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The Color of Secrets
Everyone has secrets, but some can change your life forever�
In the midst of the Second World War, Eva receives the devastating news that her husband is missing and presumed dead. Neither wife nor widow, she lives in a numb state of limbo until, in the heat of an English summer, she meets Bill, a black American GI. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, neither can deny the love that overcomes them in the frantic weeks that follow, when every day could be their last.
After Eva discovers she’s pregnant, Bill is shipped off to join the D-day fight, leaving her alone in a bigoted world. As her mixed-race daughter, Louisa, grows up, how far will Eva go to keep her safe and bury the past? And how far will Louisa go to uncover the truth?
In the midst of the Second World War, Eva receives the devastating news that her husband is missing and presumed dead. Neither wife nor widow, she lives in a numb state of limbo until, in the heat of an English summer, she meets Bill, a black American GI. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, neither can deny the love that overcomes them in the frantic weeks that follow, when every day could be their last.
After Eva discovers she’s pregnant, Bill is shipped off to join the D-day fight, leaving her alone in a bigoted world. As her mixed-race daughter, Louisa, grows up, how far will Eva go to keep her safe and bury the past? And how far will Louisa go to uncover the truth?
399 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 759 reviews
June 22, 2015
I really wanted to like this book. The writing was not terrible and the premise was a bit different than your typical historical fiction set in the 1940s. I will try to avoid spoilers, but I found that the author had a tendency to write out characters without really explaining what happened, and killed off others way too easily. It was almost as if she did not feel like coming up with a way to resolve the problem and just eliminated someone. Most of the personal growth the characters experienced happened in the last third of the book and honestly I probably would not have finished it if it had not been chosen by my book club. Unfortunately the middle third of the book was hard to wade through and the main character Eva was not very likable. #whathappenedtoDilys
January 26, 2019
2,5 La verdad es que no sé muy bien qué puntuación darle, pues me ha costado muchísimo acabarlo. No es que sea malo, es que me ha parecido un libro fallido. Cuenta con una premisa argumental muy interesante (la relación entre una joven inglesa y un soldado americano de color a finales de la II Guerra Mundial + la historia de Louisa) y poco explotada, que podía haber dado lugar a una historia apasionante sobre el racismo en la Inglaterra de los 40-70, pero al final se queda en un culebrón descafeinado y superficial.
#Popsugar 2019 Reto 23. Un libro acerca de la familia
#Popsugar 2019 Reto 23. Un libro acerca de la familia
Shelved as 'abandonados'
July 4, 2018Abandono. Lo siento, es imposible. La novela tiene todos los ingredientes para ser un éxito y, en cambio, no sé si es por cómo está escrita, se me hace un nudo en el estómago.
December 13, 2015
I loved this family saga set in the midst of the Second World War.
Eva learns that her husband, and father of son David, is missing and presumed dead. Neither wife nor widow, she lives in a numb state of limbo until, in the heat of an English summer, she meets Bill, a black American GI. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, neither can deny the love that overcomes them in the frantic weeks that follow, when every day could be their last.
After Eva discovers she’s pregnant, Bill is shipped off to join the D-day fight, leaving her alone in a bigoted world. As her mixed-race daughter, Louisa, grows up, how far will Eva go to keep her safe and bury the past? And how far will Louisa go to uncover the truth?
The writing flowed as I was caught up in Eva's and then Louisa's lives. Lindsay Ashford brings to life the hardships and bigotry of this era, but never to the detriment of the story. I laughed and wept, mourned and rejoiced with these women as they made difficult decisions that would affect the generations to come.
A very worthwhile read. Thank you to NetGalley, author Lindsay Ashford and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Eva learns that her husband, and father of son David, is missing and presumed dead. Neither wife nor widow, she lives in a numb state of limbo until, in the heat of an English summer, she meets Bill, a black American GI. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, neither can deny the love that overcomes them in the frantic weeks that follow, when every day could be their last.
After Eva discovers she’s pregnant, Bill is shipped off to join the D-day fight, leaving her alone in a bigoted world. As her mixed-race daughter, Louisa, grows up, how far will Eva go to keep her safe and bury the past? And how far will Louisa go to uncover the truth?
The writing flowed as I was caught up in Eva's and then Louisa's lives. Lindsay Ashford brings to life the hardships and bigotry of this era, but never to the detriment of the story. I laughed and wept, mourned and rejoiced with these women as they made difficult decisions that would affect the generations to come.
A very worthwhile read. Thank you to NetGalley, author Lindsay Ashford and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 24, 2017
I found this book at the library after I had had a bad day back in March... I went into the library to print out some mailing labels I think and had wandered over to where they had books people donated sitting on shelves that you could buy. My eyes landed on the spine of this one... had seen it earlier by chance but had no money out at the time to get it. Even then, something about this book called to me. I put it back on the shelf and forgot all about it till that day. I picked it up with another one, amazed that it was still there.
Sounds meant to be doesn't it?:)
I knew nothing about this book other than the summary and the overall rating I sneaked a peek at from the ŷ app. Stuck it on the shelf, intending to get it to it, in the infamous words, "one day soon." haha... haven't we all said that?
Anyways...Right from the first paragraphs, I was intrigued:
The photograph still startles me, even though I've looked at it a dozen times since it landed on the doormat. An elderly white woman with her arm around a beautiful black girl. The magzine has put us on its front cover with the line:"Mixed Blessings--Rhiannon's White Family."
The article is to help publicize her new show. I understand that,of course, but I was worried when she told me about it. Afraid of what she would say about me. She only knows the bare bones of what happened because I didn't want to tell her. That was a terrible mistake.
I was sucked into the story of Eva, and later her daughter Louisa and what they both went through... happy times, not so happy times. Each has things weighing them down in different ways and it affects them not in the same way.
