"The River Between Us" is a wonderful story of relationships across the generations, covering just over a century of life next to the river Tamar. There are friendships, marriages, love affairs and plenty of infidelity. The reader does eventually find out who is related to whom and how, and getting there is really worthwhile. Complex characters abound and there is plenty of exploration of the social mores of the different periods covered. A great book.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

I was in two minds about this book as part I thoroughly enjoyed but some I found dragged somewhat. The story spans from 1914 to 2019 and I have to say I enjoyed the contemporary setting more than the past. There are quite a lot of characters and the relationships become slightly confusing and muddled at times. I think I could have done with a family tree at the end! Some of the past is explored through letters and rest by going back in time. I certainly took to the modern day characters more but rather than the ones in the past who I found a bit two-dimensional. A few twists and turns but nothing too unexpected and rather too many coincidences which only added to the convoluted nature of the story.

This novel, for me, was a mixture of historical and modern storytelling, which I enjoyed with memorable characters. I enjoyed the storyline from 1914 to 2019. The chapters alternate between two strong women, Lady Alice Neville in 1914 and Theo Pascoe in 2019. The story was engaging, romantic and emotional in parts and I personally thought the book could have been shorter. I struggled a quarter of the way in but the last three quarters kept me intrigued. Genealogy also played a large part in this story. This novel is about love, wartime, secrets and families. The book is also about betrayal but not in the usual way.

I would recommend this book.

I give a 4 start rating.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

The River Between Us is such an excellent and heartwarming read.The story is about Theo recently divorced who moves to the derelict Boatmans Cottage near the River Tamar and Lady Alice a hundred years before also has a great attachement for the same cottage .Love letters are found which tell a story of forbidden love and intrigue,set in Cornwall and Devon and so well written I could imagine the setting and characters so well .An Intriguing story of love ,loss ,determination and strength,plenty of surprises but the ending was very satisfactory .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

This is the first book I have read by this author, having read the blurb it was my type of book. I do enjoy the 'Then & Now' books I found the first part of Alice story very slow going, obviously the dialog is different because of the time early 1900's It covers a lot of issues Votes for Women is one. It also includes the love between men and is written in such a way you do not really notice, as in those days it was illegal.
The Today part of the story has its own problems. Plenty of Surprises, twists and turns before the story comes to a conclusion.
I enjoyed this book and Highly recommend. Thankyou to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review which I freely give
As a footnote, I have read some reviews where writers are complaining about coincidences to the relationship of people. Apart from reading another hobby of mine is tracing my family tree. I found that I was related to someone I had worked with a good 15 years before and also someone else who still worked at the same place I was also related. So coincidences do happen in real life

Another wonderful Liz Fenwick book. Real historical depth and an engrossing storyline that had me hooked. Characters who felt real. Sad when it finished as now have to wait another year for Liz's next one!

I started reading this book and enjoyed the very beginning when Theo moved into the cottage and the description of the cottage and surrounding area but unfortunately after that I found it flitted back and forth too much for my liking and I lost interest.

I did enjoy this book but I kept getting confused on who was who. I’m not a big fan of books that flit between timelines but in this case I enjoyed both stories. It’s just that there were so many characters I couldn’t keep up. This is possibly more of an error on my part though

I found Alice the least likeable character of all of them and didn’t really enjoy how selfish she was. I really liked Edmund but felt the ending for Zach was unfair. He was the hero but Edmund still managed to take that glory even in death.

A wonderfully evocative story which held me spellbound as the wartime letters and romance they contained. I loved it and would fully recommend it.

Theo, a newly divorced woman, wanting a complete change in her life, buys a cottage on the Banks of the Tamar, on the boundary between Devon and Cornwall. This is an area she visited as a child with her grandmother and has fond memories of. Meanwhile, the remains of two British soldiers, from WW1, are found in France.
Theo finds something in her cottage which makes her want to know more about its history, and the narrative then begins to alternate between Theo’s life in the present and that of Lady Alice in 1913. Alice is a debutante, beautiful and entitled, and her mother is looking to make her a ‘suitable’ marriage. But Alice yearns for freedom, for choice.
I enjoyed the book initially, and was intrigued to learn about Alice, and how Theo would reinvent herself, but as the story continued the coincidences ( which, let’s face it, most good stories need) piled up, and I struggled to accept some of them.
The pace also slowed somewhat, with lots of little irrelevancies, and I found myself wanting the book to come to an end, which is very unusual for me.
Overall, the book is good. I wouldn’t say ‘unputdownable’, but I would read more by the same author.

A beautiful story flitting between generations which is well written and keeps you engaged throughout.

