Georgina Troy

Somewhat predictable, but the characters are so endearing that you enjoy making the journey with them to see what actually happens. You have to love these people. Orphaned sisters are both nurses, serving in different places during WW1. They both fall in love with patients, which is forbidden to do in both places. But that's what makes it so interesting to read. Love it!! Hard to put down all the second half.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#ThePoppySisters #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #HistoricalFiction #FiveStarBooks #DeborahCarr… (more)

I enjoy historical fiction and any war era stories about how people struggle, cope, succeed and sometimes fail. I was looking forward to The Poppy Sisters with its tale of how two sisters were coping with the devastating loss of the rest of their family and how they were adapting – or not adapting – to their nursing jobs in two very different locations. The experience of treating prisoners of war promised to be interesting.

The horrors of the war, the grief of the sisters, the heartbreaking circumstances at the hospitals were all there. I didn’t expect a light romance story, but I did expect some moments of light and unfortunately there were very few. The story is intense and heavy, often feeling harsh. The resentment of many of the nurses at having to treat the enemy was understandable, as was the Matrons strictness with the nurses and VADs and the need to adhere to the rules, but it causes a depressing sense of foreboding and futility to hang over the story. The sisters were close in age but Celia especially was quick to judge Phoebe’s actions. It was hard to relate to the characters because of the hardness in the way they treated each other.

The previous book I read by this author, The Beekeeper’s War, was also a wartime story and dealt with difficult subjects but was still often sweet and engaging. The Poppy Sisters does a great job of presenting the truth of war, the choices that must be made, and how loss, grief, and maybe finally hope can affect a family. The Poppy Sisters was informative and emotional, I just wish it had included a few more upbeat scenes.

Thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review all opinions are my own.… (more)

Portia and her boyfriend Charlie are living in London, where Portia has a thriving events management career. Charlie is managing a restaurant, instead of the hotel he managed on Jersey, where they met.

The two are happy together, but Charlie is not happy away from his beloved Jersey.

When Charlie inherits his great-aunt's magnificent, but now in need of significant repair, chateau on Jersey, Portia encourages him to renovate it and open his own hotel. He's got the skills and experience to do a lot of the work himself, and Portia sells her London flat, which they have been living in, to pay for the work. It will put them, she feels, on equal footing in a new home which is theirs, rather than hers.

What can go wrong in renovating a magnificent but decayed old house, with the deadline of being ready to open for guests by spring? A lot!

No working heat. All the windows need to be replaced--and there's damage to the roof, that leads to collapsing ceilings in some rooms, some of them after they've been renovated. There are two kitchens--a big one that needs to be completely renovated before they can have paying guests, but also a smaller, modern one. That one lets them take in one paying tenant immediately, Remi the French baker.

So much goes well, and so much goes wrong. And while Charlie knew what he was getting into with doing the renovations mostly on their own and with the help of friends in the community, Portia didn't. She didn't realize how hard, and how relentless, the work would be. She wasn't prepared for the extra-cold Jersey winter they got, with no working heat until later in the winter.

While Charlie wasn't happy in London, Portia and Charlie both begin to fear that she's not cut out for life away from London.

We get their stories and viewpoints in alternating chapters, and we meet the friends and neighbors along the Jersey boardwalk which the chateau is up the hill from, who make them both want to make it work. Will they succeed? Can Portia give up London, and her friends and career there?

It's a wonderful, heartwarming story with likable, believable characters, and Jersey has the good kind of small town feel.

I received a free electronic galley from the publisher via NetGalley and Rachel's Random Resources.… (more)

The Beekeeper’s War is a simple story, sweet and engaging, great for a weekend read. It begins at the onset of the First Great War and picks up again at the beginning of The Second World War. There’s a big secret, with serious, life-changing consequences, but from our contemporary vantage point we might wonder what’s the big deal? Well, it was a big deal for Pru, especially in times when social boundaries, status, appearances and reputation were everything. Pru is a nurse caring for injured soldiers at Ashbury Manor and getting a glimpse at how the other half lives. Life-long friendships are formed with the other nurses. And then there’s Jack, an American pilot. The pull between him and Pru is strong. He’s unlike anyone she’s ever met and treats her so tenderly, but he doesn’t feel it would be right to marry now in case he doesn’t come back. And then he goes on a dangerous mission – and he doesn’t come back.

Twenty-four years later and another war is beginning. Pru has made a life for herself in Jersey and some of those life-long friendships have endured, but her memories have never left her. Her daughter Emma goes to Ashbury Manor to be safe from the possible occupation of Jersey, not really knowing much about her mother’s life there during the previous war. What Emma learns at Ashbury Manor will have consequences of the magnitude of those from the past. Secrets are revealed and it’s like a ball of string unraveling: mysterious people appear, relationships are threatened, decisions must be made. There are a lot of clues and the mystery isn’t too hard to figure out. But that’s not the appeal of The Beekeeper’s War. Its appeal lies in the storytelling itself: the horrors of the war, dangerous circumstances and sacrifices, weak and strong people who either caved in and betrayed others or rose to all challenges feel authentic and real. The characters are well-drawn and believable. The story moves smoothly along and feels believable. And whether or not all choices made in the past were the right ones, they were made with caring and love. The question is where things will go from here.

Thanks to Harper Collins Publishers UK One More Chapter for providing an advance copy of The Beekeeper’s War via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. It was indeed a pleasurable read and I recommend it. All opinions are my own.… (more)