Both had to deal with grief, guilt, prejudice in their lives. How they coped is different and it was hard to take my eyes away. I wanted to devour this book and find out what happened, my nerves on edge at times.
The attitudes during this time period.. sadden and anger me. The prejudice, the hate... I wanted to smack and shake people so bad.. My soul-sister Stephanie and I both said "If we had a Time Machine."
Told one of my other soul-sisters about a couple of the same things and all she said was Damn.
"She shouted abuse at him as he backed away, staggering with the weight of the brushes he carried on his back. Eva could still remember the look in his eyes, a wariness tinged with resignation, as if this sort of treatment was no more than he expected. And she had felt an odd mixture of fear and shame at the sight of her mother lashing out at someone who, for all his strangeness, looked very, very old. "
One example especially, when
The love between Eva and Bill was fast and beautiful... Bill didn't think he'd be alive when the war was over, and Eva was living day to day with her son and working on the railroad, thinking she is a Widow but she couldn't be sure of that till the war was over (and something that had happened in regards to her son before her husband shipped out)... it lent a quality to their story of fragile uncertainty. Eva knew Bill cared for her, but she wasn't certain if he wanted to marry her since he never said anything (Blame it on Bill being afraid with a war going on perhaps ). She was on unsteady ground, not sure what to do... and even if she did marry him:
"What he could not work out was the part about Eva. If she agreed to the plan--which was by no means certain--would she go to Chicago when the war ended? Would she be willing to leave her family behind and start a life in a new country? Of course, she would have to bring her other child, her little boy. Bill tried to imagine what that would be like: the two of them walking up Michigan Avenue, a white woman and a black man with a white child and a brown baby. In New Orleans he'd be lynched, no question.
Was it really going to be so very different in Chicago?
Who is to say they would have been accepted there, or anywhere really? I don't blame her or Bill for that.
"She leaned against the farm gate, weak with emotion. She felt like a caged animal, doomed to be chained forever to this man who was like a stranger to her now. But how could she abandon someone who had endured so much suffering? He had as right to his family, of course he did. It would be utterly heartless to turn him away. Could she be that cruel? Could she let him stay, even though her heart wasn't in it? "
"Eva suddenly saw that the choice he was giving her was no real choice at all. If she chose to leave him--chose to go in search of Bill--it would be without David. Even if she sneaked away in the middle of the night, ran off with the children to another town, she would never be able to leave the country without his permission. She would never be able to find Bill, let alone marry him. "
Eva's Made me wonder how long till Bill gave up or came around looking... dreading both for various reasons. Just a big, complicated mess.
The secrecy in the family sometimes angered me... I understand the reasoning for it in a way but all the "walking on eggshells" around Eva got old after awhile. I can't imagine going through what she did and I guess I can't fault her mind for how it coped but sometimes I just wanted to shake her and tell her to tell Louisa the truth. David came close before and hearing him say why later, I understood *sighs* It seemed sometimes more about Eva protecting herself than her daughter at times.
Trefor... to borrow a line from "10 Things I hate about you": Hate him with the fire of a thousand suns." All I will say about that. Othwerwise, long spoilerly rant most likely.
Louisa was a strong woman despite everything, even when she didn't see it herself.
Aunt Rhiannon: Loved her
Gina and Cathy: loved them too, good people... wanted to give them both big hugs, especially Gina in one case.
Michael: a sweetheart
Tom and Rhiannon (Louisa's children): adorable.. and one moment had me both proud of Rhiannon and wanting to tell her never to do that again at the same time.. clever child though.
Bill... the brief glimpses we got of him endeared me to him right away.. I do believe he loved Eva and the baby but other than that is just guesswork for me. Some details of his life broke my heart
Some moments brought tears of all kinds to my eyes, these people wormed themselves into my heart and are quite comfortable there.
The ending gave me a big smile across my face, even though I wanted to see what would happen afterwards. Less is more in this case, and its own kind of beautiful 😊😙.
Would recommend <3 Hope you love it like I did.
Sounds meant to be doesn't it?:)
I knew nothing about this book other than the summary and the overall rating I sneaked a peek at from the ŷ app. Stuck it on the shelf, intending to get it to it, in the infamous words, "one day soon." haha... haven't we all said that?
Anyways...Right from the first paragraphs, I was intrigued:
The photograph still startles me, even though I've looked at it a dozen times since it landed on the doormat. An elderly white woman with her arm around a beautiful black girl. The magzine has put us on its front cover with the line:"Mixed Blessings--Rhiannon's White Family."
The article is to help publicize her new show. I understand that,of course, but I was worried when she told me about it. Afraid of what she would say about me. She only knows the bare bones of what happened because I didn't want to tell her. That was a terrible mistake.
I was sucked into the story of Eva, and later her daughter Louisa and what they both went through... happy times, not so happy times. Each has things weighing them down in different ways and it affects them not in the same way.
Both had to deal with grief, guilt, prejudice in their lives. How they coped is different and it was hard to take my eyes away. I wanted to devour this book and find out what happened, my nerves on edge at times.
The attitudes during this time period.. sadden and anger me. The prejudice, the hate... I wanted to smack and shake people so bad.. My soul-sister Stephanie and I both said "If we had a Time Machine."
Told one of my other soul-sisters about a couple of the same things and all she said was Damn.