After Theo's divorce she buys a run down old boat man's cottage on the river Tamor . Across the river is the big house to which the boat and cottage would have belonged to years ago. Theo finds letters in the cottage in which it appears that the under gillie had an affair with Lady Alice of the big house.
Theo meets new friends and one of them, Jeanette urges her to find out more about Lady Alice and her affair.
I enjoyed the first few chapters about Theo moving to the cottage . When we went back to just before the First World War it took me awhile to get into it. I was enjoying the book then I started getting confused with who begat who and who was a brother and who had an affair with who and whose house was Alice staying at. I also think there were too many coincidences , ex husband having his wedding where Theo was asked to do the flower displays, an inheritance that meant she could fix the cottage and the new friends she met all being somehow involved in Alice's story.etc..
I think I've read too many books lately where someone finds letters written years ago leading to them finding out about a past life. An okay story but not as good as others by the author , sorry .

When Theo's marriage dissolves due to her husband's affairs she sets out for independence by buying a ramshackle cottage on the banks of the river Tamar. With the help of new friends she begins to rebuild the cottage and her life. Finding a box of love letters leads her to discover the history of Boatman's cottage. Did Zach one of the previous residents have a relationship with Lady Alice from the estate where he worked? The letters reveal a distraught man fighting during the first world war tormented by his lost love. Can Theo weave all of the strands of history back together?

Firstly this book is really good. For once with a dual narrative book both stories are equally interesting. Theo's present day relationships and discoveries are page turners. In 1914 Lady Alice's story is one of hopes and passion and destroyed dreams.
So why only three stars? There are way too many coincidences. There's a lot going on and so many relationships (by blood or love) and the number of coincidences really pushing the limit of what is believable. Which is a real shame. It's still a thoroughly enjoyable book, with its Cornwall/Devon setting

I was lucky to be able to read an advance copy of The River Between Us by Liz Fenwick and it was the perfect novel to get absorbed in. I found it really hard to put down and it was full of characters whom you really would like to know what happened, in their lives, after the final page.
Multi-layered in both time and themes it shone with the Author's usual copious research and attention to detail.
It would be a perfect read for a book club as lots to debate and discuss; from the main theme of Love, in all its many forms, to women's politics and their place, restrictions, freedoms and choices to be made, in 'polite society'.
The main women, of different generations, Theo (present) and Alice (past), were equally, beautifully drawn with similarities and differences - also good to discuss.
As per usual, Liz's descriptive talents truly evoke the sense of place - whether the landscape or the bricks and mortar.
There are several narrative threads which are woven throughout and come together in a very satisfactory ending.
I really enjoyed this novel which was absorbing and thought-provoking as well as a really good read.

Whoever reads this books is in for a wonderful tangle of love affairs, culminating in understanding and family reunions for Thea. It covers I’ve between homosexuals, at a time when to be gay was forbidden,, across differing classes and the strictness of the early 1900’s. A book which I found hard to put down. Enjoy it

This is a book in which one can linger. Living in Cornwall I appreciated the descriptions, real not romanticised, of the area. Theo's cottage, bought sight unseen , turns out to have unbelievable history that somehow includes her life.
It's evocative, historically fascinating and I wanted it to go on and on.
Thank your a review copy.

Oh those letters!
I am an avid Liz Fenwick fan. Her story are compelling, her style of writing fantastic.
Yet again she didn't disappoint. I thought Theo heroine was perfect, and as for the setting? Just stop on. Liz has the ability to make you feel you are there.
And oh, those letters

Loved this book couldn't put it down. After her divorce Theo buys a cottage in Cornwall that needs a lot of work. She then discovers a lot of hidden letters that she then tried to find out about

Wow what a book. Really tugged at the heartstrings and it had me in tears a few times. A beautifully written, time travelling book. The way the years come together is wonderful and Alice’s love affair is so so real. The way the pieces of her life, Zach’s and Edmund’s come together is brilliant. Theo’s is almost a mirror image but not quite. I could imagine myself in the Cornish/Devon countryside it was so descriptive. I loved it. It’s a shame it had to end! Thank you

I love the cover of this book it is so eye catching and made me want to delve into reading it. The story is a dual timeline set on the Tamar River on the Devon/Cornwall border, in the present day you have recently divorced Theo who has bought a run down cottage called Boatmans Cottage on the banks of the Tamar and little does she know how this cottage has so many hidden secrets. In 1914 Lady Alice is a very determined young lady who enters the London season and is most certain she does not need a husband and wants votes for woman, after making a spectacle of herself she is banished to the country home on the banks of the Tamar. Where her family think she is out of the way and not able to cause anymore trouble, but little did they know how wrong they were. The book is captivating and I found it hard to put down, I wanted to know what the next twist and turn would be. It is a great read and I am grateful to have received a copy from NetGalley in return for an independent review.