One amazing thing I found on BookXcess were several titles from Eva Ibbotson. I really loved Journey to the River Sea and The Secret Countess, but I only own Journey to the River Sea. So I took the chance to get a few more books from her and this week will be very much dedicated to reviews of the books (I binged them while in Malaysia last year but didn’t get around to post them until now).

The first book I read was The Morning Gift, a YA story set just before WWII. Ruth, the daughter of a celebrated academic, is left behind in Vienna due to a few miscommunications. That’s more terrible than it sounds because this is Vienna in the days where Hitler is coming to power and Ruth is considered Jewish. When a family friend, Quinton, finds her, he proposes a marriage of convenience in order to help her reach England. They get married, she moved to the UK, and they never see each other again.

Or at least, that was the plan.

While I make no secret about the fact that romance is not my favourite genre, I absolutely loved this book. Probably because while the romance is central to the story (with Ruth and Quin falling in love but trying not to fall in love), The Morning Gift contains so much more. It details the struggle of refugees in Britain, anti-Semitism (and its opposite) in the country, and has some of the most enchanting characters. Apart from Ruth and Quin, I really liked Ruth’s classmates, her supportive family, and enjoying hating on the pretentious Verena*.

Overall, I found this to be an immersive and breathtaking read. By the time I hit the second half of the story, I was in love with our main characters and completely invested in their respective journeys. I wanted Ruth to succeed and be happy and I did not want to stop reading because I needed to know what would happen. Even if you’re not a fan of historical fiction or romance novels, I think you could consider reading this – it’s got the perfect mix of great characters and good plot.

*Verena is the one reason why there’s a faux-love triangle in the book. Although I’m not sure if it’s a love triangle if the affections by the third party is not reciprocated at all.

Featured Image: Photo from Canva