"She shouted abuse at him as he backed away, staggering with the weight of the brushes he carried on his back. Eva could still remember the look in his eyes, a wariness tinged with resignation, as if this sort of treatment was no more than he expected. And she had felt an odd mixture of fear and shame at the sight of her mother lashing out at someone who, for all his strangeness, looked very, very old. "
One example especially, when
The love between Eva and Bill was fast and beautiful... Bill didn't think he'd be alive when the war was over, and Eva was living day to day with her son and working on the railroad, thinking she is a Widow but she couldn't be sure of that till the war was over (and something that had happened in regards to her son before her husband shipped out)... it lent a quality to their story of fragile uncertainty. Eva knew Bill cared for her, but she wasn't certain if he wanted to marry her since he never said anything (Blame it on Bill being afraid with a war going on perhaps ). She was on unsteady ground, not sure what to do... and even if she did marry him:
"What he could not work out was the part about Eva. If she agreed to the plan--which was by no means certain--would she go to Chicago when the war ended? Would she be willing to leave her family behind and start a life in a new country? Of course, she would have to bring her other child, her little boy. Bill tried to imagine what that would be like: the two of them walking up Michigan Avenue, a white woman and a black man with a white child and a brown baby. In New Orleans he'd be lynched, no question.
Was it really going to be so very different in Chicago?
Who is to say they would have been accepted there, or anywhere really? I don't blame her or Bill for that.
"She leaned against the farm gate, weak with emotion. She felt like a caged animal, doomed to be chained forever to this man who was like a stranger to her now. But how could she abandon someone who had endured so much suffering? He had as right to his family, of course he did. It would be utterly heartless to turn him away. Could she be that cruel? Could she let him stay, even though her heart wasn't in it? "
"Eva suddenly saw that the choice he was giving her was no real choice at all. If she chose to leave him--chose to go in search of Bill--it would be without David. Even if she sneaked away in the middle of the night, ran off with the children to another town, she would never be able to leave the country without his permission. She would never be able to find Bill, let alone marry him. "
Eva's Made me wonder how long till Bill gave up or came around looking... dreading both for various reasons. Just a big, complicated mess.
The secrecy in the family sometimes angered me... I understand the reasoning for it in a way but all the "walking on eggshells" around Eva got old after awhile. I can't imagine going through what she did and I guess I can't fault her mind for how it coped but sometimes I just wanted to shake her and tell her to tell Louisa the truth. David came close before and hearing him say why later, I understood *sighs* It seemed sometimes more about Eva protecting herself than her daughter at times.
Trefor... to borrow a line from "10 Things I hate about you": Hate him with the fire of a thousand suns." All I will say about that. Othwerwise, long spoilerly rant most likely.
Louisa was a strong woman despite everything, even when she didn't see it herself.
Aunt Rhiannon: Loved her
Gina and Cathy: loved them too, good people... wanted to give them both big hugs, especially Gina in one case.
Michael: a sweetheart
Tom and Rhiannon (Louisa's children): adorable.. and one moment had me both proud of Rhiannon and wanting to tell her never to do that again at the same time.. clever child though.
Bill... the brief glimpses we got of him endeared me to him right away.. I do believe he loved Eva and the baby but other than that is just guesswork for me. Some details of his life broke my heart
Some moments brought tears of all kinds to my eyes, these people wormed themselves into my heart and are quite comfortable there.
The ending gave me a big smile across my face, even though I wanted to see what would happen afterwards. Less is more in this case, and its own kind of beautiful 😊😙.
Would recommend <3 Hope you love it like I did.
July 23, 2015
The premise of this story fascinated me. A woman in WWII England, whose husband has been missing, possibly dead for two years, falls for a black American soldier. A baby results. How does this affect the future generations? What happens is/when her husband shows up?
I love a good scandal, especially when it doesn't involve me. *sheepish grin*
This one disappointed me though, mainly due to the total lack of love and passion between the heroine and her black GI. She's attracted to him instantly, I got that. But it was more a "oooh. this is so wrong it's hot" thing than real attraction--at least that's the impression I got. They exchange very little information between the two of them before they're doing the horizontal mambo. This is not a love affair.
After Louisa's birth, some characters begin appearing in the story whose characterizations were just OTT, unfathomable. WAY too good or WAY too bad. The husband returns and is apparently the kindest man in the whole world, so kind he's willing to raise another man's baby and protect her from everything and give his wife the space she needs...and on and on and on. And then Louisa grows into this young woman that every man wants to rape. The story began getting a little ugly with the uncle, but I could buy that. But then the hippie came onto the scene and I decided I'd had enough. I quit. I really wasn't gaining anything deep from reading this. I wasn't laughing, I wasn't falling in love with the characters, I wasn't learning anything aside from the typhoid outbreak by the sea and that the Red Cross was shipping bastard babies back to the States.
Despite the WWII time period, there was very little historical detail.
I love a good scandal, especially when it doesn't involve me. *sheepish grin*
This one disappointed me though, mainly due to the total lack of love and passion between the heroine and her black GI. She's attracted to him instantly, I got that. But it was more a "oooh. this is so wrong it's hot" thing than real attraction--at least that's the impression I got. They exchange very little information between the two of them before they're doing the horizontal mambo. This is not a love affair.
After Louisa's birth, some characters begin appearing in the story whose characterizations were just OTT, unfathomable. WAY too good or WAY too bad. The husband returns and is apparently the kindest man in the whole world, so kind he's willing to raise another man's baby and protect her from everything and give his wife the space she needs...and on and on and on. And then Louisa grows into this young woman that every man wants to rape. The story began getting a little ugly with the uncle, but I could buy that. But then the hippie came onto the scene and I decided I'd had enough. I quit. I really wasn't gaining anything deep from reading this. I wasn't laughing, I wasn't falling in love with the characters, I wasn't learning anything aside from the typhoid outbreak by the sea and that the Red Cross was shipping bastard babies back to the States.
Despite the WWII time period, there was very little historical detail.
June 10, 2015
I am not going to lie; I didn't finish the book. I got to 60% of the book before I decided that I had already given it too many chances, and I really didn't care how it was going to end.
