What do you think?
Rate this book
The War Nurses #2
Daughters of War
An emotional tale of wartime love and sacrifice, inspired by an incredible true story…
As a teenager in Chicago, May always dreamed of travelling the world. So when she meets handsome George Turner, she jumps at the chance to return to London as his wife. Ten years later, May is wondering if she’s made a terrible mistake.
It’s 1914 and war has been declared in Europe. All around, brave young men are being called up to serve. George, banned from conscription himself, has taken to the bottle, and May suspects he’s seeing other women too. She longs for a way to escape.
The chance comes when May meets veteran nurse Elsie, who persuades May to join the war effort. May knows nothing of nursing – it will be difficult, dangerous work, but her heart is telling her it’s the right thing to do.
But then George does the unthinkable and May’s future is put at risk. Will she have to make the impossible choice between duty to her family and her promise to the soldiers on the front line? And can she live with the consequences if her husband goes through with what he’s threatening to do?
As a teenager in Chicago, May always dreamed of travelling the world. So when she meets handsome George Turner, she jumps at the chance to return to London as his wife. Ten years later, May is wondering if she’s made a terrible mistake.
It’s 1914 and war has been declared in Europe. All around, brave young men are being called up to serve. George, banned from conscription himself, has taken to the bottle, and May suspects he’s seeing other women too. She longs for a way to escape.
The chance comes when May meets veteran nurse Elsie, who persuades May to join the war effort. May knows nothing of nursing – it will be difficult, dangerous work, but her heart is telling her it’s the right thing to do.
But then George does the unthinkable and May’s future is put at risk. Will she have to make the impossible choice between duty to her family and her promise to the soldiers on the front line? And can she live with the consequences if her husband goes through with what he’s threatening to do?
366 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 12, 2018
1733 people are currently reading
1039 people want to read
About the author
Lizzie Page
16 books199 followersHello and thank you for stopping by.
I love reading ALL the books, and I've always loved reading the adventures of women in the past so it seemed natural to me to write historical fiction.
I live with my family by the sea in South East England. And with my dog. How did I forget my dog? I enjoy traveling and lived in Japan for several years. I've had lots of different jobs from waitressing and teaching to admin and bingo-calling - but being a writer is my absolute favourite.
I hope my novels help shine a light on the achievements, love and relationships of twentieth-century women, and that the books are entertaining and moving.
I'd love to hear what you think - feel free to send me a message on twitter @LizziePagewrite or on FB or leave a review here.
Happy reading,
Love Lizzie xx
I love reading ALL the books, and I've always loved reading the adventures of women in the past so it seemed natural to me to write historical fiction.
I live with my family by the sea in South East England. And with my dog. How did I forget my dog? I enjoy traveling and lived in Japan for several years. I've had lots of different jobs from waitressing and teaching to admin and bingo-calling - but being a writer is my absolute favourite.
I hope my novels help shine a light on the achievements, love and relationships of twentieth-century women, and that the books are entertaining and moving.
I'd love to hear what you think - feel free to send me a message on twitter @LizziePagewrite or on FB or leave a review here.
Happy reading,
Love Lizzie xx
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
August 10, 2019
Page’s books always shine a light on the lives of women in the first half of the 20th century.
Money was a game-changer in many ways but it didn’t give a woman rights to her children or protect her from heartbreak.
There’s a nice, romantic storyline in this one, but even this illustrates how men (figuratively and literally!) called the shots.
Money was a game-changer in many ways but it didn’t give a woman rights to her children or protect her from heartbreak.
There’s a nice, romantic storyline in this one, but even this illustrates how men (figuratively and literally!) called the shots.
Read
November 11, 2018"...fear, horror, guilt and grief stay with you..."
May is a 28-year-old mother of two, married to George, and she is drowning in melancholy. The year is 1914 and her daughters are away at boarding school. George has really taken to drink and other women leaving May untethered and fractious. An American by birth, she has come to live in London and is finding her life completely meaningless over the last 12 years. When she meets Elsie Knocker at the studio of a local artist, May is encouraged to volunteer as a war nurse on the continent just as World War I is gearing up. Despite her initial misgivings due to her lack of training and fortitude, May interviews with the French Red Cross and is appointed to the Voluntary Aid Detachment to perform some nursing duties and is assigned to Field Hospital 19 in Bray-Sur-Somme. Leave taking was a disaster but May is determined to do her part in the war effort and naively heads out for duty without a clue that her life will never be the same.
The war years are dreadful and May experiences the full range of emotions in the tents that make up their "hospital" and living quarters. Her immaturity yields to personal growth through the reality of caring for the sick and wounded men and from her camaraderie with the doctors, nurses and others she works with. It's the worst of times but May thrives despite the daily horrors and the overwhelming sense of loss. She misses her two daughters desperately and her husband makes May pay for leaving him. But even in the midst of war, hearts still long for belonging and understanding and May meets a man who softens her hardened attitude about love. NO SPOILERS.
This was a lovely historical fiction inspired by the life and times of Mary Borden, a well known nurse, novelist and poet who did spend part of the Great War in the Somme. It was easy to read this over a couple of hours as I found myself immersed in the story and invested in all the characters. I found May to be a bit of a contradiction but her fortitude impressed me and I reveled in her personal growth throughout her struggles and triumphs. The descriptions of the activities in the hospital were, of course, fascinating to me as I'm an RN and always love the medical details. I can't imagine how hard that work would have been in such primitive conditions with the horrible injuries and the never ending presence of death as the maimed and traumatized soldiers kept coming. I was reminded again of how far women have come despite the constraints of society, the difficulty of balancing motherhood and work, and the need for self-actualization and personal fulfillment. I did not feel that May was a neglectful mother despite attempts to paint her as such. I'm not certain that, even now, women can have it all though I do think that it's a precarious balancing act done well by many. I enjoyed this book as well as the first in the series, THE WAR NURSES, and I look forward to the next by Lizzie Page.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.
Although this is the second book the War Nurses series, it can be read as a standalone though I'd recommend that you read the first one first!
May is a 28-year-old mother of two, married to George, and she is drowning in melancholy. The year is 1914 and her daughters are away at boarding school. George has really taken to drink and other women leaving May untethered and fractious. An American by birth, she has come to live in London and is finding her life completely meaningless over the last 12 years. When she meets Elsie Knocker at the studio of a local artist, May is encouraged to volunteer as a war nurse on the continent just as World War I is gearing up. Despite her initial misgivings due to her lack of training and fortitude, May interviews with the French Red Cross and is appointed to the Voluntary Aid Detachment to perform some nursing duties and is assigned to Field Hospital 19 in Bray-Sur-Somme. Leave taking was a disaster but May is determined to do her part in the war effort and naively heads out for duty without a clue that her life will never be the same.
