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World War Two Sagas #1
Past Encounters
Some memories fade, some refuse to let you go…
1945, Carnforth, England
Young sweethearts Rhoda and Peter were torn apart by the outbreak of the Second World War. Though engaged to be married, their plans were interrupted when Peter enlisted, only to be captured by the German army and interred in a prisoner-of-war camp.
Left at home and with only sporadic news from Peter, Rhoda has spent years apart from her fiancé, with no guarantees that he will return home.
When a film crew arrives to capture the iconic scenes for David Lean’s Brief Encounter , Rhoda finds herself caught up in a love affair of her own…
Ten years later, Rhoda and Peter are married, but their relationship is hanging by a thread.
What secrets have they hidden from each other over the years? How did Peter manage to survive the brutal war years? And did Rhoda ever get over the man who captured her heart…?
As they both reflect on their past encounters they have to decide if they can ever rebuild a relationship which was shattered by the war…
1945, Carnforth, England
Young sweethearts Rhoda and Peter were torn apart by the outbreak of the Second World War. Though engaged to be married, their plans were interrupted when Peter enlisted, only to be captured by the German army and interred in a prisoner-of-war camp.
Left at home and with only sporadic news from Peter, Rhoda has spent years apart from her fiancé, with no guarantees that he will return home.
When a film crew arrives to capture the iconic scenes for David Lean’s Brief Encounter , Rhoda finds herself caught up in a love affair of her own…
Ten years later, Rhoda and Peter are married, but their relationship is hanging by a thread.
What secrets have they hidden from each other over the years? How did Peter manage to survive the brutal war years? And did Rhoda ever get over the man who captured her heart…?
As they both reflect on their past encounters they have to decide if they can ever rebuild a relationship which was shattered by the war…
437 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2014
1103 people are currently reading
849 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
September 4, 2019
During his years in the German POW camp, all Peter wanted was to return to the love of his life. But haunted by ghosts and secrets, their relationship is not what he has imagined it to be. For those who fought and those who remained on the home front, the war didn't end in 1945. Ten years on, they are still fighting for their old lives and loves, for forgetfulness and forgiveness. What they went through will always be with them and they must learn to live with it.
Davina Blake is a master of suspense and paints a realistic picture of a relationship that is disintegrating through bitterness and estrangement. This book is about two people trying to break through a wall of past hurts and misunderstandings. But ultimately it's about healing and the long process of finding one's way to what has once been.
The book ends on a note of hope and forgiveness - the perfect closure for the emotional roller-coaster this story is. Thanks to Davina Blake's meticulous research and attention to detail, Europe at war jumps to life from every page of this beautifully written novel. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and to all those who love books that transport you back in time from the very first page.
To me, a sign of a good book is whether it has made me cry and whether it has left me wanting more. And Past Encounters has certainly done both.
Davina Blake is a master of suspense and paints a realistic picture of a relationship that is disintegrating through bitterness and estrangement. This book is about two people trying to break through a wall of past hurts and misunderstandings. But ultimately it's about healing and the long process of finding one's way to what has once been.
The book ends on a note of hope and forgiveness - the perfect closure for the emotional roller-coaster this story is. Thanks to Davina Blake's meticulous research and attention to detail, Europe at war jumps to life from every page of this beautifully written novel. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and to all those who love books that transport you back in time from the very first page.
To me, a sign of a good book is whether it has made me cry and whether it has left me wanting more. And Past Encounters has certainly done both.
October 16, 2017
2 Shattered Glass Stars
This book is all over the place. It’s never funny or childish. But it gets caught in a world where you don’t like either character. First you are all about # TeamRhoda then you are mad and turn into #TeamPeter. Then it ends and you are just like “all these characters deserve eachother I hate them all #TeamArchie”
Sounds confusing right?
This book is a historical look at the war as well as a story of post war I wouldn’t say much of the whole thing focused on romance. I love romance. This book needed more romance. The relationship between Rhoda and Peter was mentioned to be rocky.. but I have never met less in love characters in my entire life. I thought they were both selfish and made it hard to love them.
The moment you realize your perfect miserable life is over… you might also discover part of yourself in the shattered glass that remains
However the story of the actual War (Peter and Archie) Seems really well researched. And it really opened my eyes to it all (even if it is fiction it felt real)
Because the only way I would know I’d loved this much was to keep this pain.
This book is all over the place. It’s never funny or childish. But it gets caught in a world where you don’t like either character. First you are all about # TeamRhoda then you are mad and turn into #TeamPeter. Then it ends and you are just like “all these characters deserve eachother I hate them all #TeamArchie”
Sounds confusing right?
This book is a historical look at the war as well as a story of post war I wouldn’t say much of the whole thing focused on romance. I love romance. This book needed more romance. The relationship between Rhoda and Peter was mentioned to be rocky.. but I have never met less in love characters in my entire life. I thought they were both selfish and made it hard to love them.
The moment you realize your perfect miserable life is over… you might also discover part of yourself in the shattered glass that remains
However the story of the actual War (Peter and Archie) Seems really well researched. And it really opened my eyes to it all (even if it is fiction it felt real)
Because the only way I would know I’d loved this much was to keep this pain.
September 29, 2015
This was not a bad book, though my taste does not run to romantic stories. Hence the rating. What I did enjoy (and why I finished it) is the research the author did on WWII, especially the prison camps for British soldiers, the refugees fleeing west hoping to encounter the Americans and not the Soviets, the conditions of life in a small town In the far north during the war, the making of Brief Encounter, a film I like and have seen many times.
May 12, 2015
This book follows a married couple who are facing a crisis in their marriage. It’s set post World War 2 and they are both harbouring the strain of the war years and what they went through. Rhoda thinks her husband is having an affair when she finds a letter from a woman. But the letter is from the wife of Peter’s best friend in the war- but it’s a friend that Peter has never mentioned. What other secrets is he keeping from her?
Rhoda and Helen forge a friendship where a little of what they’ve been through is revealed. The marriage of Rhoda and Peter plodded along until one fateful day. Will they be able to overcome the traumatic events of the past and save their marriage?
Many thanks to Net Galley for a copy of this book.
Rhoda and Helen forge a friendship where a little of what they’ve been through is revealed. The marriage of Rhoda and Peter plodded along until one fateful day. Will they be able to overcome the traumatic events of the past and save their marriage?
Many thanks to Net Galley for a copy of this book.
April 30, 2022
It’s such a pleasure when you can pick up a book knowing you’re going to be enthralled, entertained, educated, and escorted away in time to another epoch! This is the fourth historical book I’ve read by Deborah Swift and I must say I’m delighted beyond words every time I read one of her novels.
Does this review need more? If so, then let me say this: the writing is solid and specific, the characters well drawn, the plot and subplots not only interesting but very realistic, and the research is admirable. Kudos! And on yet to another one of Swift’s sagas.
