Oh how I loved this book! I stayed up all night reading it, I just couldn't walk away from Jenny's story. I read The Letter by Kathryn Hughes four and a half years ago, it was before I wrote reviews but I remember loving that book as well.

Jenny is a centenarian in 2019 and she and her carer, Candice have a close bond. Candice has an ass of a boyfriend named Beau. When Jenny asks Candice to accompany her to Italy Candice jumps at the chance. This story is mostly told from Jenny's point of view, in two timelines...1940 when she is 21 and 2019 when she is one-hundred. We also get the odd chapter from Candice's point of view in 2019.

I loved the 1940 chapters, which is usual for me. For some reason I always enjoy the before chapters more, no matter the genre. During this time Jenny falls for two men, while on a farm in Wales. She was sent there, from Manchester, with her almost five years old brother, Louis. Their mother sent them there for safety reasons during WWII. I loved little Louis, he was so sweet and precocious.

Candice has dreams and desires, she wants to better herself and go to beauty school, but her jerk of a boyfriend just keeps getting in her way and bringing her down. I loved how these two ladies stuck up for each other and stayed the course to follow their dreams. The ending was such a surprise and pure bliss. I cannot wait to dig into another of Ms. Hughes books! All. The. Stars.

This is a beautifully written dual time line book.
2019 - Jenny turns 100 in her nursing home and after celebrating, her carer Candice takes her back to her room.
They take a look in her precious memory box and memories of the past prompt Jenny to ask a big favour. Would Candice accompany her back to Italy so that she can attend a commemoration ceremony?
Candice lives with her controlling boyfriend Beau, who isn’t happy about her going on this trip and leaving him alone.
1940 - Jenny and her younger brother Louis are evacuated from London to a farm in Wales to escape the bombs. Here she meets Lorcan and Nico, who are both vying for her attention.
The story is told by both women and as the book goes back and forth in time we discover how some heart breaking choices and buried secrets affected Jenny’s life.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a dual timeline story and jumps between 2019 and 1940. Some language, sex, and violence. Feels a little like a soap opera but kept me reading to find out what happened to the characters.

2019
Jenny turns 100 in a nursing home and doesn’t have any family. She asks her caregiver, Candice Barnes, to help her make a journey to Italy on an anniversary to lay the past to rest. Candice has a lousy, clingy, possessive, controlling boyfriend named Beau Devine who is a singer and songwriter. He blames his behavior on being orphaned when his parents are killed in a car accident leaving him alone. Jenny is good friends with Frank, a kind old man in his 80s at the nursing home whose partner recently died.

1940
Connie Tanner, a widow, sends her kids Jenny and Louis to the countryside to be safer during the war. Jenny is 21, Louis is 5 but acts younger. Jenny is a dressmaker with bad lungs and leg from polio when she was 12. Lorcan Evans is 22 and picks them up to help his parents Bryn and Delyth/Del Evans. He was close to his maternal grandpa and learned to whittle from him.
Young and handsome Domenico/Nico Bernardi, also 22, moved from Italy ten years earlier and helps his parents Enzo and Valentina/Lena run their cafe/gelato shop. He calls her Jennifer and is a huge flirt. The town turns against them when Mussolini declares war on Britain, Enzo and Nico are arrested and Nico disappears.

The author does a good job showing the results from choices the characters make and their attempts to make amends.
Thanks to NetGalley for a temporary digital copy to use for my review.

This was a fantastically, emotional, heartfelt read. I really loved it. It's about memories, loved one and facing the forgotten skeletons of the past. Both Jenny and Candice were strong, likeable and highly credible characters. They were well researched and well written. As were the settings, the atmosphere and this historical facts. I really really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.

The Memory Box by Kathryn Hughes is a wonderful story of Jenny, who reaches a 100 years of age and has one wish that she still wants to fulfil
and she asked Candice the carer in her home to assist her and travel with her to Italy.
This is an amazing story and covers the lives of two women and tells their stories. Jenny was evacuated in the Second World War with her younger brother and has an uplifting story to tell. Candice is in a relationship with a controlling and bullying young man and only realises when the two women are in Italy and Jenny steps in to save her.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Highly recommended

A beautiful book from start to finish! A lovely story with more than its fair share of heartbreak and tragedy. Brilliantly authentic characters throughout and a tale that will stay with me for a while.

This had much more depth than I expected. I haven't read anything by this author before but a quick search and historical research looks to be one of her strengths.
The Memory Box touches on several important issues; domestic abuse (mental rather than physical) and how destructive it is, the importance of family (both blood ties and adopted), as well as aspects of the second world war that I hadn’t been aware of.
There are many flashbacks as the story from the past has many parallels to the one in the present. The characters have strong voices and there are several twists and turns that all add extra layers to the plot.
It all ties up beautifully and has a satisfying conclusion.
I enjoyed this and would recommend.