The idea was appealing to me - the union of two people with very different background in Britain during the 2nd World War-, but in reality the book is no more than a 'escape fantasy' romantic novel gone terrible wrong.
- Spoiler Alert! -
Even from the introduction it's pretty obvious that Eva's husband is not dead, and I spent most of my reading waiting to see when was he coming back into the picture. You receive so many clues that he is not dead, that you wonder how Eva was so blind to it.
Then Eva is a pretty insecure and weak character, full of self guilt for ridiculous things and a tendency to make bad decisions.
People die for stupid reasons, which I find annoying. Maybe people really died all the time in the 1940's?
Eva's husband doesn't suffer any traumas after the war. Yeah, he looked bad at first, but he was all better soon after, no psychological scars.
And the thing that made me drop the book was the rape.
The idea was appealing to me - the union of two people with very different background in Britain during the 2nd World War-, but in reality the book is no more than a 'escape fantasy' romantic novel gone terrible wrong.
- Spoiler Alert! -
Even from the introduction it's pretty obvious that Eva's husband is not dead, and I spent most of my reading waiting to see when was he coming back into the picture. You receive so many clues that he is not dead, that you wonder how Eva was so blind to it.
Then Eva is a pretty insecure and weak character, full of self guilt for ridiculous things and a tendency to make bad decisions.
People die for stupid reasons, which I find annoying. Maybe people really died all the time in the 1940's?
Eva's husband doesn't suffer any traumas after the war. Yeah, he looked bad at first, but he was all better soon after, no psychological scars.
And the thing that made me drop the book was the rape.
May 1, 2016
I can't say that I enjoyed this story. I was expecting an interracial romance and I got yet another story where the white woman disavowed the black man in the face of tragedy and hardship. So I was disappointed
September 16, 2015
I don't usually write a review for a book I've stopped reading, but in this case i need to make an exception. While the subject matter held possibilities--interracial love affair in WWII England--i was so gobsmacked at the sheer awfulness of the writing that i had to put it down after 100 pages. I wish I could say that it was simply the usual complaint of modern-sounding dialogue out of place in historical fiction. But not one line in this novel sounded like it would actually be spoken by a human being. The author was so intent on using dialogue as a delivery vehicle for story exposition, that she neglected to render any true characters at all.
March 20, 2015
I fell in love with the concept of this book, it had such a romantic vibe from the very start, despite the grim setting of the war. And after finishing it in record time, I can only say my infatuation has not faded; ‘The Color of Secrets� is a stunning novel.
Immediately we are immersed in the 1940’s where we meet Eva, our beautiful heroine whose husband is missing in the war, and presumed dead. On a spontaneous night out with her sister, she meets Bill, an American GI. We witness Eva’s real struggle with her overwhelming attraction for Bill because of her complicated situation, and the shocking fact that Bill is black; a scandal in her small town if there ever was one. Despite the ignorance of the time, and the unconcealed bigotry of her co-workers and even her family, Eva and Bill strike up a passionate love affair. In the short period of time before Bill is shipped away for the war, Eva falls pregnant with Louisa and is left to deal with the complicated consequences which having a mixed race baby brings in such a prejudiced era.
The authors approach to the racism of the time is honest and brutal, and truly captures the history behind it � it is at times painful to read, and illustrates to the reader how horrific it was to those who were on the receiving end of the abuse. I became attached to Louisa in particular; she is portrayed so innocent and what befalls her because of the colour of her skin is deeply saddening, and even more so her shame at being a half-caste.
The book unexpectedly spans three generations, and whilst this can be perceived as quite hasty, I feel Ashford pulled it off well. She guides us seamlessly through the decades, capturing the essence of each magnificently and each setting is very convincing.
My only real criticism would be that I found it quite disorientating to be pushed into a world where pregnancy and death are treated so casually but after a while I did become accustomed to it. In this war-time era, casualties and births were rampant � it was a world which felt its mortality.
Before reading ‘The Color of Secrets� prepare for scandal and sadness, bigotry and outrage, and not to mention love and friendship. This book truly captures the idea that love chooses you, and how the colour of your skin could be just as life altering as the war. I highly recommend this book, and will be looking in to reading more from Lindsay Ashford.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Immediately we are immersed in the 1940’s where we meet Eva, our beautiful heroine whose husband is missing in the war, and presumed dead. On a spontaneous night out with her sister, she meets Bill, an American GI. We witness Eva’s real struggle with her overwhelming attraction for Bill because of her complicated situation, and the shocking fact that Bill is black; a scandal in her small town if there ever was one. Despite the ignorance of the time, and the unconcealed bigotry of her co-workers and even her family, Eva and Bill strike up a passionate love affair. In the short period of time before Bill is shipped away for the war, Eva falls pregnant with Louisa and is left to deal with the complicated consequences which having a mixed race baby brings in such a prejudiced era.
The authors approach to the racism of the time is honest and brutal, and truly captures the history behind it � it is at times painful to read, and illustrates to the reader how horrific it was to those who were on the receiving end of the abuse. I became attached to Louisa in particular; she is portrayed so innocent and what befalls her because of the colour of her skin is deeply saddening, and even more so her shame at being a half-caste.
The book unexpectedly spans three generations, and whilst this can be perceived as quite hasty, I feel Ashford pulled it off well. She guides us seamlessly through the decades, capturing the essence of each magnificently and each setting is very convincing.
My only real criticism would be that I found it quite disorientating to be pushed into a world where pregnancy and death are treated so casually but after a while I did become accustomed to it. In this war-time era, casualties and births were rampant � it was a world which felt its mortality.
