A Precious Gift

Days of the Week #6

by Rosie Goodwin

'A vibrant page-turner with entrancing characters' Margaret Dickinson

'Rosie writes such heartwarming sagas' Lyn Andrews

Friday's Child is loving and giving . .

Nuneaton, 1911

Holly Farthing's grandfather has always been strict but when he tries to force Holly to marry a widower twice her age she finally says no. Refusing to support her any longer Gilbert Mason gives Holly an ultimatum - marry Mr Dolby or leave. At just eighteen years old Holly flees to London, bringing her best friend and maid, Ivy, with her.
In London, Holly searches for the father she's never met and begins nurse training in the local hospital where she meets the dashing Dr Parkin. Ivy joins the suffragette movement and is soon courted by a wealthy gentleman who Holly worries is too good to be true.

When Dr Parkin proposes Holly finally feels like she'll have the family she so longs for. But soon after Holly discovers some news that means they can never be together. Throwing herself into her work Holly volunteers to nurse the soldiers on the front line and so, she heads to France.

Genres: Fiction, Historical

416 pages, Paperback

Published February 6, 2020

About the author

Before becoming a writer, I was a Placement Support Worker and foster carer, and worked in the social services department after completing a teacher training course. Many children have joined my family over the years. I still live in Nuneaton, where many of my books are set, with my husband, Trevor, and our beloved dogs.

I was thrilled to discover that I'd become one of the top 250 most-borrowed library authors in the UK, and would like to thank all of you who have taken out my books over the last few years! I love meeting my readers and am always pleased to hear from you. I hope you will all continue to get in touch and please do sign up for my newsletter!

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I'm in the minority with my star review here and maybe I've just over dosed on this type of book. Goodwin fans will enjoy it as it's a decent story.
For me it was over sweet and sugary. The heroine, Holly, was a bit too good to be true. Everyone liked her and even though she had been 'gently' reared and waited on all her life, when the hardships came she just sailed through them without much difficulty, which I found hard to swallow.
The impediment to the romance was solved as I guessed straight away and to be honest it was all a bit ridiculous.
It was a book of two halves in a way. The second part was all about the war years and I found this bit more interesting. The book was too long and the first part of it could have been halved and be just as good.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are so easy to read. WWI is looming and we learn about the horror when it does start. It’s a bit cheesy but it’s a nice change from the more serious subjects.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Day six of the days of the week series and it's Friday. We meet Holly and Ivy yes like the Christmas carol. Holly lives with her mother Emma and stern serious grandfather, Ivy is the maid of the household who sends her wages to her poor family. Holly has dreams of being a nurse one day. But that's dashed one day when her grandfather announces that she is to marry Walter Dolby, a forty year old man recently widowed with three children one of who at 19 is a year older than Holly. She refuses and after a bitter row with him, Holly heads for London with Ivy in tow. Together they somehow make their own way, Holly as a shop assistant, Ivy in a match factory. Soon Holly joins a Red Cross course and begins nurses training. Ivy has fallen under the spell of a con man who strings her along and takes what little money she has and leaves her pregnant and battered. Shamed she returns home to have her child which got annoying with that old trope of every mother falling in love with her child. That's getting old. A common theme running through these books are that men are horrible. I mean in every single book there is at least one girl raped or taken advantage of and beaten resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. I think Grace was the only one that didn't happen too but she did end up in a horrible marriage. Granted they all end up happy because no one would read these books. Okay that rant is over back to the story. Holly remains in London and falls in love with a doctor. This leads to a VC Andrews twist and I wanted to scream at Holly for not saying anything to him when she breaks it off. Of course there is another man in the wings because they're always is. I don't mind romance that much but it would be cool if they had a woman who actually stuck to her plan and devoted herself to her career but in what I call a cop out move everything turns of beautifully. But that's a bit later on. Emma also finds love with Walter Dolby which is sort of another VC Andrews twist. Ivy too will find happiness and predictably fall in love with her baby. Holly continues her nurses training vowing to never marry and it's repeated over and over that she'll only love the one man she can't. We get it! Holly eventually goes to serve in the war. I wish this part had taken up more of the book as it was fascinating. I learned a lot about the war I never knew. Like shelling of villages on the coast and that they were a few deadly air raids by zeppelins. I knew there were air raids but just thought they were minor and no one was killed. I especially loved the missions behind enemy lines. It was a good story better than A Maiden's Voyage which gave me so much rage at the ridiculous plot points and historical and cultural inaccuracies. This one flowed better and besides a few small annoyances it was a really good book. It touched on plenty of history and the two main characters were involved in it from suffragettes to the war. I guess I'll never truly be happy because I'd love to see a strong female character who is independent and doesn't need a husband but that is not meant to be because romance sells not tough independent women. Holly was quite tough and a good main character but that cop out at the end had me rolling my eyes.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

i lovely story.

