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If You Go Away

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If You Go Away

By: Adele Parks
Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens
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About this listen

Glamorous debutantes, heartbreak and discovering just what is worth fighting for in the new historical novel from Sunday Times best seller Adele Parks.

It's 1914. Vivian, a young, impassioned debutante is hurried into a pedestrian marriage to cover a scandal. War breaks out on her wedding day - domestically and across Europe. Quick to escape the disappointment of matrimony, her traditionalist husband immediately enlists, and Vivian has no alternative than to take up the management and running of his estate - after all, everyone is required to do their bit. Even pretty, inadequately educated young wives.

Howard, a brilliant young playwright, rushes to the front to see for himself the best and the worst of humanity; he cannot imagine what the horror might be. In March 1916, when conscription becomes law, it is no longer enough for him to report on the war; it's a legal requirement that he joins the ranks. Howard refuses, becoming one of the most notorious conscientious objectors of the time. Disarmingly handsome, famous, articulate and informed, he's a threat to the government. Narrowly escaping a death sentence by agreeing to take essential work on Vivian's farm, it's only then Howard understands what is worth fighting for.

©2015 Adele Parks (P)2015 Headline Digital 20th Century Historical Historical Fiction Romance Marriage Fiction Heartfelt Feel-Good War Law
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After a promising start and chemistry between the two main characters, the brewing electricity was snuffed out by a sub-par sex scene so unconvincing I have not listened to any more. Who has a chat about their childhood pets or whatever between gasps? What?! They were so desperate to get to know EVERYTHING about each other they couldn't get cosy and save the chat for later!? There are enough comedies out there that a romance novel does not need to (accidentally) do their job.

Lost me at the sex scene

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A romantic novel set against the horror of the First World War, marred only, for me, by a repetitive rather conceited narrative on occasions. The characters were drawn vividly, and the period conveyed with skill, albeit as stereotypes of class and gender in a changing era. The impact of what war does to individuals and communities is drawn in detail, leaving little to the imagination, yet the writers style of long descriptive paragraphs of horror and degradation failed to move me, and sometimes jarred, seeming trite. Worth a read and certainly well narrated.

The horror of war.

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Do totally different to her last and latest book. This was a story to make you sit up and think on the tragedies of war as well as a deep and painful love story.

Stark Reminder

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the story was a bit slow to get started but worth sticking with as it evolves

love story

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This was a very different kind of book from Adele Parks! At first I thought I wouldn’t like it because the narrator sounded quite different but I persevered and a great story unfolded. Adele must have done a lot of research for this one, the book really got you in to the feeling of the period. Recommended!

A moving story

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