Before reading ‘The Color of Secrets� prepare for scandal and sadness, bigotry and outrage, and not to mention love and friendship. This book truly captures the idea that love chooses you, and how the colour of your skin could be just as life altering as the war. I highly recommend this book, and will be looking in to reading more from Lindsay Ashford.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
October 8, 2015
Badly written, totally unbelievable, silly. Good idea but badly done. I only could stand it 3/4 of the way through.
January 30, 2020
Ya bence konu çok iyiydi en az 3 kitaplık bir konuydu. Ama yazar güzel işleyememiş. Hızlı hızlı geçilmiş ve güzelim konu heba olmuş bence
April 3, 2015
Lovely book about the consequences of secrets throughout generations of a family. This is a love story of the kind that many experienced during World War II - lonely GIs off fighting in a strange country, finding romance with white women, the mixed children that resulted and the search for identity these children undertook and the bigotry they encountered.
This is a particularly touching story and very well written. The secrets that start from fear and shame grow and intertwine the lives of three generations. The author has created sympathetic characters and a story that is passionate, sad and disturbing, yet full of hope and forgiveness. The book pulled me in and compelled me to keep reading. The author has written a story that will touch the hearts of those who read it.
An ARC of this book was given to me in return for an honest review by the publisher through NetGalley.
This is a particularly touching story and very well written. The secrets that start from fear and shame grow and intertwine the lives of three generations. The author has created sympathetic characters and a story that is passionate, sad and disturbing, yet full of hope and forgiveness. The book pulled me in and compelled me to keep reading. The author has written a story that will touch the hearts of those who read it.
An ARC of this book was given to me in return for an honest review by the publisher through NetGalley.
August 2, 2015
I really wanted to like this book, because the promised story sounded interesting, but I was totally disappointed. The concept itself was promising, but the characters were really shallow and some of them just disappeared through the read without any explanation. I believe it is the worst book I've ever read. Would not recommend it to anybody.
August 7, 2018
Really a ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. Often contrived but a good beach read with a nice message regarding family and race.
April 14, 2015
Readers are in for a tone in the dialogue that feels far more contemporary than historical, and somewhat distracts from the story.
see full review at:
see full review at:
June 14, 2015
Set in the Second World War, The Colour of Secrets is a. Family saga.
Eva is waiting for news of her husband and the father of her toddler, David is missing and presumed dead. As she lives her life making the most of the little that they have, she meets a black American GI Bill and falls in love with him. Both of them can't stay away from each other despite knowing that they have very little chances of a 'happily ever after'.
Bill is sent off to join the D-day fight just when Eva discovers that she is pregnant. Eva is left with very little in terms of options and chooses to go off to Wales where her aunt lives. Life, as usual, never really follows a plan and nothing is as she might have wanted. She gives birth to a daughter Louisa who has to carry the weight of her heritage in more ways than one.
It isn't being easy being a mixed race child in those days and to add to it, she knows very little about her parentage and wants to find out more. How far will she actually go to find out the truth? And will the truth be too hard for her to take in? Will it change everything that she has taken for granted so far?
The book vividly recounts the racist and bigoted society of those days as Louisa struggles to fit in, to pretend that she is no different from the rest of the children. Louisa's life was a heart breaking read. I can't imagine having to be a young girl in that sort of a situation. The first part of the book is more about Eva while the second part is more from Louisa's perspective. Without giving too much of the story away, I do wish that Eva's transformation from the young woman she as to the person she becomes later in the story had been developed a little bit more. It felt like a bit of a leap to me. Having said that, the story is still very credible and one that makes you cry and smile through the book. I loved the way it ended too, full of hope.
A 3.5/5 read for me.
Eva is waiting for news of her husband and the father of her toddler, David is missing and presumed dead. As she lives her life making the most of the little that they have, she meets a black American GI Bill and falls in love with him. Both of them can't stay away from each other despite knowing that they have very little chances of a 'happily ever after'.
Bill is sent off to join the D-day fight just when Eva discovers that she is pregnant. Eva is left with very little in terms of options and chooses to go off to Wales where her aunt lives. Life, as usual, never really follows a plan and nothing is as she might have wanted. She gives birth to a daughter Louisa who has to carry the weight of her heritage in more ways than one.
It isn't being easy being a mixed race child in those days and to add to it, she knows very little about her parentage and wants to find out more. How far will she actually go to find out the truth? And will the truth be too hard for her to take in? Will it change everything that she has taken for granted so far?
The book vividly recounts the racist and bigoted society of those days as Louisa struggles to fit in, to pretend that she is no different from the rest of the children. Louisa's life was a heart breaking read. I can't imagine having to be a young girl in that sort of a situation. The first part of the book is more about Eva while the second part is more from Louisa's perspective. Without giving too much of the story away, I do wish that Eva's transformation from the young woman she as to the person she becomes later in the story had been developed a little bit more. It felt like a bit of a leap to me. Having said that, the story is still very credible and one that makes you cry and smile through the book. I loved the way it ended too, full of hope.
A 3.5/5 read for me.
June 12, 2015
A beautiful and sad story that emerges from two generations of secrets. The setting is WWII and the heart of the story is a romance between a Black GI and a English woman who at the time of their meeting believes she is a war widow. Their romance in the midst of bigotry and injustice is carefully crafted. I am the child of an African-American WWII veteran and some of the scenes remind me of stories told to me by my father...very real and intense. In the story, circumstances separate the two lovers just as the pair learns that they are expecting a child. Bill, our GI is deployed to another area without an opportunity to say goodbye. Life gets complicated for Eva, our protagonist, when the presumed dead husband returns after two years as a prisoner of war. His only desire is to be with his family and he quickly forgives his wife and agrees to adopt her love child. The story follows Eva over decades as she attempts to rebuild her life with a man she cares for but does not love. Haunted by guilt, regrets and tragedies, her sadness and secrets impacts the lives of her daughter and her grandchildren. The author does a good job of shedding light on the plight of the children of interracial relationships during and after the war. It took me a while to read this book. It is meticulously written, leisurely paced. and while never boring, I found myself wanting to hurry the story toward a conclusion just to end the agony. This is not a "light read". There are characters that you will love and other that will make your skin crawl they are so well described. The ending is both happy and sad but wonderfully gratifying. Do read it.
