Mary Christian Payne once again takes you to a quaint, English village, where Lord Christopher Claybourne lives, with his newlywed American wife, Eleanor, and his mother, the Dowager Lady Cynthia, in his opulent family estate. At the other end of the village lives Lily Barton, in a charming cottage, with her widowed mother, Elisabeth. Their worlds meet at the beginning of World War I. This first novel in the Claybourne Trilogy takes the reader on an adventurous journey, fraught with peril, both at home and abroad.
It was one of those books that are informative and intriguing. I had a great-aunt who served as a nurse in WW1. I was able to see some of her experiences. Thank you for this book!!! 😀😀😀
Excellent historical romance set in England during World War I. After the death of her father, Lilly must find work so that she and her mother can continue to live in their modest home. As the daughter of a physician, she apprenticed with her father while hoping one day to go to medical school. Her father's death changes this plan. Needing to stay close to her mother, she responds to an advertisement for a nurse for a fragile, pregnant, American bride of a nobleman. About to leave for active duty in France, Kit is concerned about his sheltered young wife and feels that Lilly is well suited as both a nurse and a companion. The story follows the events of the war and the decline of the marriage between the the spoiled young woman who realizes she only married the Earl to make her friends jealous, and the officer who returns from the war a haunted and changed man. Lilly may be his only salvation. Then of course tragedy befalls the family. It's a story of forbidden love, vanity, the sacrifices of war, misunderstandings and murder. I have not read this author before but I will definitely find her other works. I enjoyed the storytelling style, although there were moments when the attention to inconsequential details tempts you to skip paragraphs. Overall this is a well-paced, lovely story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
This story could have been good, should have been good, but it definitely wasn't. It was a fiction story set during WWI in England. It highlighted the class differences that were so prevalent during the beginning of the war. But then the story goes on to feature two things that make a story intolerable for me. The first was a character with even fewer redeeming qualities than Cruella Deville. The second aspect that I hate was the plot twist of having all the good things happen to the bad people, and all the bad thing happen to the good people. Then at the end everything gets straightened out. This whole story was really irritating. Why anyone would want to read a story about such wicked people, along with good people who suffer needlessly, is beyond me. I will not be continuing with this series.
I enjoyed this book. The author gives a lot of detailed descriptions of everything. This adds to the overall feeling of the trenches in France during WW I. I felt she didn't give an accurate view of the trials and deprivation that was endured by by the rural area. I realize she was taking about the aristocracy, but I believe they even felt the lack of essentials.