950’s. In the 1960’s she ran her own agency, Regional Feature Service, writing articles for most of the provincial newspapers.
During the 70’s she became Editorial Controller for a non-fiction house.
In the 1980’s, after publishing a number of non-fiction titles she turned to fiction and during the 1980/90’s had a number of short stories published as well as five books by Sphere under the name Marion Harris.
Since 2002 she has had some 20 books published by Heinemann/Arrow. She sets her books in the 20’s because she has a great admiration for the women who were wives and mothers in those days. They had none of the current time-saving equipment – no washing machines or vacuum cleaners, no instant electric fires or cookers, and certainly no Internet. Their days were long and arduous and often they had to manage on very little money.
In 2005 she was one of the judges when Arrow and Asda collaborated in a major national competition to find the next big saga writer.
Her most recent titles are Love Changes Everything and The Quality of Love. The next, Whispers of Love, will be published in March 2010.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but got confused about the time setting. At one time Facebook and Twitter were mentioned. Then there was amazement about a supermarket. The shame of having 'a child out of wedlock' and they all had mobile phones! I also expected a bit more for an ending too, as it was when I realised I couldn't turn the page (book) it was the end. An OK book though, worth a read.

[Teresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first and last book by this author for me! The storyline was so far fetched and as mentioned by another reviewer it was difficult to work out which time period this book was set in. I originally thought it was set in the 1950s or 1960s but when the author mentions Facebook and Twitter it became obvious it was set in the present time. I found the authors habit of continually referring to characters by their full name - Cindy as Cindy Mason and Nick as Nick Blakemore - extremely annoying. There was no need to keep giving full names when the characters have been introduced already. Don't get me started on the character of Lizzie Smith - she was just awful and a little unnecessary!The book dealt with some interesting themes and in the hands of the right author it could have been a brilliant story. This is not a title I would recommend and I'm glad it was a library book...

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read