Does this review need more? If so, then let me say this: the writing is solid and specific, the characters well drawn, the plot and subplots not only interesting but very realistic, and the research is admirable. Kudos! And on yet to another one of Swift’s sagas.
November 17, 2014
Find this and other reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....
I knew I'd be reading Davina Blake's Past Encounters the moment I stumbled over the artwork. I didn't need to read description, I was hooked by the period alone and while I don't recommend selecting books this way, I'm happy to report the odds were in my favor this go round.
For those who aren't aware, Davina Blake also writes as Deborah Swift. It's not something I'd usually bring up in a review except that I think Past Encounters is favorite of her novels and that statement wouldn't make sense if you couldn't make the comparison. The subject matter spoke to me, but I also loved how layered this piece felt and while I don't dislike her earlier work, I don't remember appreciating the construction of A Divided Inheritance or Shadow on the Highway the same way.
Blake's manipulation of the timeline was truly inspired and I liked how the format allowed her to reveal buried secrets and historic details in a nontraditional manner. Her characters are fairly straightforward, but the way they interact with one another and the complexity of their relationships made them incredibly interesting and lent a degree of intrigue that I hadn't anticipated. Where the novel shines, however, is in it's underlying themes. The questions it poses about patriotism and duty, love and honor.
Historically speaking, I knew of the Great March, but I'd not studied it. Being American I'm much more familiar with the Bataan Death March so I often found myself researching the facts behind Blake's story and isn't that in and of itself a sign of good historic fiction? I also took time off the book to watch Brief Encounter which proved a delightful and thought-provoking old movie. While not required, I think the picture added something to Rhoda's story and really emphasized her side of things which was great because I was naturally drawn to Peter and his experiences while reading the book.
Emotional, but highly recommended. Reminiscent of The Railway Man, Past Encounters is a brilliant exploration of the psychological effects of war and their lasting impact.
I knew I'd be reading Davina Blake's Past Encounters the moment I stumbled over the artwork. I didn't need to read description, I was hooked by the period alone and while I don't recommend selecting books this way, I'm happy to report the odds were in my favor this go round.
For those who aren't aware, Davina Blake also writes as Deborah Swift. It's not something I'd usually bring up in a review except that I think Past Encounters is favorite of her novels and that statement wouldn't make sense if you couldn't make the comparison. The subject matter spoke to me, but I also loved how layered this piece felt and while I don't dislike her earlier work, I don't remember appreciating the construction of A Divided Inheritance or Shadow on the Highway the same way.
Blake's manipulation of the timeline was truly inspired and I liked how the format allowed her to reveal buried secrets and historic details in a nontraditional manner. Her characters are fairly straightforward, but the way they interact with one another and the complexity of their relationships made them incredibly interesting and lent a degree of intrigue that I hadn't anticipated. Where the novel shines, however, is in it's underlying themes. The questions it poses about patriotism and duty, love and honor.
Historically speaking, I knew of the Great March, but I'd not studied it. Being American I'm much more familiar with the Bataan Death March so I often found myself researching the facts behind Blake's story and isn't that in and of itself a sign of good historic fiction? I also took time off the book to watch Brief Encounter which proved a delightful and thought-provoking old movie. While not required, I think the picture added something to Rhoda's story and really emphasized her side of things which was great because I was naturally drawn to Peter and his experiences while reading the book.
Emotional, but highly recommended. Reminiscent of The Railway Man, Past Encounters is a brilliant exploration of the psychological effects of war and their lasting impact.
July 30, 2014
I received Past Encounters as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
Peter and Rhoda are a couple in quiet crisis. Married 10 years, Peter is silently haunted by the five years he spent in a prison camp during World War II ten years earlier, while Rhoda feels increasingly alienated from him, a sentiment that is only magnified when she discovers the existence of Helen and her late husband Archie, who was Peter's best friend from his time in the camp. As Rhoda forges a quiet friendship with Helen, unbeknownst to Peter, we learn of Rhoda's and Peter's fates during the war that brought them (and their marriage) to its current state.
Past Encounters is a bittersweet book that haunts you subtly. Nothing shocking or particularly riveting happens. Peter spends a horrific half-decade in a prison camp, but the horrors are expected to anyone with even an elementary knowledge of World War II while Rhoda, a young twenty-something, tries to stay faithful to her fiance while being a young twenty-something. Yet these events are powerful in their simplicity and have repercussions that resonate a decade or more later. It's a read that will stay with me for a while.
Peter and Rhoda are a couple in quiet crisis. Married 10 years, Peter is silently haunted by the five years he spent in a prison camp during World War II ten years earlier, while Rhoda feels increasingly alienated from him, a sentiment that is only magnified when she discovers the existence of Helen and her late husband Archie, who was Peter's best friend from his time in the camp. As Rhoda forges a quiet friendship with Helen, unbeknownst to Peter, we learn of Rhoda's and Peter's fates during the war that brought them (and their marriage) to its current state.
Past Encounters is a bittersweet book that haunts you subtly. Nothing shocking or particularly riveting happens. Peter spends a horrific half-decade in a prison camp, but the horrors are expected to anyone with even an elementary knowledge of World War II while Rhoda, a young twenty-something, tries to stay faithful to her fiance while being a young twenty-something. Yet these events are powerful in their simplicity and have repercussions that resonate a decade or more later. It's a read that will stay with me for a while.
Read
June 15, 2019An incredibly moving story.
This incredibly moving story had me hooked from beginning to end.
Beginning just prior to World War 2, during the atrocities of the war, and then forward to 1955. I feel the different timelines tie the story together extremely well.
Rhoda and Peter are separated by the war, and each face their own demons and indecisions. After the war, there are secrets they are both afraid to reveal.
Brilliantly written and researched, with lots of actual events included.
This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I am looking forward to reading more.
This incredibly moving story had me hooked from beginning to end.
Beginning just prior to World War 2, during the atrocities of the war, and then forward to 1955. I feel the different timelines tie the story together extremely well.
Rhoda and Peter are separated by the war, and each face their own demons and indecisions. After the war, there are secrets they are both afraid to reveal.
Brilliantly written and researched, with lots of actual events included.
This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I am looking forward to reading more.
dnf
July 11, 2015So many books, so little time. If it does not impress me at once I just give up and say meh
October 14, 2018
Past Encounters is written by Deborah Swift. It is a novel set in England in 1945 and 1955 mainly. It is told in two voices, that of Rhoda and of her husband Peter. Although it is fiction, many parts of it are true events and many others could have happened. It deals with choices that people make which affect themselves and others as well. Choices that have to be made but the choices themselves make them choiceless choices. It deals with the effects those choices have on the person making them and on others. At the same time, it is a romance novel with a very tangled story.
