Synopsis
You’re a Dinsdale lass, Ruby. Nothing and no one keeps us lot down.’
A life of poverty in a cramped pit cottage is all that seventeen-year-old Ruby Dinsdale has known. Even with her father and younger brother working at the coal mine, money is tight. Her mother Mary is skilled at stretching what little they have, but the small contribution Ruby makes from her job at the local pub makes all the difference. So when Ruby is sacked, and Mary becomes pregnant again, the family’s challenges are greater than ever.
When charming miner Gordon begins to court Ruby it seems as though happiness is on the horizon, until she uncovers a deeper betrayal than she could ever have imagined.
But although the Dinsdales are materially poor, they are rich in love, friendship and determination – all qualities that they will draw on to get them through whatever lies ahead.
My Review
I have been a fan of Glenda’s work for a while now. In fact I have been a fan of her work ever since I had the good fortune to pick up her first book called ‘Belle Of The Back Streets’ a couple of years ago. Since then I have read and loved every single book that she has written in the series set in Ryhope, County Durham. When I heard that Glenda was due to release another book in the series, I knew that I had to read it as soon as possible. Well ladies and gents the wait is over because Glenda’s latest book in the series called ‘The Miner’s Lass’ has just been released. It is another corker of a read and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Miner’s Lass’ but more about that in a bit.
I loved the character of Ruby Dinsdale. I warmed to her from the very start and it didn’t take me long to feel as though she had become a friend of mine. I felt very protective of Ruby and I kept wanting to jump inside the story to defend her and to also give her a blooming big hug when she was upset. Ruby hasn’t had the easiest of childhoods and she has had to grow up before her time. Ruby is a canny lass, who is friendly and helpful. She is also determined and at times rather stubborn. Ruby deserves happiness but at times it seems as though she isn’t going to find that happiness. Ruby goes through the mill a fair bit on her journey through the story. What happens? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Seeing Glenda’s name on the cover of a book was enough to grab my attention and then I took a look at the cover itself. I was lucky enough to get the hardback version of the book and to me the cover of the hardback is how I imagine Ryhope was back in the day. As soon as I started to read I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to put this book down at all. The book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because I travelled everywhere with me. I just couldn’t bare to miss a single second of this story. 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 soon got to the end of ‘The Miner’s Lass’ and I had to say goodbye to Ruby and her family. I found ‘The Miner’s Lass’ to be a gripping and emotional read, which held my attention throughout.
‘The Miner’s Lass’ is superbly written. To be fair ALL of Glenda’s books are superbly written. She certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. Glenda has clearly done a lot of historical research into Ryhope during the First World War and this makes the story seem that bit more authentic. I had relatives who lived in Ryhope at that time and although I never met them, I got a real sense of what their lives would have been like through reading this book. Glenda writes historical fiction with a punch and a lot of emotion. This story is guaranteed to tug on even the hardest of heartstrings. Glenda makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves and at the centre of all the action. For me, ‘The Miner’s Lass’ is the true definition of an unputdownable page turner of a read.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of ‘The Miner’s Lass’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Glenda’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
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