Survivor (Belle Book 3)

"Survivor" by Lesley Pearse is a historical romance set against the onslaught of WWII when Germany began bombarding England. The story, filled with action, drama, and adventure begins in 1938 when Mariette (Mari) Carrera a beautiful headstrong and self-centered young woman is sent to her godfather's house in London after getting into a compromising position with a truck driver that brings shame to her family. Feeling a sense of euphoria at leaving the suffocating confines of her small hometown in New Zealand she again falls prey to her heart as passion flares with a good-looking steward onboard the ship. But after landing and being thrust into the whirlwind of upper-class society and a new job, she quickly relegates Morgan Griffiths to the back of her mind. Only when war with Germany reaches the shores of England and the security of Mari's world crumbles does her adventure begin. As she matures and her compassion and self-sacrifice grows she not only will discover a sense of self-worth, but the love and happiness she yearns for.

With vivid description Lesley Pearse transports the reader from the rustic but scenic village of Russell New Zealand to the glitter and glamour of London society where Mari begins to thrive in the company of her cousin Rose. She quickly sets aside all her inhibitions revelling in a new life that brings a diploma, a job as a typist and a well-bred boyfriend. But in this poignant tale of tragic loss, heartbreak, suffering and death that comes with the devastation and chaos, Mari quickly learns that the true worth of men and woman lies not in a glitzy lifestyle and materialism but in the courage and fortitude of the British spirit. With clever dexterity the author juxtaposes the class conscious attitude of the wealthy and middle upper class who desperately cling to their positions of importance and standard of living during this monumental crisis with the East Enders they despise because of the squalor, ignorance and deprivation they've been forced to live in, but who show remarkable humor, strength and bravery when faced with suffering and loss.

Stark images combined with emotional intensity bring to life the sights, sounds and smells of a scorched and ravaged London after bomb attacks that bring death and destruction to homes and lives. Instead of wallowing in despair Mari bred from down-to-earth, hardy and heroic parents who survived WWI, reaches out to the suffering, finding true friends and even love among the ashes. This is a story of valour, daring and sacrifice, of an undaunted spirit and the strength -of- will to survive. It is a unique and gripping drama with a romance that undergoes as many changes as Mari and Morgan do during the war years.

The characters like the plot are well-developed, realistic and complex. Mariette Carrera is fearless, defiant and impulsive, opinionated and devious at home in Russell, but during the war her innate spirit, her audacity, boldness, resourcefulness and compassion shine through. Her godfather Noah Baylis, an acclaimed journalist and author is excitable, warm and irrepressibly youthful while his wife Lisette is serene, docile and loving. Their daughter Rose can be bossy and snobbish like her step-brother Jean Philippe, but while he's bitter, mean and power-hungry, she's loyal, genial, fun-loving and patient. Of the two fighter pilots in Mari's life, Gerald Allsop is honest, open and considerate while Edwin Atkins is funny and congenial, but ruled by the upper crust mentality of his parents. While working in the East End, Mari befriends Johnny Abbott, a cocky and overly confident fire fighter who loves Mari, not for her resilience and strength-of-character but for her family connections. Yet it's Morgan Griffiths Mari cannot forget from their first encounter on the ship to their reunion in a military hospital. An illiterate gypsy who made a grievous error in judgement in their initial relationship, Morgan overcomes his handicaps and grows in character, tenacity and strength. All these characters and many more add to the passion, energy and power of a story you can't put down.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Survivor" and highly recommend it. This is more than just a simple historical romance, it's the intriguing and touching story of a woman and nation who are tested to their limits during a war that was to end all wars

Lesley Pearse has written a number of books about strong-willed young women who suffer and eventually overcome great adversity. "Survivor" is a standalone successor to her very successful "Belle". In this book Belle has overcome her adversity and in 1938 she is happily married to Etienne, her French lover from the days of WWI, with a daughter and two sons, and is living in Russell in the beautiful Bay of Islands in New Zealand. Their children are bilingual from their English mother and French father.

Belle's daughter, Mariette (Mari) has always been forthright and strong-willed and when she is seventeen a dalliance with an undesirable young man threatens her reputation in the small close-knit town. Despite the world being on the edge of war, Belle and Etienne decide to send Mari for a visit to old friends in England. During the voyage Mari meets a handsome Cockney steward, Morgan, and the memory of their meetings remains with her for a long time.

After settling down in great luxury with a caring and loving family in a better part of London, Mari soon gets caught up in a whirl of upper class dances and parties. When war breaks out things change when all of this gets taken away by a well aimed a bomb in the Blitz. At age 21 Mari is left completely on her own in a foreign country and moves to London's poverty stricken East End where she finds the kind of friendship she has never had before.

Once again Lesley Pearse has written a story about a strong and gutsy heroine who struggles to make a difference in a dangerous world. Of course it is a bit formulaic because that is the kind of books she writes. Of course there is a thread of impossible love because that is also what she writes about. The plot line is a bit convoluted and a few parts of the plot that could have been developed disappear without trace.

While this kind of book is not my normal genre, in the end I did enjoy this overlong book, but not as much as her previous book "Forgive Me". I gave it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars because I am sure that most Lesley Pearse fans will still love this book (as my wife did).

My thanks to The Reading Room and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

I finally finished this massive tome, what a wild ride that was! This book follows Mari as she leaves her small town in New Zealand to move overseas to England to stay with family friends after a scandal. Not long after her arrival, WW2 breaks out and she has to find her inner strength to carry on in a world torn apart by chaos.

