Thea, a young woman who marries a man she thinks is good and kind, finds out quickly that she has been duped. Knowing she has few options with no family to help her, she endures the poor treatment and tries to get on with her life. She can see there is another world out there, evidenced by her parent's marriage. When a handsome furniture maker purchases the space next door, she is drawn to him, physically and emotionally..

When her husband is thrown into prison for cheating another crook, she realizes she doesn't need to be frightened any longer and her feelings for Adam, the furniture maker, move forward.

I enjoyed the book that at times was fast paced and exciting, but other times it just dragged. I thought the end was too abrupt. After all of the fabulous descriptions of the tobacco shop, the living quarters above it, and how the town looked and felt, then it just ended. I wanted to know how Adam and Thea went forward. Kind of a letdown after a very good story.

I am so glad I'm a woman living in this century. The beatings that Thea endured were horrific. If physical spousal abuse is a trigger for you, you might want to pass on this book.

England Yorkshire 1855. When Thea's father dies her only option is to get married and her father’s friend Ernie Goodson proposes she gracefully accepts. He owns a shop selling tobacco, she has a place to live and her life should be comfortable. Unfortunately Ernie is not at all what he seemed, he’s a nasty bully and extremely violent as well. Like many women Thea is too ashamed to tell anyone what her brute of a husband does to her, she keeps quiet and tries to hide the bruises. She has no other choice, it’s horrible and what could she do?

Adam Fitzwilliam rents the shop next to the tobacco shop, he’s a gentleman, and he makes and sells fine furniture. Thea notices how attractive her new neighbor is, he's caring as well and she’s unfortunately married. When Ernie gets himself into trouble, Thea hopes that she might escape her abusive marriage and she has no idea what her husband has been up to?

The Tobacconist’s Wife is a story about life in Victorian England, it highlights how single women had very few choices, if life didn’t go as planned, and a family member passed away and they had no option but to marry. Marriages were often for convenience, not for love, and will Thea get a second chance at happiness?
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, a quick and easy read and three stars from me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lume Books for my copy. I really enjoyed this book; I love historical fiction and this one was a really good story with a gripping plot, often quite distressing and always beautifully written with lovely descriptions. I will be looking out for more of this author's books.

Thank you to Lume Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest review. This is a sad yet, captivating story. There is a large amount of domestic violence in this book, so for some readers, it might be an endurance test. It is, however, an enjoyable story overall as I found myself very keen to read on.

I really enjoyed this book I could not put it down.

It tells the story about Thea after her Father dies she has no alternative but to marry Ernie Goodson who was a friend of her Father''s. She does not have a good marriage as Ernie is not a very nice man. He has secrets to hide and certainly does not want Thea to find out.

We have Adam Fitzwilliam who is a gentleman and he makes furniture, as his parents don't approve of what he does he decides to open a shop to sell his furniture.

Thea and Adam becomes friends and he sees what happens to Thea hoping to help her.

It is a nice love story in the end and I would certainly read more books from this author.

I couldn’t put this one down . Even though some parts were a little too closer to home,, I thoroughly enjoyed it

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I found it slow at the beginning but persevere as it gets better. Family saga at its best

Thea marries Ernie Goodson after her father dies, leaving her no remaining relatives and no means to make a living. Ernie was kind to her father before his death but she finds that as his wife, he is abusive and he has secrets to hide.

I found #TheTobacconistsWife#Netgalley to have been a book I could hardly put down before finding out the outcome of the story. A heroine who can overcome the odds against her and hope for a better future is always my kind of reading material.

A love story that shows that love will conquer all even in the face of adversity.
Written in Victorian times when women were seen as men’s property and could do what ever they liked with them Thea experiences terrible domestic violence.
Life for her feels hopeless until the handsome man called Adam rents a shop next to her husband’s tobacconist shop.
I have not read any of this author’s books before but it put me in mind of Catherine Cookson an author I used to love.
Brilliant read can’t recommend it enough

The Tobacconist’s Wife is the latest book from AnneMarie Brear. The plot was captivating even though it was slow paced. Full of intrigue, romance and heartache. The novel is written from two peoples perspective. The first being Thea, herself and the other being Adam Fitzwilliam, the university educated, who leaves his family Estate to start a business making furniture, against the wishes of his mother and father. A wonderfully written novel, a tale worth reading.

I got The Tobacconist's Wife By AnneMarie Brear, From Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

Having lost her father, Thea Goodson is alone in the world.

It is true she has a husband, but Ernie is more inclined to use his fists to keep Thea in line than to build on their marriage. And besides, Ernie Goodson has secrets – secrets that even his wife cannot share.

But in Victorian Yorkshire, appearances must be kept up, so Thea goes on powdering her bruises and forcing a smile as she toils in Ernie’s home and tobacco shop. There seems to be no other option.

That is, until a handsome and well-bred stranger arrives to set up shop next door…

Can Thea escape her misery and break from the conventions of society? Or will the clutches of her abusive husband confine her forever?


