Two troubled people in a turbulent world.In July 1940, Gwen Collingwood drops her husband at the railway station, knowing she may never see him again. Two days later her humdrum world is torn apart when the sleepy English seaside town where she lives is subjected to the first of many heavy bombing attacks.In Ontario, Canada, Jim Armstrong is debating whether to volunteer. His decision becomes … decision becomes clear when he uncovers the secret his fiancée has been keeping from him. A few weeks later he is on a ship bound for England.
Gwen is forced to confront the truth she has concealed about her past and her own feelings. Jim battles with a bewildering and hostile world far removed from the cosy life of his Canadian farm. War brings horror and loss to each of them – can it also bring change and salvation?
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Enjoyed the multilayered storyline with a strong woman who was able to use her skills during wartime, only to be replaced by a male. But she also found friendship with a male.
It was different and moving.
True emotions
I enjoyed this book because it explored an aspect of war not usually covered: the effect war has on relationships as it relates to love and passion. The book alternately tells the story of two characters. Jim is a Canadian farm boy who in his rage joins the army against his father’s wishes when he discovers his brother and his fiancee having hot passionate sec in the hayloft, something he never ask her for because he respected her too much to do so. Gwen is an older, stiff upper lip, proper English woman the reader first meets saying farewell to her husband (who’s deeply involved in military undercover work) with all the passion of a block of ice.
As Jim and Gwen work though their passion-related problems–his self-righteous rage and her pattern of emotional repression that goes back to childhood–each one of them encounters war-related events that lead to painful, but necessary self-revelations. As he’s dealt with a psychopathic superior, crushing boredom, and a clumsy social life, she’s lived through daily bombings in her small town and immersed herself in in the Women’s Volunteer Service and as a message interceptor and decoder. Gwen also has offered room in her home to a young woman with two young children in exchange for cooking services, something she never would have considered before the war.
After both fight their own internal wars for several years, Jim finally gets to see the war close up and personal on the east coast of England where Gwen lives.I won’t give away the plot from then on except to say that it didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, but rather the way it should have. Beautiful writing.
Good read. Realistic. Informative.
I enjoy stories of people and how they are touched by war. I especially like it when the human spirit overcomes the devastation of the terrible ordeals. o
Very good, insightful to how things ere during WWll. I did not get the attraction between two of the characters. I felt she was cold and snarky. He should have not gone back to her.
I like stories of World War 2 era. The characters are fictitious but the bombing of the small coastal English town was drawn from fact. Hard to believe how English civilians also suffered during the war. A great book
Set in WW II England it is an engaging story about love and war. I was sorry when it ended but after reading the promo for the second book, I think I will stop here where everyone is still happy, LOL.
Reading about the home fronts during a War, always leaves me in awe of what the women of those eras did – this book is a prime example of that.
I loved this book and ordered the second book. One of the best stories I’ve read in a long while. Would like more of these stories in bookbud.
Good story.
Couldn’t get into it from the beginning…stopped reading
I loved it and told lots of peopl3 about it.
Nice historical story of WWII that we don’t usually see. The story line reached a bit, but the book was still enjoyable.
Im loving it because it shows how people can overcome a lot of stuff that most of us today don’t even know about.
I am a if fan of Foyles war andHome Fires. My dad was in England during WWII and have his books with a picture of an English woman and her 2sons (husband killed in North Africa) much like this story. A neighbor lady was English war bride. So I really enjoyed this sad and exciting story.
This book really captured my attention. I had a hard time putting it down.