The Summer Maiden

The River Maid #2

by Dilly Court

The stunning new novel, the second in the ‘River Maid’ series, from Sunday Times bestseller, Dilly Court

1873. When Carrie Manning’s father dies her mother, Esther, is heartbroken. Essie leaves London to convalesce with her good friend Lady Alice, and it is down to Carrie to look after her family and take charge of the shipping company that her father has left behind.

But the company is in dire straits, forcing Carrie seek work as a companion to Maria Colville. When Carrie and Maria try to track down Maria’s mother, they have no idea of the secrets that they will discover. Secrets that link the Colvilles, the Mannings and figures from the past who return to England.

Carrie’s journey is as unpredictable as the waters that link the rival shipping companies, but will her determination be enough to preserve the legacy of her family’s name?

Genres: Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Ebooks

513 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 14, 2018

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

[Louise Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The River Maid #2

Set in 1873. When Carrie Manning's father dies, her mother, Essie, is heartbroken. Essie leaves for London to convalescence with her good friend, Lady Alice, and it is down to Carrie to look after her family and to take charge of the shipping company her father left behind.

It's not long before Carrie discovers that her fathers business is in debt, the house they stay in I was rented and the bailiffs come to collect their belongings to pay off pay of the debt. Carrie needs to find herself a job and she finds employment with a rival shipping companies family, the Colvilles, as a companion to their granddaughter Maria. Maria's mother is estranged from her family and when Maria and Carrie try to track her down, they have no idea the problems this will bring.

I have not read a Dilly Court book that I have not enjoyed. We meet some of the characters from the first book in this series and some new ones as well. I loved everything about this story and it did seem true to the era. I loved the characters with the exception of a few nasty ones. I can't wait to read the third book in this series that's out in November called The Christmas Rose.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read from Dilly Court,Carrie father dies her mother Essie cant cope with his death and goes to live with lady Alice.The family business is in debt.Carrie has to make a living as two younger brothers to care for.she finds a job with her fathers rival shipping company looking after a granddaughter who's shy and treated badly.theres hidden family secrets to be revealed.great read onto book three in this series.

[M João (Livros?gosto) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opinião em :



https://youtu.be/Fltb9z4nX70

[Maria João (A Biblioteca da João) · Rating 5 out of 5]

9 de 10*

Que romance bom este! Se já tinha adorado o primeiro volume “A Filha do Barqueiro”, este livro continuou a encher-me as medidas! Adoro tudo nesta história: as personagens, as suas aventuras, as descrições dos locais e das suas viagens. Tudo me encanta. Por isso mesmo, de cada vez que peguei no livro para o ler vivi esta aventura e fui feliz. Pensando friamente, fiquei com a sensação de terem existido algumas imprecisões na trama (principalmente no que toca às reacções da personagem principal às agruras por que passa), mas foram abafadas pela qualidade e ritmo da história.

Comentário completo em:
https://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.co...

[Kylie Dowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was addictive and very good. I was struggling to read and enjoy reading until I started this and I ended up struggling to put it down. I've never read A Dilly Court book I did not enjoy or want to finish and they always get me over my readers block

[Julie Cordiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taken from my TBR pile and obviously didn’t realise it was part of a series when I bought it. So I found it really hard to follow the characters and spent most of the time trying to remember who they all were.

I did enjoy the story, and the emotional twists and turns kept me reading. But I couldn’t take to Carrie; I found it hard to get to know her amid the vast cast of characters. Not enough depth of characterisation and I felt that it would have been a more rewarding read if the book had been much tighter and shorter. No spoilers, but the emotion of the ending was too sudden and unconvincing.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book which followed characters from the previous novel the River Maid. I think it would have been very hard to follow if you hadnt read the first book as a lot of the characters from that book are in this one just older and further on in their life journeys ( eg Carrie one of the main characters is Essie's daughter Essie being the River Maid in book one)

At times the plot was a bit complicated with lots of different people and relationships to follow the stories of but I think it was very cleverly written and I look forward to the next one

[Mrs Margaret Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Book

I have read the first book in this series and now I have read the second book a great story well worth reading 📚.I have just ordered the last book which comes out on the 1st November,2018.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good second book in the series encompassing old and new characters.

[Brenda Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book from Dilly court,this is book two of this series,looking forward to book three.recommend this book.

[Maureen Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book

[Mrs S E Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling read

Great read lots of twists and turns. Good to follow their stories through to completion. Highly recommended Dilly Court for a good read

[Phyllis lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice read

Loved this book.... The characters came to life... Brilliant story. Look forward to reading more of this saga. Will order more.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a wonderful story, the 2nd in the River Maid series.
I really enjoy all Dilly Courts books.

