This was an interesting historical fiction dual timeline book. While it is written during the WWII time period, it was a little different focus than what I have typically read. Both story lines … Clare’s set between 1940 and 1948 and Mirren’s set in 1985 have similarities. The map making details was very interesting and I never considered how the person who created the maps could feel responsible for killing people because of the pilots were able to accomplish while using the maps to bomb targets. This is an emotional read as you struggle with Clare as she has to make decisions about what is best for her child; as you experience Clare’s sister’s emotions as she is provided an opportunity to be a mother to her niece … one of the things she has wanted most in life; and Mirren’s struggles in understanding why her mother didn’t want her. The fact that no one shared the background story was sad. This is not a light read but is very informative and will help you explore all of the emotional ramifications for decisions we make in difficult moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Historical Fiction

In this fascinating and complicated dual-timeline World War II historical fiction novel, readers follow Clare, a map maker working to defeat the Nazis, and her daughter Mirren, who is grappling with Clare’s abandonment of her and its effect on Mirren’s ability to form relationships. Dealing with their emotional struggles and the challenges of single motherhood in the mid-twentieth century, Clare’s story brings the sacrifices of war work to life, while Mirren resembles the generation dealing with the secrets and aftermath of the Official Secrets Act. A complicated novel about estranged families and involvement in wartime deaths, Law’s novel is detailed and incredibly emotional. Clare and Mirren are fascinating and complex characters with unique traumas and difficult emotional journeys that they go on over the course of the novel. The World War II angle is also interesting in how it deals with questions of morality and guilt from a different job in the intelligence and military planning sphere. With the strong character arcs and the powerful emotions at the heart of the novel, Law’s novel engages readers with the story and draws them in with the emotional throughline of Clare and Mirren’s relationship. A strong, complex, and emotional historical fiction novel, fans of the genre are sure to enjoy Law’s powerful narrative.

Loved this book, didn’t want it to end. Heartwarming, sad, entangled characters who are well described and fit into the detail of the novel. Many heart wrenching emotions are sprinkled in the story which makes it an enchanting read. Awaiting next book.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot or publisher's blurb - you can find such reviews out there already.

I was drawn to this book as it was a "dual timeline" story - set partly during WW2, and partly in the present (ish) day.

The story covers the lives of two very different women - Claire (WW2) and her daughter, Mirren. There is a wide cast of supporting characters, and all are well written, authentic, and well described - so that you can imagine them as real people.

The plot is interwoven between the two timelines, which adds to the interest. The WW2 action is largely set in London and a "top secret location", where Claire carries out her work in helping to make maps to aid the war effort. The author draws out the effect of the war, her work, and her choices on Claire's mental state very well.

There are also elements of romance, in both timelines. However the book also has a few darker threads woven through the story, including wartime single motherhood, loss, abandonment, and depression.

All in all an enjoyable read, with rather more substance than I expected.

I look forward to reading more from Catherine Law.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

📚Book Review: "The Map Maker’s Promise" by Catherine Law
📚Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

🔍The Map Maker’s Promise by Catherine Law is a deeply moving narrative that intertwines love, loss, and the relentless pursuit of redemption against the backdrop of World War II. The story centers around Clare, a young woman who makes a fateful decision during a night of air raids in London—one that will forever alter the course of her life.

💡Why You'll Love It:
❤Emotional Depth: Catherine Law masterfully delves into the complexities of Clare’s emotions, capturing the raw pain of a mother separated from her child and a woman haunted by her past. The emotional depth of this story will resonate with readers, making Clare’s journey one of unforgettable sorrow and strength.
🗺Historical Intrigue: The novel’s setting within the Air Ministry offers a fascinating glimpse into the behind-the-scenes efforts of the war, particularly the intricate and morally fraught work of mapmaking. This unique perspective adds a layer of historical intrigue that enriches the narrative.

