A book with a lot of hard topics that is hard to read but also very well done with characters that you will cheer on until the very end.

##Netgalley #TheWorkhouseGirl
Merthyr Tydfil, Wales in 1885 and fourteen year old Enid Hardcastle was used to people calling her names because of her red hair and freckles when she was younger, she didn't like it then but now she is older she actually accepts it. But this person now calling out to her is Daniel Owen and he's not being mean to her, quite the opposite. He lives nearby in the "China quarter ". Unfortunately Enid's family falls on hard times and they are all admitted to the Workhouse. Only after a short while she is offered a maids position at a nearby big house. It certainly is a big house and Enid is taken aback at the size and grandeur of it. She is introduced to all the staff, some are even younger than her, but everyone is very friendly towards her and she is grateful to be given meals and two sets of clothes. But she is warned by the butler to be aware that the youngest son of the family may take an interest in her. She is also glad of having a bed to herself, something she never had when her parents had a house. Unfortunately Enid's life takes a turn and she finds herself with no job until she ultimately finds a new one after contacting the owner of the previous household. The other girls from the Workhouse always seem to be in Enid's mind and she is determined to help them out with employment especially her friend Connie, but is she now beyond being helped?
Fans of Downton Abbey will love this historic story of life both in the Workhouse and below stairs in a big house. I found it an enchanting yet emotional read, yet a book I couldn't put down. As with other books I have read by Lynette Rees this is surely going to be a smash hit too. Full of friendships, and ultimately hard times leading to living in the Workhouse and then in the servants quarters of big houses. Will these young women make a life for themselves?

Lynette Rees’s touching saga The Workhouse Girl is a dramatic, touching and emotional tale of courage, survival and love written straight from the heart.

Enid Hardcastle knows better than most just how tough life can be. Every day is a struggle for her and her family and when the bottom falls out of their world and making ends meet become impossible, the Hardcastle family find themselves in the workhouse. Despite the hardship and difficulties they endure, Enid is sure that there must be more to life than this and she is determined to do whatever it takes to get herself and her family out of this dark hole they find themselves trapped in.

Enid finds solace in her friendship with local lad, Jimmy, who like her has big dreams for the future. Jimmy has pulled himself up from his bootstraps and has made a name for himself as an entrepreneur. Inspired by him, Enid vows to fight for her family to give them the life they deserve. However, in her quest for riches, Enid must be careful because the road ahead is fraught with challenges and obstacles and if she takes one wrong turn, then she runs the risk of losing everything and everyone close to her heart.

Saga readers will be completely gripped by The Workhouse Girl. With a courageous heroine at its heart, The Workhouse Girl is a powerful tale best read with a box of tissues as Lynette Rees takes readers on an emotional journey through Victorian Wales that will hold them spellbound from the first page until the final word.

A heart-wrenching saga from a brilliant storyteller, Lynette Rees’ The Workhouse Girls is a terrific read Rosie Goodwin fans will not want to miss.

I have read a few @valeriekeogh2 books and this is definitely a new favourite and I can guarantee if you are a thriller lover you will be hooked too. The dark narrative of this book pulled me in and I couldn't turn the pages fast I needed to what happened, I loved the fact we had chapters from both Sarah & Nicks POVs that slowly revealed the truths and the motive behind it. I found I was constantly questioning everything you are told and was never sure who to believe. I genuinely believe the ending was plotted perfectly and you won't forget it in a hurry. #themother @theboldbookclub #netgalley

What a fantastic read. A brilliant story set in Victorian times which keeps you gripped from the beginning. Enid finds herself along with her family in the workhouse after her father loses his job but life gets even worse for her when she is sent to work as a housemaid in a large residence.Even though she ends up traumatized after a terrible incident occurs with determination and extraordinary courage she finds the strength to turn her life around. I really hope there's a follow up to this novel as there is certainly more to discover

The Workhouse Girl by Lynette Rees .

Once a workhouse girl, always a workhouse girl...
Enid Hardcastle has always had a hard life, but when her family can’t make ends meet and are moved to the workhouse, it feels like things can’t get any worse.

But luckily for Enid, her friendship with local boy Jimmy gives her the strength she needs. Also from the cold, hard streets of Merthyr, Jimmy has made his name as an entrepreneur, repairing boots and hand-delivering them to the fine people of the town.

A wonderful story , very easy to relate to the characters and the story was very believable.

