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adventuresofaliterarynature's review
5.0
After reading and loving this author's debut last year I couldn't wait to read this second book! Thankfully it completely lived up to my expectations and I completely loved it!
I loved Evelyn and Joel so much and I admired how they handled the things they faced. I really liked how they both cared for the people around them, never just focusing on their own problems. They had some very difficult situations that they had to work through but the author navigated them through each with great skill.
The setting of the story was fantastic and I felt transported to another time and place. You could really feel the emotions of everything and I was completely sucked in.
In short this book was fantastic and totally worth a read especially if you enjoy reading about WWI! Sadly my copy was ripped apart by my boss's dog but the author generously sent me a replacement copy!
I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I loved Evelyn and Joel so much and I admired how they handled the things they faced. I really liked how they both cared for the people around them, never just focusing on their own problems. They had some very difficult situations that they had to work through but the author navigated them through each with great skill.
The setting of the story was fantastic and I felt transported to another time and place. You could really feel the emotions of everything and I was completely sucked in.
In short this book was fantastic and totally worth a read especially if you enjoy reading about WWI! Sadly my copy was ripped apart by my boss's dog but the author generously sent me a replacement copy!
I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
momwithareadingproblem's review
5.0
I don't even know where to begin!
Hope Rising by [a:Stacy Henrie|5778153|Stacy Henrie|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1340140237p2/5778153.jpg] is book two of her Of Love and War series and tells the story of Evelyn, a war nurse, and Joel, Livy's surviving brother and soldier. Joel is fighting at the front lines when he is injured and his best friend is killed. He is sent to the nunnery turned hospital where Evelyn works to be treated. Evelyn on her last leave fell in love with a soldier...(do you see where this is going?) Now she is pregnant and Joel brings news that her soldier, the man who told her he'd marry her is dead.
Evelyn is a finicky character to me. I had a hard time liking/relating to her. The book starts with her defending her morals. She won't fraternize with the soldiers because it's against the rules, then in a moment of weakness she decides a coffee won't hurt, next thing you know it's 12 weeks later and oops! She's pregnant. Okay I can overlook that. Then she receives news that Ralph (that's the soldier) is dead via his best friend, the irresistible and handsome Joel. She says she'll never love again. But then she makes this proposal to Joel (I'll go there in a minute) that completely contradicts that. I get it she's a woman, it's her job to change her mind, but really?! Honestly though I didn't connect with Evelyn, by the end of the story I was able to see things from her point of view and sympathized with her. So it's not all bad!
Joel reminds me of a guy-version of Livy from book one. Joel is the oldest child, has received news that his brother is dead, his sister is now married, and now his best friend dies in a battle that Joel feels guilty for. His struggles are relatable as he struggles with overwhelming guilt and grief, and also struggles with his faith in God. Joel doesn't ever give up on Him completely. He learns after his injuries that the life he's always wanted is no longer possible (not saying more because spoilers!!!) and he questions the path God has set him on. Then he meets Evelyn the girl Ralph was going on and on about, learns of her predicament and questions what he should do. He feels an overwhelming need to help her, but the question is how.
Back to Evelyn's unusual proposal...Okay so I struggled with whether or not to include this in my review, but I decided it would be okay because it occurs fairly early in the book. However I'm putting in a spoiler box so if you wish to skip it you can. I don't think it will spoil the book though if you read it. Joel wanting to help Evelyn as much as he can, decides to become her friend and get to know her. Their relationship blossoms into a beautiful friendship as they grieve together and learn to lean on one another.
I liked their relationship! I felt that it progressed naturally and the author does a brilliant job of bringing the characters to life. In addition to the characters is the landscape of scenery of war in Europe and the life these people live. It's written in such a way that you feel the action and the dreary mud and rain, but also the bright spots of sun and happiness.
Overall I laughed, I cried, and my heart ached for these characters and the trials they were put through. Historical fiction has always been one of my vices and this author has done her research, keeping the time and culture present throughout the book. Not only that but it is a clean read with Christian influence throughout which just enhances it for me. If you enjoy historical romance, clean romance, and inspirational fiction I highly suggest you check out not just this book but all of Henrie's novels!
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Hope Rising by [a:Stacy Henrie|5778153|Stacy Henrie|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1340140237p2/5778153.jpg] is book two of her Of Love and War series and tells the story of Evelyn, a war nurse, and Joel, Livy's surviving brother and soldier. Joel is fighting at the front lines when he is injured and his best friend is killed. He is sent to the nunnery turned hospital where Evelyn works to be treated. Evelyn on her last leave fell in love with a soldier...(do you see where this is going?) Now she is pregnant and Joel brings news that her soldier, the man who told her he'd marry her is dead.