The war years are dreadful and May experiences the full range of emotions in the tents that make up their "hospital" and living quarters. Her immaturity yields to personal growth through the reality of caring for the sick and wounded men and from her camaraderie with the doctors, nurses and others she works with. It's the worst of times but May thrives despite the daily horrors and the overwhelming sense of loss. She misses her two daughters desperately and her husband makes May pay for leaving him. But even in the midst of war, hearts still long for belonging and understanding and May meets a man who softens her hardened attitude about love. NO SPOILERS.
This was a lovely historical fiction inspired by the life and times of Mary Borden, a well known nurse, novelist and poet who did spend part of the Great War in the Somme. It was easy to read this over a couple of hours as I found myself immersed in the story and invested in all the characters. I found May to be a bit of a contradiction but her fortitude impressed me and I reveled in her personal growth throughout her struggles and triumphs. The descriptions of the activities in the hospital were, of course, fascinating to me as I'm an RN and always love the medical details. I can't imagine how hard that work would have been in such primitive conditions with the horrible injuries and the never ending presence of death as the maimed and traumatized soldiers kept coming. I was reminded again of how far women have come despite the constraints of society, the difficulty of balancing motherhood and work, and the need for self-actualization and personal fulfillment. I did not feel that May was a neglectful mother despite attempts to paint her as such. I'm not certain that, even now, women can have it all though I do think that it's a precarious balancing act done well by many. I enjoyed this book as well as the first in the series, THE WAR NURSES, and I look forward to the next by Lizzie Page.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.
Although this is the second book the War Nurses series, it can be read as a standalone though I'd recommend that you read the first one first!
November 13, 2018
Daughters of War is the second book in a planned trilogy written by Lizzie Page focusing on remarkable, brave and selfless women during World War One. Women who put everyone else and their needs and suffering before their own needs and desires. Earlier this year I read the first book in the series, TheWar Nurses, which was Lizzie's début and I was simply blown away by both her writing and the story following Elsie and Mairi as they worked on the front line of the war saving as many lives as possible in a time fraught with tension and danger at every turn. It's timely that these books have been published this year given it is the century of the conclusion of the war but Lizzie Page has written such wonderful stories that bring the realities of the time right to the forefront of our minds at a time when we should remember all those who lost their lives and sacrificed so much for our futures.
Daughters of War sees our attention turn to May Turner who in turn has her own story to tell of her experiences during the four years of hell and anguish inflicted upon Europe between 1914-1918. It was a delight to see Elsie feature in the story for very brief periods every now and again as it established a connection between the two books and as Elsie and Mairi both had such an impact on me it was just brilliant to have mention of one them in relation to a new setting and character. May and her life are completely different to that of Mairi and Elsie, and I was thankful for this because before I began reading the book I questioned would it just be a rehash of the same story although set in a different part of the war zone? The book needed something different to set it apart from The War Nurses and Lizzie Page managed to achieve this and provide her readers with an interesting, heartbreaking and absorbing read.
Honestly May was a character whom my opinion of swayed back and forth over endless times through out this book. But I think that's what the author wanted us to feel as she wasn't a clear cut person and right from the outset she has a lot of change to bring into her life and despite her being a mother to two young girls she herself I felt was quite immature and needed to stand up for herself more. The war was a horrific event for all involved and it changed the course of world history but if in the case of this story it had not occurred I don't think May would have undergone the journey and transformation that she went through. She is a vastly different person by the end of the book and a character one could identify with and a more likeable character than when we first meet her.
In May 1914 we met May originally from America but now married to George and living in London. Her two young girls are away at boarding school and she rarely sees them except for holidays, May is prone to melancholy and feels trapped and ensnared in her marriage. She is miserable and knows she needs social interaction and to make friends if she is ever to break free and to start to feel what she terms normal. May was a person who was crying out for love, support, affection and friendship. She believed her marriage would have offered that but leaving America and now living in London, giving up so much she is disappointed to discover that is not the case. She experiences waste and isolation but a glimmer of a new May begins to emerge when she responds to a request for a companion to an artist Percy whilst he works. A friendship is formed but it is not the dominant plot of the novel in any sense of the word.
Venturing out to try and find new experiences May takes up outdoor swimming at a local pond and it is here she meets Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a spinster who lives with her mother and cats and really she was the most quirky character who in my mind had her head in the clouds a lot of the time. But you couldn't knock her for her ambition in wanting to swim across the channel from France to England. Elizabeth gave May the impetuous to get out there away from George and her loneliness and as war breaks out May feels she must do something to help those in need. A chance meeting with Elsie Knocker who has just signed up for Dr. Hector Munro's flying ambulances sets in motion a train of thought for May, she enlists with the red cross as a volunteer in France. Talk about stepping out of one's comfort zone, from a mousy women dominated by her husband and not willing to voice her suspicions regarding his activities to a woman who travels abroad to do her bit. She is away from the wealth and comforts she is accustomed to and given her state of mind I wondered would she be able for all that she would witness.
For the author spares no detail in descriptions in what befalls the troops fighting on the front. Nor is there any shying away from the conditions volunteers, nurses and doctors endured as they battled to save those who were maimed and affected by the fighting. May seemed to me like a fish out of water. She had a vision of what to expect when she arrived in France but the realities were far harsher and it was evident she had a lot of growing up to do and her needs had to come second or even further down the line. This book wasn't as action based as I felt book one had been, there was a lull in the middle part of the book where I did think there was repetition in terms of describing the way casualties were treated and the daily routine of May and the people she works with. But I suppose on reflection this was what happened at the field hospitals. There were days and days of the same thing, treating people and periods where not much happened and then boom all of a sudden there was an onslaught of such horror and awful scenes when a move was made at the front. The Battle of the Somme and its affect on May and her co workers was an example of this.
The book did pick up again just after the midway point and it became very character driven as May battles with her emotions and duties. She feels loyalty to the friends she has made in France and to perhaps a man who has shown some affection towards her. But given she is still married to George nothing can happen. But also it is her two daughters who are at the forefront of her mind and I thoroughly enjoyed the way this strand of the story developed as it showed the conflict in May's heart and mind. That things weren't clear cut. She was a woman on a mission who wanted to help those in their most desperate hour of need yet women didn't abandon their families and just up and leave the country. May showed great spirit and tenacity the further the story developed and I was heartbroken, and in fact angry, at the way George treated her and the lengths she had to go to to show her daughters that she did love them and hadn't abandoned them. She was a mother with divided loyalties and a time of conflict she found them even harder to deal with.
