As you’d expect from Rachel Hore, a fabulous book based on true historical events. Beautifully told with drama, love, human interest and full of believable characters. I’m quite sad to have finished such a wonderful story. As always, looking forward to more more this great author, she never disappoints.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hore is a book set in wartime Britain and France.  The protagonist is Maddie, a young woman who falls in love with Philip, a Lieutenant in the army. The book describes the course of their relationship, particularly the very tense period in which Philip is missing,  presumed dead, leaving Maddie alone with their two young daughters. When their house is bombed Maddie retreats to Phillip's ancestral home of Knyghton in Norfolk, to live with his aunt Gussie and cousin Lyle whom she has never met. What follows is a roller coaster read about many things including love, loyalty and temptation,  friendship and betrayal,  isolation,  hope and uncertainty, and family secrets and lies. I do not want to give any spoilers but suffice to say there is a good mix of happiness and (plenty of) drama. This is the first book by Rachel Hore that I have read but after reading this I would be keen to try more of her books. I enjoyed the story. I found it a very easy read, a good book for those times when you just want to read something undemanding. I enjoyed the descriptions of Knyghton and its inhabitants. The characters were really interesting- I liked the Fleggs and Gussie and I was intrigued by Flora and her role in the family's outcomes. I liked Maddie's independence and that she fought to keep her career as well as mucking in with the domestic jobs and keeping the family together. It drew on the loneliness of parenthood and being a 'stranger'. It was interesting to read Phillip's story interspersed with Maddie's and it helped to build the tension. I quite liked the way the relationships evolved on the whole, but I felt that, for me, there were parts that seemed rushed. At 470 pages it isn't a short novel, but I felt that there could have been more development around the ending, especially the way things turned out for Lyle and for the family in the future. I also felt that Philip and Maddie's courtship at the beginning seemed a little rushed.  A good test of a book for me is if I am thinking about it when I am not reading it and after I have finished it, and one Moonlit Night passes the test! I would recommend it to people who like reading about wartime, family secrets, and a bit of love and lust. 3.5 / 5 stars. Content warning for injury, shooting, kidnap, adultery, animal harm. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster via Netgalley for kindly gifting me an ecopy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book is about a family which was separated during World War 2. For me, the style and plot reminded me Kristin Hannah’s books, only with some mystical elements and not as deep and less connected to the realities of World War II.

When Philip meets Maddie he knows straight away that he has found a pearl. Their love for each other is easy for everyone to see. Soon they marry, settle into their home and rejoice in their two lovely girls. Philip’s career is in the Forces and he is often away from home on manoeuvres. Maddie is forging a career as an artist, having earned commissions to illustrate wildlife selections for a London publisher in the city of their home.
Philip is soon sent off to fight for his country in north France, leaving Maddie with their daughters. Early on in the war, in1940, their home is bombed and most of their possessions smashed up amongst the rubble. Only very few of their possessions are found. To begin with the family lodge with a kindly neighbour, but as the fighter planes discharge their bombs more and more frequently, Maddie decides to ask Philip’s aunt if they can come to the family home in the countryside. She has to consider the safety of her children who are already very frightened. The answer is yes, so Maddie starts packing up their few belongings. They arrive and are taken to Philip’s family home and they are welcomed to the country house that Philip once called home in the school holidays. They admire the house, called Knyghton, in Norfolk and meet Philip’s Cousin Lyle who manages the farm along with Land girls who volunteer to help. Philip has never talked much about his parents who lived abroad or his leisure times at Knyghton, but Maddie has a feeling of getting to know him more intimately at Knyghton.
The family believe Philip is dead when they hear that he is missing in action, but Maddie is trying to be positive and wants to believe he is separated from his brigade and will be reunited with them or make his way home. She stumbles upon a family secret when they are looking through photograph albums and she sees the image of a young girl in a family photo. Intrigued she asks questions about who she is. Immediately she realised that the question is taboo, because she is told the girl was called Flora but that she died too soon. No one wants to elaborate so she starts her own investigations.
I enjoyed this engaging and powerful work of historical fiction so much. Rachel writes with authority and from her heart. She has a real interest in history and this fact glows in her obviously well researched details, adding authenticity and enriching her story. Her storyboard oozes with mystery, tension and action. I loved the dual narrative between husband and wife, both brave, both hoping to be reunited but knowing it was not a given. What would be would be. I particularly enjoyed the characters in this story. They were clearly envisaged and skilfully developed throughout the novel. The issues of buried and destructive secrets, loyalty and betrayal and hope and despair carried through the story. I love a story with a well-considered ending and this was another very welcome attribute in 'One Moonlit Night’
I received this book through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Simon & Schuster UK in return for an honest review. Thank you most sincerely for my copy. I thought this was an excellent read and my 4.5* review reflects this fact.