[HattieB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable, if not slightly melodramatic and saccharine, historical novel.

[Judy Tolley · Rating 5 out of 5]

WWI

Lots of details that included WWI and I was mesmerized. I didn't realize the horrors of that war. I loved the love story parts and how the book flowed. But I was disappointed in how fast it ended as it quickly fast forward thru years to the end. Sigh.

[Lucy Dames · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know how sometimes you want a stress free, low bandwidth movie with a happy ending -a Hallmark for example. Well I turn to these types of books too when I want the same from a read. This one had a slightly festive feel with the two main characters called Holly & Ivy. I felt Holly was a too good to be true character in that everyone loved her and she kept landing on her feet but it was a pleasantly enjoyable read. I enjoyed the war section the most, which is probably not that surprising but overall it’s a nice read. The last couple of chapters did wrap things up rather quickly though.

[mois reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A GIFT

Like all of rosies books this one is a fantastic read holly is thrown out by her grandfather and ivy the young maid goes with her it's not all happiness at first as holly misses her mother but the girls get on well and make a home for themselves and find work a brilliant read 5 STARS

[Trudie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book in the "days of the week" series, this follows the story of Holly, who runs away to London with her friend Ivy after her Grandfather tries to marry her off to a man who is old enough to be her father. Brilliantly written, Ireally enjoyed this.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely book from Rosie Goodwin i found it emotional with lovely characters you feel you are along side them on their journey through life.Well Worth 5*

[Simone McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7 perhaps.

This was a really enjoyable and indeed most captivating read, that definitely holds your attention. The story and characters were interesting and was full of a lot of depth. Holly's journey is definitely a very lengthy, complicated and eventful one, and so you really do get invested in it.

However I have to say that I agree what others have said about the protagonist, Holly, being simply too good to be true, being basically yet another Mary-Sue, with the way literally everyone likes her everywhere she goes and is praised all the time as being the best nurse and person, the way both the doctors have to fall for her even when they're are a load of other nurses either of them could have chosen, like why did she have to be so special all the damn time?! Like others have also mentioned too, it was also very predictable that the piece of information Holly received about Richard would end up being a misunderstanding and not true, thus allowing them to be together in the end. The way it ended up turning into a love triangle as well also got a bit annoying and cliched, as I feel that there wasn't really any need to include Harry, finding that whole storyline with him to drag out a lot longer than it needed. The same with the horrible guy Ivy falls for initially in London, that part dragged out for too long, making it clear that he was bad news and exploiting Ivy and I was just like "OMG can we just get this over with already and cut to the chase" as it just took up far too many chapters than was neccessary. The World War I part also doesn't start til nearer the end of the book, so it felt like it wasn't really the time for all this drama to suddenly take place, and I did find it a bit weird the way out of all the other nurses and doctors that would have been working there with Holly in the field hospital Holly just always had to find herself working alongside just the two doctors that she was in a love triangle with when they were send behind enemy lines, so that did seem a tad contrived to me.

Also like someone else has said, the book was too long, as there were just so many different stories within it that it just felt a bit too much, and felt like it would have perhaps been better if it had been split into two smaller books. I mean so much happens that it just felt like several books in one. There were even some parts of the story that showed Holly in her new job where it showed her connection with a patient and gave us the patient's backstory that took up several chapters yet after that the patient is never seen again, and I felt like it was just cramming too many different things in unnecessarily, like the author was trying to make the book as long as possible. For instance I didn't feel like the part with the poor child Robbie who was neglected and abandoned by his mum was really necessary as it didn't really add anything to the story or fit in with it at all, and feel like the book could have been a fair bit shorter if this had been left out.

All in all though it was a really enjoyable book, like I say it was gripping and a real page-turner, and you definitely keep invested in the story.

[Roz Radmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest in the days of the week series . Holly Farthing is horrified when her grandfather orders her to marry a man more than twice her age . His son is actually older than she is ! She refuses and is told to leave the home . Holly goes to London , taking her maid and friend Ivy with her . She finds work in a milliners and Ivy is taken on at the match factory . They find a home to share until Ivy becomes mixed up with an unsavoury character .
Holly begins training as a red cross nurse at the local hospital where she falls in love with a junior doctor . He is everything she could ever want and is looking forward to the day when they can marry . Alas for Holly she discovers a reason why they can never marry . Throwing herself into her work she decides to help the war effort and volunteers to go to the Front where the First World War is raging . Here she will witness many appalling sights before she will eventually find the man she loves .
Full of excitement , sadness and adventure

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book by Rosie Goodwin that I've ever read but I decided to give it a shot as she had been one of my mum's favourite authors.