🎯 Perfect For:
✨Fans of historical fiction with strong, emotionally complex female protagonists.
✨Readers who appreciate stories that explore the moral dilemmas and personal tolls of war.
✨Anyone who enjoys a deeply reflective and heart-wrenching narrative about love, loss, and the search for redemption.

🌟A must-read for those who seek stories that touch the soul and stay with you forever. Clare’s journey is one that will break your heart and mend it all at once. 📖💔Thanks to @rachelsrandomresources and @netgalley for the #ARC #BlogTour

#BookReview #TheMapMakersPromise #CatherineLaw #WWIIFiction #HistoricalFiction #ReadersOfInstagram #IGReads #InstaBooks #Bookstagram #Bookstagrammer #BookstagramCommunity #Netgalley

Clare has a good job working at the BBC, but when she finds herself compromised by a married man, her parents disown her due to the shame, without making any effort to understand what happened. Pregnant and alone, she moves to Scotland to live with her sister until the baby comes. However, soon after, she finds herself called upon by a former colleague asking her to come and do her part for the war effort.

This means leaving behind her baby, Mirren, with her sister and her husband to look after, but at least Clare knows that she will be safe in the last house on the lochan. Anne and Allistair are good people, and she knows that they will take good care of Mirren, especially seeing as they have not been able to have children of their own. There are also some other people who Clare will be sad to leave behind, including the friendly postmaster, Cal McInnis.

I have read quite a few books about women who helped break the codes at Bletchley, but this is the first time I have read anything about the kind of work that Clare does, which is about taking existing maps, and adding in the new information that is obtained from spy photographs. These new maps are then going to be used to determine targets for bombing runs. This work was done in the house of the former British prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli.

Clare is good at her job, but she is very aware that the work that she is doing is contributing to the death of many people, and this is something that weigh's heavily on her. Combined with the lasting impact of the events which led to her pregnancy, Clare is somewhat emotionally fragile.

Fast forward to the 1980s and Mirren is trying to deal with her past and how it has impacted her present. She knows that Clare is her mother, but she has very few memories of her, and the only tangible link she has is a pair of earrings. When she is given some letters she finally begins to understand her full story, but is it possible for these new truths to help her put her own life back together.

I love a good dual time but I am concious that they don't always work. This one did. I understood Mirren's feelings of being abandoned and how that impacted on her relationships through her life. I also really loved the 1980's references sprinkled throughout the book. For example, at one point Mirren and her husband sit down to watch the Band-Aid concerts which was a fun detail.

The timing for me to read this book was also fortuitous as I started to read this book just before landing in the UK, and now, as I write this review, we are just about to start our tour of Scotland which will take us into the Highlands.

I hadn't read Catherine Law before but I will definitely read more from her as I really enjoyed her storytelling.

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resourses for the review copy of this book. I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host, and also with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review blog.

Underpinning this story is the “war work” carried out at Hughenden Manor, Disraeli’s former home in Buckinghamshire – only known about in any detail since 2004 when the MoD released those who worked there from the constraints of the Official Secrets Act. It had the code name “Hillside”, and focused on providing accurate maps for bombing missions, updating them from multiple sources. The work is absolutely fascinating – so well researched by the author, and the emotional toll too on those who carried out the work knowing their part in causing such destruction.

But that’s only part of this sweeping and emotionally affecting dual time story. Working with the BBC in 1940, Clare is flattered when invited to eat with her charismatic manager – young and naive, she has no idea what will follow. Distraught and pregnant, she’s invited to live with her married sister Anne in the Scottish Highlands and finds some solace and support there – but is haunted by the sequence of events that changed her life. Her mental health is fragile – a near disaster only avoided when a caring man is in the right place at the right moment – and she makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her young child with her sister, unable to have a family of her own, joining the war effort at Hughenden Manor. In the 1980s, brought up by her loving family, Mirren has few memories of her mother – other than the fact that she once visited, leaving a treasured pair of earrings, but leaving her behind.

