The Morning Gift

If you get the chance to read it, do because it will put a smile on your face!

Reader reviewed by shavanapilar

This is a book set right before World War II is about to occur. It is a about a girl named Ruth Beger, daughter of a Jewish-Austrian professor, and a British paleontologist turned professor named Quin Sommerville. Quin marries Ruth in secret to smuggle her safely out of Vienna when she becomes stranded there without her family. They both agree to quickly dissolve the marriage when they arrive in England, but find that there are many more obstacles than they imagined. The two part ways and meet up again unexpectedly when Ruth is enrolled in Quin's classes. This secret marriage of theirs blossoms into love, but through a series of misunderstandings, the couple are parted again. Ruth runs away from family and friends because of a threat and her secret condition. Through chance and good friends, Ruth and Quin are reunited.

This book is fantastic and I recommend it to everyone. It brings the past alive in new and exciting ways and it draws you into this world set apart from out own. The characters face real challenges and are easy to relate to. You find yourself laughing and crying with them, sharing their hardships and experiencing their joys.

Reader reviewed by ambeen

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson is a wonderful novel about a young girl forced into a marriage so she can escape Vienna after the Nazis invaded. The story then follows her life in England. While the romance between Quin and Ruth is sparse, it is powerful when shown. The novel is mostly about Ruth's life and her courage to go on after being forced to leave her lifelong home. Ruth's story of self discovery and love is one I will definitely recommend this novel to friends.

Reader reviewed by Sara

Twenty-year-old Ruth Beger is desperate. The daughter of a Jewish-Austrian professor, she was supposed to have escaped Vienna before the Nazis marched into the city. Yet the plan went completely wrong, and while her family and fiance are waiting for her in safety, Ruth is stuck in Vienna with no way to escape. Then she encounters her father's younger colleague, the dashing Bristish paleontologist Quin Sommerville. Together, they stike a bargain: a marriage of convenience, to be annullled as soon as they return to safety. But dissolving the marriage proves to be more difficult than either of them thought - not the least because of the undeniable attraction Quin and Ruth share. To make matters worse, Ruth is enrolled in Quin's university, in his very classes. Can their secret survive, or will cirumstances destroy their love?

The confusion between the characters of Quin and Ruth would be laughable if it weren't so heartbreaking. Ibbotson has the same set up for each of her four like novels and all are just as frustrating. You know that they will end up together, the question is - how?