I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great historical fiction novel. Love the cover.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Despite the high rating on Goodreads, I didn't like this book nor am I a fan of Kitson's writing. Similar to the first book in this series, I was disappointed. It is too choppy, tells rather than shows and the characters feel flat and are hard to follow. Not highly recommended for me.

Another great book in the byland series. Love the family saga. You will find this hard to put down. One of the best series I have ever read.

The second book in this series and I quite enjoyed it. The Cowgill family continued their journey and took us with them.

This second book carried on from the first (you need to read the first to get the full story) and became more interesting as you read on. It is interesting continuation which is in Yorkshire in 1923 with Sonny and his return to life after the war.

A good book that covers a period in time that we have all heard about but this is a new slant on it. The characters are good but at times I did get lost as there seemed to be a few too many to keep track of.

Overall a good book and I look forward to reading the next installment soon.

Bill Kitson's Storm Clouds over Byland Crescent is the second book in the Cowgill family saga. This book is the story of Sonny Cowgill and his family as he tries to rebuild and remember his life and their family's business. If you like historical fiction, you will love this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
This is the second book in the series, and inevitably the number of characters is increasing as the families grow; I would have liked to see family trees at the start of the book as mentioned in my review of the previous book. This novel spans the period between both world wars and the events and actions of the characters reflect the changing attitudes and behaviours accurately. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am going straight on to the next in the series.

As this was the second book on the series l was looking forward to finding out what happens to all the family members and l was not disappointed. Again there was a good story and lots of excitement. The book was well written . Thank you for allowing me to read the books.

I have read other books by this author but nothing quite like this one. It is a brilliant read of epic quality, set mainly in Yorkshire in the period between the first and second world wars. It is a family saga where there are happy times but also very sad times, ties that can never be broken and enduring love. I was enthralled from beginning to end and can highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book so much I have now read it twice.

Having read Cowgill Family Saga, book 1, I jumped at the chance to read this book, another masterpiece! Following the Cowgill Family from 1923 to 1939 (I do hope there is going to be at least a book 3). There is so much happening to this family at the opening - in particular we learn about the lives of two brothers - Sonny (England) and James (Australia).

At the start of the book Sonny, who was thought dead in World War 1, has been found and he is learning to come to terms with all that he has missed. While in Australia his brother James and his wife are trying to come to terms with the loss of their eldest Son in Europe in the first world war, yet in business terms they were growing an empire. We are engrossed to find out how the stories of these brothers and their families lives are intertwined. Through this masterful storytelling we share the joys and the sorrows of the Cowgill family over the 16 years of the 20s and 30s.

I can't recommend this book enough. Thank you for allowing me to read it.

Discoveries

This second book of the Cowgill family saga is all about discoveries. Sonny, after returning home is starting to remember from his amnesia after being declared missing presumed dead. He is getting to know his son Mark.

After it is discovered that there has been a major embezzlement from the company by an employee, Sonny and his brother must decide what to do. When an offer to buy the company comes from an Australian Company wishing to keep the brothers on to run the company they cannot turn it down. However, Mrs. Cowgill , sonny's mother finds out a secret which about the Australian company which she cannot reveal.

James the eldest brother is still missing after he was disowned by his father for running off and marrying Alice, the housemaid. Will James and his family be united since his father's death, or will they stay estranged. Their story is still to be told.

This is a good second book to the series and was a good following to book one. I hope that book three is out soon and that it covers WWII and how the Cowgill family will fare. I also hope the Bentley is filled.

I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Bill Kitson for writing a second great book, to Jaffe Books for publishing it, and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

Another great book in this wonderful series. I was a little concerned that this book wouldn’t be as good as the first one but, I needn’t have worried . This was just as good as the first book and it continues on immediately from book one. As in book one the characters are interesting and likeable apart from one or two who add to the story. Not sure if there will be a third but, I do hope so. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I mainly picked this up for the book cover but god DANG this was such a fun ride! It was great curling up in my bed while doing online school and just getting sucked into the characters’ world and their relationships

Book two as we rejoin the Cowgill family a very enjoyable family historical saga, that is in four parts from 1923 to 1939 another remarkable tale from this author that I so enjoyed reading. We join Sonny and James two brothers reunited and the sorrows and heartache really show through. I do hope there is a book three to look forward to that I persume will take us into WW2 as they are my most favourite era in family sagas. So glad I got the chance to read this series. Worthy five stars.

“Storm Clouds Over Byland Crescent” is the second book in a historical fiction series (The Cowgill Family Saga) by Bill Kitson. This book, once again, follows members of the Cowgill family from the 1920s through the late 1930s. Because WWII wasn’t discussed, I’m assuming there may be another book in this series (and the author seems to hint at that in his Author’s Note).

My first comment is that if you haven’t read the first book, you may be a little lost at the beginning. After the first few chapters, as the characters are introduced (or reintroduced) the story gets going. In this book, the “next” generation of Cowgill members are followed as they go through Black Thursday, The Great Depression, the Spanish Civil War, and ends just as the United Kingdom enters WWII.

In the first book I felt like there was a plethora of characters and keeping track of who was who was difficult. In this book there are fewer characters, but two of them were not my favorites from the previous book - so while their adventures/story lines were interesting, I just didn’t care as much as the other story lines (sorry Mr. Kitson!). I also felt that the demise of one of my favorite characters, while believable, came so out of left field that it took time for me to process it. I did like that there was a glossary of UK/AU terms for possibly confused US readers. I still wish there had been a family tree, especially as I became a bit confused about how one character was attached to the family (though I got there in the end).

I think that this series would make for an interesting (if well done!) TV special - there’s action, adventure, family drama, suspense, and interesting story lines - but unlike the first book, because the family is more dispersed, the “family” tie wasn’t as strongly presented in this one.