In 1955, Rhoda was in an unhappy marriage with Peter. She doesn’t want her marriage to stay in the same rut it is in; but at the same time, doesn’t want to rock the boat and tell him her secret. Things begin falling apart when Peter puts his hand through the class on the back door and after a plaster is put on his wound and he leaves for work. She realizes it is because of the letter he received that morning; but of which she knows no answer. He won’t talk to her about his anger and she does not bring it up in conversation. Instead, the next time he receives a letter in the same handwriting, she keeps it and steams it open. It is very short, Helen thanks him for the flowers and plans to see him the following week. Having an affair doesn’t seem like Peter; but something is going on. She visits Helen to find out.
In 1945, Peter was a teacher in a private school. He also objected to the war; but felt he had to do something so volunteered to drive trucks. On his first convoy, he got them lost and right into a Nazi raid. The fight was over quickly and the prisoners captured to be sent to a camp. With Peter was a seventeen-year-old boy named, Archie Foster. The two ended up being together and later becoming friends. His story tells of his time in the camps and the decisions made for him and by him.
In 1945, Rhoda lived at home with her parents and brother. She worked in a bookstall at the train station. She was dating Peter and was surprised by his handing her an engagement ring as he was pulled onto the train for volunteers. Although she was never sure she wanted to marry him, she agreed to the engagement by putting on the ring. However, when they come to town and provide work for the townspeople, she is drawn to the filmmakers. She meets a man but is torn because she is still engaged to Peter.
What she decides to do is countered by the affects her decision has on all the characters as well as their extended families.
In 1955, Rhoda was in an unhappy marriage with Peter. She doesn’t want her marriage to stay in the same rut it is in; but at the same time, doesn’t want to rock the boat and tell him her secret. Things begin falling apart when Peter puts his hand through the class on the back door and after a plaster is put on his wound and he leaves for work. She realizes it is because of the letter he received that morning; but of which she knows no answer. He won’t talk to her about his anger and she does not bring it up in conversation. Instead, the next time he receives a letter in the same handwriting, she keeps it and steams it open. It is very short, Helen thanks him for the flowers and plans to see him the following week. Having an affair doesn’t seem like Peter; but something is going on. She visits Helen to find out.
In 1945, Peter was a teacher in a private school. He also objected to the war; but felt he had to do something so volunteered to drive trucks. On his first convoy, he got them lost and right into a Nazi raid. The fight was over quickly and the prisoners captured to be sent to a camp. With Peter was a seventeen-year-old boy named, Archie Foster. The two ended up being together and later becoming friends. His story tells of his time in the camps and the decisions made for him and by him.
In 1945, Rhoda lived at home with her parents and brother. She worked in a bookstall at the train station. She was dating Peter and was surprised by his handing her an engagement ring as he was pulled onto the train for volunteers. Although she was never sure she wanted to marry him, she agreed to the engagement by putting on the ring. However, when they come to town and provide work for the townspeople, she is drawn to the filmmakers. She meets a man but is torn because she is still engaged to Peter.
What she decides to do is countered by the affects her decision has on all the characters as well as their extended families.
November 9, 2017
This isn't my usual reading fare but to my surprise I really enjoyed this story. I downloaded it as a freebie almost a year ago and never seemed to be in the mood for it but I'm pleased I got round to it at long last. It is good for me to have something aside from contemporary murder to read, I think. It's a terrific story and had parts I never saw coming at all yet some sentences had me bawling !! I can't add the ones that touched me so much here as they'd be spoilers. There were also some messy secrets kept from people you just knew would surface at some point. Brief Encounter features a lot and I saw this years ago so will need to pay more attention next time it comes around.
There weren't too many mistakes, either. This was an odd phrase and I wondered if it was a mistake or perhaps how they speak up north-"One after one I put back the Prokofiev....." There was a matter of a really unforgiveable error but twice in this when an author gets a character's name wrong ! Neb turned into Nebs and then Mervin to Mervyn. I always think that's so sloppy and really ought to be picked up. She never used an apostrophe in Ladies then at the final mention she did at last ! On page 233 a sentence was formatted into a link-no idea why ?? Fullstops were dropped a couple of times then I tried looking up Koniev only to learn his name was Konev. I couldn't find online what an up-and-down-box was, nor a bogey and neither a posher. Perhaps northern slang ?
I will read another by her quite happily. I'll look for one to add to my wishlist.
There weren't too many mistakes, either. This was an odd phrase and I wondered if it was a mistake or perhaps how they speak up north-"One after one I put back the Prokofiev....." There was a matter of a really unforgiveable error but twice in this when an author gets a character's name wrong ! Neb turned into Nebs and then Mervin to Mervyn. I always think that's so sloppy and really ought to be picked up. She never used an apostrophe in Ladies then at the final mention she did at last ! On page 233 a sentence was formatted into a link-no idea why ?? Fullstops were dropped a couple of times then I tried looking up Koniev only to learn his name was Konev. I couldn't find online what an up-and-down-box was, nor a bogey and neither a posher. Perhaps northern slang ?
I will read another by her quite happily. I'll look for one to add to my wishlist.
May 20, 2020
PAST ENCOUNTERS is an exciting and detailed story representing the history of two men forced together during WW2 and their fight to survive after being captured as prisoners of war and their fight to survive during their time in war-ridden Germany. It is a historical survivor story of friendship and hope.
When Rhoda Middleton begins to suspect her husband, Peter, by opening a letter addressed to him, she unknowingly instigates changes in the lives of several people, including hers.
A Historical fiction written by Davina Blake/Deborah Swift, set in multiple time zones ,weaving back and forth in time from the aspect of several characters .Sometimes in certain works, this can be confusing but Past Encounters is well-written which engages the readers - the time zones are clearly stated at the beginning of each chapter as to be clear about which era is being described at any point in the novel.
One of my favourite quotes from the story , ”I took hold of his letter and pressed it hard against my heart, hoping it would hurt. Because the only way I would know I’d loved this much was to keep this pain.”
Each time a painful memory is recalled, it is brought to life by inviting the past into the present and that is what Rhoda does.
For any lovers of WW2 fiction or lovers of historical fiction in general this read is a treat.
When Rhoda Middleton begins to suspect her husband, Peter, by opening a letter addressed to him, she unknowingly instigates changes in the lives of several people, including hers.
A Historical fiction written by Davina Blake/Deborah Swift, set in multiple time zones ,weaving back and forth in time from the aspect of several characters .Sometimes in certain works, this can be confusing but Past Encounters is well-written which engages the readers - the time zones are clearly stated at the beginning of each chapter as to be clear about which era is being described at any point in the novel.
One of my favourite quotes from the story , ”I took hold of his letter and pressed it hard against my heart, hoping it would hurt. Because the only way I would know I’d loved this much was to keep this pain.”
Each time a painful memory is recalled, it is brought to life by inviting the past into the present and that is what Rhoda does.
For any lovers of WW2 fiction or lovers of historical fiction in general this read is a treat.