The story is wonderfully told, moving seamlessly between past and present, and capturing so well the emotional impact of Clare’s difficult decision on her own peace of mind and Mirren’s need to understand how her mother felt able to abandon her. There’s far more to the story – with Clare’s past catching up with her, and Mirren’s gradual uncovering of the course of events that separated them – and I found it absolutely enthralling. The impact on Clare’s mental health is sensitively and realistically portrayed – despite her actions, she remains sympathetic throughout – and I particularly liked the drawing of the family relationships with their many complications. There’s a strong supporting cast too – every individual beautifully drawn, all playing their significant part as the many secrets are slowly uncovered. The author is a wonderful storyteller, and the ending was both satisfying and uplifting – and, after a particularly emotional journey, everything I wanted it to be.

This was an engrossing – often heartbreaking but entirely compelling – story that I thoroughly enjoyed, and one I’d very much recommend to others.

The Map Maker’s Promise is both fascinating for the glimpse it gives of an aspect of World War Two that is rarely considered and tragic for the impact on Clare of being raped and trauma caused by the nature of her work. This story is told in two timelines, the first during the war and the second forty or so years later. As the story opens, we meet nineteen year-old Clare, ten years younger than her sister Anne and working at the BBC, where she has a crush on her boss Leo Bailey. He has a reputation but she feels comfortable having dinner with him after work one night. The after effects of that dinner are an va abiding sense of shame and guilt for Clare, disdain and disapproval from her parents, hope for sister Anne and a sense of abandonment for her daughter Mirren. When Mirren takes up the story as a woman in her mid-forties, her marriage is going through a rough patch and her husband Gregor has moved out. While most of Clare’s story takes place in London and southern England, Mirren’s is all told in the small town of Foyers near Loch Ness, where she was raised by her aunt and uncle. Both Clare and Mirren are strong women in many ways, though each is also vulnerable, Clare because of her parents’ apparent lack of interest in and love for her and because she was raped, and Mirren because she has always felt abandoned because of her mother’s absence from her life. While the backdrop of war makes for an interesting sub-plot, this is very much a character-driven story and the two women at its centre are both easy to like and to cheer for. This has been the first time I’ve read anything by Catherine Law but I will certainly be on the lok-out for more from this talented author in the future.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

This is a delightful dual timeline novel. At the start of the book, we meet Clare, in the 1940s, and Mirren in the 1980s. Part of the book takes place in London, and part of it takes place in the Scottish Highlands.

When I started reading, the story started to come to life in my mind. I thought the writing had a lovely nostalgic sort of quality, and I felt a kind of appreciation for times gone by. Clare was a wonderful character, and I loved the sisterly bond between Clare and Anne.

I was swept away by this book, and it warmed my heart to see the story unfold. If you enjoy timeslip novels, give this a try.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

Enjoyed the book, some of the characters I liked some I wasn’t keen on. The ending but! Not sure about that part!

Emotional and often heartbreaking, this is a dual-time family drama set in the 1940s during WW2 and the mid-1980s. Mirren has only vague memories of her biological mother, and now, in her mid-forties, with her marriage in trouble and a daughter of her own, she wonders if the little she remembers about her mother is real. She grew up and lived in the Scottish Highlands, surrounded by the love of her aunt, uncle, and great-aunt, but one childhood memory defines her. Clare's life changed irrevocably one night, resulting in a pregnancy. Invited to live with her older married sister, Anne and her husband, she discovers supportive family and friends, but the circumstances of the conception haunt her. The birth leaves her unable to cope, and she makes a soul-destroying decision. Clare contributes to the war effort in a secret government role, which adds to her guilt. The issues explored in this haunting story are disturbingly poignant. What happens to Clare alters her life, and without the support of her parents, she looks to her sister, who helps but has her own needs. It is an emotional journey where happiness seems elusive for Clare and later Mirren, her daughter. The family relationships are believable, Clare's challenges are authentic and heartbreaking, and the conclusion gives the reader an uplifting feeling despite what has come before. I like the characters, the believable relationships and the emotional storytelling.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

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

I enjoyed reading this dual timeline story set in the period between 1940 and 1948, the second story is set in 1985.

