Christmas Child

Hello Everyone! Welcome to my stop today on the Blog Tour for this fabulous book, Christmas Child by Carol Rivers and allowing me to share my review with you! There’s also a fabulous Giveaway of 5 signed paperback novels below (UK ONLY), so make sure to check it out! First a thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for allowing me to participate and a thank you to Carol Rivers and the publisher for giving me the privilege to read and review this book. Now to find out more about this book…

Carol Rivers

Michael Wilson/Ettie O’Reilly

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My Rating: 5/5 Stars

BookBlurb

The 2019 Victorian romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

A perfect Dickensian saga for Christmas.

Christmas Day, London 1880. Snow falls … a dying Irish girl clutching her new-born baby drags herself to the sanctuary of an East End orphanage and throws herself on the mercy of the Sisters of Clemency. The nuns raise little Ettie O’Reilly as their own, but the lives of the nuns and orphans are soon crushed by an unscrupulous bishop. The heart-breaking outcome turns Ettie’s life upside down and Christmas will never mean the same again.

Will Ettie ever find her friend Michael Wilson whose secret holds the key to their past? Will Ettie keep her innocence and survive the traumatic events that are about to erupt?

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Christmas Child is actually the first book I’ve had the pleasure of reading from author Carol Rivers. I was so impressed with this story and Ms. Rivers writing style that I’m planning on going back and reading her backlist! This was an absolutely fantastic read based in East London in the Victorian Era.

From the very start of the book, Ms. Rivers pulls you into the story and grabs your emotions and doesn’t let go. We first meet Colleen O’Reilly on Christmas Day in 1880, who has just given birth to a baby girl. Colleen knows she’s not going to survive and desperately wants to save her daughter. When she leaves her newborn daughter to the Sisters of Clemency Convent, my heart broke for young Colleen and her innocent baby.

Our story then jumps 13 years forward, with a young Henrietta “Ettie” O’Reilly living in the orphanage run by the Sisters of Clemency. Ettie has spent her entire life living in the orphanage, and rarely ventures outside the walls. The nuns and the other orphans are her only family. But then word comes from Rome that the orphanage must close and all the children must be found new homes. Ettie’s world starts to change as she’s told she is to be sent to work in the city. When her dear friend Michael Wilson leaves the orphanage before he can be sent away, Ettie wonders if she’ll ever see him again.

This truly was a fabulous story from beginning to end and I struggled to put it down. Ettie was a wonderful, loveable character. As we follow her through her life outside the orphanage, you can’t help but want to see her succeed and gain a HEA. There were so many wonderful secondary characters in this book, each with fascinating stories of their own. It’s obvious Ms. Rivers does tremendous research as the book is richly detailed, beautifully written and the storyline along with the characters was enthralling.

This was so much more than a romance story. It was a story of life, death, survival, heartache and finally happiness. The ending was absolutely perfect and I look forward to reading more from author Carol Rivers in the future. Highly recommend!

~ Rose

Giveaway

Giveaway to Win Five dedicated signed paperback novels by Carol Rivers

(Open to UK Only)

One winner will win the following signed books:

“Lizzie Flowers and the Family Firm”
“Molly’s Christmas Orphans”
“A Wartime Christmas”
“A Sister’s Shame”
“Eve of the Isle”

*Terms and Conditions ––UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

⇒⇒ CLICK HERE TO ENTER ⇐⇐

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AbouttheAuthorlg

christmas-child-authorsm — **Carol Rivers**

“Were there’s muck there’s money!” If my family had a royal crest I’m sure those are the words that would have been hewn into the stone above it.

Mum and Dad were both East Enders who were born on the famous or should I say the then infamous Isle of Dogs. They were costermongers selling fruit, veg and anything else that would stand still long enough!

Their family were immigrants who travelled to the UK from Ireland and France, while others emigrated to America.

As a child I would listen to the adults spinning their colourful stories, as my cousins and I drank pop under the table.

I know the seeds of all my stories come from those far off times that feel like only yesterday. So I would like to say a big heartfelt thank you to all my family and ancestors wherever you are now … UK, Ireland, France or America, as you’ve handed down to me the magic and love of story telling.

Carol xx

Follow Carol Rivers:

Website: http://www.carolrivers.com/