From the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You and One Plus One, in an earlier work available in the U.S. for the first time, a post-WWII story of the war brides who crossed the seas by the thousands to face their unknown futures1946. World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime.In Sydney, … they wed in wartime.
In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England—aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier’s captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy’s ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, the complicated young woman whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted—forever.
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Jojo Moyes is best know for the wonderful Me Before You series, and this book is quite different–but in a terrific way! I never knew there were Australian war brides, and the journey they undertook–some 13,000 miles, leaving everything familiar behind–is vividly detailed in this extremely well-researched story. But far beyond the information I learned, the characters she creates are so vivid and the storyline so compelling that this book really impressed me. I tried to be sensible and go to bed when I knew I had a few hours of reading left…but I just couldn’t let go of those characters and absolutely had to know how it ended, so before long, I was back up and reading until the end! Even now, I find myself thinking of characters I know I’ll never forget.
I read this a long time ago, but the warm feeling it left me with remains. The history was fascinating and the characters were beautifully portrayed.
I thought it was boring and never finished it. I usually like this author though.
WW II from a very different perspective. Engrossing and well-written.
Something just a bit different and would be a wonderful book club discussion book. I do intend to put this on my book club voting list for next year!
It was an eye-opener about WW II and how the women found husbands and how they were transported to Great Britain by ship from Australia. Details made the book more real.
Long read. 3 1/2 stars. Interesting piece of history on the transporting of Australian Brides to their English husbands, all of whom were married while the soldiers were on shore leave.
I was interested in the unusual story of war brides coming from Australia to their British husbands whom they met for a short time while British navy was stationed in Australia during the WWII.Well-written, full of tension and surprises.
I found t his an easy, pleasant read. Better than most romantic fiction, probably because it’s based on real-life situations and incidents. Not especially gripping or fabulous but a fun beach read.
5 Stars
I loved it. Fabulous story; informative and entertaining. One of my favorites by this author (and all her books are great).
I got bored and didn’t finish it. Some of her other books were so much better and totally engaging.
I did not like this book as well as I’ve enjoyed others by this author. It was a good book, however, and well written. I recommend it, even though I’ve given it a middle rating.
It was very goo – but too many characters in it. I kept confusing on “bride” with another “bride”. But I had to finish it.
To me this book really dragged along. I think it is a challenge to write a story that takes place almost entirely in one setting and this book was not up to that challenge
Good story. Interesting characters
Fascinating slice of history
This is a story of Australian brides who married British soldiers during WW-2 . Very good story.
I found the story line difficult to follow. She has written better books. I did learn something from this book though. I am always grateful for that.
It was better than I thought it would be