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evaseyler's review against another edition
5.0
They say you should write the book you want to read because, in writing it, you’ll read it a thousand times.
I wanted more WWI fiction and I have no regrets with how this book came out. Teen girls in drag, tragedy, music, snogging, death, Scotsmen, pet cats who survive the story instead of being killed off for emotional manipulation purposes.... it’s got all that and more.
Most of all, I hope, it will remind you that love is stronger than death or fear.
For content warnings for my books, please visit:
https://www.evaseyler.com/index.php/books-eva-seyler/content-warnings/
I wanted more WWI fiction and I have no regrets with how this book came out. Teen girls in drag, tragedy, music, snogging, death, Scotsmen, pet cats who survive the story instead of being killed off for emotional manipulation purposes.... it’s got all that and more.
Most of all, I hope, it will remind you that love is stronger than death or fear.
For content warnings for my books, please visit:
https://www.evaseyler.com/index.php/books-eva-seyler/content-warnings/
luinien's review against another edition
5.0
Overall, I quite enjoyed the book even though I don’t tend to read historical fiction. Not sure why, but maybe I’m “too full” on World War II and many of the historical fiction books I come across are from that time period. I don’t know much about World War I (which is the setting for a good chunk of the story), but it wasn’t distracting to have that as the time period. It was actually nice to have it in a different setting. The story jumped back and forth in time, and that was a bit confusing at first for me even with the dates at the start of each jump; the flow clicked for me as I went, and it made a lot of sense to me why the story would be told in a not-so-linear fashion.
The story starts off following Estelle on her search for her missing husband, Captain Jamie Graham, whom she finds in a coma at one of the military hospital camps. Their new adoptive daughter, Aveline, is nowhere to be found, and Estelle only has time on her hands. Through reading her husband’s journals, multiple flashbacks and letter exchanges, we learn about how everyone ended up where they were. While I haven’t been a fan of more recent things I’ve read having large chunks of the story through texts or phone calls, I thought the inclusion of various letters and writing really helped the story. I especially enjoyed the fact that each person’s writing was in a different format: that helped me envision the type of person they were based on their “script”.
While the book felt like it moved slowly, it seemed to mirror the time Estelle was spending, waiting for her husband to wake up and recover. The plot was mainly driven by character development, and it was interesting to see how everyone responded to various traumas and how that shaped the people they became. So often in books, we only see the characters develop and grow in the current timeline of the book. Because most of the story actually has already happened by the time Estelle even starts looking for her husband, the development can go backwards or forwards as necessary. The somewhat somber ending was fitting for the story, and I appreciated it.
The story starts off following Estelle on her search for her missing husband, Captain Jamie Graham, whom she finds in a coma at one of the military hospital camps. Their new adoptive daughter, Aveline, is nowhere to be found, and Estelle only has time on her hands. Through reading her husband’s journals, multiple flashbacks and letter exchanges, we learn about how everyone ended up where they were. While I haven’t been a fan of more recent things I’ve read having large chunks of the story through texts or phone calls, I thought the inclusion of various letters and writing really helped the story. I especially enjoyed the fact that each person’s writing was in a different format: that helped me envision the type of person they were based on their “script”.
While the book felt like it moved slowly, it seemed to mirror the time Estelle was spending, waiting for her husband to wake up and recover. The plot was mainly driven by character development, and it was interesting to see how everyone responded to various traumas and how that shaped the people they became. So often in books, we only see the characters develop and grow in the current timeline of the book. Because most of the story actually has already happened by the time Estelle even starts looking for her husband, the development can go backwards or forwards as necessary. The somewhat somber ending was fitting for the story, and I appreciated it.
fayelle's review against another edition
5.0
This story grabbed my attention from the very beginning and would not let go. Read the whole thing in 24 hours. The characters are so well thought out and easy to visualize and get close to, the real feelings and conflicts of the minds and hearts are so relatable and engaging.
I did not expect to enjoy this book so much but gosh, I was completely and happily sucked in!
I did not expect to enjoy this book so much but gosh, I was completely and happily sucked in!
carols's review against another edition
4.0
What a sad, beautiful book. It was not at all what I expected, and the characters fairly leaped off the pages.
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