She Came to Stay

She came to Stay is a terrific piece of fiction inspired by the author’s own family background.
This is an atmospheric novel set mainly in Soho in the early 1950’s when London was plagued by smog, providing the perfect backdrop for the storyline. Brother and sister Peter and Dina are trying to make a new life for themselves in England although times are hard. From the outset you gain a good understanding of their differing characters, sensing Dina’s desire to one day escape the clutches of her older brother who appears to be a good for nothing scoundrel, rather too fond of gambling. As a skilled seamstress Dina is overjoyed to find work at the glamorous yet seedy nightclub The Pelican, desperate to supplement her meagre wages from her coffee house job and it is here she meets Bebba, a fellow Greek Cypriot. Bebba oozes sophistication and glamour and mystery and adds some much needed excitement to Dina’s life that is all hard work and no play. Will Bebba prove to be a true friend Dina can trust or is she all smoke and mirrors? After Bebba meets Peter, this becomes a turning point in their friendship, where nothing will ever be the same again and lives are changed forever.
This is a novel not only about friendship but of greed and deception and whilst Bebba and Peter are both unscrupulous individuals I thought they were fantastic characters, seemingly well suited in their conniving ways. Peter though is weak willed and unworthy of his sister’s love, quite despicable, whereas Bebba is strong willed and focused and determined to get her own way in life. On the other hand Dina, hard working and equally blessed with a strong will is smart and never loses sight of her desire to escape her humble beginnings in a foreign and sometimes hostile country. She’s a force to be reckoned with and I admired her tenacity.
Well paced and extremely easy to read, I was sucked into this storyline from the beginning and loved every turn of events, so that this felt like three people playing a game of one upmanship, like cat and mouse. Except the stakes are high and who will win? With the storyline taking the reader from the fog filled streets of Soho to Liverpool and Cyprus, this is a brilliantly written mystery.
Highly recommend and if you like Rachel Rhys then this is a book for you.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Well researched, it was set in a time period (1950’s London), and told from the points of view of recent immigrants, in a way I’d not come across before. It was also an intriguing and unusual plot! I loved the development of the main character, Dina, and without any spoilers, it was a brilliant ending. A really enjoyable read!

Teeming with period atmosphere but also emotional truth, this debut has all the ingredients of a women's fiction bestseller and is beautifully written. A great addition to the stories of immigration which have been sidelined for too long.

I found this such a gripping read. This book is set in Soho London 1952. Dina Demetriou hopes she can start a new life away from Cyprus. Lots of research in entailed in this book amd has everything from friendship to love and loss. I can highly recommend this book. You will be hooked from start to finish.

London in the 1950's a young greek cypriot woman called Dina lives with her brother who wants to see her married off,but Dina wants to live her own life and when her friend Bebba moves in with them things change.Bebba has her own secrets that change things for them all.5*

I found this to be a very enjoyable read. Little bit of a slow burn at first but even that was interesting. Lots of lovely detail about Soho in the 50s.

Dina, a young Greek Cypriot woman, lives with her brother Peter in a rundown boarding house in London. She works in a cafe but dreams of a better life. Peter keeps her on a tight rein and wants her married off. Dina has other plans. When she gets herself an evening job sewing costumes at the Pelican nightclub, she meets and befriends Bebba, another girl from Cyprus. Bebba is glamorous and charismatic. She takes Dina to clubs in Soho and encourages her to live her own life, keeping secrets from Peter.

Bebba moves in with Peter and Dina into a larger flat on the ground floor. But Bebba is not all she seems. She has secrets which catch up with her and things will soon change drastically for all three. Dina's hopes for a new life may be shattered by the events that follow.

I was gripped by this story and was always happy to get back to it. Characterisation is excellent and background details of peasouper fogs and London buses really set the scene.

Set in smog-filled 1950s' London, She Came To Stay is the tale of two Greek Cypriot siblings who have moved to the UK to make a better life.
The characters of Dina & Peter are beautifully drawn, pulling you in from the get-go and the descriptions of post-war London are thoroughly evocative - mentions of the original Pat Vals and bomb damaged Soho ring so true.
A cracking storyline packed wirh secrets, as well as unexpected twists and turns make this, cliche or no, a proper page-turner.
Also, despite being set almost 70 years ago, the themes of xenophobia and women's struggle for equality that run through the novel continue to resonate.
I thoroughly recommend She Came To Stay and look forward to reading more from Eleni Kyriacou.