From Penvarris With Love by Rosemary Aitken is a romance novel that spans the years of World War I. Set in Penzance, Cornwall, Maud Olds and Belinda Richards are apprenticed to the local dress shop as seamstresses. When they are able to escape the stern, watchful eye of their patroness, Maude walks out with her childhood sweetheart, farmer Stanley. Belinda claims to have many admirers, but her eye is firmly on the handsome but footloose Jonah Lotts.

When the war comes, Stanley does his duty and enlists while Jonah spends his time trying to stay out of the war. The story does an excellent job of showing the impact that the war had on this small community. With these four young people, the author is able to show how the war brought so much change to people’s daily lives. While gentle Maude patiently waits for her fiance’s return, Belinda is being wooed by Jonah who thinks being married will keep him safe.

I was expecting this story to be sweet and simple, but I was pleased that the author was able to place her characters in fairly realistic predicaments which gave the book an authentic feel and kept my interest. While neither girl gets a picture perfect ending, the story does shows how opportunity and a future path can arise from sorrow and disillusionment. ( )