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floridababe51's review against another edition
5.0
I will start off by saying I was not looking forward to reading this book. It was picked by my book club. I am a total mystery, thriller fan and very very seldom venture off that path. So I will say that this book totally and happily took me to a different time. I didn’t want to put it down. Very well told story of a young woman’s plight. I highly recommend reading it even if you think the story line is out of your wheel house.
shareen17's review against another edition
2.0
This story takes place during WWI from the perspective of a young woman who has stayed home for most of the war but is anxious to find a way to break away from her parents and contribute to the world. I liked the story all right but the writing style and dialogue are not for me.
schumkat's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
donnamariestewart's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable historical fiction that focuses on female relationships and endurance in England during WWI. I particularly enjoyed learning about the lessor-known efforts of the Land Girls in the Women's Land Army. This book was a quick, simple read with not a lot of emotional depth, but certainly a well-written and well-researched page turner.
belleannehews116's review against another edition
2.0
The Victory Garden is about a young woman, Emily Bryce, who hates her boring life and wants to escape. However, her twenty-first birthday is coming up. So, until then, she is spoiled, entitled, naive, and entirely too dumb for her own good. She meets an Australian soldier at a convalescent home, and she instantly falls in love with him. When her mother finds out, she forces the home to move him to another hospital, and Emily follows him. She believes that she can become a nurse, like her friend Clarissa, simply because she wants to.
After Emily finds out that she cannot become a nurse because of her lack of skills, she heads to a recruitment office. Here, Emily signs up for the Women’s Land Army and starts her training near where the Australian is staying. She ends up pregnant after their one second of “love-making” and then he proposes. [Don’t even get me started on the “sex scene.” It begins and ends in one paragraph, with no descriptions. But Emily still thinks about the way Robbie “held her in his arms” the entire book.] She finally learns hard work for the first time in her life, but, don’t worry, she’s a natural at everything she tries. Soon, the army sends her to work on a wealthy woman’s garden, and then she finds out she’s pregnant. But don’t worry, I’m not spoiling anything. All of this is in the description of the book on Amazon…
This book is a series of convenient coincidences, predictable plot-points, and over-exaggerated, cliched characters. And the title is entirely misleading. Yes, Emily ends up working as a gardeners-of-sorts, but what she is creating is hardly a victory garden. Emily is hardly victorious in life through her work as a gardener, so that angle doesn’t really work either.
In the end, this book lacked any real descriptions. All the author did the entire story was to tell us what happened, how Emily felt, who she met, and what they said. If asked to describe what the characters look like, or her cottage, or the town they lived in, I would come up short. This author doesn’t seem to know how to write descriptions full of imagery. Instead, the story sets a whole slew of characters and situations, but none of them are really necessary or resolved.
After Emily finds out that she cannot become a nurse because of her lack of skills, she heads to a recruitment office. Here, Emily signs up for the Women’s Land Army and starts her training near where the Australian is staying. She ends up pregnant after their one second of “love-making” and then he proposes. [Don’t even get me started on the “sex scene.” It begins and ends in one paragraph, with no descriptions. But Emily still thinks about the way Robbie “held her in his arms” the entire book.] She finally learns hard work for the first time in her life, but, don’t worry, she’s a natural at everything she tries. Soon, the army sends her to work on a wealthy woman’s garden, and then she finds out she’s pregnant. But don’t worry, I’m not spoiling anything. All of this is in the description of the book on Amazon…
This book is a series of convenient coincidences, predictable plot-points, and over-exaggerated, cliched characters. And the title is entirely misleading. Yes, Emily ends up working as a gardeners-of-sorts, but what she is creating is hardly a victory garden. Emily is hardly victorious in life through her work as a gardener, so that angle doesn’t really work either.
In the end, this book lacked any real descriptions. All the author did the entire story was to tell us what happened, how Emily felt, who she met, and what they said. If asked to describe what the characters look like, or her cottage, or the town they lived in, I would come up short. This author doesn’t seem to know how to write descriptions full of imagery. Instead, the story sets a whole slew of characters and situations, but none of them are really necessary or resolved.
drianturner's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an enjoyable counter to the book I read prior to this one, the Underground Railroad. Definitely not one of the deepest reads you're going to have but, for me, a pleasurable read, all the same.
I love the late Edwardian era eg Downton Abbey and Peaky Blinders. So I loved the setting, WWI: the end of Empire, or at least the realisation that the pre-War ideals wouldn't be the same again. And WWI has a lot to answer for. If the opposing powers hadn't been baying for war, and conflict had been avoided, then it's unlikely the Nazis would have risen to power in the years after.
I liked the themes of the book eg the futility of war and especially social class and the (limited) emancipation of women. Emily becomes a Land Girl and loves, and is loved, by her fellow workers. They can get along, even function as close friends, is an obvious indictment of class convention. Interestingly, Emily parent's are 'self-made' but still conform to the Victorian principles they aspired to growing up. We presume Emily will marry Justin. They both eschew the values they were brought up to support; and in Emily's case, ironically, she rises higher than her parents would ever have expected for her because she deliberately renounces those ideals.
What are the odds that the Lady of the Manor is the Susan in the diary? We begin to guess the connection before it is revealed. I thought this was too much of a coincidence but then Emily is living in Susan's cottage.
I thought the imitation of Emily's suspicion of attempted murder with Susan's allegation of murder was also a little contrived, but it didn't spoil the book for me.
I love the late Edwardian era eg Downton Abbey and Peaky Blinders. So I loved the setting, WWI: the end of Empire, or at least the realisation that the pre-War ideals wouldn't be the same again. And WWI has a lot to answer for. If the opposing powers hadn't been baying for war, and conflict had been avoided, then it's unlikely the Nazis would have risen to power in the years after.
I liked the themes of the book eg the futility of war and especially social class and the (limited) emancipation of women. Emily becomes a Land Girl and loves, and is loved, by her fellow workers. They can get along, even function as close friends, is an obvious indictment of class convention. Interestingly, Emily parent's are 'self-made' but still conform to the Victorian principles they aspired to growing up. We presume Emily will marry Justin. They both eschew the values they were brought up to support; and in Emily's case, ironically, she rises higher than her parents would ever have expected for her because she deliberately renounces those ideals.
What are the odds that the Lady of the Manor is the Susan in the diary? We begin to guess the connection before it is revealed. I thought this was too much of a coincidence but then Emily is living in Susan's cottage.
I thought the imitation of Emily's suspicion of attempted murder with Susan's allegation of murder was also a little contrived, but it didn't spoil the book for me.
sweetpeajoelle's review against another edition
1.0
This is no way can be considered historical fiction. More of a romance loosely thrown into the setting of ww1. It was like chasing a squirrel through a hallmark movie. Good grief it was painful to finish, but I hate quitting.
ellyrarg's review against another edition
3.0
Mmm. This book was a nice ramble, a predictable but enjoyable plot (though I had wished she’d gone to Australia instead!). A little slow to start but well placed through the latter half. The characters were a bit two dimensional but, not to their detriment. They were still pleasant. The ending was fairly abrupt but generally it was a nice distracting read.
livres_de_bloss's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. It was a bit predictable and saccharine toward the ending but the engaging writing and storytelling was so enjoyable!
My only complaint is with the publisher. They literally gave away the whole plot with spoilers on the back blurb!
My only complaint is with the publisher. They literally gave away the whole plot with spoilers on the back blurb!