Sunday, September 23, 2018

Alice's Secret: Mill Valley Girls


Alice’s Secret by Lynne Francis is the second book in the Mill Valley Girls series.  Alys is looking for a chance to get away and gets the opportunity when her Aunt Moira injures herself.  Aunt Moira needs Alys to bake the items for her café in Yorkshire while she is laid up.  Soon Alys has rediscovered her love of baking and enjoys the café, the town and the people.  She slowly begins tweaking the recipes and enhancing the décor of The Celestial Cake Café.  One day Alys is in the local graveyard and discovers the headstone of Alice Bancroft.  She learns that Alice is her great-great grandmother and that she died when she was twenty years old.  Alys wonders why her ancestor died at such a young age and delves into her family’s history.  What secrets will Alys uncover?

Alice’s Secret is a dual timeline novel that alternates between Alys in the present day and Alice in 1893.  I enjoyed the historical sections more than those set in the present day.  There are lovely descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside that brought the area alive for me.  I could tell that the author did her research on cotton mills and how the workers lived during that time-period.  The author could be overly detailed at times which led to a slow pace.  I would have liked the characters to be more developed and there were details missing (such as characters last names).  Alice’s Secret did not feel like a completed novel.  The book could have used a rewrite and editing (it was too long).  Before embarking on Alice’s Secret, you do need to read Ella’s Journey.  It lays the groundwork for Alice’s Secret.  My rating for Alice’s Secret is 3 out of 5 stars. 

The next novel in the Mill Valley Girls series is Sarah's Story.  I appreciate you visiting today.  If you find my reviews helpful, please consider following my blog (upper right).  Tomorrow I am sharing my thoughts on Tangled up in Tinsel by Tonya Kappes.  It is the sixth book in A Kenni Lowry Mystery series.  I hope you stop by.  May you have a joyful day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader
 

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