It’s 1940 and Clare who is nineteen works for the BBC in London. When someone takes advantage of of her, and she is pregnant, but when her parents find out, they don’t even hear what she has to say. They send her to live with her sister and husband, so she can have the baby in Scotland.

Clare feels that the people who her sister lives with have welcomed her too and like her.

Following the birth, she receives a a letter from her old boss with a possibility to assist in the war effort working with the Air Ministry.

After she’s given this some consideration, she thinks it best to leave her baby with Anne and Allister, her sister and husband, take up the offer, and going back to London. But when she’s at the Air Ministry the sort of work she’s doing weighs on her mind, so does a death, that she feels was because of her.

Her daughter Mirren has always felt and believed that she was left behind by her mother and it’s something that has had an effect in her whole life.

She only has memories, not too clear about her mother, and no one speaks to her about who she was.

Being a mother herself now, she can’t understand how a mother would leave her own child. But, when she is given some letters of Clare’s does she start to understand what happened.

I highly recommend this book.

It was a good book.

Clare falls pregnant and ends up with their sister Anne and her husband Allister. Clare feels she cannot cope and leaves her daughter Mirren with Anne. Mirren finds it hard to talk about her Mother she remembers an incident when Clare came back and no one seems to talk about Clare. It was interesting to read about the map makers in the War.

I enjoyed the book but I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and you wonder what happens to them all I think it would have been nicer to see what happens.

Some of the characters I liked.

3.5 stars
An emotional dual timeline story from Catherine Law. The first narrative is from Clare and I really enjoyed her story. From a young and naive woman to a mother and wife, we see Clare fight against the views of the time against women and mothers and see how she never really comes to terms with having to leave Mirren. Having little support apart from Anne, you could see why she felt unable to provide the love and life the child deserved.
Mirren’s story is almost the mirror image of Clare’s - the impact of being left behind obviously affecting her throughout her life - never really understanding the impact on her mother’s mental health at the time.
The details about the map making Clare was involved in sounded fascinating and I’ve never considered the amount of people and time involved to ensure the enemy targets were in sight.

A dual timeline story that is fiction but is interspersed with true facts and has been thoroughly researched. I enjoyed learning how the pilots knew exactly where the targets were it was definitely eye opening. Clare is a single mother and she leaves her young daughter with her sister as she joins the war effort. The book is very atmospheric as everything is described in delicate detail. I could feel the fear and devastation as the bombs dropped you can hear the dreaded planes approaching. A well written and researched tale that kept me highly entertained.

This story follows Clare during the war. She’s dealing with one nights discretion and how her life is changed.
It’s kind of a sad story that could have taken place anywhere or anytime. It did keep me engrossed and I wanted to see how it was resolved. I’m still scratching my head over the ending.

I was enticed into choosing to read The Map Maker's Promise by the blurb and its World War II setting. I have not read anything by Catherine Law previously but I do love stories set in that time frame and all the little historical facts they throw up.

The Map Maker's Promise is a duel time line story, with Clare's story set between 1940 and 1948 and Mirren's story set in 1985.

In 1940, nineteen-year-old Clare is working for the BBC in London. She is naïve and taken advantage of by Leo Bailey which results in a pregnancy. Her parents never ask for her side of things and decide to pack her off to live with her older sister Anne and her husband Allister Fraser in Scotland, to have the baby.

In the months leading up to the birth, Clare begins to feel accepted by the people who have already adopted her sister Anne as one of their own. Allister's cousin Isla is a standout character, warm, friendly, non-judgemental and understanding. The postmaster Cal McInnis is one of my favourite characters. He is well-regarded by the locals and is there for Clare in her time of crisis.

An opportunity to help the war effort arises when Clare's old boss at the BBC Meryl Sandford writes to her with the possibility of a job with the Air Ministry. After some thought, Clare considers it best to leave her baby with Anne and Allister and return to London to accept the job. At the Air Ministry the work that she is doing preys heavily on her mind, as does a death she feels personally responsible for.