Evelyn is a finicky character to me. I had a hard time liking/relating to her. The book starts with her defending her morals. She won't fraternize with the soldiers because it's against the rules, then in a moment of weakness she decides a coffee won't hurt, next thing you know it's 12 weeks later and oops! She's pregnant. Okay I can overlook that. Then she receives news that Ralph (that's the soldier) is dead via his best friend, the irresistible and handsome Joel. She says she'll never love again. But then she makes this proposal to Joel (I'll go there in a minute) that completely contradicts that. I get it she's a woman, it's her job to change her mind, but really?! Honestly though I didn't connect with Evelyn, by the end of the story I was able to see things from her point of view and sympathized with her. So it's not all bad!
Joel reminds me of a guy-version of Livy from book one. Joel is the oldest child, has received news that his brother is dead, his sister is now married, and now his best friend dies in a battle that Joel feels guilty for. His struggles are relatable as he struggles with overwhelming guilt and grief, and also struggles with his faith in God. Joel doesn't ever give up on Him completely. He learns after his injuries that the life he's always wanted is no longer possible (not saying more because spoilers!!!) and he questions the path God has set him on. Then he meets Evelyn the girl Ralph was going on and on about, learns of her predicament and questions what he should do. He feels an overwhelming need to help her, but the question is how.
Back to Evelyn's unusual proposal...Okay so I struggled with whether or not to include this in my review, but I decided it would be okay because it occurs fairly early in the book. However I'm putting in a spoiler box so if you wish to skip it you can. I don't think it will spoil the book though if you read it.
Spoiler
So Evelyn knows that once the army finds out she is pregnant she will be discharged and sent back to live with her grandparents an unwed mother. Her other option is to hide the pregnancy as long as she can and pray she doesn't get sent to the front lines. She creates another option when she learns that Joel's dreams have been crushed by his injuries and asks him to wed her.I liked their relationship! I felt that it progressed naturally and the author does a brilliant job of bringing the characters to life. In addition to the characters is the landscape of scenery of war in Europe and the life these people live. It's written in such a way that you feel the action and the dreary mud and rain, but also the bright spots of sun and happiness.
Overall I laughed, I cried, and my heart ached for these characters and the trials they were put through. Historical fiction has always been one of my vices and this author has done her research, keeping the time and culture present throughout the book. Not only that but it is a clean read with Christian influence throughout which just enhances it for me. If you enjoy historical romance, clean romance, and inspirational fiction I highly suggest you check out not just this book but all of Henrie's novels!
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
melissasbookshelf's review
4.0
Loved this second book in the Of Love and War series! Stacy Henrie has such a gift of writing characters that at once inspire sympathy and admiration. Her characters are beautifully flawed and yet find a way to rise above. In this story, Ms. Henrie doesn't shy away from the horrors of WWI, the wounds suffered, death, and immorality.
In this story, Evelyn is a young nurse who struggles with feelings of self worth. She has basically become an orphan and her only living relatives are her elderly grandparents. She is an excellent nurse who falls in love with a soldier while on leave. After she learns she is pregnant, she is determined to cover it up until she can marry the soldier she fell in love with and have an honorable discharge.
Joel is a soldier who is brought to the hospital when his platoon is ambushed by German soldiers. His best friend and Evelyn's fiancé is killed during the struggle and Joel blames himself for his death. When he meets Evelyn and understands who she is, he struggles to fight his feelings for her as she aids in his recovery. He has also always wanted a family and farm and his injuries now put all of that in jeopardy. As both Evelyn and Joel try to deal with their shared sorrows, they have to decide if they can find a miracle to come out everything.
Loved the characters and the story! I enjoy that these stories are realistic and inspiring. There is a happy ending, but it is a realistic happy ending which is better because not all the problems go away. I am excited to read the final book in the series!
In this story, Evelyn is a young nurse who struggles with feelings of self worth. She has basically become an orphan and her only living relatives are her elderly grandparents. She is an excellent nurse who falls in love with a soldier while on leave. After she learns she is pregnant, she is determined to cover it up until she can marry the soldier she fell in love with and have an honorable discharge.
