Hold the Dream (by Barbara Taylor Bradford)

(Amazon UK link)

Having just finished 'A Woman of Substance' by Barbara Taylor Bradford, and mostly enjoyed it, I thought it would be a good idea to read the sequel.

In 'Hold the Dream', Emma Harte, the wealthy businesswoman who started life as a servant girl, is 80 years old. She has been training her grandchildren to continue her vast empire of businesses. She is particularly keen to train Paula, the grandchild most like her in character.

As she decides to take a break from her work, Paula must make some very difficult decisions, while also struggling with some personal problems.

I thought this was another readable book, on the whole, although there was rather too much 'flashback' to the previous book, pulling in many unnecessary details. They didn't add to the plot at all, and would probably totally confuse anyone who had not already read 'A Woman of Substance'. It felt as if the flashbacks were merely there to pad out the pages, and I found myself doing a lot of skimming.

I bought all three books in this series second-hand, so will continue and read 'To be the best', and hope that it's more interesting than this one.