I was so immersed in this story. When I wasn't reading it I kept thinking about it, even after I had finished the book. So many author's try to do the dual time periods, but few do it well. This author did a great job with it. While I have read a lot of war fiction, this was different to me, as I was just as interested in the present story, as I was in the past happenings. Would definitely read this author again!

Thank you so much for the opportunity of reading this wonderful historical fiction novel.
I finished it in only a couple of sittings and I absolutely adored it.
I liked that there were multiple POVs and of course different timelines, but it was not confusing at all. The writing flows and it is a pleasure to read; I actually learned some new words, firstly because some were in Welsh, but also because some were less common in spoken English.
Even though it is an historical fiction novel and WW2 has a weight in the narration, it was not the focal point of the story itself.

I loved the description of Nico explaining Jenny how to eat a gelato properly - being Italian I can fully understand!
I adored the scene with Jenny and Louis just before her wedding, it made me miss my own brother and the author managed to capture the little one's sentiment perfectly.

Beau made me feel a kind of hate I didn't know I could feel. Every time he was in the scene, I just wanted to punch my Kindle or throw it out of the window. Could not stand the guy whatsoever and Kathryn Hughes made a splendid job in building his character.

To conclude, I loved the book, I cried a couple of times; it was such an easy read and a page turner.

The Memory Box by Kathryn Hughes is an amazing read and not the first brilliant book I have read from this author.

After Jenny's 100th birthday party she confides in Candice, Jenny's carer, about her past through the items kept in her memory box.
Jenny travels back to 1940 wartime where she was billeted in Wales with her younger brother Louis.
As the story weaves through two timelines we learn as much about Jenny's life as we do Candice's.
I found Candice and her boyfriend both irritating characters to begin with, but as time went on, I really warmed to Candice.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the arc in return for an honest review.

Jenny turns 100 while living in nursing home. She’s become friends with one of the workers. We learn about her life as she tells her story to Candice. It’s kinda of a sad story and it had some surprises along the way. I enjoyed the story and plan on reading more by this author.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

In 2019 Jenny Tanner turns 100! She’s as sharp as a tack, mentally speedy even if she’s a bit slower moving around that she used to be! She lives in an upmarket care home and Candice Barnes is her lovely carer. They look in Jenny’s memory box together and she asks a big favour of Candice so she can lay some ghosts from her past to rest. The story is told in dual timelines from 1940 onwards and in the present day.

What a lovely, emotional story that delves into both women’s lives. Jenny has a fascinating story to tell which is both heartwarming and heartbreaking as it takes us from being billeted in Wales in 1940 with her much younger brother Louis, to wartime Italy and beyond following the story of her marriage. The wartime story is very good and I particularly enjoy this part as Jenny walks tightropes. It’s a story of love, loss, tragedy, sacrifice, guilt and learning to forgive. Jenny is the most wonderful character, she’s funny, wise, perceptive and caring. Candice’s story demonstrates how easy it is for kind hearted souls like her to become controlled by another. She too is so likeable, very kind, sweet natured and you so want her to have the chance to fulfil her dreams and be happy. The story is well written, all the characterisation is done with skill, it’s very easy to read with some very good descriptions. The dual timelines interweave smoothly and so the novel flows. There are some good twists although maybe one of two are a bit too convenient and coincidental but it does make for a good yarn and I do enjoy them!

Overall, it’s an immersive read and it’s a pleasure to be transported to Italy and Wales for a brief while!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Headline for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This was a great page turner and I enjoyed the read, however it did feel a little stretched from an age perspective. A hundred year old woman is highly unlikely to be capable of virtually all of what’s contained within the novel - if it had been pushed back a few years & the character been 75-80 then it would have felt much more believable. Candice was also a little two dimensional, it was predictable and a little cliched.

This story is set in present day and in the 1940"s.Jenny and her brother Louis are sent to the country during WWII to get away from Manchester and be safe. Lorcan takes them home to the small farm he lives on with his mom and dad. Jenny was a frail lass as she had been sick when she was 14. Jenny and Louis become fond of Lorcan and his family. One day Louis disappears from the farm and Jenny is frantic. Lorcan and Jenny go to look for Louis and in town they find him with Nico eating ice cream. It just takes one look and Jenny falls in love with Nico. Lorcan is in love with Jenny and tries to win her affections. Nico (who is Italian) is sent from the village.. Now present day Jenny is in a assisted living facility and her aide is Candice. Jenny takes Candice in her confidence and pulls out her memory box. The story flows easy from past to present and has a few surprises through out. I seem to be drawn to WWII stories and I learn so much history from each book. Kathryn Hughes wrote a book that you should enjoy. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of 100 year old Jenny who lives in a residential care home. Jenny is particularly close to carer Candice and wants her to accompany her on a trip to Italy so she can put the past to bed whilst she still can. She tells Candice the story the mystery of her past and why she wants to go starting with her and her brother being evacuated to Wales in the Second World War.

