Jenny has been in love with the handsome and successful Matthew Ward since she was sixteen. The trouble is he sees her as the girl-next-door, just one of his friends. When Matthew joins the army Jenny disentangles herself from her clinging mother in order to do her bit for the war effort by becoming a nurse. Her newfound skills give her fresh confidence. The next time Matt encounters her he will see a very different girl. But when he does, Matthew brings his own bombshell. . . ( previously published as For All the Bright Promise .)
First published with short stories, went on to writing novels, family sagas and historicals around 1980s. First novel published by Piatkus, London, in 1992. Since then there has been 22 novels published with one in the pipeline and one with my publishers Severn House. You can check out my books avaialable on Audios and CDs
This book follows a few London friends through the WW2 turmoil, with plans changed, lives altered and unimaginable experiences.
Jenny signs up as a nurse during the Blitz partly to escape a controlling family, and gains independence and respect through hard, demanding work.
Meanwhile the young man she used to fancy , Matthew, has been posted to Burma, but Japan entering the war puts him in danger and then a prison camp. He'd quickly married Susan, a lass he met in Birmingham on a posting, and this is the most unbelievable part, since she is barely literate and totally self centred, the opposite of his own upbringing.
Jenny should move on with her romantic life, but somehow never does, and after the war there is a shortage of men. The story sticks there for a good while before a resolution we all saw coming.
Okay for a read, but I got the impression the author ran out of plot, or needed a harder edit. As with many of these social history books, the main point is the war conditions. Nursing was quite a usual occupation for women, so I have better enjoyed more unusual tales such as munitions workers and timber workers. This is an unbiased review.
I had high hopes for that book. The story plot was interesting so I gave it a try. But as soon as I started it it was a no go for me. I did get it to the end but it's not satisfying reading material for me. If a guy is pinning for wrong women for 80% of the book and another women is pinning for him from the start. Then its get boring fast.