As much as I enjoyed this book I did find the writing to be oddly formal, as if English is not the authors native tongue. It made the dialogue seem somewhat stiff. Another thing that bothered me was how Mari jumped so quickly from man to man. Now before I get slammed for slut shaming I must insist that is not my intention at all. I do not think that Mari is a slut, but in my opinion she is very selfish when it comes to men's feelings. She falls in love with each new man instantly, but as soon as another catches her fancy she quickly notices all these irreconcilable faults in her current boyfriends. Her blasé attitude towards men make it hard to like her. However her character did improve dramatically from the beginning of the novel.

This book held my interest, although some part were quite slow. My favourite part of the book was the last quarter which picked up the pace and added a lot of intrigue and story progression.

Overall I did like this novel. A bit longer than it needed to be, but still kept me engrossed for the most part. Would recommend. 3.5/5

Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly I’d like to thank ED Public Relations for sending me this book to read and give an honest review. I previously read and reviewed Forgive Me by the same author and thoroughly enjoyed it so I was looking forward to getting stuck in. When I found out that this was the third book in the author’s Belle series I was concerned because I hadn’t read the first two books. I needn’t have worried because this worked very well as a standalone read, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything at all.

It got off to an exciting start, even at eleven-years-old Mariette was a strong-willed, confident character and I was interested to see what kind of dramas she would find herself in as a result of her personality. I have to admit that I found it rather difficult to warm to her at the beginning, she is definitely a character who grows on you though and by the end I had taken her and her story to my heart.

When Mariette headed to London I felt a mixture of emotions, I was excited for her but also very nervous as she was so young and clearly quite adventurous. Even the journey to Europe turned out to be eventful and at that point I just knew I was in for a twisty, turny read! There were simply so many things this book had to offer – romance, heartbreak, intrigue, temptation, tragedy, mystery, and love. The author captured Mariette’s growth beautifully, she went from being a rather selfish teenager to a compassionate, strong woman. It was this that made Survivor so enthralling for me.

I also enjoyed the relaxed feeling I got from reading this book (something that is much-needed when you’re 7 months pregnant). The writing style was very natural and comfortable even through some of the more difficult moments and this made it an easy book to read.

This was another lovely read from Lesley Pearse, an emotional roller-coaster!

Survivor by Lesley Pearse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mariette Carrera is just 18 years old, she's wilful. Like her Mother when she was young and a bit of Bella's Mom thrown in who abandoned Bella and left with a servant while her Mother 'entertained' men.

Mariette's parents, Belle and Etienne send her to London where she can be less bored, as Mariette has a lot of time on her hands and she had got involved with someone who took advantage of her flirty nature.

Whilst in London under the care of her trusted Godfather and his wife. Whilst on ship travelling she not only embarks on the ship, but on a handsome young man, but Mariette has been burnt in love before, she she figures this time SHE will have the upper hand, but it seems all men are only after one thing.

Whilst in London partying and having fun, working and earning her own money the bombs fall.
Mariette has to grow up, and fast.

The changes in her are astounding reminding me of Bella's resilience in her life and what she went through. Like Mother, like daughter.

Although this is the 3rd book following on from Bell in 2011 and The Promise in 2012, they are all stand alone books, but I do think it sets a picture if you can read them in order.

Lesley Pearse tells a brilliant story and I have always been a great fan of hers.

I was gifted my copy from Penguin Books (UK) via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time I have read a book by author Lesley Pearse, Survivor starts in the year 1938 in a small town of New Zealand ,Mariette is the main character, daughter of Belle and Etienne she is strong-willed, a little bit defiant and seems to have a knack for getting herself into trouble. There is no doubt that if she remains at home for much longer she is going to find herself in all kinds of strife. The neighbours are already talking about her and her parents decide that shipping her off to London to live with family friends is the best thing for their headstrong daughter.

The setting is mainly in England during the second World War, the story is a well written historical piece that shows the slow but real transformation of a wild young girl into a strong and courageous woman. There is no need for the Author to go into great detail of the war and surrounding carnage to make you feel the lose and devastation that each character felt, the love and strong will that the survivors needed to get through the war, as well as the fear, the laughter and the overall humanness of each character.

This is the third book in the trilogy, although it doesn’t matter if you have not read the previous two books, this can be read as a standalone ,
It is a fantastic saga, full of friendship, love, romance, drama, passion, tragedy and danger. I loved the way the author really captured the spirit of the East End of London during this time period, showing how people coped with the nightly bombing raids. The story made me smile as well as shed a few tears in certain places. Mariette is a very beautiful girl and isn’t short of admirers, and I distinctly liked the way I was kept guessing as to who, if any, of her boyfriends would turn out to be Mr Right. I really enjoyed her character, even at the start of the book when her behaviour is at its worst – there was just something so endearing about her.
This is a really good read that flows well and has a rollercoaster plot, one that you can get totally lost in.

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed by

Danielle Jones

"Confessions Of a Bookaholic"

Mariette Carrera is the daughter of Belle and Etienne. After putting her reputation in her small New Zealand town in danger. Belle and Etienne decided to send her to England. Mari starts to enjoy her time there but soon war is declared and Mari is stuck for the duration of the war. The war continues and the losses mounts Mari grows up and become the woman that she has always meant to be.
"Survivor" by Lesley Pearse is the best book in the "Belle" series. I really loved the character and the book itself so much that I finished it in three days. While you don't need to read the first two books in the series it does help. I can't wait to read more books by Ms. Pearse.

I've enjoyed all three books in this series so far... I rated Survivor 4 Stars instead of 5 Stars simply because the end was a little predictable. This book was easy to read, very moving and one of those that I didn't really want to end as I was enjoying it so much.