December 8, 2014
Find my complete review at http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com.
WWII seems to be a hot topic in novels nowadays and I am one of those readers that eats it up! There is just something about the horror and sacrifice intermingled with the determination, bravery and sheer will to not only survive but to come out the other side stronger than ever that gets me every time. Most of these stories seem to take the reader to the frontlines of the battles or into the homes of those left behind to pine for loved ones fighting. Brief Encounters, however, is the first I have read that gives us an inside look at what it was like for British soldiers forced to work for the Germans in prisoner of war camps as well as the complicated emotions of someone left behind who is ready for her life to begin even while those around her expect her to put her life on hold for a man she barely knows. These varied topics really pulled me into Brief Encounters and kept me turning the pages to find out how the story would unfold.
The story goes back and forth between 1955, when Rhoda Middleton discovers her husband Peter has been hiding an entire part of his life from her since he returned from the war, and the late 1930s through 1945 when Rhoda and Peter meet, go through a quick courtship and Peter enlists and goes off to become a driver and finds himself a prisoner of war . Mostly alternating between Peter's and Rhoda's points of view, the reader gets to see first hand the struggles both of them go through during the war and what they hide from each other when Peter returns, leading to the marriage difficulties they are facing in 1955.
When we first meet Peter and Rhoda in 1955, their marriage of ten years seems to be a complete shame with no real relationship, either physical or emotional, and with both of them just going through the motions of everyday life. It isn't until Rhoda finds a letter from a woman named Helen and she thinks Peter is having an affair that she finally learns how little she knows about her husband's past and what he went through while he was in a prisoner of war camp. As she builds a friendship with Helen, the wife of a man Peter survived the camp with, she begins to better understand the man she's married to and how her secrets have served to put a wedge between them as much as his. It is only with being honest with each other and letting their guards down that they might stand a chance at a happy life together.
The most captivating part of this twisting story for me was Peter's time in the camp. Davina Blake does an exceptional job of plopping the reader into the camp and making them feel, hear, see what these prisoners had to go through. The descriptions of what would go through their minds and what they experienced really helped not only to immerse me in the action but to somewhat explain why Peter becomes this different man when he goes home. Watching Peter and his fellow prisoners not only try to survive but retain some humanity was inspiring and I won't soon forget their stories.
While Rhoda's side of the story is less dramatic and attention-grabbing I did enjoy seeing her struggle against what she believed was expected of her as a "fiancée" (although you can barely call Peter her fiancée while he is serving as he asked her so abruptly before leaving for the war) and what her heart was telling her she wanted out of life. I couldn't help but feel for her, left at home with a less than perfect family life, always expected to find something useful to do with every second she had to spare, and wanting nothing more than to live a little as any red-blooded young woman in her early twenties would want to do. I don't want to give too much away regarding the secret she has kept hidden from Peter but it is quite bittersweet and even when I finished the story I couldn't help but feel that she never really got what she wanted out of life.
Brief Encounters is a long but enticing story of the endurance of the human spirit, the hunger for love and appreciation and how secrets can fester and tear people away from each other. I only wish that the author had included an author's note at the back of the book that explained more about the real Great March of prisoners of war (something I knew nothing about) and maybe more facts regarding the loses sustained during the war (and I know I could just look this up online but I always enjoy turning that last page and finding that information ready to drive home the reality of what people such as the ones found in the book actually experienced). I highly recommend this to any lover of WWII history!
WWII seems to be a hot topic in novels nowadays and I am one of those readers that eats it up! There is just something about the horror and sacrifice intermingled with the determination, bravery and sheer will to not only survive but to come out the other side stronger than ever that gets me every time. Most of these stories seem to take the reader to the frontlines of the battles or into the homes of those left behind to pine for loved ones fighting. Brief Encounters, however, is the first I have read that gives us an inside look at what it was like for British soldiers forced to work for the Germans in prisoner of war camps as well as the complicated emotions of someone left behind who is ready for her life to begin even while those around her expect her to put her life on hold for a man she barely knows. These varied topics really pulled me into Brief Encounters and kept me turning the pages to find out how the story would unfold.
The story goes back and forth between 1955, when Rhoda Middleton discovers her husband Peter has been hiding an entire part of his life from her since he returned from the war, and the late 1930s through 1945 when Rhoda and Peter meet, go through a quick courtship and Peter enlists and goes off to become a driver and finds himself a prisoner of war . Mostly alternating between Peter's and Rhoda's points of view, the reader gets to see first hand the struggles both of them go through during the war and what they hide from each other when Peter returns, leading to the marriage difficulties they are facing in 1955.
When we first meet Peter and Rhoda in 1955, their marriage of ten years seems to be a complete shame with no real relationship, either physical or emotional, and with both of them just going through the motions of everyday life. It isn't until Rhoda finds a letter from a woman named Helen and she thinks Peter is having an affair that she finally learns how little she knows about her husband's past and what he went through while he was in a prisoner of war camp. As she builds a friendship with Helen, the wife of a man Peter survived the camp with, she begins to better understand the man she's married to and how her secrets have served to put a wedge between them as much as his. It is only with being honest with each other and letting their guards down that they might stand a chance at a happy life together.
The most captivating part of this twisting story for me was Peter's time in the camp. Davina Blake does an exceptional job of plopping the reader into the camp and making them feel, hear, see what these prisoners had to go through. The descriptions of what would go through their minds and what they experienced really helped not only to immerse me in the action but to somewhat explain why Peter becomes this different man when he goes home. Watching Peter and his fellow prisoners not only try to survive but retain some humanity was inspiring and I won't soon forget their stories.
While Rhoda's side of the story is less dramatic and attention-grabbing I did enjoy seeing her struggle against what she believed was expected of her as a "fiancée" (although you can barely call Peter her fiancée while he is serving as he asked her so abruptly before leaving for the war) and what her heart was telling her she wanted out of life. I couldn't help but feel for her, left at home with a less than perfect family life, always expected to find something useful to do with every second she had to spare, and wanting nothing more than to live a little as any red-blooded young woman in her early twenties would want to do. I don't want to give too much away regarding the secret she has kept hidden from Peter but it is quite bittersweet and even when I finished the story I couldn't help but feel that she never really got what she wanted out of life.
Brief Encounters is a long but enticing story of the endurance of the human spirit, the hunger for love and appreciation and how secrets can fester and tear people away from each other. I only wish that the author had included an author's note at the back of the book that explained more about the real Great March of prisoners of war (something I knew nothing about) and maybe more facts regarding the loses sustained during the war (and I know I could just look this up online but I always enjoy turning that last page and finding that information ready to drive home the reality of what people such as the ones found in the book actually experienced). I highly recommend this to any lover of WWII history!
April 26, 2015
3.5 stars
I think I went through all of the emotions while reading Past Encounters . I also alternated between like and dislike of both the main characters, Rhoda and Peter. At the beginning, I really disliked Rhoda, then toward the middle I really disliked Peter, and all throughout I felt really sorry for both of them.
