A Gathering Storm: A gripping story of all-consuming love from the million-copy bestselling author of The Hidden Years Paperback – 3 September 2020

When Lucy delves into her father's past to find out why he was particularly interested in a certain man whose story he was never able to uncover, she meets a woman who holds the answers and peels back the layers of her life and reveals to Lucy hidden truths and a story rich in WWII details. Beatrice had been a welcome friend of the Wincanton family, a rich family who lived in a Manor named Carlyon Manor in England. The Wincantons were wealthy and Beatrice poor, but she was good company for their eldest daughter, Angelina. Through the years, Beatrice was a staple in the household being tutored by the children's teachers and growing up along side Angelina and her brothers. Their lives take a turn when Angelina gets sent away to boarding school and then after that there is the war. Hoping to do something for her country, Beatrice takes a job as a FANY. She helps people in the air raid shelters and drives around important people to their errands and meetings. Angelina and Beatrice take different life paths but their trails ultimately meet throughout the story. Then, there is the tale of Rafe. The love of Beatrice's life-the man Lucy's father, Tom, had been trying to find.A Gathering Storm took me about 100 pages or so to really get into, but after that, I read the book very quickly to find out what happened next. The story goes back in time and comes back to present day, but most of the book takes place in the past and is mainly about Beatrice and her life during wartime. This is an engaging read. If you like historical fiction, you will love this book which is part love story, part war story and is an all around good read. It's a journey back in time told with grace and elegance. The characters become real people and the story is insprired from events that took place in World War Two. I enjoyed this book until I turned the very last page and I felt very satisfied. At times I cried and at times I was immersed in the war while reading the story. Rachel Hore has done an enchanting job recreating a woman's life in England during WWII.

One of Hore's best books IMO: quite gripping, & I find her characters very well-fleshed-out. Not great literature, but doesn't claim to be - light, satisfying, moves at a good speed, & the romance is realistically complicated rather than idealistic or 'fluffy.'

Always on the hunt for books like Kate Morton's, I stumbled upon Rachel Hore's The Gathering Storm. From the first pages on, I was sucked in by the mysterious secret hinted at, which is uncovered through narratives alternating from past to present. I kind of guessed what the secret was early on, but that did not ruin my enjoyment of the story. I got emotionally invested in the intertwining fates of Beatrice, Rafe, and Angelina, which ared deeply affected by World War II - "the gathering storm." This is a very good historical novel!

I am following this author and reading all her books which are all brilliant and different

It seemed a little slow to start the first few pages, but then the story started and really took off! The characters are multi-dimensional and it's easy to believe they are real people. You live there their happiness, their sorrows, their very lives with them. Wonderfully researched historical fiction story based on a couple of real people, the author takes you on a journey through WWII to the today, and parallels two love stories in past and present. Even if you don't like romance, this book is very interesting, engaging and enjoyable.I had trouble putting it down!