February 19, 2016
The basic premise was good and it started well, but I ended up being a bit disappointed by this book. Eva believes her husband has died in the Far East during World War II and has an affair with a black GI stationed near her Midlands home - the result of which is a baby. I won't reveal any more, but I didn't feel that the plot after that was convincing. Too many people die conveniently and some of the characters are too black and white (sorry, no pun intended), angelic or diabolical, to be believable.
The author clearly did a lot of research and period details abound, since the story covers the period from the 1940s to the 1970s. Even so, some of the dialogue strikes me as being too modern. I could give a number of examples, but one stood out when someone says, "No contest." Did they really say this the 1950s? It wasn't a current phrase when I grew up in the 60s and 70s.
The ending is just a bit too neat and sweet for me and some of the backstory is compressed into too few pages. An opportunity missed.
The author clearly did a lot of research and period details abound, since the story covers the period from the 1940s to the 1970s. Even so, some of the dialogue strikes me as being too modern. I could give a number of examples, but one stood out when someone says, "No contest." Did they really say this the 1950s? It wasn't a current phrase when I grew up in the 60s and 70s.
The ending is just a bit too neat and sweet for me and some of the backstory is compressed into too few pages. An opportunity missed.
April 25, 2015
Wonderful book
I choose this book as it was suggested on my Kindle Fire. The title intrigued me. After reading a little about it I thought it would be a good book to read. This book had many twists and turns that will keep the reader not wanting to stop reading until the book is finished. I find the writing style to be similar to my favorite author V.C. Andrews. I would definitely like to read other books from this author.
I choose this book as it was suggested on my Kindle Fire. The title intrigued me. After reading a little about it I thought it would be a good book to read. This book had many twists and turns that will keep the reader not wanting to stop reading until the book is finished. I find the writing style to be similar to my favorite author V.C. Andrews. I would definitely like to read other books from this author.
February 16, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. I just wished that Louisa would have embraced her color sooner and appreciated the beauty that made her different. Although many losses came to be her mother really lost her courage and strength during the story. She should have explained her history to Louisa. Too much time had elapsed losing out on previous time and memories. Still very enjoyable
December 1, 2018
Un libro romántico con toques de drama y basado en hechos reales, en historias verdaderas de mujeres que se enamoraron de soldados afroamericanos durante la II Guerra Mundial, y de los niños fruto de estas relaciones; niños que sufrieron el racismo y el odio a los diferentes.
La historia es primero la de Eve, una joven inglesa, con el marido desaparecido en combate en circunstancias que hacen presuponer su muerte, que conoce y se enamora de un joven negro, soldado de Intendencia del ejército americano. Ya entrados en la historia, esta pasa a ser la de Louise, la hija fruto de esta apasionada relación y su vida en un mundo que no acepta las relaciones interraciales, los mestizos, los diferentes.
En lo que se refiere a reflejar estas historias de amor prohibido, de racismo, el libro me parece un fiel reflejo de la época. Un soldado discriminado por el propio ejército; son reclutas o voluntarios, pero no pueden mezclarse con los soldados blancos; van a la guerra pero como cocineros, para que no se mezclen ni siquiera en las trincheras. Más de uno fue ahorcado por violación, tras quedar la chica blanca embarazada tras un flirteo amoroso; no digo que no hubiera violaciones, pero según tengo entendido sólo los negros terminaban ahorcados. Niños mestizos nacidos de estas relaciones son en la post-guerra y más tarde rechazados por una sociedad cada vez más racista; los mismos que antes daban la bienvenida a los soldados durante la guerra, aunque fueran negros, ahora los rechazan por su raza.
Pero..... el libro se pierde en dramas sin sentido; personajes que aparecen en escenas forzadas sólo para dar más drama a la historia; un drama que no era necesario, y que desmerece el resto de la trama.
La historia es primero la de Eve, una joven inglesa, con el marido desaparecido en combate en circunstancias que hacen presuponer su muerte, que conoce y se enamora de un joven negro, soldado de Intendencia del ejército americano. Ya entrados en la historia, esta pasa a ser la de Louise, la hija fruto de esta apasionada relación y su vida en un mundo que no acepta las relaciones interraciales, los mestizos, los diferentes.
En lo que se refiere a reflejar estas historias de amor prohibido, de racismo, el libro me parece un fiel reflejo de la época. Un soldado discriminado por el propio ejército; son reclutas o voluntarios, pero no pueden mezclarse con los soldados blancos; van a la guerra pero como cocineros, para que no se mezclen ni siquiera en las trincheras. Más de uno fue ahorcado por violación, tras quedar la chica blanca embarazada tras un flirteo amoroso; no digo que no hubiera violaciones, pero según tengo entendido sólo los negros terminaban ahorcados. Niños mestizos nacidos de estas relaciones son en la post-guerra y más tarde rechazados por una sociedad cada vez más racista; los mismos que antes daban la bienvenida a los soldados durante la guerra, aunque fueran negros, ahora los rechazan por su raza.
Pero..... el libro se pierde en dramas sin sentido; personajes que aparecen en escenas forzadas sólo para dar más drama a la historia; un drama que no era necesario, y que desmerece el resto de la trama.