The Tobacconist's Wife,is one of those books, that on the face of it is light and easy to read, however underlying that, at the heart of the story is the brutal Marriage of Thea and her husband.

With the way Thea’s life is controlled with fists and how she has to be careful around him as well as the use of makeup to cover the bruises.

Ernie, Thea’s husband however is not a two dimensional figure, and there are times when you see that he is almost kind and feels guilty for what he did to his wife.

The novel is written from two peoples perspective. The first being Thea, herself and the other being Adam Fitzwilliam, the university educated, who leaves his family Estate to start a business making furniture, against the wishes of his mother and father.

The two perspectives gave the book a nice flow to the story, however one of the problems with the book was how it jumped from one person to the other mid chapter. This was confusing at times as it could take a few sentences to work out that the perspective had changed.

The change of character view was even more confusing when there was a jump in time as again added a slight confusion to the narrative.

Having it said all that I loved the two perspectives of the book as it showed that both Thea and Adam were trapped into a life that they did not want and having to struggle to see if they could get out.

In fact being trapped was another theme of the novel as most people seemed to be stuck, where they did not want to be. This could be both the two main characters themselves or the Fitzwillian family as a whole who are stuck living a life because that is the social convention.

Evan Thea’s husband Ernie is trying to change his situation for the better.

Who should read The Tobacconist's Wife? This book is for anyone who is storys centred on people and their struggles, as they attempt to change it for the better.

What a book. Firstly, I was upset at the amount of domestic violence and abuse Thea had to go through in her marriage.
I really wanted to rescue her.

The plot was captivating even though it was slow paced. It felt good turning page after page and wishing nemesis will catch up with Ernie.

This author writes well. The characters in this book are interesting.

I am giving it 4 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lume Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are mine.

Thea's father dies and she marries Ernie Goodson, who had befriended her ailing father and had everyone believing he would be a good husband and provider. It did not take long for Thea to discover the truth about her new husband. He was a vicious, violent man with secrets of his own. In Victorian times, there was no help for a beaten, battered wife. She was expected to just carry on. When a new shopkeeper moved next door to the Goodson's shop, she began to have a slight hope things could change. I enjoyed this story and the conclusion was satisfying to me. If you are upset or triggered by violence against women, be forewarned. This is depicted in this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lume Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair, honest review.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thea is a young lady who ends up in a marriage to Ernie Goodson. He was her fathers friend. Ernie was a sweet man who befriended her dying father. He ends of being a horrible drunk, thief
and abuser.
💰
She tries to be a dutiful wife but wants to find love and her marriage is not based on love. Ernie owns a Tobacco shop and Thea tries to help with the business. She soon discovers he has secrets and has started to mistreat her.
💰
A young man Adam opens a shop next store and Thea finds herself smitten with the him and he with her. He is running away from his privileged life and family to start his own business.
💰
Soon their lives are caught up in Ernies misfortune and his mistakes. Can Thea find happiness?

I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley.
The characters really drew me in as did the story. Thea and Adam were both very likable, but human characters. There is a theme of domestic violence in the book so if that is a trigger for you, then I wouldn't recommend it. I really enjoyed this story and would love to read more from this author.

Historical tale with some good characters and an interesting and unusual storyline.A desperate marriage is not working for Thea,whose husband keeps lots of nasty secrets, can she find a way out? An enjoyable read.

I had very high hopes for this book.. it sounded so good..
This book was........truly awful. The writing was haphazard and lazy. None of the characters were the least bit likable with the exception of a young boy and his school teacher that just....disappear for no reason. The herione, if you can call her that ,was less than likable and weak. I did not like her at all. The hero is weak and milktoast. Love scenes were boring. Can I have my 5 hours back please?

A wonderful story and one that i could hardly put down until i had reached the last page. It's the first time that i have read any books by this author and it will certainly not be my last. Recommended.

The best thing about this book is the strong-willed female protagonist; Thea Goodson. Right from the very start of the book you are championing her to find happiness, whatever that looks like to her.

Brear manages to create the characters in such a way that you can see them in front of you. This book brings your imagination alive, as it’s so brilliantly written. Brear also has the skill to keep you in suspense as to whether the hoped for romance will actually happen.

The book has everything; romance, intrigue, cruelty, humour, and a kick ass lead character; all wrapped up in the class divide of Victorian society.

From the very beginning, I developed an affinity for the main character, Thea. She has lost her father, and feels alone. She is married to a very brutal main, who is physically abusive. In Victorian times, the only way to handle her situation is to cover her bruises and carry on. Feeling like she has no way out, suddenly a very handsome man arrives and opens a shop right next to Thea and her husband, Ernie. I could put the book down, from that point. I was hoping this would be Thea’s way out of a bad marriage. Her happy ending, The writing is wonderful, and the author is adept at keeping the reader in suspense, if this was going to be the love story one hopes for. I highly recommend this book.