In contrast, Mirren's story is about her deep-seated belief that her mother simply abandoned her and asks herself how that event had affected her whole life. As Mirren only has vague memories to call upon and nobody talks to her about her mother, she is filling in her own blanks.

I could not get to the whys and wherefores in this story fast enough for my liking. Clare has so much to contend with: Parents who were more concerned with what the neighbours would think than their daughter's welfare; A sister who had been waiting for motherhood all her married life and who seems to be able to settle the baby immediately, reinforcing Clare's feeling of inadequacy; The desperate need to keep the baby safe; The knowledge that something she did, caused another to die; And the work at the Ministry, finding targets for the bombers and resulting in more deaths. It is no wonder it took its toll on her mental health.

Mirren as a mother herself is unable to understand why a mother would reject their own child. Nobody has talked to her about her mother since her mother left without her in 1948. It is only once Isla provides access to Clare's letters that Mirren can begin to make sense of it all.

This is a well-written and very emotional story which had me gripped for two whole days.

It is official. The more I learn the more I realize I need to learn. I had never stopped to think how the British pilots had the maps to help guide them to their targets. I had never stopped to think how many people it would take to create the maps. It was quite interesting to read about, even better to research and learn more about.

The Map Maker's Promise opened my mind to the challenges of a Map Maker. The story gave insight into the importance of them during the war, but also the after effects that some might have suffered.The story is packed full of lots of drama and emotional moments. It isn't just about World War Two England, but what war could do to families. It is the story of what can happen to those responsible for those maps.

The Map Maker's Promise centers around Clare, a young lady in London working for the BBC. Clare is young. Clare is naive. She will have to grow up fast after the worst happens. She soon finds herself on a train going to her sister's in Scotland.

Clare takes the job with the government to escape, to runaway from a reminder. It was a way to avoid dealing with the memory, the trauma. She needed to escape Scotland and go where no one knew her or what happened. Unfortunately no one told Clare you can't runaway forever. My heart broke for Clare as she tries to move on, tried to begin again. This story is a great reminder that we don't know what people are going through. We need to let people talk. More importantly, we need to listen to them.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion

This was a new author to me and I had looked forward to reading it. However I found it very slow going and sometimes a bit boring.

I thought Clare a very shallow person, who having been taken in my her superior in the office had to bear and live with the consequences. Having been ostracised by her parents she went off to Scotland to live with her childless sister and brother-in-law. The outcome of this was inevitable but Mirren (the child) seemed to have been forgotten in all this.
The map maker part seemed very contrived and unbelievable to me - and was a very small part of the narrative.

Why did Clare leave and divorce her husband? What happened when Clare and Mirren meat each other? Your guess is as good as mine.

So for me a very slow burner which left me with more questions than answers.

The Map Maker’s Promise by Catherine Law is a comprehensive dual timeline novel that entertained me from the start. The story is fiction but is grounded in fact.
The action is set during the 1940’s and in 1985. The two time periods alternate as the setting moves from London and the south, to Invernesshire. Scotland is a peaceful location, with its’ fresh air, beautiful scenery and isolation. The residents of a small community function as a family, offering support to each other.
War-torn London is stifling. Friendships and work colleagues are not always supportive. Those who should set examples, take advantage of the young and innocent. A life is ruined forever after a character abuses his position.
During the 1940’s, unmarried mothers were viewed as a disgrace. We follow a young woman who is shipped off to Scotland rather than subjecting the family to gossip and shame. The character always feels ‘less-than’ and is ashamed of her situation. She keeps quiet about one awful night that will haunt her forever.
Children are a gift, no matter how they came about. We see a young life treated with love but abandoned by her mother. This abandonment will haunt her forever.
War was a time of secrets. A character who carries her own secret is the perfect candidate for war work that falls under the official secrets act.
All the characters were well drawn, realistic and likable. They were easy to empathise with.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Map Maker’s Promise and read it in just two sittings.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.