Joel is a soldier who is brought to the hospital when his platoon is ambushed by German soldiers. His best friend and Evelyn's fiancé is killed during the struggle and Joel blames himself for his death. When he meets Evelyn and understands who she is, he struggles to fight his feelings for her as she aids in his recovery. He has also always wanted a family and farm and his injuries now put all of that in jeopardy. As both Evelyn and Joel try to deal with their shared sorrows, they have to decide if they can find a miracle to come out everything.
Loved the characters and the story! I enjoy that these stories are realistic and inspiring. There is a happy ending, but it is a realistic happy ending which is better because not all the problems go away. I am excited to read the final book in the series!
blackngoldgirlsbookspot's review
4.0
The Of Love and War series flew in under the radar so to speak. I haven't read much in the way of promotion from the publisher or about the author until recently, but these short little romances have trotted their way to the top of my book list for 2014 beating out some big names! With the first book, we met the Campbell sister, Livy, on the homefront during The Great War. Hope Rising follows Joel through battlefield and field hospital where he meets his best friend's girl, nurse Evelyn Gray. Each of their stories is poignant and heartbreaking as war time sagas usually are. However, where book one focused on life in the States for those fighting at home, book two offers a glimpse at the battles faced on and off the fields of combat.
Hope Rising is one of those stories that starts off fast and dives right in to the romance as well as the heartbreak. Where Hope at Dawn took a while to take off, this story pulled me in right from the get go! As a nurse on the war front, being married is a no-no and being unmarried with child is considered grounds for immediate dismissal. Not wanting to disappoint her family or endanger her unborn baby, Evelyn must find a solution and quickly or put the life she knows in jeopardy. Joel Campbell was severely wounded in the battle that also took the life of Evelyn's fiance and feels responsible for Evelyn and her well-being. Henrie, weaves this story in such a way that is believable and entertaining. Even though it is a romance, it doesn't have that "fluff" feel. It's a pretty dramatic tale, but still remains hopeful and uplifting.
The Of Love and War saga continues with A Hope Remembered in March 2015. In the meantime, the Christmas novella, A Christmas Hope, is now available and is just thing to tide you over through the busy holiday season if you don't have time to read a full-length romance! I for one have really enjoyed this series and am looking forward to more!
*I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.*
Hope Rising is one of those stories that starts off fast and dives right in to the romance as well as the heartbreak. Where Hope at Dawn took a while to take off, this story pulled me in right from the get go! As a nurse on the war front, being married is a no-no and being unmarried with child is considered grounds for immediate dismissal. Not wanting to disappoint her family or endanger her unborn baby, Evelyn must find a solution and quickly or put the life she knows in jeopardy. Joel Campbell was severely wounded in the battle that also took the life of Evelyn's fiance and feels responsible for Evelyn and her well-being. Henrie, weaves this story in such a way that is believable and entertaining. Even though it is a romance, it doesn't have that "fluff" feel. It's a pretty dramatic tale, but still remains hopeful and uplifting.
The Of Love and War saga continues with A Hope Remembered in March 2015. In the meantime, the Christmas novella, A Christmas Hope, is now available and is just thing to tide you over through the busy holiday season if you don't have time to read a full-length romance! I for one have really enjoyed this series and am looking forward to more!
*I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.*
jbenando's review
5.0
After getting pregnant, even though she knew she'd be kicked out of nursing, Evelyn, hides her pregnancy and hopes her betrothed returns to her. But when she meets his fellow soldier and learns of his death, she must try and survive and carry on without him.
But soon, she starts to have feelings for this wounded soldier, even though this is what got her in trouble, in the first place. She tries to maintain some distance, but her heart will do no such thing.
Joel has been injured in a way that gives him no hope for ever finding a good girl to marry and start a family with, but when he meets Evelyn and discovers her secret, he tries to help her out. He's also helping himself too. But then he discovers that he ins't just helping her, he's falling for her.
One tragedy after another brings these two closer together, in a time a war and hopelessness. I was sweet to watch. heartbreaking at times, but very sweet. I just love this series!!!
But soon, she starts to have feelings for this wounded soldier, even though this is what got her in trouble, in the first place. She tries to maintain some distance, but her heart will do no such thing.
Joel has been injured in a way that gives him no hope for ever finding a good girl to marry and start a family with, but when he meets Evelyn and discovers her secret, he tries to help her out. He's also helping himself too. But then he discovers that he ins't just helping her, he's falling for her.
One tragedy after another brings these two closer together, in a time a war and hopelessness. I was sweet to watch. heartbreaking at times, but very sweet. I just love this series!!!
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