January 9, 2016
The beginning of the book started off great, but after it ran it's (very short) course of the love story between Eva and Bill, the rest of the book fell miserably flat. It just went on this downward spiral that continued to get worse and worse. The author should have just extended and carried on the love story between Eva and Bill, instead of jumping to the next generation and onto the next generation, into a terribly bland and pointless story.
It jumped all over the place, changing characters, jumping to different decades, leaping around with little explanation, and seemed to be going nowhere endlessly. It felt repetitive, boring, and written very lazily. It also infuriated me how the author just killed off characters as if she had no idea what else to do with them. Once certain people became an inconvenience or the author couldn't think up a more creative way to resolve the problems, she just killed them off in the most stupidest ways possible. In was actually infuriating how many times she did this in the book.
When things got bad between Eva and her mom, the mom immediately dies in a freak accident. When Eva's husband returned, the author killed off little David without any real purpose. When the aunt was starting to play a (somewhat) important role in the story, the author killed off the aunt in a very cheesy fashion. When things were going bad with Louisa's uncle and her husband, the author immediately kills them off back-to-back. The story just ended up being really stupid. I was glad to finally be done with it and delete it off of my Kindle. I strongly recommend you to NOT read this book. It wasn't worth my time.
It jumped all over the place, changing characters, jumping to different decades, leaping around with little explanation, and seemed to be going nowhere endlessly. It felt repetitive, boring, and written very lazily. It also infuriated me how the author just killed off characters as if she had no idea what else to do with them. Once certain people became an inconvenience or the author couldn't think up a more creative way to resolve the problems, she just killed them off in the most stupidest ways possible. In was actually infuriating how many times she did this in the book.
When things got bad between Eva and her mom, the mom immediately dies in a freak accident. When Eva's husband returned, the author killed off little David without any real purpose. When the aunt was starting to play a (somewhat) important role in the story, the author killed off the aunt in a very cheesy fashion. When things were going bad with Louisa's uncle and her husband, the author immediately kills them off back-to-back. The story just ended up being really stupid. I was glad to finally be done with it and delete it off of my Kindle. I strongly recommend you to NOT read this book. It wasn't worth my time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2015
(I couldn't find a english version of the book that's why my review will only be in german)
Ich bin mir immer noch sehr unsicher über meine Bewertung aber für den Moment lasse ich es mal bei drei Sternen stehen.
Das Thema des Buches hat mit unglaublich gut gefallen (und es ist wirklich traurig, dass sich in den Köpfen mancher von damals zu heute nicht wirklich viel geändert hat, wenn es um die Hautfarbe der Menschen geht.). Mir hat auch wirklich die Aufteilung gefallen. Erst hatten wir Evas Geschichte, dann kam Louisas Geschichte und am Ende, im dritten Teil, ist alles zusammen gelaufen.
Allerdings konnte ich wirklich mit keinem der Charaktere irgendeine Verbindung aufbauen. Mich hat es zwar interessiert, wie es für alle ausgeht und was mit jedem passiert aber ich glaube nicht das mit einer der Charakere wirklich lange in Erinnerung bleiben würde. Die Geschichte als Ganzes, auf jeden Fall. Die Charaktere, nicht wirklich.
Manchmal war mir das Buch und Dinge die passieren auch irgendwie ein bisschen zu viel. Gerade wie die Sache mit Ray und mit Trefor gelöst wurde. Es hat gepasst und war nicht an den Haaren herbei gezogen, doch irgendwie hätte ich mir eine andere Auflösung gewünscht.
Im Großen und Ganzen mochte ich das Buch aber wirklich sehr gerne und hab es auch sehr gerne gelesen.
Ich bin mir immer noch sehr unsicher über meine Bewertung aber für den Moment lasse ich es mal bei drei Sternen stehen.
Das Thema des Buches hat mit unglaublich gut gefallen (und es ist wirklich traurig, dass sich in den Köpfen mancher von damals zu heute nicht wirklich viel geändert hat, wenn es um die Hautfarbe der Menschen geht.). Mir hat auch wirklich die Aufteilung gefallen. Erst hatten wir Evas Geschichte, dann kam Louisas Geschichte und am Ende, im dritten Teil, ist alles zusammen gelaufen.
Allerdings konnte ich wirklich mit keinem der Charaktere irgendeine Verbindung aufbauen. Mich hat es zwar interessiert, wie es für alle ausgeht und was mit jedem passiert aber ich glaube nicht das mit einer der Charakere wirklich lange in Erinnerung bleiben würde. Die Geschichte als Ganzes, auf jeden Fall. Die Charaktere, nicht wirklich.
Manchmal war mir das Buch und Dinge die passieren auch irgendwie ein bisschen zu viel. Gerade wie die Sache mit Ray und mit Trefor gelöst wurde. Es hat gepasst und war nicht an den Haaren herbei gezogen, doch irgendwie hätte ich mir eine andere Auflösung gewünscht.
Im Großen und Ganzen mochte ich das Buch aber wirklich sehr gerne und hab es auch sehr gerne gelesen.
May 18, 2015
Not done reading yet but here's what I think so far: the book sucks.
Stop reading it when Louisa enters high school. The story turns from a discussion on race to incest and rape. The authors favorite plot device is death, I think over half the characters have died in order to spur the story in the direction the author seems to want this to go, ie- down the toilet. Not to mention the setting in England is unbelievable and inaccurate. The characters are pretty American for a bunch of Brits during ww2. I'm no expert and I'm sure every country has its bigots, but I find it hard to believe these scenarios could occur in Britain, when they are traditionally American problems (not being served when your black, etc) in the late 60s/ early 70s.
The beginning of the book is alright, plot holes withstanding, if the book ended 200 pages earlier I would recommend it
Ok so I finished it and it improves near the end a little but not enough to add another star.