Blake broke up the timeline so that we saw the points of view of Rhoda, Peter and Helen in 1955 and Rhoda and Peter from around 1940 to 1945. In 1955, Rhoda finds a note written from Helen, and believes that Peter has been cheating on her. Helen is actually the widow of Archie, who was Peter's best friend during and after the war. Peter has been keeping Archie and Helen a secret from Rhoda, so Rhoda befriends Helen to discover what her husband is hiding. It was interesting to see how Peter and Rhoda met and fell in love at the beginning, and then see the next chapter in 1955 where they are basically estranged. The break in the timeline made me more sympathetic to both characters, because I think otherwise, I would have only been sympathetic toward Peter until almost the end of the timeline.
Although Past Encounters may seem to focus on the love between Rhoda and Peter, this is not necessarily a romance. It is more historical fiction than historical romance. But, the amount of research that Blake put into the book is apparent from the details of the war, Carnforth and the filming of Brief Encounter. Blake shows us equally how hard war is on the men at war, and also the people that are left behind, whether they are the women or the men who chose not to fight. Because of that, I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in historical fiction, especially World War II fiction.
Review originally appeared on Bibliophilia, Please at: http://www.bibliophiliaplease.com/201...
I think I went through all of the emotions while reading Past Encounters . I also alternated between like and dislike of both the main characters, Rhoda and Peter. At the beginning, I really disliked Rhoda, then toward the middle I really disliked Peter, and all throughout I felt really sorry for both of them.
Blake broke up the timeline so that we saw the points of view of Rhoda, Peter and Helen in 1955 and Rhoda and Peter from around 1940 to 1945. In 1955, Rhoda finds a note written from Helen, and believes that Peter has been cheating on her. Helen is actually the widow of Archie, who was Peter's best friend during and after the war. Peter has been keeping Archie and Helen a secret from Rhoda, so Rhoda befriends Helen to discover what her husband is hiding. It was interesting to see how Peter and Rhoda met and fell in love at the beginning, and then see the next chapter in 1955 where they are basically estranged. The break in the timeline made me more sympathetic to both characters, because I think otherwise, I would have only been sympathetic toward Peter until almost the end of the timeline.
Although Past Encounters may seem to focus on the love between Rhoda and Peter, this is not necessarily a romance. It is more historical fiction than historical romance. But, the amount of research that Blake put into the book is apparent from the details of the war, Carnforth and the filming of Brief Encounter. Blake shows us equally how hard war is on the men at war, and also the people that are left behind, whether they are the women or the men who chose not to fight. Because of that, I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in historical fiction, especially World War II fiction.
Review originally appeared on Bibliophilia, Please at: http://www.bibliophiliaplease.com/201...
November 29, 2014
At its core, Past Encounters is a story of a marriage in crisis. Rhoda and Peter have come through World War II, each with their own secrets and their ways of handling what they have been through and what they have done only serve to drive a wedge of silence between them. They rub along for ten years in what is revealed to be a fairly superficial semblance of a relationship, but the day that Peter puts his fist through the glass pane of the back door starts them down a road that will lead either to the complete disintegration of the marriage or reconciliation and healing.
Blake (Swift) is absolutely on target with her representation of how a relationship can gradually slip away--almost without notice. The polite daily interactions smooth over the troubled waters underneath and both Rhoda and Peter believe that the other responsible for the lack of warmth and trust. The truth, as always, is more complicated than that and they both need to lay a few war-time ghosts to rest before deciding what really matters to them.
Deft characterization and terrific period detail make this novel an absorbing read. An emotional exploration of the psychological effects of war on both the soldiers and those they left behind. ★★★★
Review will post on My Reader's Block on Dec. 2 for Blog Tour. Please request permission before reposting my comments. Thanks.
[Disclaimer: My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate....The book was offered to me for impartial review and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments in this section are entirely my own honest opinion.]
Blake (Swift) is absolutely on target with her representation of how a relationship can gradually slip away--almost without notice. The polite daily interactions smooth over the troubled waters underneath and both Rhoda and Peter believe that the other responsible for the lack of warmth and trust. The truth, as always, is more complicated than that and they both need to lay a few war-time ghosts to rest before deciding what really matters to them.
Deft characterization and terrific period detail make this novel an absorbing read. An emotional exploration of the psychological effects of war on both the soldiers and those they left behind. ★★★★
Review will post on My Reader's Block on Dec. 2 for Blog Tour. Please request permission before reposting my comments. Thanks.
[Disclaimer: My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate....The book was offered to me for impartial review and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments in this section are entirely my own honest opinion.]
September 8, 2015
Wow! What an amazing book ~ I read it over a period of 24 hours, ignoring everything else!
The book starts in 1955, with Rhoda and Peter's marriage cold and stagnant. Rhoda discovers that Peter has been paying visits to an old friend she has never heard of, in all the ten years they've been married.
The story travels back to Peter's fortunes in World War II as a prisoner of the Germans; much of the book is about his experiences and these were the bits I found the most absorbing, so much that I've just been looking up some of the titles of suggested further reading at the end of the book. I think these parts of this story will stay with me for a long time.
Rhoda's own story was pretty heartbreaking, too, but I can't say too much because I don't want to give the plot away! Suffice to say that Carnforth in Cumbria, where she lived, was the real location for parts of the film Brief Encounter, and Ms Blake has brought this to life in fiction. It's obviously very well researched and is fascinating to read for that alone.
Loved it, loved it. Davina Blake also writes 17th Century historical fiction under the pen name Deborah Swift; I've read three of them (so far), equally good.
The book starts in 1955, with Rhoda and Peter's marriage cold and stagnant. Rhoda discovers that Peter has been paying visits to an old friend she has never heard of, in all the ten years they've been married.
The story travels back to Peter's fortunes in World War II as a prisoner of the Germans; much of the book is about his experiences and these were the bits I found the most absorbing, so much that I've just been looking up some of the titles of suggested further reading at the end of the book. I think these parts of this story will stay with me for a long time.
Rhoda's own story was pretty heartbreaking, too, but I can't say too much because I don't want to give the plot away! Suffice to say that Carnforth in Cumbria, where she lived, was the real location for parts of the film Brief Encounter, and Ms Blake has brought this to life in fiction. It's obviously very well researched and is fascinating to read for that alone.
Loved it, loved it. Davina Blake also writes 17th Century historical fiction under the pen name Deborah Swift; I've read three of them (so far), equally good.
