About Luisa A. Jones
Welsh author Luisa A Jones lives in Newport, South Wales. She writes to explore the complex, messy truths of the human condition, with flawed and relatable characters you’ll root for from the first page. Her first historical novel in The Fitznortons series, The Gilded Cage, was released by Storm Publishing in 2023, followed by a sequel The Broken Vow in 2024. Her most recent series for Storm Publishing is set during the Second World War. You can read the announcement on Storm Publishing’s website.
What We Left Behind, the first book in the WWII series, was released in summer 2025, and has been shortlisted for the Saga Romance Award in the RNA’s Romantic Novel Awards of the Year 2026. The second book in the series is Before the Mountain Falls.
Luisa studied Classical Studies at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London.
Luisa is a member of the Society of Authors, the Historical Writers’ Association, and the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA). She was shortlisted for the RNA’s Elizabeth Goudge Trophy in 2024. Her historical fiction has earned her a reputation for evocative, immersive period storytelling. She has been invited to speak at industry events, including the Newport Festival of Words and the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) Conference, as well as delivering online training and coaching sessions to authors for the RNA and the History Quill. (Source: https://luisaajones.com/meet-luisa/ )
An Overview
My heart was broken so many times while reading the book, but the ending put the pieces back together.
Every once in a while, we come across books that not only occupy a space in our minds but also settle deeply in our hearts. As a long-time historical fiction fan, I always look for that delicate balance between meticulous historical background building and high emotional stakes. Thanks to Storm Publishing, I recently found just that kind of story in Before the Mountain Falls!
The Narrative: A Seamstress Sewn into a Lie
The story introduces us to Norma, a twenty-one-year-old seamstress whose world is upended by the weight of societal shame. Abandoned, pregnant, and facing a future that offers little kindness to a woman in her position, Norma makes a desperate, life-altering choice. With a cheap pawn-shop ring on her finger and a fabricated identity, she joins the evacuees heading for the Welsh village of Pontybrenin.
Settling into a local manse, Norma begins the grueling but rewarding process of rediscovering her own agency. However, the stakes escalate when she finds herself falling for Aneurin, the son of the family hosting her. The narrative beautifully captures her internal claustrophobia: she is caught between a truth that could destroy her newfound sanctuary and a lie that is slowly suffocating her.
Norma: The Epitome of Resilience
What really impressed me in this story was the psychological and emotional depth that was given to Norma by the author. While some readers might find her “what-if” spiraling and constant anxiety frustrating, I ended up considering that a masterful character consistency. Her hesitations or anxious spiraling fits are not used as plot devices in the story. They are the result of the scars left in her heart and mind by years of humiliation and condescending smirks of a society that devalued and disregarded her. She is a remarkably well-built character, and I cheered for her throughout the book not only as a protagonist but also as a woman fighting for her right to exist in a world that had already written her off.
A Realistic Look at WWII Wales
At this point, I really have to tip my hat to Luisa A. Jones, because she clearly committed to a massive amount of historical research, and it really shines through in her portrayal of the Welsh farming communities of the WWII period. The book presents a heartbreakingly realistic and sometimes brutal look at the values, beliefs, and daily struggles of the families who were fighting to survive the times of war. The landscape and the community’s rigid social codes act as a second antagonist besides the community itself, and make Norma’s secret even more dangerous to keep.
Final Verdict
As I’ve said at the beginning of this review, my heart was broken more times than I could count during the course of this novel, but the ending certainly brought the catharsis that I desperately needed. This one is a story that is both devastating and restorative in its own unique ways, and I admired it so much for it. Although this was the first novel by Luisa A. Jones that I’ve read, I know for a fact that it will not be the last. I absolutely got pulled in by the flow of her writing and was completely carried away by her storytelling. I will be looking forward to her upcoming novels in the future.
If you appreciate historical fiction that prioritizes character growth and atmospheric world-building, this book deserves a permanent place on your bookshelf. It is a poignant reminder that while the past can claim many victims, resilience has a way of stitching a new future together.
(Jojo’s Verdict: Shelf it!)
From Jojo’s bookshelves to yours, with love!
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