A Girl in Wartime

by Maggie Ford

There’s no escape from the effects of war...It’s June 1914 and young Connie Lovell should be helping with the war effort. Instead, she applies for a job at the London Herald, where she meets the handsome editor Stephen Clayton.Nine years her senior, she knows her family won’t approve. She is helplessly drawn to him, and despite a past he won’t talk about, he is undeniably attracted to her. But as the war rages on, will Stephen be forced to enlist, and can their union survive the consequences?

Genres: Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Romance

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2016

About the author

Alternate/Pen name for author: Elizabeth Lord

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love stories set in this era (first world war) but was disappointed with this one. The main character is Connie Lovell, who has a gift for drawing. She leaves her job at a paper box factory to work at a newspaper where she is required to sketch the expressions on people's faces after losing their houses or family. There she falls in love with her boss, Stephen Clayton, who is much older than her and has been married. That's the story in a nutshell, not much more to it than that, just chapter after chapter of Connie worrying about telling her parents about her relationship.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed by this book. I really didn't warm to the main character finding her too childish and pathetic it was like reading a teenagers diary. The only saving grace was the side story involving her brothers it was the only reason I finished the book to see what happened to them.

[Brenda Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book,great wartime story.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struggled to get into this one to be quite honest. Some parts were really good but then the story line seemed to fizzle out.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were things about this book that I really enjoyed and other things that just grew old quickly. I enjoy learning about what the average person's life was like in this era. It constantly amazes me how much life has changed since then. Connie, the main character was incredibly immature and weak and didn't seem to learn from her experiences. I find it hard to believe that she was of interest to a man 9 years her senior and that she was so terrified of telling her family. There was a 12 year difference in age between my Mom and Dad who married post WW2 and there marriage was a huge success so I know it can be done but Stephen had a lot to put up with in this novel. The parts that touched me the most in the novel were the parts that touched on her brothers war service and how such service could affect mental health.

[Mookie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. Older boss taking advantage of the new kid, never addressing his sexual hangups, her constantly terrified of her parents, every one being moralistically superior and awful to her pacifist brother, and forgiving of him when he finally joins up. (I hope he never talks to them again)

[Natalya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Connie's family but found her dull and Stephen odd. I didn't think much of their relationship or the build-up to it. The trench parts were written well though, considering I don't usually find it interesting. In this book I did enjoy those parts however.

[Eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I found the writing repeating itself which was a bit off putting.

I usually love books written in this period of time, but the chapters were too short and snippy which I didn’t like.

There also didn’t seem to be an ending, it just stopped.

[Nella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointingly real - all Connie wants to do is be a wife; her father wants her to be more than a cardboard box maker yet treats her as a child - at 19 she still doesn't have the key to her home.

[Tracey Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely chilled read.

[lexythebookworm_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually love this kind of war books,it took me along time to get into this book got better with the war story but then the relationship with Connie and Stephen drags on an average read for me.