August 21, 2014
It's 1955. Rhoda's apparently mild and self-contained husband Peter puts his hand through a glass door and smashes her view of him as well as the glass. Finding out the reason for this display of passion brings Rhoda into contact with Helen, wife of Peter's wartime friend Archie. Something awful united Helen, Archie and Peter and its origins are in a terrible wartime experience occurring geographically and psychologically far away from Rhoda and Peter's tidy English peacetime life together. But it's not just Peter's wartime trauma that needs exorcising: Rhoda has a wartime secret too: the legacy of which has left her emotionally cut off from Peter. Both Rhoda and Peter need to find a way to come to terms with their different forms of past suffering, or risk being trapped in a marriage that's never really had a chance to provide any sustenance to either of them.
Period details are sharply delineated and the account of the filming of Brief Encounter at Carnforth is nicely drawn, leading to a plot climax that really took me by surprise. Past Encounters is a good holiday read for anyone who likes a historical read with a real heart.
Period details are sharply delineated and the account of the filming of Brief Encounter at Carnforth is nicely drawn, leading to a plot climax that really took me by surprise. Past Encounters is a good holiday read for anyone who likes a historical read with a real heart.
June 23, 2017
This is a brave, interesting and skilfully written book. Brave because the author doesn't shy away from allowing her characters to be less than perfect, to behave badly and sometimes irrationally. Interesting because of its period detail which covers fascinating insights into everyday wartime life, as well as the filming of Brief Encounter and the horrors of the Long March. Skilful because of the way Davina Blake manages three points of view, two in the first person and one in third, as well as three timelines - 1940, 1945 and 1955 – and does this without confusing the reader.
There are aspects of the book that exasperated me – the behaviour of Peter was not always rational – nor that of the two women. Two sets of parents in the book were very unlikeable and unsympathetic - Rhoda's and Peter's – and initially I thought Matthew's were heading the same way – but they redeemed themselves. I also wondered about the ten years it took for Peter and Rhoda to confront the truth and their feelings (avoiding spoilers here).
All in all though, I found this hard to put down and a vivid evocation of many aspects of World War 2. Recommended.
There are aspects of the book that exasperated me – the behaviour of Peter was not always rational – nor that of the two women. Two sets of parents in the book were very unlikeable and unsympathetic - Rhoda's and Peter's – and initially I thought Matthew's were heading the same way – but they redeemed themselves. I also wondered about the ten years it took for Peter and Rhoda to confront the truth and their feelings (avoiding spoilers here).
All in all though, I found this hard to put down and a vivid evocation of many aspects of World War 2. Recommended.
December 5, 2014
An extremely emotionally deep story of the pre and post effects of war with emphasis on the after effects along with the horrid permanent mental and emotional scars war leaves behind.
The historical facts presented took center stage, however the momentum kept building as characters developed, interacted, their intricacies revealed along with deep dark secrets exposed. Alternating between past and present added to the narrative fueling intrigue surrounding characters. Character development was outstanding, their emotions and personalities incredibly raw and honest. The burdens each player carried was apparent and rather captivating as interactions increased, both complexities and simplicities fully surveyed.
Multiple themes threaded throughout, love, duty, honor, forgiveness, yearning for familiarity so many more. Excellent emotional novel successfully presented, leaving the peruser affected, lost in thought long after your reading journey has ended, memorable read. Highly recommend.
The historical facts presented took center stage, however the momentum kept building as characters developed, interacted, their intricacies revealed along with deep dark secrets exposed. Alternating between past and present added to the narrative fueling intrigue surrounding characters. Character development was outstanding, their emotions and personalities incredibly raw and honest. The burdens each player carried was apparent and rather captivating as interactions increased, both complexities and simplicities fully surveyed.
Multiple themes threaded throughout, love, duty, honor, forgiveness, yearning for familiarity so many more. Excellent emotional novel successfully presented, leaving the peruser affected, lost in thought long after your reading journey has ended, memorable read. Highly recommend.
November 27, 2019
Emotionally griping story of love lost and reclaimed.
I am a very emotional person and I was interested by the title of this book and when I began reading I could not put it down. The plot of the book is exceptional and as a child growing up in the time period I was captured by the lives of the characters and there lives . Great read and very well written store of love,war and the human experience.
I am a very emotional person and I was interested by the title of this book and when I began reading I could not put it down. The plot of the book is exceptional and as a child growing up in the time period I was captured by the lives of the characters and there lives . Great read and very well written store of love,war and the human experience.
July 2, 2015
We are proud to announce that PAST ENCOUNTERS by Davina Blake is a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree. This tells a reader that this book is well worth their time and money!
January 12, 2019
It’s confession time. I’ve never seen Brief Encounter.
It was on telly over Christmas, as it happens, and I ignored it in favour of a book -- something that turned out to be a mistake on two counts. The first was that the book I chose wasn’t great (I didn’t bother reviewing it so don’t ask me what it was) and the second was that if I’d watched it, Deborah Swift’s Past Encounters, one of whose plot lines is the making of the film, might have meant a bit more to me.
But it doesn’t matter. Even for a Brief Encounters virgin, Past Encounters was a fabulous, uplifting read. It tells the stories of Peter and Rhonda, trapped in a childless and unhappy ten-year marriage, and how Rhonda uncovers the horrors of Peter’s wartime story while coming to terms with her own lost love. You don’t need to know the original Encounter. Swift’s book stands up just fine on its own.
From beginning to end, I loved it. When Peter is taken prisoner early in the war Rhonda, not knowing if he’s alive or dead, finds herself trapped in an over-hasty engagement from which she fears she may never be released. Working extra shifts as a caterer on the set of Brief Encounter (filmed in Carnforth) she falls in love with Matthew, one of the production managers. It’s no spoiler to say that this romance ends unhappily with Matthew’s untimely death, because the real story is how her marriage to Peter unravels and how the discovery of his many secrets changes both their lives.
The period detail is terrific, the characterisation realistic, and the story itself by turns harrowing and poignant. Swift doesn’t shrink from showing the darker sides of human nature, but the book is, ultimately, uplifting. A wonderful read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for a copy of this book, in return for an honest review.
It was on telly over Christmas, as it happens, and I ignored it in favour of a book -- something that turned out to be a mistake on two counts. The first was that the book I chose wasn’t great (I didn’t bother reviewing it so don’t ask me what it was) and the second was that if I’d watched it, Deborah Swift’s Past Encounters, one of whose plot lines is the making of the film, might have meant a bit more to me.
But it doesn’t matter. Even for a Brief Encounters virgin, Past Encounters was a fabulous, uplifting read. It tells the stories of Peter and Rhonda, trapped in a childless and unhappy ten-year marriage, and how Rhonda uncovers the horrors of Peter’s wartime story while coming to terms with her own lost love. You don’t need to know the original Encounter. Swift’s book stands up just fine on its own.
From beginning to end, I loved it. When Peter is taken prisoner early in the war Rhonda, not knowing if he’s alive or dead, finds herself trapped in an over-hasty engagement from which she fears she may never be released. Working extra shifts as a caterer on the set of Brief Encounter (filmed in Carnforth) she falls in love with Matthew, one of the production managers. It’s no spoiler to say that this romance ends unhappily with Matthew’s untimely death, because the real story is how her marriage to Peter unravels and how the discovery of his many secrets changes both their lives.