In this emotional and heartfelt historical fiction novel, Lynette Rees introduces readers to the workhouses of nineteenth and twentieth century Britain. Following Enid Hardcastle, who moves to the local workhouse with her family, readers explore her placement in some grand local houses, but these places are not as safe as the dreary conditions of the workhouse. Bolstered by her friendship with local entrepreneur Jimmy, Enid wants to find a way out of the workhouse for her and her family through their hard and honest work. When her job at a grand house becomes unsafe, Enid’s life and relationships completely change and force her to find a new life elsewhere to continue her dream of a self-sufficient life for her and her family. With a strong-willed protagonist and a host of complex minor characters, Rees brings the struggles of working-class life and the workhouse to life in this novel through the contrasts between Enid and her coworkers and her employers. The vibrant settings and complicated characters really add to the atmosphere of the novel, and the juxtaposition of the different locations really add to the atmosphere and emotionality of this novel. The incredible detail and vibrant characters and settings make Rees’s latest book a must read for fans of historical fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

First thing that drew me to this book was the gorgeous cover! And for some reason I thought this was a Christian book...it is not! It is historical fiction which deals with some atrocities of the time period, not only the differences in the class structure, but also the blatant abuse that occurs between the two.

The story centers around Enid and it was a very emotional journey she encounters. Some of the situations and the "evil" characters felt a little over the top. Overall, it was a solid story, but the ending felt so abrupt and there wasn't full closure. I'm not sure if this is the start of a series, so maybe we will find out what happens next...and especially where is Jimmy??

3 stars

A quick, easy read where we catch up with some familiar characters, a reminder for us just how vulnerable women were at this time and highlights the gap between classes.

The Workhouse Girl is a quick, engaging read. The story centers around Enid and her experiences as a maid. There is a theme of overcoming adversity and standing up to the people who have wronged you.

This is a feel-good story which I think it made it feel improbable to me at times.

The ending seemed abrupt and for me was not particularly satisfying. I am assuming that the author plans to write additional books about these characters since the story, especially related to Enid and Jimmy, was unresolved.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story and I was interested in the outcome of the main character who was a kind and strong woman. My final rating would be 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I became a fan of Lynette and her work a couple of years ago. I am steadily making my way through her earlier books. I read the synopsis of 'The Workhouse Girl' and it certainly sounded like the sort of book I have come to expect from Lynette - a gripping and emotional saga. Well it was certainly all that and so much more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Workhouse Girl' but more about that in a bit.

The cover of 'The Workhouse Girl' was enough to grab my attention and draw me in. How could I ignore a cover featuring a ginger haired young woman? It's a ginger thing. Anyway back to the point. When I started reading the story itself I quickly realised three things - firstly that I was reading something special, secondly that I was going to become addicted to the story and thirdly that I would struggle to put the book down. Guess what? I was spot on with all three predictions. i initially picked the book up only intending to read a chapter or two but I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the story. I did struggle to put the book down. My Kindle wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss a single second of the story. I had warmed to the character of Enid so much that she ended up feeling more like a friend than a character in a book. I had to keep reading to see if the story was going to play out in the way in which I thought it would. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. All too quickly I reached the end of 'The Workhouse Girl' to be a gripping and emotional saga which certainly kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

'The Workhouse Girl' is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Lynette Rees. Lynette has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. Lynette certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of an emotional story and then some. Lynette's love for her characters shines through in the very vivid and realistic way in which she describes them. She makes her characters seem just as real as you and I. On more than one occasion, I kept wanting to jump into the pages of the book to give Enid a hug. It's obvious that Lynette has done a lot of research into the time period during which the story takes place and this helps the story seem that bit more authentic. I have a particular fascination with the Victorian era and stories such as this one are going to be the nearest I can get to being able to experience that era myself. I love the way in which Lynette makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action. That's how I felt anyway.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Workhouse Girl' and I wholeheartedly recommend the story to other readers. I look forward to reading much more of Lynette's work in the future. Lynette is a superb author of superb historical fiction. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This delightful saga takes place alongside the first in this series "The Winter Waif" and tells the story of Enid Hardcastle, Betsan's friend she encounters when first venturing into the part of town called "China".

Enid and her family are forced into the workhouse and are thus separated, but Enid's story is only just beginning as she is boarded out to work in service with the Clarksons. But alas, circumstances conspired against her and she was sent back to the workhouse and then onto Cardiff, where she confided in the house mistress there who encouraged her to write to her former employer explaining what had happened.

Henceforth, the letter lead to a meeting which then lead to greater things for Enid in the form of a respectable position in a far welcoming household. She made friends and something of herself as she was promoted to upper housemaid, to whom all the other maids answered and looked to.

But life was no easy by any measure. She was separated from her family and longed for her childhood sweetheart, Jimmy Corcoran. But the one who had ruined her life was to enter it once again but this time Enid was ready for him.