May despite all she witnesses in France feels liberated that she has escaped from George. Now she has a purpose and a goal but as the war further encroaches on her entire life and her day to day experiences she wrestles with her conscious that those around her even friends she made back in London before she left will be impacted by the decisions she has made. May was a raw recruit who really didn't know what she had let herself in for when she volunteered to go to France but in fact this was the making of her and the starting point for her transformation. She goes from what I viewed her as a weak person and someone whose decisions were made by others for her to someone with great character and spirit. A woman whose experiences of the war make her and she earns respect from her colleagues and in a way the reader too. She placed herself in the eye of the storm and as the author writes of everything May goes through I could feel and visualise the sights, sounds and smells of the war and the deprivation everyone experienced and the sacrifices everyone made became all the more real for me as seen and told through the eyes of May.
I enjoyed how the story developed at the conclusion of the war. It didn't feel far fetched, strung out or just tacked on for the sake of it. Instead it brought this beautiful story of courage and bravery full circle and the little twist at the end certainly brought a smile to my eye and I would say it was very well played. Through this trilogy Lizzie Page is helping shine a light on the sacrifices and contributions made my countless women and men during the Great War and she is doing so with sensitivity and tact whilst providing her readers with an excellent story that is gripping, informative and interesting. Conflict, struggles, heartbreak and smiles all form part of this read and the balance of these is perfect throughout the story. Daughters of War is a worthy successor to The War Nurses - although Elsie and Mairi will always hold a special pace in my heart. I am now more than interested than ever to see who will form the focal point to book three but I'll have to wait to discover the answer to that question until 2019.
Daughters of War sees our attention turn to May Turner who in turn has her own story to tell of her experiences during the four years of hell and anguish inflicted upon Europe between 1914-1918. It was a delight to see Elsie feature in the story for very brief periods every now and again as it established a connection between the two books and as Elsie and Mairi both had such an impact on me it was just brilliant to have mention of one them in relation to a new setting and character. May and her life are completely different to that of Mairi and Elsie, and I was thankful for this because before I began reading the book I questioned would it just be a rehash of the same story although set in a different part of the war zone? The book needed something different to set it apart from The War Nurses and Lizzie Page managed to achieve this and provide her readers with an interesting, heartbreaking and absorbing read.
Honestly May was a character whom my opinion of swayed back and forth over endless times through out this book. But I think that's what the author wanted us to feel as she wasn't a clear cut person and right from the outset she has a lot of change to bring into her life and despite her being a mother to two young girls she herself I felt was quite immature and needed to stand up for herself more. The war was a horrific event for all involved and it changed the course of world history but if in the case of this story it had not occurred I don't think May would have undergone the journey and transformation that she went through. She is a vastly different person by the end of the book and a character one could identify with and a more likeable character than when we first meet her.
In May 1914 we met May originally from America but now married to George and living in London. Her two young girls are away at boarding school and she rarely sees them except for holidays, May is prone to melancholy and feels trapped and ensnared in her marriage. She is miserable and knows she needs social interaction and to make friends if she is ever to break free and to start to feel what she terms normal. May was a person who was crying out for love, support, affection and friendship. She believed her marriage would have offered that but leaving America and now living in London, giving up so much she is disappointed to discover that is not the case. She experiences waste and isolation but a glimmer of a new May begins to emerge when she responds to a request for a companion to an artist Percy whilst he works. A friendship is formed but it is not the dominant plot of the novel in any sense of the word.
Venturing out to try and find new experiences May takes up outdoor swimming at a local pond and it is here she meets Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a spinster who lives with her mother and cats and really she was the most quirky character who in my mind had her head in the clouds a lot of the time. But you couldn't knock her for her ambition in wanting to swim across the channel from France to England. Elizabeth gave May the impetuous to get out there away from George and her loneliness and as war breaks out May feels she must do something to help those in need. A chance meeting with Elsie Knocker who has just signed up for Dr. Hector Munro's flying ambulances sets in motion a train of thought for May, she enlists with the red cross as a volunteer in France. Talk about stepping out of one's comfort zone, from a mousy women dominated by her husband and not willing to voice her suspicions regarding his activities to a woman who travels abroad to do her bit. She is away from the wealth and comforts she is accustomed to and given her state of mind I wondered would she be able for all that she would witness.
For the author spares no detail in descriptions in what befalls the troops fighting on the front. Nor is there any shying away from the conditions volunteers, nurses and doctors endured as they battled to save those who were maimed and affected by the fighting. May seemed to me like a fish out of water. She had a vision of what to expect when she arrived in France but the realities were far harsher and it was evident she had a lot of growing up to do and her needs had to come second or even further down the line. This book wasn't as action based as I felt book one had been, there was a lull in the middle part of the book where I did think there was repetition in terms of describing the way casualties were treated and the daily routine of May and the people she works with. But I suppose on reflection this was what happened at the field hospitals. There were days and days of the same thing, treating people and periods where not much happened and then boom all of a sudden there was an onslaught of such horror and awful scenes when a move was made at the front. The Battle of the Somme and its affect on May and her co workers was an example of this.
The book did pick up again just after the midway point and it became very character driven as May battles with her emotions and duties. She feels loyalty to the friends she has made in France and to perhaps a man who has shown some affection towards her. But given she is still married to George nothing can happen. But also it is her two daughters who are at the forefront of her mind and I thoroughly enjoyed the way this strand of the story developed as it showed the conflict in May's heart and mind. That things weren't clear cut. She was a woman on a mission who wanted to help those in their most desperate hour of need yet women didn't abandon their families and just up and leave the country. May showed great spirit and tenacity the further the story developed and I was heartbroken, and in fact angry, at the way George treated her and the lengths she had to go to to show her daughters that she did love them and hadn't abandoned them. She was a mother with divided loyalties and a time of conflict she found them even harder to deal with.
May despite all she witnesses in France feels liberated that she has escaped from George. Now she has a purpose and a goal but as the war further encroaches on her entire life and her day to day experiences she wrestles with her conscious that those around her even friends she made back in London before she left will be impacted by the decisions she has made. May was a raw recruit who really didn't know what she had let herself in for when she volunteered to go to France but in fact this was the making of her and the starting point for her transformation. She goes from what I viewed her as a weak person and someone whose decisions were made by others for her to someone with great character and spirit. A woman whose experiences of the war make her and she earns respect from her colleagues and in a way the reader too. She placed herself in the eye of the storm and as the author writes of everything May goes through I could feel and visualise the sights, sounds and smells of the war and the deprivation everyone experienced and the sacrifices everyone made became all the more real for me as seen and told through the eyes of May.
I enjoyed how the story developed at the conclusion of the war. It didn't feel far fetched, strung out or just tacked on for the sake of it. Instead it brought this beautiful story of courage and bravery full circle and the little twist at the end certainly brought a smile to my eye and I would say it was very well played. Through this trilogy Lizzie Page is helping shine a light on the sacrifices and contributions made my countless women and men during the Great War and she is doing so with sensitivity and tact whilst providing her readers with an excellent story that is gripping, informative and interesting. Conflict, struggles, heartbreak and smiles all form part of this read and the balance of these is perfect throughout the story. Daughters of War is a worthy successor to The War Nurses - although Elsie and Mairi will always hold a special pace in my heart. I am now more than interested than ever to see who will form the focal point to book three but I'll have to wait to discover the answer to that question until 2019.
