Ember Island by Kimberley Freeman

To be a woman in the 1800’s had no "perks."  Women were trained solely for marriage.

Tilly Kirkland ​was an 1800's woman and ​definitely didn't know what she was getting into when she married Jasper.  Jasper offered her a beautiful home and a wonderful life.  What Tilly was ​really ​offered was infidelity and cruelty.  Who would blame Tilly for wanting to leave and start a new life somewhere else?​

Tilly made her move​ to Ember Island to become a governess for Nell, but the secret she carried about the reason for the move out of her husband's home and the incident that occurred plagued her for her entire life.​  Precocious Nell kept an eye on Tilly because she knew something wasn't right and also that something was right when it came to her father and Tilly.
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Could Nell figure out what constantly troubled Tilly?​  What would Nell find out about Tilly?  What would Tilly teach Nell?  What would Ember Island teach Tilly?

EMBER ISLAND moves from events that took place in Australia in 1891 both in Tilly's life and Nell's life ​to the present day where secrets were hidden in the walls of a family homestead that Tilly lived in during the time she was governess to Nell. The connection between the characters from both time periods is marvelous.

What were these secrets that had been written down? How did it come about that were they hidden in the walls and found by the current homeowner, Nina, who was an author?

EMBER ISLAND was absorbing, the writing was ​beautiful, the characters ​were well developed as well as deep​, the characters were very authentic, and the storyline ​kept me turning the pages...especially the ending.  :)

EMBER ISLAND is made up of secrets, guilt, ​hidden journals, love, and finding oneself.

Don't miss reading EMBER ISLAND.  It is spectacular.   :)​   5/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher in return for an honest review.