The period detail is terrific, the characterisation realistic, and the story itself by turns harrowing and poignant. Swift doesn’t shrink from showing the darker sides of human nature, but the book is, ultimately, uplifting. A wonderful read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for a copy of this book, in return for an honest review.
January 3, 2026
A Heartbreaking story with hope
I cried alot while reading the story of what war was like for Rhoda and for Peter. When the war began, they were young and dating but the pressure from others made Peter sign up expecting his driving skills and ability to read a map would be used for his country. When he ended up as a p.o.w. shortly after Dunkirk without ever experiencing battle himself it was just the beginning of long years of captivity with a never-ending struggle to survive and horrors beyond what a human could contemplate. The thought of Rhoda was what gave him the strength to go on.
Rhoda had her own struggles to deal with. She knew Peter's parents didn't like her. Her own family was quite dysfunctional in part due to her father's unspoken horrors from the Great War. When Peter went missing it wasn't immediately clear whether he was alive. A few letters made their way to her but for many years there was nothing and she had no way of knowing if he was alive or not. She met someone, fell in love and then lost him. Where did this leave Peter.
My uncle was a p.o.w. captured In Italy and held in Germany for close to a year. He was lucky . As an officer his experience was nothing like Peter's though I'm sure he had his horrors too.
This story was told in several different time periods and as a reader, I couldn’t help but come away with my eyes opened to everything Peter experienced. It reinforces the knowledge that when people are sent to serve in war, it changes them. Their struggles are often held silently within and not shared with those they love the most. This was a hard read in many respects but written so well. I highly recommend it and it does end in a positive way, but perhaps don't read it if you are feeling down.
I cried alot while reading the story of what war was like for Rhoda and for Peter. When the war began, they were young and dating but the pressure from others made Peter sign up expecting his driving skills and ability to read a map would be used for his country. When he ended up as a p.o.w. shortly after Dunkirk without ever experiencing battle himself it was just the beginning of long years of captivity with a never-ending struggle to survive and horrors beyond what a human could contemplate. The thought of Rhoda was what gave him the strength to go on.
Rhoda had her own struggles to deal with. She knew Peter's parents didn't like her. Her own family was quite dysfunctional in part due to her father's unspoken horrors from the Great War. When Peter went missing it wasn't immediately clear whether he was alive. A few letters made their way to her but for many years there was nothing and she had no way of knowing if he was alive or not. She met someone, fell in love and then lost him. Where did this leave Peter.
My uncle was a p.o.w. captured In Italy and held in Germany for close to a year. He was lucky . As an officer his experience was nothing like Peter's though I'm sure he had his horrors too.
This story was told in several different time periods and as a reader, I couldn’t help but come away with my eyes opened to everything Peter experienced. It reinforces the knowledge that when people are sent to serve in war, it changes them. Their struggles are often held silently within and not shared with those they love the most. This was a hard read in many respects but written so well. I highly recommend it and it does end in a positive way, but perhaps don't read it if you are feeling down.
September 9, 2018
Amazing story
What an amazing plot and great characters! This is an engrossing, fascinating, could-not-put-down book.
I've recently been on a WWII reading kick. I actually passed on this book several times before I finally decided to check it out. What a mistake. This is one of the best books I've read to date written about WWII England. The book centers around three characters and their thoughts and actions as they flashback from early war days to their present year 1955. The girl left at home, the young man off to war and so many characters in-between as this gifted author brings them to life. The young man Peter very early on becomes a prisoner-of-war in Poland while his girl Rhoda is left in small town Carnish to wait for him. It's a long war and the characters each tell us their stories as Peter struggles to survive the Nazi prison camp, and Rhoda is left to wait at home for years not knowing if he's alive.
The descriptions of life in the prisoner-of-war camp is so well described I could feel, smell, hear the desolation of these brave men and their will to live. On the flipside, the hometown atmosphere of Rhoda is equally descriptive.
The character Helen I must say made me uneasy as she developed as a formidable presence in the story. I had the same feelings towards Matthew until I came to understand the feelings that one cannot help. I cried reading that portion of the journey. It was a profoundly touching brief portion of this story and a very integral part of the plot. Again, amazing writing.
I definitely recommend to readers of historical fiction and romance as it will touch your heart.
What an amazing plot and great characters! This is an engrossing, fascinating, could-not-put-down book.
I've recently been on a WWII reading kick. I actually passed on this book several times before I finally decided to check it out. What a mistake. This is one of the best books I've read to date written about WWII England. The book centers around three characters and their thoughts and actions as they flashback from early war days to their present year 1955. The girl left at home, the young man off to war and so many characters in-between as this gifted author brings them to life. The young man Peter very early on becomes a prisoner-of-war in Poland while his girl Rhoda is left in small town Carnish to wait for him. It's a long war and the characters each tell us their stories as Peter struggles to survive the Nazi prison camp, and Rhoda is left to wait at home for years not knowing if he's alive.
The descriptions of life in the prisoner-of-war camp is so well described I could feel, smell, hear the desolation of these brave men and their will to live. On the flipside, the hometown atmosphere of Rhoda is equally descriptive.
The character Helen I must say made me uneasy as she developed as a formidable presence in the story. I had the same feelings towards Matthew until I came to understand the feelings that one cannot help. I cried reading that portion of the journey. It was a profoundly touching brief portion of this story and a very integral part of the plot. Again, amazing writing.
I definitely recommend to readers of historical fiction and romance as it will touch your heart.
June 28, 2017
Painful and beautiful, so authentic.
Both the WW2 and the 50s details create times past so that we are there, carrying a wounded friend on a forced march or sipping from china tea-cups. Interweaving the WW2 experiences of Peter, a POW, and Rosie, the girl he left behind and then married, shows us how they came to be in this loveless marriage and makes us long for them to find healing.
My uncle told me the story of his WW2 experiences as a POW and every event in this novel is true to life and true to the emotions undergone by POWs. I felt that all the pain my uncle skimmed over was exposed and explained, especially the feelings on coming home to the attitude that you’d ‘had it easy.’ Especially when you come home and everything has changed there too, including the girl you’d left behind, on whom you’d pinned your dreams.
‘Past Encounters’ deliberately echoes the classic film title and Rosie’s romance on the film set is as fraught with anguish and passion as the film itself. The author shows subtlety in dialogue and relationships, makes us feel for all the characters. A classic of love, war and the damage done by a stiff upper lip.
I will definitely read more by this author, both as Davina Blake and as Deborah Swift! Classy writing!
Both the WW2 and the 50s details create times past so that we are there, carrying a wounded friend on a forced march or sipping from china tea-cups. Interweaving the WW2 experiences of Peter, a POW, and Rosie, the girl he left behind and then married, shows us how they came to be in this loveless marriage and makes us long for them to find healing.