Stop reading it when Louisa enters high school. The story turns from a discussion on race to incest and rape. The authors favorite plot device is death, I think over half the characters have died in order to spur the story in the direction the author seems to want this to go, ie- down the toilet. Not to mention the setting in England is unbelievable and inaccurate. The characters are pretty American for a bunch of Brits during ww2. I'm no expert and I'm sure every country has its bigots, but I find it hard to believe these scenarios could occur in Britain, when they are traditionally American problems (not being served when your black, etc) in the late 60s/ early 70s.
The beginning of the book is alright, plot holes withstanding, if the book ended 200 pages earlier I would recommend it
Ok so I finished it and it improves near the end a little but not enough to add another star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2016
So the premise of this book had so much potential. It started out really great, but quickly went downhill. How can the main protagonist throughout the first part of the book change her personality so drastically? Eva is a strong character who doesn't care what people think of her or her relationship to Bill. She does worry about his repercussions due to ongoing circumstances, but all in all she's a strong character in the beginning of the book. Fast forward a few pages, and she just turns into a weak, scared person due to a horrible tragedy. Anytime there was a crisis I feel as if the author was like, Well I don't know how to go with this so I'll just kill off that character. By about 100 pages in, it was very soap opera-y. I don't recall reading any books in a long time that the author just killed off so many characters in the span of 400 pages. I do not like leaving a book unfinished, so I did trudge through the last 300 pages after thinking maybe I should read something else.......
February 14, 2016
Not sure what to say...
I guess it's best to say I'm disappointed. I was excited to read this book as the premise really appealed to me. There was so much potential but I was never immersed in the story or characters. Something was lacking. At times the storyline felt too contrived. I'm sure with a bit of rewriting this could be a great story.
A little side note for the author....Walmart was a small regional store and wouldn't be found anywhere near Detroit at that time. While a very small part of the story, facts need to be accurate. Try changing it to K-mart(their headquarters was outside of Detroit at the time), Sears, Montgomery Wards and Woolworths. Walmart is a modern chain.
I guess it's best to say I'm disappointed. I was excited to read this book as the premise really appealed to me. There was so much potential but I was never immersed in the story or characters. Something was lacking. At times the storyline felt too contrived. I'm sure with a bit of rewriting this could be a great story.
A little side note for the author....Walmart was a small regional store and wouldn't be found anywhere near Detroit at that time. While a very small part of the story, facts need to be accurate. Try changing it to K-mart(their headquarters was outside of Detroit at the time), Sears, Montgomery Wards and Woolworths. Walmart is a modern chain.
January 7, 2019
I was interested in the premise of this novel because it is similar to that of "Small Island" by Andrea Levy. Both are stories of British women, whose husbands are missing, presumed dead, in WWII, who fall for a black man. "The Color of Secrets" didn't touch me as much as the other story. I think the author didn't give as much color to the background of England at war as she may have. I found the character of Eva to be a bit off-putting and I couldn't like her so much. Her daughter, Louisa, was much more approachable. Also, there are so many people here who die young and unexpectedly. I won't mention names, but they are legion. It seems that when a character lost importance to the story, they didn't just leave, they died from emotional shock or mental anguish. Really depressing. The ending was not too bad, but not enough to make me give this one more than 3 stars. There were a few interesting facts about the time period that I learned. About the treatment of black GIs in England by Americans and by the British, and about mixed-race children who ended up back in the USA when no one knew quite what to do with them. What a shame and even more depressing than some of the other occurrences in the plot.
September 20, 2019
I have been reading back to back to books since the past 4 weeks. And somehow, one after the other, I have been reading stories that carry on through the generations; they begin with a few central characters and then evolve over the next few hundred pages as their sons, daughters and grandchildren. The Color Of Secrets turned out to be one such story too but the theme of the book can easily be defined as 'love'. Between a young solider and a young woman, between a mom and a daughter, between siblings, between sets of people who like the story, keep evolving and keep developing.
Its a beautiful saga that defines how much people can wait in love, how they can grow old while keeping their heart felt desires at bay and how they can burn but still keep moral obligations. The story weaves scenes of how physical attraction can range from feeling nothing with someone to feeling over the moon with someone else. The spectrum of feelings in the book are very identical to real life stories of today and Lindsay Ashford has done a great job of stitching this in the post world war II era.
I don't want to mention characters here because I don't want you to be biased or prejudiced about A certain character in the book but what I can tell you is that you will not be disappointed. You will go through a myriad range of emotions while reading this and I am not sure how your story is but I can tell you that my story was very identical to various things in this book and I will forever treasure reading it with my twin in my head.
Highly recommended!
Its a beautiful saga that defines how much people can wait in love, how they can grow old while keeping their heart felt desires at bay and how they can burn but still keep moral obligations. The story weaves scenes of how physical attraction can range from feeling nothing with someone to feeling over the moon with someone else. The spectrum of feelings in the book are very identical to real life stories of today and Lindsay Ashford has done a great job of stitching this in the post world war II era.
I don't want to mention characters here because I don't want you to be biased or prejudiced about A certain character in the book but what I can tell you is that you will not be disappointed. You will go through a myriad range of emotions while reading this and I am not sure how your story is but I can tell you that my story was very identical to various things in this book and I will forever treasure reading it with my twin in my head.
Highly recommended!
October 8, 2021
A bittersweet story told over decades
This was a story about the relationship between a young British woman and a black GI during WW2. The story attracted me because it's not often written about.
It tells Eva and Bill's story as well as that of their daughter. A mixture of romance and bittersweet moments in the lives of all involved. Definitely worth reading.
This was a story about the relationship between a young British woman and a black GI during WW2. The story attracted me because it's not often written about.
It tells Eva and Bill's story as well as that of their daughter. A mixture of romance and bittersweet moments in the lives of all involved. Definitely worth reading.
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