A family home full of tragedy and well kept secrets is Rachel's latest novel to tempt her fans. Maddie's husband Phillip has never spoken of his childhood at the family Manor in Norfolk, but when she and her daughters Sarah and Grace are left homeless after a bomb destroys their London home she moves up there to protect her children. Phillip is missing in France feared dead but Maddie cannot accept this
She tries hard to settle in, but Sarah struggles at school when children tease her about the family and the witch who lives there. Grace talks to an imaginary friend and who is Flora and why does no-one talk about her?
I really enjoyed this novel, shows some of the hardships faced during the war, well written and some elements based on true events during the war.

I love Rachel Hore's books and was really looking forward to this one which did not disappoint! Compelling historical family drama set in lovely Norfolk which swept me up in the story. Highly recommend.

Rachel Gore’s latest is historical fiction, set during WW2. It is the story of a family and secrets that have been concealed for decades.

It is a nice read, a simple linear story which reveals what happens to Maddie and her two children after they leave London and wait to discover the fate of Philip, their husband and father.

I really like stories set in large ancestral homes in a rural setting. They are always appealing; I find the descriptions of nature restful, there are plenty of secrets hidden within and scope for strained relations and mysteries at the heart of the household.

The strand in France was well paced and well written, an interesting journey.

I felt there were some melodramatic parts in the book that seemed out of place in the rest of the story, but then understood they served to illustrate that Maddie was carrying a secret, from her childhood. Her ‘confession’ seemed rather extraneous to the rest of the story however, it did not quite fit and I wondered if it really served any purpose.

The twist at the end was obvious from the beginning of the novel, but I guess made for a neat ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC.

It’s definitely an unforgettable story and it just gets more beautiful and moving as it goes on until it reaches its conclusion which is a perfect ending. I absolutely loved it.

Huge thanks to Netgalley for an early read of this book, I absolutely loved it! I got into the story within the first few pages and didn’t mind my usual 4am wake up so could read some more before going back to sleep! The characters were described really well, I felt I could visualise them all clearly along with the house and village. And the description of the war consequences across France were really well written, all in all a fab book and I would highly recommend it x

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoy this authors style of writing and absolutely thought this was her best yet. Great characters, great location and a wonderful storyline. Would recommend.

Love love love!!! I could not put this down! I'm currently off work and I just keep reading and oh my god this book! Rachel Hore never fails to meet expectation. Such a good book.

I really loved this book. Exactly my sort of historical fiction and largely set in Norfolk. I was intrigued throughout and really didn't want to put it down

Set in the early years of World War 2, the story follows Maddie as she flees London after her house is bombed. With her two little ones in tow she seeks refuge at her husband Philip’s childhood home in Norfolk where she hopes to feel closer to him. Philip is listed as missing in France but Maddie is sure he is still alive, and when she discovers a years-old mystery involving her husband, she soon realises why he never spoke about his past. And as the bombs rain down on battered Britain, can Maddie and her family survive the horrors of war?

A compelling family drama which was an enjoyable read.

One Moonlight Night by Rachel Hore

Forced to leave their family home in London after it is bombed, Maddie and her two young daughters take refuge at Knyghton, the beautiful country house in Norfolk where Maddie’s husband Philip spent the summers of his childhood. But Philip is gone, believed to have been killed in action in northern France. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Maddie refuses to give up hope that she and Philip will some day be reunited.
One again Rachel Hore has wrote a fantastic novel , she never disappoints to come up with a brilliant and totally believable plots for the era she writes about .

This was a heartfelt read that was well written with a good storyline and well developed characters. The book was full of vivid descriptions and rich imagery so I felt like I was at the house alongside the characters. A really enjoyable read.

This is a lovely read, very poignant, gritty at times, and with a touch of mystery that will keep you reading. Though it's set during war time, I felt that didn't come across all that much in the scenes set in England. There, it's more focussed on the house and its occupants, with dramas and secrets along the way. I was glad we had Philip's story as well so we knew something Maddie didn't bit ultimately it's her story. Gussie and Lyle are also great characters. I enjoyed it, read it quite quickly and would probably say it's a great one for the sun lounger or back garden, a simple but intriguing story.

This was a fascinating historical fiction read set primarily during the first half of the Second World War starting when the lives of Maddie and her two young daughters are turned upside down when their home is bombed and she seeks refuge with her husbands aunt, whom she has never met, in her country house in Norfolk. Maddie’s husband is missing presumed dead after the devastation at Dunkirk, Maddie refuses to accept he is gone but finds some comfort surrounding herself in his childhood home but the mystery of who Flora was and what happened to her casts a shadow over her life there. I found this an interesting read however my one issue was that I personally struggled to engage with the characters, that aside it was a thoughtful story, quite slow burning but that worked well and added to the feel of it. I would have liked to know more of Maddie’s life after the war but the end did fill in some good gaps.