May 24, 2019
Love, love, love this book
I love this book, I love this author, I seldom right reviews but could not live with myself if I did not say something about this one. I loved hating George and the laws of the time, thank God times have changed and women have gained dignity and power.
When I Was Yours was equally moving and just as well written. Do not miss out on either of these treasures.
I love this book, I love this author, I seldom right reviews but could not live with myself if I did not say something about this one. I loved hating George and the laws of the time, thank God times have changed and women have gained dignity and power.
When I Was Yours was equally moving and just as well written. Do not miss out on either of these treasures.
May 27, 2019
Excellent
Great World War I novel. An Amrican woman married to an Englishman leaves her family to go to France as an untrained nurse. Her hospital is in an active battle zone. Lizzie Page does an excellent job of handling the issues that arise.
Great World War I novel. An Amrican woman married to an Englishman leaves her family to go to France as an untrained nurse. Her hospital is in an active battle zone. Lizzie Page does an excellent job of handling the issues that arise.
December 17, 2018
I had read & enjoyed Lizzie Page's book about nurses in WW1 so I was really pleased to see another book set in the same era.
May was bored. Her life in America seemed to be restricting and with no sign of excitement, so when George the handsome Englishman swept her off her feet and married her she was delighted. All was not as it seemed & neither was George! Ten years on her life in London was equally as boring & restricted. When her daughters are away at school her life seems not worth living. Then the war breaks out. She decides to volunteer as a nurse. In France she discovers reserves of strength she hadn't thought she possessed.But her struggles in France are nothing compared to the war over her daughters.
This is a well researched & well told tale. It sweeps the reader nto the nightmare of the trenches and the restrictions imposed on women at that time. All in all a great read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me red & review this book.
May was bored. Her life in America seemed to be restricting and with no sign of excitement, so when George the handsome Englishman swept her off her feet and married her she was delighted. All was not as it seemed & neither was George! Ten years on her life in London was equally as boring & restricted. When her daughters are away at school her life seems not worth living. Then the war breaks out. She decides to volunteer as a nurse. In France she discovers reserves of strength she hadn't thought she possessed.But her struggles in France are nothing compared to the war over her daughters.
This is a well researched & well told tale. It sweeps the reader nto the nightmare of the trenches and the restrictions imposed on women at that time. All in all a great read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me red & review this book.
October 17, 2019
The Great War
This is my first book about WWI. It was very enlightening. I didn't know how bad it was for the soldiers, doctors and nurses. Good read, lots of history! 16+
This is my first book about WWI. It was very enlightening. I didn't know how bad it was for the soldiers, doctors and nurses. Good read, lots of history! 16+
October 13, 2019
Enjoyable, touching, realistic
A woman who follows a calling to be relevant and needed, in the toughest of times, and pays a painful and heavy social price, but emerges stronger with love. A lovely read.
A woman who follows a calling to be relevant and needed, in the toughest of times, and pays a painful and heavy social price, but emerges stronger with love. A lovely read.
November 26, 2018
This is the second book in the planned trilogy which focus’s on the unbelievably courageous women of the Great War, and I have to say that this is a very worthy follow up to the hugely emotional and incredible The War Nurses and I really cannot wait for the third and final book, which I know will be another emotional ride just as this and the previous book have been.
This is an inspiring, emotional, heartbreaking, mesmerising, charming, haunting book that is inspired by the remarkable life of May Borden who was a nurse, novelist and poet during the Great War. The story opens with May in a bit of a depression, the man she thought she was to lead a whole new life with has is now a drunk and worse than that she knows that her husband is cheating on her. She is tired of her life surrounded by a man who doesn’t love or respect her, she wants to escape. Which is when she meets vivacious Elsie, who talks May into joining the nursing core. May knows nothing about nursing, but she feels that this is the very thing that could turn around her life.
Even though May is a hugely inspiring woman and what she did was amazing, while reading this I was at times in two frames of mind about May. There is no denying what she did was incredible and I am in awe and applaud everyone of those brave women who went to the front, but at times I felt at times she did act like a child herself, she needed stand up for herself more than she did. I felt she was as conflicted as the very war she was working in, I don’t think she was a strong women but she was a real one, she was plunged into a horrific war while her children were still at home. But what really made me soften towards May was her unrelenting compassion, loyalty and her unrelenting need to help those men who were experiencing the very worst that humans can do to on e and other.
I have to say that Lizzie Page is an unbelievably gifted writer, her absolute passion for these incredible women, the history and her thirst to share these wonderful stories with the world is evident in each page she has lovingly written, her love and passion comes through the story.
This is another powerful story that makes you stop and really take in what these women sacrificed for us, as with the war Nurses this isn’t just about bombarding the reading with sights and sounds from the front, this is about women coming together forming unbreakable friendships and doing their best to help. It’s a beautiful book and one that really needs to be read, no matter your views on the war we all need to hear these stories.
Emotional and expertly written!
This is an inspiring, emotional, heartbreaking, mesmerising, charming, haunting book that is inspired by the remarkable life of May Borden who was a nurse, novelist and poet during the Great War. The story opens with May in a bit of a depression, the man she thought she was to lead a whole new life with has is now a drunk and worse than that she knows that her husband is cheating on her. She is tired of her life surrounded by a man who doesn’t love or respect her, she wants to escape. Which is when she meets vivacious Elsie, who talks May into joining the nursing core. May knows nothing about nursing, but she feels that this is the very thing that could turn around her life.
Even though May is a hugely inspiring woman and what she did was amazing, while reading this I was at times in two frames of mind about May. There is no denying what she did was incredible and I am in awe and applaud everyone of those brave women who went to the front, but at times I felt at times she did act like a child herself, she needed stand up for herself more than she did. I felt she was as conflicted as the very war she was working in, I don’t think she was a strong women but she was a real one, she was plunged into a horrific war while her children were still at home. But what really made me soften towards May was her unrelenting compassion, loyalty and her unrelenting need to help those men who were experiencing the very worst that humans can do to on e and other.
I have to say that Lizzie Page is an unbelievably gifted writer, her absolute passion for these incredible women, the history and her thirst to share these wonderful stories with the world is evident in each page she has lovingly written, her love and passion comes through the story.
This is another powerful story that makes you stop and really take in what these women sacrificed for us, as with the war Nurses this isn’t just about bombarding the reading with sights and sounds from the front, this is about women coming together forming unbreakable friendships and doing their best to help. It’s a beautiful book and one that really needs to be read, no matter your views on the war we all need to hear these stories.
