Review: It Never Was You by William E. Thomas

Title: It Never Was You
Author: William E. Thomas
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Acute Angle Books
Publish Date: April 24, 2013
Source: I received a copy from the PR; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a historical fiction fan.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Harry Williamson is an ex-merchant seaman, a successful
businessman and a loving family man. When he disappears from a ferry in the middle of the Irish Sea, his grieving family are left with more questions than answers.

Who on earth is Mary Robinson?
Why did Harry leave her a small fortune in his will?
Had he been unfaithful to his beloved late wife, Lesley?

As they delve into his past, they discover he’s been
harbouring a secret which threatens to tear apart the very
fabric of their family history.

What unfolds is the heartbreaking story of a quiet, middle class merchant seaman and his unexpected, tragic relationship with a beautiful and exuberant waitress from the Liverpool docks as they struggle to reconcile their feelings for each other with the ever changing attitudes of post-war Britain."

My Two Cents: 

"It Never Was You" is the second book in the Cypress Branches trilogy and although it is part of the trilogy, it can definitely be read as a standalone book. This book takes place during and after WWII in England. As with Pegasus Falling, the first book in the trilogy, this book looks at how people coped and went about their lives and loves while their world was being thrown into sheer chaos.

The story begins when Harry's children find out that he has left part of his fortune to an unknown woman in his will after he has a mysterious and tragic accident that shakes his family. I sort of wish that the book would have ended there as well so we could see what the adult children find out (if anything) about Mary. The book ends instead in sort of a cliffhanger and I am wondering if the story of Harry and Mary will be picked up in the final book of the trilogy even though thus far, the first two books have covered different couples.

There were some sections of the book that I thought could have been streamlined a little bit in order to put a greater focus on the main arc of the book: the love affair between Harry and Mary. The detail about some of Harry's service during and post war, while interesting, almost took away from the story a little bit. I even thought that the beginning section about Harry's children could have been taken out as it was never integrated into the story after the beginning. I kept wanting to get back to the romance between Harry and Mary and to see where it went wrong and why Harry's life ended the way that it did! However, overall, I enjoyed the story. I love historical fiction about World War II and after the war. It's fascinating to see how people were living under such grave circumstances.