A delightfully easy read, it was lovely to meet up with Enid, Jimmy, Mags and even Betsan again. I knew little of Enid's story from Betsan's in The Winter Waif" but it was good to see it expanded on so we got to know her better.

A wonderful read.

I would like to thank #LynetteRees, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheWorkhouseGirl in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

I’m a huge fan of this genre and really can’t believe that this is the first book I’ve read by this author. After finishing this book I will certainly be reading more. The Workhouse Girl is a really great read and right from the very start I just knew this one was going be a must read for me. I was immediately captivated by Enid and her story. A book filled with excellent characters and how even the poorest of people did their utmost to survive during the bleakest of times. Enid was such a strong and brave young woman and I was completely in awe of her. A wonderfully written emotional saga that was an absolute pleasure to read.

Enid worked hard to keep her family together. She loved her family and she loved Jimmy. Jimmy was a neighbor boy who just returned to the area.

Everything quickly changed in one night. That night took everything away that Enid loved. Could Enid survive the trauma?

Enid is what we would call a survivor. She wouldn't allow herself to remain a victim.

I really liked Enid. She was a good friend to Connie, a girl she met in the Workhouse. She did what she could for her family. She put herself at risk to protect others.

What an amazing story with a amazing character. A wonderful heartwarming tale that has a happy ending

Enid Hardcastle lives in the workhouse when her family become homeless. Separated from her family she tried to get on with life.The matron then tells her she has a job as a maid in a big house where the son of the family miss treats her.I really enjoyed yet again another great book by Lynette Rees.Thank you to Boldwood and Netgalley.

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

The Workhouse Girl, by Lynette Rees, is a historical woman’s fiction about overcoming adversity, even if you have to dig a little to find the strength to prevail. Enid Hardcastle has had a hard life; with her family getting thrown on the streets and being sent to a workhouse, it’s all Enid can do to find a place for herself in a world that frowns on women. Despite her troubles, she finds comfort in the most unlikely people and takes steps to save herself and her loved ones. 

I like Enid’s self-reliance. She reminds me of me when I was younger, worrying over the family’s future finances to make sure everything was alright. While neither my family nor I were thrown out to the streets, when I was in grad school, I was definitely working to the bone to prepare for some financial disaster that would befall my either then boyfriend or my parents. (It still hasn’t happened, but you never know). I enjoy Enid’s refusal to back down from any challenge, and although her assault was something that should’ve never happened, she takes it in stride and keeps going. True, she could rely on so many people, from Connie to Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Darling, to even Cook and other servants. Everyone had gone out of their way to help her, which begs the question of how often other people like her have been assaulted and how many had caved under societal pressure to forget it. 

A sobering thing that Rees gets right is how people, both men and women, may react to an assault. I absolutely hated Mrs. Clarkson and how her son could do no wrong in her eyes, nor did I enjoy Arthur putting his daughter down, convinced that she was promiscuous, to begin with. Some good people will help those who have experienced sexual violence, such as the aforementioned in the previous paragraphs, but they’re few and far between. While people are getting better at being more empathetic and providing support to such individuals, it’s hard to get people to actually take survivors seriously, especially if the abuser is a loved one. Then again, this was the road Enid was initially going down before Mr. Clarkson stepped in, but I digress. 

Feel-good stories are always a little iffy to me. While I do appreciate a happy ending to a character’s extremely traumatic plot, it’s so easy to turn the story into more wish fulfillment. When it comes to The Workhouse Girl, it teeters on that line, but it also gives hope to the people who have gone through what Enid had experienced. So for right now, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this Arc

What a lovely story all about Enid in the workhouse. Emotional family saga at its best

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed reading this historical novel.

The story is about Enid, whose life hasn’t been easy. Living in the Workhouse after her family have to leave their home, she sees a different side to what she knew.

Finding a job as a maid, she is mistreated by one of the family members. After which, her life takes another bad turn as no one takes her side. But with help from others, Enid she decides to do whatever she can to give herself a new life.

The story was well-written, and kept you turning the page to read what happens next.

I highly recommend this book.

A beautifully designed historical saga following Enid Hardcastle as her family end up in the workhouse. Enid gets a place of work in a prestigious home where she is set upon by the son of the manor who in his mother's eyes can do no wrong. The struggles that are overcome in the story are horrendous and show the strength of young Enid. She is also a kind person and always has a smile for everyone. An emotionally charged tale of love and the end of this one was rather abrupt so I am thinking that there will be another book. I really hope so as I have loved both of the books in this series.