Emotional and expertly written!
October 4, 2019
Great book
I really liked this book. It showed resilience to several difficult situations, first a tragic marriage and later working in the trenches of WWI. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the book immensely.
I really liked this book. It showed resilience to several difficult situations, first a tragic marriage and later working in the trenches of WWI. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the book immensely.
November 25, 2021
“I had made my bed and now I had to lie in it.”
Ever made a decision that you felt was right for you at the time, but ended up costing you in the long run?
Twelve years ago, feisty American born May married George Turner, moved to London, and had two daughters. Caught up in the demands of motherhood, she doesn’t realize that the choice wasn’t a good fit until her daughters left for boarding school and she discovered that her husband is an unfaithful drunk. Her life was so far from how she imagined it! Finding solace in a local art studio, May is encouraged to volunteer as a nurse just as World War One begins. Once she’s handed her appointment with the Red Cross and ships out to Bray-Sur-Somme, May smiles as she realizes that her life will never be the same again.
Author Lizzie Page writes to highlight the life of Mary Borden, a formidable nurse, ground-breaking novelist, and extraordinary poet. Like the conflicted character, May, Mary was also torn between doing something for herself, something purposeful, and the demands of a husband and young family. May and Mary were trapped by the conventions of the time. Knowing that these issues still resonate today, Page has managed to bring about a new way of looking at an old story. Choosing to focus on the inner conflict of wartime, Page showcases a woman who struggles to balance her own desires with those of her parental duties. For some, she points out, motherhood is constraining.
Perfect for book clubs, this book raises many questions and showcases the cataclysmic shift in the English class system and the way women were regarded in society. The extra information provided by the author at the end of the book is fantastic and will be a great starting point for discussions. Unaware that this was book 2 of The War Nurses series, it was a wonderful read as a ‘standalone’ for me!
Publishes December 7, 2021.
I was gifted this advance copy by Lizzie Page, Forever Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
Ever made a decision that you felt was right for you at the time, but ended up costing you in the long run?
Twelve years ago, feisty American born May married George Turner, moved to London, and had two daughters. Caught up in the demands of motherhood, she doesn’t realize that the choice wasn’t a good fit until her daughters left for boarding school and she discovered that her husband is an unfaithful drunk. Her life was so far from how she imagined it! Finding solace in a local art studio, May is encouraged to volunteer as a nurse just as World War One begins. Once she’s handed her appointment with the Red Cross and ships out to Bray-Sur-Somme, May smiles as she realizes that her life will never be the same again.
Author Lizzie Page writes to highlight the life of Mary Borden, a formidable nurse, ground-breaking novelist, and extraordinary poet. Like the conflicted character, May, Mary was also torn between doing something for herself, something purposeful, and the demands of a husband and young family. May and Mary were trapped by the conventions of the time. Knowing that these issues still resonate today, Page has managed to bring about a new way of looking at an old story. Choosing to focus on the inner conflict of wartime, Page showcases a woman who struggles to balance her own desires with those of her parental duties. For some, she points out, motherhood is constraining.
Perfect for book clubs, this book raises many questions and showcases the cataclysmic shift in the English class system and the way women were regarded in society. The extra information provided by the author at the end of the book is fantastic and will be a great starting point for discussions. Unaware that this was book 2 of The War Nurses series, it was a wonderful read as a ‘standalone’ for me!
Publishes December 7, 2021.
I was gifted this advance copy by Lizzie Page, Forever Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
March 3, 2019
This book is quite a story of two halves. May is a wealthy socialite, travelling from Chicago to London to marry in the early twentieth century. By the outbreak of the Great War she has daughters in boarding school and a lush husband; life will never be the same once she decides to enter war service.
Not for the faint of heart, the adventure follows May with the Women's Voluntary Detachment across to France and the unspeakable horrors of war nursing. She keeps her girls in mind always and has to try to steal moments for relaxation and relationships.
Some readers may find even too much detail is shared, in this well-researched book. We do find romance, but the underlying theme is the growth of women and the expansion of their roles in the world.
I downloaded an ARC from Net Galley and Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
Not for the faint of heart, the adventure follows May with the Women's Voluntary Detachment across to France and the unspeakable horrors of war nursing. She keeps her girls in mind always and has to try to steal moments for relaxation and relationships.
Some readers may find even too much detail is shared, in this well-researched book. We do find romance, but the underlying theme is the growth of women and the expansion of their roles in the world.
I downloaded an ARC from Net Galley and Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
November 15, 2018
Daughters of War is book two in the War Nurse series but reads perfectly well as a standalone.
Got to give it to her May is a very determined and brave character. For what she did I admire her and she is an inspiration. A truelly emotional story that will stick in your heart. I was behind May the whole way. The characters were all mostly likeable that excludes George GRR. Setting is perfectly introduced. There are many happy scenes in the story but there are many sad scenes too. Taking the reader into the war through Mays eyes.
I loved this story… I was immersed throughout. Beautifully written. I awarded a well deserved four stars. Highly recommend. I cannot wait to take a step book and read book one! A new author YAY!
Got to give it to her May is a very determined and brave character. For what she did I admire her and she is an inspiration. A truelly emotional story that will stick in your heart. I was behind May the whole way. The characters were all mostly likeable that excludes George GRR. Setting is perfectly introduced. There are many happy scenes in the story but there are many sad scenes too. Taking the reader into the war through Mays eyes.
I loved this story… I was immersed throughout. Beautifully written. I awarded a well deserved four stars. Highly recommend. I cannot wait to take a step book and read book one! A new author YAY!
May 28, 2019
This a story of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage. Her daughters are at boarding school and she needs to feel useful and of consequence at the time of the First World War. She is encouraged to take a nursing position on the Somme and with this comes an experience that she could never have imagined. As a consequence of her leaving her home her husband cruelly restricts her access to her daughters. This restriction causes her untold misery but she does make a difference at the hospital where she works in Belgium. She continues to fight to see her daughters and one can only admire her tenacity. A really good read.
December 2, 2018
A emotional read
The second book by this author,and i was hooked,it's certainly a big tribute to all our war nurses,I loved the description of events and places in the book. I felt myself drawn into Mays story and what she went through. this is truly one absolutely remarkable read with a good build up of characters. Loved it all
The second book by this author,and i was hooked,it's certainly a big tribute to all our war nurses,I loved the description of events and places in the book. I felt myself drawn into Mays story and what she went through. this is truly one absolutely remarkable read with a good build up of characters. Loved it all
May 3, 2019
Daughter's of War
I truly enjoyed this book. I can't wait to read the next one. This one ended to soon.
Lizzie Page is a wonderful story teller.
I truly enjoyed this book. I can't wait to read the next one. This one ended to soon.