[Tita · Rating 5 out of 5]

O pai de Carrie Manning morre subitamente e a mãe, Essie, abandona Londres, na companhia de Alice, para tentar recuperar da dor de ter perdido o marido. Mas Carrie descobre que a companhia de navegação do pai está a entrar em falência e tem que fazer o possível e o impossível para sustentar a sua família. Carrie acaba por tentar um emprego, junto da família Colville, uma família de uma empresa rival e a quem Carrie culpa pela morte do pai, conhecendo assim Maria, uma jovem bastarda.
Adorei a relação de amizade entre Carrie e Maria, mas também dos segredos escondidos da família Colville. Carrie não baixa os braços perante as dificuldades.
É certo que, à semelhança dos romances de época, o par romântico é previsível mas, felizmente, não houve a tentativa de introduzir um triângulo amoroso e adorei Carrie e Maria!

[Xana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5* seriam justas.
Lê-se bem, mas podia ter sido uma estória melhor explorada.
E a maioria das mulheres deste livro são francamente irritantes 😂.

[Justine Hodgson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio book - 2nd in trilogy

[Trudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved catching up with Esther Manning and her family, like the 1st book this was another rollercoaster which I really enjoyed. Book 3 next 😁

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carrie Manning's father has just died and the family shipping business is floundering so her family are left destitute.
In desperation she takes a position as companion to Maria Colville to help out financially but the Colvilles were business rivals.
But after meeting Maria she cannot hate her and instead forms an unlikely friendship which leads the pair into many adventures but also is the key to unlocking a lot of family secrets...
A brilliant sequel to The river maid this follow on introduces new characters but with old faces popping up too.
A well crafted and enjoyable historical saga.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying reading this series by Dilly Court. This is 2nd book in the series and is again set in London with the River Thames as the backdrop. The story continues the fortunes of the Manning Shipping Company and the people involved in it, as well as bringing in new identities you feel at home with straight away. Dilly Court is an author I’ve not come across much before, but I think I will be searching out her books from now on.

[Annemarie Farthing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately I read The River Maid books out of order 😞
1,3 then this one 2.
Favourite descriptive quote...
'The warm summer evenings when she used to sit on the balcony with her mother, watching the river traffic and listening to the flapping of sails and the soft sucking noise of the water caressing the stony foreshore at low tide.'

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as Dilly Court books go, this one isn’t my favourite. The storyline was great however I felt there were far too many characters without enough exploration of them to make them feel relatable or realistic. It might be because I hadn’t read the previous book (I didn’t realise it was a series), but I didn’t not feel overly attached to any of the characters which is quite unusual for me.

[Rachel Muumbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent as always, so easy to read and get into the characters.

[Julie Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read, enjoyed it.

[Laureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dilly Court's stories are ideal for the car. Concentration is not as necessary as a deep novel but they are very good entertaining stories. I will continue to listen to them.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book as much as The River Maid, as i love all Dilly's books couldn't put it down. Now to read the last in the trilogy.

[Bibi Kortekaas · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite of this author yet. A lot happened. Maybe a little too much. Overall despite all this it was quite a cozy read! I loved starcross Abbey and Captains house. Sadie was a star character together with her brothers. Maria, although insanely clingy, was a darling to meet and had my sympathies.
Some things like the development of the character of grandma, grace’s husband motives, the conception of Maria, romance of the main character etc were pushed back in favor of the plot. Probably also because it’s part of a series and I read it out of order. At the end it left me a bit unsatisfied, especially the quick round up of Caroline and Phineas. As we read all the time how she thinks he hates her, everyone around her keeps bringing him up which made me think they knew something explicit but I don’t think it was clear they liked each other from their interactions at all. Then he just kisses her in public? I’d think that’s inappropriate and he then started calling her sweet names, got engaged etc. What happened to the business? Maybe that comes in book 3. Would recommend as an easy and interesting read.

[Shirley Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Dilly Court story. The storyline was cleverly written although it seemed that some of the events appeared a little bit too good to be true when everything kept falling into place a little too easily.

There were an awful lot of characters to contend with from different branches of the two families, and at times I had to pause to remember who was who. I understand that this book is part of a series which I didn't realise at the time, so maybe that is why I was having trouble remembering who everyone was. In my opinion the one weakness in the book is that none of the characters were particularly strong and unforgettable except the evil grandmother, and even then it is hard to believe that anyone would treat their granddaughter in the way she did.

The ending seemed a little rushed but I suppose Dilly had to tie it all up in some way. It was really predictable quite early on how it would end so I suppose its another satisfactory happy ever after ending, just how we like it!

[Elaine Hargrave]

Second book in the River Maid series.
Desperate times befall the Manning family when Jack Manning dies. The financial ruin and grief leaves Carrie to look after her two young brothers while her mum moves away from the family home to stay with her very good friend Lady Bearwood. Waiting for the last ship to come home with a cargo to sell and it's overdue. What befalls Carrie and the rest of the family is to be read in this exciting book.

[Arlene Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many characters , coming and going some irrelevent, , also too many residences. unless you read several chapters at a sitting, you can't keep up with who's who, Also where did Carrie get money for carriages etc, got my head in a spin at times.