Three emotion-packed sagas for winter reading by various authors - book reviews -

A Simple Wish

Rosie Goodwin

Add an extra sparkle to your Christmas countdown as Rosie Goodwin, one of Britain’s best-loved saga queens, conjures up more storytelling magic for her Precious Stones series.

The star of each standalone story in this glittering collection is named after a gemstone and follows on from Goodwin’s enchanting Days of the Week series which won her an army of readers and a fistful of accolades.

A former social worker and foster mother, Goodwin has penned well over thirty beautiful, heartwarming novels exploring life and love in days gone by, and was awarded the rights to follow three of the late, great Tyneside writer Catherine Cookson’s trilogies with her own sequels.

And now, A Simple Wish – a gritty, drama-packed tale featuring the desperate struggles of a homeless Victorian girl – delivers the same winning blend of romance, intrigue, fascinating characters, and richly detailed, authentic and atmospheric settings.

Our new gemstone star is Ruby Carter who works hard in her parents’ bakery in Nuneaton in 1885. Whilst life isn’t easy, she’s happy enough… her gentle mother protects young Ruby from her cruel father and loves her unconditionally.

So, when her mother falls seriously ill, Ruby is heartbroken. Then, from her deathbed, her mother reveals that Ruby was adopted at birth. Stricken by grief and alone with the violent man she called her father, Ruby feels she has no choice but to flee.