It was a pleasant surprise. It was an easy read that I managed to get through in just a few hours.

When Holly refuses a marriage to widower Mr Dolby, her grandfather forces her to leave home.

Determined to take her destiny into her own hands, Holly and her loyal maid, Ivy, leave for London. A far cry from their sleepy midlands home, the pair are forced to grow up and adapt to the new world they find themselves in.

I will say that Holly's character was almost too nice. It's difficult to imagine that someone with her temperament would not have been taken advantage of. Yet, even with a sheltered upbringing, she always seems to land on her feet. Unrealistic - most likely. Did I still enjoy reading the book? Yes.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fantastic book. Full of characters and plenty of goings on. Holly Farthing is the main character and she's quite likeable, can't say she's very dramatic or there's really any dramas to be had in the book as it's quite drama less really, it's more a sedate pace with a lot going on, but nothing too explosive.
The story itself I enjoyed, however, I just knew how it was going to end up and it was all just too rosey and twee to be realistic. If only she had asked the one question instead of running away then she wouldn't have had to endure over 5 years of sadness, just to find out it wasn't true after all! How pathetic was that really, all that drama for nothing in the end. That's what disappointed me and why I couldn't give it full stars, it was all just a bit too predictable.

[Eric Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I read a book called The Girl from the Corner Shop by Alrene Hughes and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it . I determined to read another of the genre this year and found that Rosie Goodwin was a very popular writer - hence this one was chosen . It tells of a young woman effectively thrown out of her home by her grandfather for refusing to marry for money, a man twice her age . She ultimately ends up as a nurse during WW 1 , and leads a rewarding , if harrowing , life on her own .Since my mother was a nurse tending returning soldiers during this war , I had an extra interest in the story . I confess that I enjoyed this one too , although it is targeted at female readers I think .

[Kristia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always a wonderfully written book. I always enjoy reading Rosie Goodwin's stories.
Like all of Rosie's novels this too is filled with drama and romance. I was pleased that Holly finally gets her happy ending, but felt it was very quickly finished, after so much going on to lead up to the end, the ending was very abrupt, with a finally chapter to explain how things had panned out once she got her happy ending.
Despite this, I still enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend this to other Rosie Goodwin fans, as I could hardly put this down once the story picked up pace.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I enjoyed this book immensely ...once started I found it difficult to stop reading it, I would definitely recommend this book, especially as it contained an epilogue!!! Brilliant!

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the days of the week series and this one particularly appealed as the main character Holly spends time working g as a nurse in the first World War.
Rosie Goodwin writes beautiful characters who you warm to and her stories always capture my heart.

[mrs may pugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A smashing book only thing wrong New year's day became bank holiday in 1971

A smashing book only thing wrong bank holiday in England became law 1971 not 1871. Only Ireland in 1871 did not want to put book down

[MRS SUSAN MITCHELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a very exciting story loved the characters couldn't put it down.

First time I have read Rosie Goodwin books will be reading more .
Highly recommended. Hope to enjoy my next read .

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh WOW another 5 stars for Rosie can't fault this days if the week series, I love every book in the series. Will be sorry to see it finish. But I have just read that she is going to be doing another series, so pleased can't wait to read those.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easy read with good flow. Like other reviewers I enjoyed the second half about the war years more, as it provided more of a structure. The love story is completely predictable, and there will be no surprises. That said, sometimes I want a stress free, fluffy, hallmark-type read.

[Mrs J Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyable

Really enjoyed this book. The storyline was excellent. Such a heart warming story . It made you really feel for Holly but she was such a strong person. Onto the last one in the series .

[LINDA HADDOCK · Rating 5 out of 5]

very gripping

Another excellent book from Rosie Goodwin. It was gripping, very informative, romantic, details of war, and the hell on earth the soldiers went through in world war 1.

[Felicity Rogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. So many emotions, up and down. Sometimes it was harrowing or it was wonderful, then it was harrowing again. Ultimately there is a happy ending. I love that about Rose Godwin’s books. No matter how awful it is for the main characters at times, it does all come right in the end.

[Lauren Kendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldnt put this book down. Covers do many historical events, amazing ending didnt want it to end! Love this author so much

[Annemarie Farthing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Rosie Goodwin 😃
Every character comes alive and you feel part of the family

[Gemma Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book !! Highly recommend was so hard to put down !! Lovely ending as always with Rosie Goodwin, I love all her books

[Karen Regent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read . 6th in the days of the week series

[J.J. JOHNSTONE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read

Another great story and would recommend it to anyone. Looking forward to reading the next one and hope it is just as gripping