Lizzie Page is a wonderful story teller.
September 4, 2020
Oh, I just loved this!
An extremely well written story set in England and France during World War I.
Against her philandering husband's wishes, May goes to France as a VAD nurse; the hardest part of her decision was leaving her two daughters behind.
This is a very emotional read, and a real page turner from beginning to end.
Highly recommended for fans of WW1 stories.
An extremely well written story set in England and France during World War I.
Against her philandering husband's wishes, May goes to France as a VAD nurse; the hardest part of her decision was leaving her two daughters behind.
This is a very emotional read, and a real page turner from beginning to end.
Highly recommended for fans of WW1 stories.
May 30, 2019
Loved this book, 4 1/2 stars. Great characters and a moving story about being a nurse during the war.
December 6, 2021
What more could I ask for, a WWII historical fiction, romance, and based on a true story? I haven't read the first book yet but it is on my TBR now.
May has a wonderful character and has always dreamed of traveling the world, that is why she married the handsome George Turner right after they met 10 years ago. She is 28-year-old now and has two daughters who are away at boarding school, but May is not sure that marrying George was the best decision she made in her life.
Its 1914 and war has been declared in Europe. May is looking to find a way to escape and is suspicious that her husband is cheating on her. May is encouraged to volunteer as a war nurse, little she knows that her life is going to change and never be the same.
This was a beautifully written historical fiction. As a HP reader, I like to read details about the setting of the story and different characters and the author did a great job portraying those details. The story was inspired by Mary Borden's life who spent part of the great war in the Somme and was a famous nurse.
May's character was very inspirational, knowing what she went through during that time and despite all the social constraints.
The story and characters develop at the end of the war, and I was able to easily connect with them.
This is a planned trilogy, so I will for sure read the first book. But this book can be read as a standalone.
May has a wonderful character and has always dreamed of traveling the world, that is why she married the handsome George Turner right after they met 10 years ago. She is 28-year-old now and has two daughters who are away at boarding school, but May is not sure that marrying George was the best decision she made in her life.
Its 1914 and war has been declared in Europe. May is looking to find a way to escape and is suspicious that her husband is cheating on her. May is encouraged to volunteer as a war nurse, little she knows that her life is going to change and never be the same.
This was a beautifully written historical fiction. As a HP reader, I like to read details about the setting of the story and different characters and the author did a great job portraying those details. The story was inspired by Mary Borden's life who spent part of the great war in the Somme and was a famous nurse.
May's character was very inspirational, knowing what she went through during that time and despite all the social constraints.
The story and characters develop at the end of the war, and I was able to easily connect with them.
This is a planned trilogy, so I will for sure read the first book. But this book can be read as a standalone.
April 15, 2019
Loved it!
I had never read anything by Page, and this was a great book. I didn't realize this was the second book in the series, though. I ordered the first one to get up to speed. I love the humor Page slips into he character May. May sees things in a way that most people do, and she has doubts, fears, hopes...just like all of us. This was portrayed very well. May was brave for that time periid, to go off and be independent and helpful during WWI. With a lousy marriage and her girls at boarding school, who could blame her for seeking something else. Her husband was an awful creature, but the twist at the end with all George's nonsense was superb! I didn't see that coming. This was a pleasure to read, although, some of the subject matter was hard to swallow because of the horrors of war.
I had never read anything by Page, and this was a great book. I didn't realize this was the second book in the series, though. I ordered the first one to get up to speed. I love the humor Page slips into he character May. May sees things in a way that most people do, and she has doubts, fears, hopes...just like all of us. This was portrayed very well. May was brave for that time periid, to go off and be independent and helpful during WWI. With a lousy marriage and her girls at boarding school, who could blame her for seeking something else. Her husband was an awful creature, but the twist at the end with all George's nonsense was superb! I didn't see that coming. This was a pleasure to read, although, some of the subject matter was hard to swallow because of the horrors of war.
December 2, 2022
Intense, emotional, and immersive!
Daughters of War is a captivating, touching tale set predominantly in German-Occupied France during WWI that takes you into the life of May Turner, a young mother living a lonely existence in a loveless marriage who, after befriending a veteran nurse, decides to volunteer herself and head to France even with the threat that the world she knows and loves may be gone by the time she comes home.
The prose is seamless and vivid. The characters are driven, courageous, and dependable. And the plot is an insightful, moving tale of life, loss, heartbreak, secrets, self-discovery, determination, hope, loyalty, motherhood, survival, friendship, love, and war.
Overall, Daughters of War is an alluring, rich, compelling novel by Page that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be enthralled and fully invested from start to finish.
Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Daughters of War is a captivating, touching tale set predominantly in German-Occupied France during WWI that takes you into the life of May Turner, a young mother living a lonely existence in a loveless marriage who, after befriending a veteran nurse, decides to volunteer herself and head to France even with the threat that the world she knows and loves may be gone by the time she comes home.
The prose is seamless and vivid. The characters are driven, courageous, and dependable. And the plot is an insightful, moving tale of life, loss, heartbreak, secrets, self-discovery, determination, hope, loyalty, motherhood, survival, friendship, love, and war.
Overall, Daughters of War is an alluring, rich, compelling novel by Page that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be enthralled and fully invested from start to finish.
Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 27, 2019
Loved this book. Loved the characters. I couldn't put it down.
November 14, 2018
I read and reviewed the first in the trilogy called ‘The War Nurses’. I have eagerly been waiting for the second book called ‘Daughters Of War’. Well now the wait is over as ‘Daughters Of War’ was released today (12th November 2018). I couldn’t wait to get started on the book and so I dived in as soon as I could. Oh my word it really is an emotive book, which couldn’t have been come along at a more appropriate time given that yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918. I absolutely loved reading ‘Daughters Of War’ but more about that in a bit.
I couldn’t help but take to the character of May. She is a young American woman who moved to England to be with her husband. May married when she was a young girl and I think to a large degree she was very naïve about what her marriage and life in Britain was going to be like. She is the mother of two small girls, who are at boarding school but they do come during the school holidays. Bear in mind that May is not yet 30 years old and she has been through rather a lot in a relatively short space of time. Not only has she married but she has moved to another country and given birth to two girls. Her husband George isn’t a particularly pleasant character- or at least I didn’t think so. His treatment of May leaves a lot to be desired and he seems more bothered about spending time with his mistress and at the bottom of a bottle. Although George is the father of the girls, he doesn’t seem that interested in them. May lives a life of leisure and initially I think that she was bored out of her skull. She takes to her bed in a fit of depression, which is exacerbated by reading all the doom and gloom in the papers. Eventually May does get out and about and meets some people, who later become friends. Her new friends inspire her and embolden her as it were. May eventually goes off to be a nurse at the Western Front and it is there that she learns about the true horror of war and who she can trust.
