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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
slow-paced
From about ages fourteen to sixteen, I was obsessed with Lyn Andrew's books. I used to read them all the time and I had a large collection of them. For a few years now, I haven't read any though, and so when I saw her newest novel was available on Bookbrigr for review, I thought I would request a copy and see if now, at twenty two, I still liked Lyn Andrews books as much as I used to.
I have to say, I did really enjoy this book. I really liked the characters and their journey the devastating years of the first world war. I've read quite a few books before which have been set during wartime, and it's a genre that I really like, and Lyn Andrews writes it well.
I like the way she didn't just tell Mae 's story or Mae's and Alices. There were stories weaved in from them, Alice's brother, and two of their neighbors, as well as the story of Mae's aunt Maggie. By having this open third person narration that wasn't just following one character, it allowed the story to be told from different angles. The girls as nurses in France, the boys as soldiers fighting on the front lines, and Maggie holding down the fort at home in Liverpool.
As in all of Lyn Andrews books that I've read, she has a great talent for weaving emotion into her writing. You feel connected to her characters, and get really invested in their lives and their struggles.
I really enjoyed this book, and I felt it was done really well. There were just two things which I didn't like about this book.
The first was the beginning. I felt like the main story of the book took a really long time to start, in fact, it took a little over ninety pages for it to actually reach 1914, and for a book about nurses during the first world war, it felt really slow that it took so long for the main story to start. For me, all of that buildup felt unnecessary and slow.
I have to say, I did really enjoy this book. I really liked the characters and their journey the devastating years of the first world war. I've read quite a few books before which have been set during wartime, and it's a genre that I really like, and Lyn Andrews writes it well.
I like the way she didn't just tell Mae 's story or Mae's and Alices. There were stories weaved in from them, Alice's brother, and two of their neighbors, as well as the story of Mae's aunt Maggie. By having this open third person narration that wasn't just following one character, it allowed the story to be told from different angles. The girls as nurses in France, the boys as soldiers fighting on the front lines, and Maggie holding down the fort at home in Liverpool.
As in all of Lyn Andrews books that I've read, she has a great talent for weaving emotion into her writing. You feel connected to her characters, and get really invested in their lives and their struggles.
I really enjoyed this book, and I felt it was done really well. There were just two things which I didn't like about this book.
The first was the beginning. I felt like the main story of the book took a really long time to start, in fact, it took a little over ninety pages for it to actually reach 1914, and for a book about nurses during the first world war, it felt really slow that it took so long for the main story to start. For me, all of that buildup felt unnecessary and slow.
I won this from a goodreads giveaway =).
Whilst I did enjoy parts of this novel, I found most of it to be a bit of a chore to read, especially the first and last few chapters. I feel like most of the early stuff could have been removed or condensed somehow and the last parts that took place in the war should have been padded out a lot more, as quite a lot seemed rushed.
I also wasn't a huge fan of how conveniently everyone seemed to pair off.
Whilst I did enjoy parts of this novel, I found most of it to be a bit of a chore to read, especially the first and last few chapters. I feel like most of the early stuff could have been removed or condensed somehow and the last parts that took place in the war should have been padded out a lot more, as quite a lot seemed rushed.
I also wasn't a huge fan of how conveniently everyone seemed to pair off.