My uncle told me the story of his WW2 experiences as a POW and every event in this novel is true to life and true to the emotions undergone by POWs. I felt that all the pain my uncle skimmed over was exposed and explained, especially the feelings on coming home to the attitude that you’d ‘had it easy.’ Especially when you come home and everything has changed there too, including the girl you’d left behind, on whom you’d pinned your dreams.
‘Past Encounters’ deliberately echoes the classic film title and Rosie’s romance on the film set is as fraught with anguish and passion as the film itself. The author shows subtlety in dialogue and relationships, makes us feel for all the characters. A classic of love, war and the damage done by a stiff upper lip.
I will definitely read more by this author, both as Davina Blake and as Deborah Swift! Classy writing!
January 12, 2020
Good story
I really liked this story. I read it right after reading The Occupation, also by Swift. I liked The Occupation better than this book, but this one was good, too. I found this sometimes confusing as it was told in three peoples' perspectives, mainly Peter and Rhoda, but parts were in Helen's, Peter's friend and POW camp friend Archie's wife. Rhoda's perspective kept jumping from 1945 to 1955, so I'd have to retrack my mind. I wanted more details about the prisoner of war camp. As written, it did sound awful, and I wonder if some of the things the prisoners did were true, such as playing cards. Conditions were torturous, yet they could write home. I guess that was part of the process. I don't know. I felt the ending tied up way too quickly and neatly. It should've been a bit more complex. The feelings of Peter and Rhoda after having barely a connection for a good many years suddenly tied up into a neat bow.
I liked the relationship between Peter and Archie. I figured Peter was enamored with Helen just to keep a string attached to Archie in a way. He and Archie had a special bond with their POW experience.
It was a good book, definitely a four-star read.
I really liked this story. I read it right after reading The Occupation, also by Swift. I liked The Occupation better than this book, but this one was good, too. I found this sometimes confusing as it was told in three peoples' perspectives, mainly Peter and Rhoda, but parts were in Helen's, Peter's friend and POW camp friend Archie's wife. Rhoda's perspective kept jumping from 1945 to 1955, so I'd have to retrack my mind. I wanted more details about the prisoner of war camp. As written, it did sound awful, and I wonder if some of the things the prisoners did were true, such as playing cards. Conditions were torturous, yet they could write home. I guess that was part of the process. I don't know. I felt the ending tied up way too quickly and neatly. It should've been a bit more complex. The feelings of Peter and Rhoda after having barely a connection for a good many years suddenly tied up into a neat bow.
I liked the relationship between Peter and Archie. I figured Peter was enamored with Helen just to keep a string attached to Archie in a way. He and Archie had a special bond with their POW experience.
It was a good book, definitely a four-star read.
May 8, 2017
This is a bittersweet novel with flashbacks and odd secrets. In the beginning chapters, the main character Rhoda sounded a bit warped to me since she secretly visited her husband Peter’s friend Archie’s wife Helen, thinking she was her husband's mistress. The facts were different, however, and the plot was rather annoying and somewhat farfetched, but since Peter and Archie were in the World War II together with Peter in a prison camp for a very long time, Peter’s odd behavior, I gave to PTSD. Peter’s secret was an idiotic one that shouldn’t be a secret in the first place. Helen comes second to him for believing his falsehoods. This is all I am going to say about the plot in order not to give it away.
Was all that drama necessary? I can’t say because I haven’t been in a prison camp and I have only found out about World War II through my reading.
The story, however, is a good one, and Rhoda and Helen’s friendship has the most believable scenes. In fact, this story’s scenes move the plot along, together with the flashbacks. There are three points of views that tell the story, and the writing style, even if it sounded a bit dated, is enjoyable.
Was all that drama necessary? I can’t say because I haven’t been in a prison camp and I have only found out about World War II through my reading.
The story, however, is a good one, and Rhoda and Helen’s friendship has the most believable scenes. In fact, this story’s scenes move the plot along, together with the flashbacks. There are three points of views that tell the story, and the writing style, even if it sounded a bit dated, is enjoyable.
December 3, 2018
This is really a 3.5 star review. The book was fairly good but at one point I started wondering what it was really about and what the author was trying to convey. Rhoda was the main character. She lived at home with her parents and brother. They were rather poor and her Father was a rough and tough man. Her Mother was a hard worker that took some verbal and mental abuse from her husband. Rhoda’s brother was an unruly teen that didn’t want to go to school or do chores at home. Rhoda met Peter, who was quite a bit older than her and joined the in fighting against the Nazis in WWII. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’ll just say these characters lived a hard life and didn’t always make the best decisions. I’m not judging them but it kinda turned me away from this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.
April 27, 2020
War is hell in many ways!
This book shows how war can be help in so many ways. I'm not much of a love story reader but this story isn't about the sexual exploits of a relationship. The writer does an amazing job of showing how the war impacted so many lives in so many different ways. Not all of them in a love relationship. I feel the greatest impact of the relationship between people is best related between Archie and Peter. One still a boy the other a young man forming a close relationship and deep bonds that endure through times so difficult most would never make it. Five years of depending on other men for your mental, emotional, and physical support in such dire conditions could be something many men would never admit. Much food for thought about the impact and aftermath of war.
This book shows how war can be help in so many ways. I'm not much of a love story reader but this story isn't about the sexual exploits of a relationship. The writer does an amazing job of showing how the war impacted so many lives in so many different ways. Not all of them in a love relationship. I feel the greatest impact of the relationship between people is best related between Archie and Peter. One still a boy the other a young man forming a close relationship and deep bonds that endure through times so difficult most would never make it. Five years of depending on other men for your mental, emotional, and physical support in such dire conditions could be something many men would never admit. Much food for thought about the impact and aftermath of war.
December 16, 2023
A story told in two time frames. One was the harrowing time that Peter and Archie endured during their capture by the Nazis. It included in great and descriptive detail their lives, the work, the humiliation and the fact that they survived to return, marry their sweethearts and live out their lives.
The other story is in the years after how Peter lived a secret life unknown to his wife, having close connections to Archie and his wife Helen, even continuing the practice after Archie’s death. Finding this out suddenly was a shock to Rhoda who wanted to investigate this further.
The story had during both periods of time, many twists and turns. Apart from the historical detail, it depicts frailties and the way human nature can still surprise us.
Good reading.
A free download from Amazon
The other story is in the years after how Peter lived a secret life unknown to his wife, having close connections to Archie and his wife Helen, even continuing the practice after Archie’s death. Finding this out suddenly was a shock to Rhoda who wanted to investigate this further.
The story had during both periods of time, many twists and turns. Apart from the historical detail, it depicts frailties and the way human nature can still surprise us.
Good reading.
A free download from Amazon
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