Oh my word, this was one hell of an emotive read. The book seems even more poignant at the moment with it being the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One. I was hooked from the moment I picked the book up and began to read. I had a great great Aunt, who was a nurse during the First World War and to read this book made me feel closer to her and I developed a better appreciation for the conditions that she had to work under and the appalling injuries that she must have seen. The more I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages turned. I was concentrating on the story and the characters so much that I didn’t realise just how quick I was getting through the book until I closed the back cover so to speak. I was enjoying the author’s writing style, the storylines and the characters so much that I just wanted the book to continue.
‘Daughters Of War’ is incredibly well written with characters, who seem to come to life and jump off the page so to speak. The author writes about them so well and so convincingly that they seem ‘real’ or at least they did to me. There were several times when I wished that I could have leapt inside the pages of the book to sort out George, May’s cheating scumbag of a husband and to give him a few dozen slaps across the face with a wet flip flop. The author grabs your attention from the start and much like a fisherman landing a catch, she reels you in.
In short, I loved reading this book and I can’t wait to read the concluding part of the trilogy. I would definitely recommend this author and her books to other readers. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
I couldn’t help but take to the character of May. She is a young American woman who moved to England to be with her husband. May married when she was a young girl and I think to a large degree she was very naïve about what her marriage and life in Britain was going to be like. She is the mother of two small girls, who are at boarding school but they do come during the school holidays. Bear in mind that May is not yet 30 years old and she has been through rather a lot in a relatively short space of time. Not only has she married but she has moved to another country and given birth to two girls. Her husband George isn’t a particularly pleasant character- or at least I didn’t think so. His treatment of May leaves a lot to be desired and he seems more bothered about spending time with his mistress and at the bottom of a bottle. Although George is the father of the girls, he doesn’t seem that interested in them. May lives a life of leisure and initially I think that she was bored out of her skull. She takes to her bed in a fit of depression, which is exacerbated by reading all the doom and gloom in the papers. Eventually May does get out and about and meets some people, who later become friends. Her new friends inspire her and embolden her as it were. May eventually goes off to be a nurse at the Western Front and it is there that she learns about the true horror of war and who she can trust.
Oh my word, this was one hell of an emotive read. The book seems even more poignant at the moment with it being the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One. I was hooked from the moment I picked the book up and began to read. I had a great great Aunt, who was a nurse during the First World War and to read this book made me feel closer to her and I developed a better appreciation for the conditions that she had to work under and the appalling injuries that she must have seen. The more I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages turned. I was concentrating on the story and the characters so much that I didn’t realise just how quick I was getting through the book until I closed the back cover so to speak. I was enjoying the author’s writing style, the storylines and the characters so much that I just wanted the book to continue.
‘Daughters Of War’ is incredibly well written with characters, who seem to come to life and jump off the page so to speak. The author writes about them so well and so convincingly that they seem ‘real’ or at least they did to me. There were several times when I wished that I could have leapt inside the pages of the book to sort out George, May’s cheating scumbag of a husband and to give him a few dozen slaps across the face with a wet flip flop. The author grabs your attention from the start and much like a fisherman landing a catch, she reels you in.
In short, I loved reading this book and I can’t wait to read the concluding part of the trilogy. I would definitely recommend this author and her books to other readers. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
July 22, 2019
A wonderful story for every woman
This book is for any woman who questions her decisions and life. Set back in WWI the story is very relevant to this day. Motherhood, relationships and career decisions that make us strong women.
This book is for any woman who questions her decisions and life. Set back in WWI the story is very relevant to this day. Motherhood, relationships and career decisions that make us strong women.
November 14, 2018
I really enjoyed Lizzie Page's first book, The War Nurses, but I have to say that I simply adored Daughters of War.
The protagonist and narrator is May Turner, an American living in London with her husband, George. She married young and regrets it bitterly but at the turn of the 20th century a woman just has to put up with it. The outbreak of war represents freedom for May as she travels to France to work in a field hospital, but it means leaving behind her precious daughters, Joy and Leona. They are at boarding school so it's not as bad as it sounds - she's not abandoning them, but making her own life more fulfilling. George is not a pleasant or easy man and being away from him is good for May.
Page uses Mary Borden, real life war nurse, poet and novelist, as her inspiration but, as she admits herself, she has embellished or changed the facts to suit the story. Whatever she has done, what she has produced is, in my opinion, something special. I read a fair amount of books, many of which I love, but every once in a while a book comes along that just burrows its way into the heart of me, that stirs my soul. This is one such book.
May tells her story in a quite matter of fact way and yet the emotion and the heartbreak she feels is put across so well. Her experiences as a war nurse are so moving, so intense. Her feelings about what happens with her daughters and being parted from them are hard to read and then there's her love for another man, which is so beautifully written. I spent quite a bit of this book trying to swallow the lump in my throat or wiping my eyes.
At the end of the book, Page says that she believes May to be a Marmite character - you either love her or hate her. Well, I loved her. I found her self-deprecating, gutsy, funny, strong and quite hard on herself. I wish I knew a woman like May. I also loved Louis, the handsome man she meets in France, and all the other staff at the hospital, each of whom had their own place in my heart.
God, I could gush and gush about Daughters of War but I'll spare you that. What I will say is that I found it compelling from start to finish and incredibly moving, especially reading it around the time of the commemoration of 100 years since the end of the war that was supposed to end all wars. I can't help wondering what May would have thought of the fact that we did it all again within her lifetime (or Mary Borden's lifetime).
This is book two in Lizzie Page's trilogy (don't worry, they're standalone, although I was so pleased to see the return of a certain character from The War Nurses) and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Her writing is sublime, her plotting is perfection and her characters are fantastic. This is one special book.
The protagonist and narrator is May Turner, an American living in London with her husband, George. She married young and regrets it bitterly but at the turn of the 20th century a woman just has to put up with it. The outbreak of war represents freedom for May as she travels to France to work in a field hospital, but it means leaving behind her precious daughters, Joy and Leona. They are at boarding school so it's not as bad as it sounds - she's not abandoning them, but making her own life more fulfilling. George is not a pleasant or easy man and being away from him is good for May.
Page uses Mary Borden, real life war nurse, poet and novelist, as her inspiration but, as she admits herself, she has embellished or changed the facts to suit the story. Whatever she has done, what she has produced is, in my opinion, something special. I read a fair amount of books, many of which I love, but every once in a while a book comes along that just burrows its way into the heart of me, that stirs my soul. This is one such book.
May tells her story in a quite matter of fact way and yet the emotion and the heartbreak she feels is put across so well. Her experiences as a war nurse are so moving, so intense. Her feelings about what happens with her daughters and being parted from them are hard to read and then there's her love for another man, which is so beautifully written. I spent quite a bit of this book trying to swallow the lump in my throat or wiping my eyes.