I have to be honest and say that reading about WWII or in fact any war is not normally you cup of tea. I have read all of Kathryn Hughes’ other books and enjoyed them very much so couldn’t not read this one. The story is not so much about the war but things that happened to her during this time. I have to admit though that the present day story of Candice and her boyfriend was the part of the story that I enjoyed so much more than the mystery of the past. This was a beautifully written story which I enjoyed overall and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

I always enjoy reading Kathryn Hughes books and I was delighted to receive a copy of her new book The Memory Box.
Jenny has just celebrated her one hundred birthday.
This is the story of her life starting from the Second World War when she was evacuated with her brother to a small town in Wales.
I really enjoyed this story, the history and the characters.
I’m looking forward to the next book by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Memory Box
This is a beautiful book. From the first chapter I was hooked. Jenny Tanner is one hundred years old and celebrating her birthday in Green Meadows Care Home. Her carer is Candice a young girl with whom she has struck up an unlikely friendship. After the birthday party Candice brings Jenny back to her room to help her settle into bed and while there she comes across Jenny’s jewellery box. Intrigued by the box and it’s belongings Candice has a root around inside and soon the questions begin. Told between two timelines, we learn as much about Candice as we do about Jenny in a story that spans eighty years. An absolutely fabulous tale I loved every word of it. Definitely 5⭐️ from me. Thank you to #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this wonderful story which I would recommend to anyone who loves to lose themselves in a book. #TheMemoryBox #KathrynHughes #WWTwoFiction

I was over the moon when my request to read and review this beautiful story was verified. I had to wait only for seconds to download my copy and there it was, a treasure for me to read. My copy came through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Review. Thank you. I have loved following Kathryn Hughes and her superb novels and I kept my fingers crossed for yet another masterpiece of literature. It was everything I had hoped for, and even more again. This story is poignant, breath taking, thought provoking and very emotional.
The modern story is a thread surrounding Jenny Tanner’s one hundredth birthday. She lives in a care home and is as bright as a button. Her favourite carer is Candice Barnes a local girl who lives with her partner Beau, a would-be musician. Jenny is desperate to go to Italy once more. She needs to atone for her past and she intends to go to Cinque Alberi for the 75th Commemoration Service. Only then, will she feel content and able to live the rest of her life at ease. She asks Candice to go with her and at her expense. She has been telling Candice the story of her life and only when she has finished her story in Italy will Candice know her full life history. Candice has agreed to be her chaperone and look after her needs while they are away, much to the annoyance of her partner who is very possessive.
Jenny’s story starts with the outbreak of World War 11 when she was a teenager. She and her little brother Louis lived with their mother in Manchester. The war was raging and their mother knew that a big city was not a safe place for her two children so they were evacuated to a farm in Penlan in Wales. They loved the clean countryside and were cossetted by their adoptive Evans family. Jenny received a beautiful carved box as a gift while she was there. This memory box stayed with her all of her life accumulating her treasured memories. Life with the Evans family became both the making of little shy Louis and eventually saw Jenny leaving Wales without her treasured brother, and all for the Italian love of her life. They moved back to his homeland and settled with his family in Cinque Alberi, a small seaside town in Italy, but Louis wanted to stay on the farm. This lifelong rift between brother and sister broke Jenny’s heart and was what she regretted most in her life. This is Jenny’s story and what a rollercoaster of a story it was. I was hooked from the very beginning of the book right to the final riveting twist in the Epilogue. It was nothing short of sensational, a gem of a story, and one I will be certain to recommend to my friends, family and followers.
I loved everything about this novel: the alluring and intelligent storytelling, the gorgeous and eclectic characterisations and the storyboard both robust and authentic. I knew nothing about the World War 11 Italian war effort of the ordinary Italian people, the guerrilla fighters that tried to save their country and fought for a life of freedom. This dual time frame novel taught me about the resilience of the ordinary Italian and their passion for their country. I love to learn more as my life goes on and this novel gave me a story I will never forget. It is a story of love in wartime, secrets kept deeply buried, grief, forgiveness and finally resolution.

Oh wow what can I say, I loved everything about this book. I have read a few books by this author and enjoyed them all. I loved the rollercoster ride this story takes you through especially the twists and turns at the end. It is well written jumping from past to present. This book will have you both happy and sad, I didn't have time to guess any plots as I was too wrapped up in reading the story.

I would highly recommend this book, in fact I have already told my sister she needs to get a copy.

Wow, what a great read, I LOVED IT!!!!!
The story was lovely, tragic and I couldn't get enough of it. The characters were so important to the plot and they all added something to the story.

A beautiful story that will enjoyed by many, I'm sure!!!!