Farewell & A Child In Burracombe

Farewell & A Child in Burracombe does not mean I’m giving up blogging. It was a bit of unintential click-bate (sorry!). Today’s post is actually a double book review of Farewell To Burracombe and A Child In Burracombe. If you have missed any of my Burracombe book review series, you can catch up here:

The Bells Of Burracombe & A Stranger In Burracombe

Storm Over Burracombe & Springtime In Burracombe

An Heir For Burracombe & Secrets In Burracombe

Snowfall In Burracombe & Weddings In Burracombe

Celebrations In Burracombe & Surprises In Burracombe

Farewell To Burracombe

The Blurb

“That’s what makes life so exciting.” Jackie said. “We’re so lucky, we’ve come through so much and Burracombe has always been at the heart of our lives”

The day that Hilary and David have been waiting for has finally arrived and as the church bells ring out, everyone’s fingers are crossed for the day to go without a hitch. There’s nothing like a wedding to bring the village together.

Amongst the familiar faces, two new ones appear bringing big news and a mystery to solve. Could these strangers be who they say they are, or are their motives much darker than they first appear?

Times are changing in Burracombe and as young and old embark on new adventures, it’s time to say goodbye. But with friends like these, a goodbye is rarely for ever so instead we’ll say a very fond farewell.

My Review

With everything that happened in the previous book still fresh in my mind, I wanted to read this book straight away. Farewell To Burracombe starts off with the big wedding. However, I have to say I was a bit disappointed wit this. After years of building up to what Hilary’s wedding would be like, it only lasts one chapter. It just felt really rushed and in the blink of an eye, it was over. Considering it was the wedding of the landowners daughter, I thought it would go into a lot more detail.

When I read the title, I thought there would be a lot of changes. However, when I got to the last few chapters, I was starting to wonder if the tiled had been wrongly named. There wasn’t a single occurrence where somebody had said farewell for good. A couple of sad events took place but again, they were brushed over quickly. As with the weeding, I felt like this too was rushed.

From the near beginning there is a worrying secrets being kept by the oldest member of the village. It makes your mind race as you try to piece the clues together to work it out.

As a consequence, I felt spurred on to read and found myself finishing this book in record time.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews, there is always an annual event that each book focuses on. Farewell To Burracombe is no exception and you can read all about the Easter Monday extravaganza event. By freak consequence, I actually read the majority of this book on Easter Monday too, which was lovely.

The book leaves it on a bit of a cliff-hanger and you’d think it was setting itself up for the next book. However there is a problem with that. Whilst there are three more books in the series, there isn’t actually a follow on to this book. You’ll understand more what I mean by this in my next review. I don’t believe there are any plans to continue with the series at the moment but I would love for a follow on book that told me what eventually happened to all the characters I fell in love with.

A Child In Burracombe

The Blurb

Return to Burracombe in this warm and charming prequel to Lilian Harry’s much-loved series and discover where the story began…

Devon, 1943. While the young men are away, everyone in the village of Burracombe knows the war effort needs them too. Whether it’s Land Girls on the farms, wives and mothers having to make do and mend, or the villagers stretching rations to keep spirits bright, there is always something to be done to help.

When the Barton is requisitioned as a children’s home for war orphans, all of Burracombe rallies round to welcome their newest arrivals and one little girl in particular. Little Maddy Simmons, still reeling from losing her mother and brother in the Plymouth blitz, has now been sent to a different children’s home to he beloved sister.

As Maddy explores the village and makes new friends, she begins to realise that Burracombe is the kind of place where you will always have someone to turn to. Could this be somewhere she could finally call home?

My Review

Firstly, this is the first of three prequals in the Burracombe series. It is also the last book that you can buy in physical form. The other two mini books are kindle only versions.

What I really liked about this book is it filled in lots of gaps. It explored in a lot more detail, all of the things that had been briefly touched on throughout the whole series. Because it is set in 1943, a lot of the characters I’ve grown to love are either children or young adults.

The very first page is set in April Grove, Portsmouth. This is actually the setting from another Lilian Harry series that I read over ten years ago. Whilst I knew that Maddy and Stella were is that series, it was a lovely touch to bring the two series together on paper.

I’m not sure if I’m just being over emotional or if its because the second chapter is told from the prospective of two children. I just found the thought of the girls being taken away from everything and everyone they know so heart-breaking.

I did find this book dotted about a bit. That was mainly because it was trying to tell the stories of the two sisters. Surprisingly, it somehow worked well and added an extra diamention to the story. Overall I really enjoyed reading A Child In Burracombe. I loved the fact that it told a lot more of Maddy’s story as the Burracombe series focused a lot more on Stella for the first couple of books.

Final Thoughts

I can’t believe I’m nearing the end of the Burracombe series. I’ve been reading these books for over three months. I’ve been so invested in each book, that the characters feel very much like my friends. It makes me realise just how much I would love to live in a village like Burracombe.

Sign up to my mailing list for exclusive content: