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scoutfinch75's review
5.0
1854 and Britain is the grip of the Crimean War.
Young Lucy Harvington, after a whirlwind romance travels to the Crimea with her husband Charlie. Her older sister Dorothea Gray follows her to the front as a pioneering nurse working alongside Florence Nightingale.
Both sisters will risk their lives and face unimaginable horrors. How will they survive?
I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. I felt an immediate affinity with the older sister Dorothea and both hers and Lucy's stories grabbed me and refused to let go.
This is a beautifully written book, the images portrayed are done in a way that allows you to step into the story and live the adventure with the characters. The horror of war is described honestly, without holding back at all on the brutality, the fear and the devastation it brings.
I love the story, the history entwined into the lives of these fictional characters is fascinating. This book is a must read and I can't wait to read more of this authors work.
I received this book in a goodreads giveaway.
mamaroe93011's review against another edition
4.0
I loved The Secret Wife by this author, so I was excited to read this one. It was a good historical read, but it wasn’t my favorite. Some of the war details were a little slow reading for me, but the story line for the sisters was definitely new for me. My heart broke over and over for Lucy and I absolutely loved Dorothea. Such a strong big sister!
kitty_kat21's review
3.0
Originally posted here.
No Place for a Lady was exactly what I needed, a super easy and enjoyable historical fiction focusing on the Crimean war of 1854-55, of which I knew nothing about. The story is about two sisters who are thirteen years apart. Dorothea is the elder, never married and very sensible, whilst Lucy is fickle and passionate. It switches between their perspectives and I enjoyed reading it for the most part.
I really liked the writing style, it was really easy to fly through and the plot was sufficiently fast paced enough to keep my interest all the way through. Some of Lucy's plot was really unbelievable and although I rolled my eyes on occasion it was still quite entertaining. The ending was a bit strange but I liked how it wasn't happily ever after.
It's not one of the best historical fiction novels that I have ever read but I appreciated learning my more about the Crimean war and the historical note at the end was very informative. Would I recommend it? Not to anyone who is looking for high quality historical fiction. It is however a fast paced and easy read with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting, but I found it to be a distinctly average read.
No Place for a Lady was exactly what I needed, a super easy and enjoyable historical fiction focusing on the Crimean war of 1854-55, of which I knew nothing about. The story is about two sisters who are thirteen years apart. Dorothea is the elder, never married and very sensible, whilst Lucy is fickle and passionate. It switches between their perspectives and I enjoyed reading it for the most part.
I really liked the writing style, it was really easy to fly through and the plot was sufficiently fast paced enough to keep my interest all the way through. Some of Lucy's plot was really unbelievable and although I rolled my eyes on occasion it was still quite entertaining. The ending was a bit strange but I liked how it wasn't happily ever after.
It's not one of the best historical fiction novels that I have ever read but I appreciated learning my more about the Crimean war and the historical note at the end was very informative. Would I recommend it? Not to anyone who is looking for high quality historical fiction. It is however a fast paced and easy read with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting, but I found it to be a distinctly average read.
rachel45's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
neoo5's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
daria_aron's review
4.0
A book which captivated me from the very begging with its strong opening prologue - a captivation which led me to the last page of the book. The stories of the sister were so well developed both individually and intertwining to the point where you could feel their emotions about one another.
Unfortunately, the ending was not my favourite, specifically Lucy's ending (Murad deserved better), however, I understand the effect of it.
Nonetheless, a great historical book written about a war and a geographical location not often talked about.
Unfortunately, the ending was not my favourite, specifically Lucy's ending (Murad deserved better), however, I understand the effect of it.
Nonetheless, a great historical book written about a war and a geographical location not often talked about.
dani_reviews's review
DNF @ 15%
It's about time I just put this away since I started it almost a year ago and put it aside when I was still too new to blogging to easily DNF books.
While a lot of readers were able to enjoy this book, I was simply unable to get into the story, even after leaving it for a while.
It was just boring. And the way the characters were introduced at the beginning felt like the author had reached into a bag of Jane Austen characters and used them instead of creating new ones.
Oh well, not for me.
It's about time I just put this away since I started it almost a year ago and put it aside when I was still too new to blogging to easily DNF books.
While a lot of readers were able to enjoy this book, I was simply unable to get into the story, even after leaving it for a while.
It was just boring. And the way the characters were introduced at the beginning felt like the author had reached into a bag of Jane Austen characters and used them instead of creating new ones.
Oh well, not for me.
remembered_reads's review against another edition
3.0
This Crimean War novel is an odd mix of things. We follow two British sisters to the Crimean (one a nurse, the other following a husband) through a series of wartime tales of drama and trauma. The historical details are sometimes central and discussed at length (historical figures like Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale make regular appearances), but when history would be inconvenient, we get the bits of anachronism that would make sense in the context of a genre romance, but since this (despite being published by Avon) isn't one - it's closer to a family drama/book club/chick-lit mashup -it feels out of sync with the rest of the work.
There are several things going on here and they're generally competently done, but not quite well done. And I imagine if someone went into this knowing nothing about the Crimean war (or mid-19th century British/French/Ottoman/Russian military history in general), it wouldn't be a terrible introduction.
There are several things going on here and they're generally competently done, but not quite well done. And I imagine if someone went into this knowing nothing about the Crimean war (or mid-19th century British/French/Ottoman/Russian military history in general), it wouldn't be a terrible introduction.
martha_sammut's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75