It took a while to warm up but after about a third of the way through the book, I really got into the story. It follows Bea a black lady from Grenada and the developing relationship with her future husband Patrick, a white man from Ireland and their move away from the island as they marry and endure the highs and lows of marriage.

Set in two periods - the 1950s and present day, we see the gender and racial discrimination that both encountered as a consequence of their mixed race marriage and the attitudes to their careers. I found this aspect of it particularly fascinating and often read with disbelief as many of the concepts we take for granted today were challenged.

We hear a lot about those who travelled over as part of the Windrush generation but personalising a lot of the issues with this couple really made the whole thing far more relatable. The twist in the story , which I won't detail here for anyone reading this, was quite heart wrenching. All in all an enjoyable book.

Thank you NetGalley and Orion for this eCopy to review

The Mapmaker's Wife is an epic historical romance about interracial marriage and the end of the British Empire. Fast forward to 2015 and family secrets are uncovered which show Amelia's life in a whole new light.

I loved all the different locations and the exploration of family relationships and marriage. An engrossing read.

Lovely storyline and characters loved the duel timeline, really enjoyed this book, very descriptive and the story draws you in the more you read

This book promised so much in its description that I felt cheated. It was an ok story, a family saga spanning decades and continents. The beginning was full on and descriptive and kept me hanging on with the true love story between Bea and Patrick. However the longer it went on, possibly true to life, for me it became mundane and ordinary, bordering on boring. It gathered little momentum towards the end but that tailed off.

Beatrice lives in Grenada, a stunning country in the Caribbean. She’s one of three daughters, she has an older sister Millicent and a younger sister Bette. Bea has never considered leaving “Spice Island” until she meets English surveyor and cartographer Patrick Anderson.

The couple are swept up in a whirlwind romance, Beatrice travels to England with Patrick, she's been warned about the cold weather, Bea wasn’t expecting people’s rude attitude towards coloured people and interracial marriage. Patrick accepts his next posting, Beatrice is ready for their adventure and she’s keen to leave England and she has no idea what her life will be like as a wife of a busy surveyor in a foreign country.

The story has a dual timeline, it’s told from the two main characters points of view, Beatrice in the middle of 1950’s and Amelia in 2015 and it's easy to follow.

Amelia lives in Grenada, she has a daughter Maryse, she’s busy getting her parent’s house ready to sell and her widowed father is going to move in with her. Packing up a lifetime of family memories is hard, whilst doing this she discovers a locked trinket box at the back of her mother’s wardrobe, it contains a book, letters and Amelia uncovers a family secret that’s been hidden for over fifty years.

I received a copy of The Mapmaker’s Wife by Hannah Evans from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a review. Based around true events, Hannah Evans explores interracial marriage and racism, the effects of isolation and loneliness on a young bride, and her having to make a heartbreaking choice and the lasting consequences.

Five stars from me, I had never heard of Grenada before, what a beautiful place and it eventually became part of the Commonwealth and like Australia and the message I got from the compelling narrative was adopted children are chosen and a precious gift.

Enjoyed reading this book but it felt a little disjointed in places, struggled a few times but did keep going. Characters were good and will certainly keep an eye open for more from this author.
My thanks as always to NetGalley and to Orion Publishing Group | Orion for the early read

A decent enough book with really interesting locations and period of history but I just felt that it fell a bit flat. It felt that there was no real strong storyline and it just sort of slowly meandered along. I would have loved to find out more about the lives of Bea and Patrick in each country but it was all glossed over.