At the end of the book, Page says that she believes May to be a Marmite character - you either love her or hate her. Well, I loved her. I found her self-deprecating, gutsy, funny, strong and quite hard on herself. I wish I knew a woman like May. I also loved Louis, the handsome man she meets in France, and all the other staff at the hospital, each of whom had their own place in my heart.
God, I could gush and gush about Daughters of War but I'll spare you that. What I will say is that I found it compelling from start to finish and incredibly moving, especially reading it around the time of the commemoration of 100 years since the end of the war that was supposed to end all wars. I can't help wondering what May would have thought of the fact that we did it all again within her lifetime (or Mary Borden's lifetime).
This is book two in Lizzie Page's trilogy (don't worry, they're standalone, although I was so pleased to see the return of a certain character from The War Nurses) and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Her writing is sublime, her plotting is perfection and her characters are fantastic. This is one special book.
May 6, 2019
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Bookouture through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Daughters of War by Lizzie Page is a wartime story of May Turner. As a young bride, May leaves her home in America when she meets who she thinks will give her adventure and love. She travels with her new husband George back to his home in England. It does not take long before May realizes that she has made a terrible mistake. Ten years pass, and she finds herself trapped and depressed in a marriage to an alcoholic womanizer. When the first World War begins, it seems to be her saving grace and chance at escape. At the risk of loosing her daughters, May leaves for war torn France where she becomes a nurse. Friends and a new love, offer a glimpse at happiness, but the horrors of war may tear them apart.
Daughter’s of War has an intriguing story line and the introduction of actual events and people is interesting. Many liberties were taken as I felt that I was questioning which war I was reading about. Some situations seemed more modern than that of early 20th century. The restrictions of women during this time and the expectations of society made certain situations within this book difficult to imagine. I also felt as if the author missed some points that leaves the reader wondering about certain characters. The reader never discovers why May and her mother are so at odds even though this has seemed to shape who May is as a person. Bonnie's storyline is a little flat. She has a baby while serving at the Front but we don’t discover by whom. She then is engaged to be married suddenly and then at some point there is another mention of her having a new beau. I found my self lost and wondering if the author just forgot to mention certain details. There were many of these such discrepancies throughout the book that at one point I was about to give up all together.
Her description of war and life as a nurse at the Front was a bit lacking, dare I say weak in its description. I felt like she did not adequately depict the real horrors of war. It needed more grit. The author did eventually introduce some of what it would have been like but not until at least 75 percent of the way through.
I really wish I could have enjoyed Daughters of War. As I said the Author has a wonderful storyline and great set of characters. I did however, enjoy the ending very much. It was emotional and a happy ending for the characters. I quite liked it.
Daughters of War by Lizzie Page is a wartime story of May Turner. As a young bride, May leaves her home in America when she meets who she thinks will give her adventure and love. She travels with her new husband George back to his home in England. It does not take long before May realizes that she has made a terrible mistake. Ten years pass, and she finds herself trapped and depressed in a marriage to an alcoholic womanizer. When the first World War begins, it seems to be her saving grace and chance at escape. At the risk of loosing her daughters, May leaves for war torn France where she becomes a nurse. Friends and a new love, offer a glimpse at happiness, but the horrors of war may tear them apart.
Daughter’s of War has an intriguing story line and the introduction of actual events and people is interesting. Many liberties were taken as I felt that I was questioning which war I was reading about. Some situations seemed more modern than that of early 20th century. The restrictions of women during this time and the expectations of society made certain situations within this book difficult to imagine. I also felt as if the author missed some points that leaves the reader wondering about certain characters. The reader never discovers why May and her mother are so at odds even though this has seemed to shape who May is as a person. Bonnie's storyline is a little flat. She has a baby while serving at the Front but we don’t discover by whom. She then is engaged to be married suddenly and then at some point there is another mention of her having a new beau. I found my self lost and wondering if the author just forgot to mention certain details. There were many of these such discrepancies throughout the book that at one point I was about to give up all together.
Her description of war and life as a nurse at the Front was a bit lacking, dare I say weak in its description. I felt like she did not adequately depict the real horrors of war. It needed more grit. The author did eventually introduce some of what it would have been like but not until at least 75 percent of the way through.
I really wish I could have enjoyed Daughters of War. As I said the Author has a wonderful storyline and great set of characters. I did however, enjoy the ending very much. It was emotional and a happy ending for the characters. I quite liked it.
November 11, 2018
I was lucky enough to get approved access to a galley of this book through Netgalley, and I’m just so glad I did! While the writing isn’t necessarily the most literary, the story itself is compelling, and May Turner makes for an interesting protagonist. I usually don’t like novels narrated in first person, but I didn’t mind it for this one, which is saying something.
There were a few moments that didn’t quite bowl me over like the romance bits. They weren’t bad, but I wasn’t that overly invested in the love story because Louis just seems too damn good to be true. On the flip side, George is almost cartoonishly villainous, and that made it a little hard to take him seriously at times. Not the worst villain I’ve come across, but sometimes his dialogue just seemed cartoonish more than something truly lingeringly cruel.
As a professional historian who finds WWI particularly interesting, I’m not at all disappointed by the book and am looking forward to checking out some of the others in this series! I’ll be curious to learn if May continues to remain my favorite one since it seems each book focuses on a different character, and May is the first one I was introduced to. Overall, I’d recommend this book as it kept me entertained and reminded me why I love WWI-centric historical fiction so much!
There were a few moments that didn’t quite bowl me over like the romance bits. They weren’t bad, but I wasn’t that overly invested in the love story because Louis just seems too damn good to be true. On the flip side, George is almost cartoonishly villainous, and that made it a little hard to take him seriously at times. Not the worst villain I’ve come across, but sometimes his dialogue just seemed cartoonish more than something truly lingeringly cruel.
As a professional historian who finds WWI particularly interesting, I’m not at all disappointed by the book and am looking forward to checking out some of the others in this series! I’ll be curious to learn if May continues to remain my favorite one since it seems each book focuses on a different character, and May is the first one I was introduced to. Overall, I’d recommend this book as it kept me entertained and reminded me why I love WWI-centric historical fiction so much!
November 12, 2018
Reading this book during the lead up to the one hundred year anniversary of the end of the first World War felt like an extremely poignant yet perfect time. The main character May joins the war effort in 1914 and is sent to France as a nurse. Just like The War Nurses, this book is based around a true story which makes it so much more fascinating. Lizzie Page has the talent of a born storyteller and when combined with methodical research and true to life characters the book is almost impossible to put down.
The characters are flawed and believable, especially May's husband George who turns out to be a vile man. I almost cheered when May met a previous character, Elsie Knocker, a remarkably strong nurse herself. Elsie persuades May to join a Voluntary Aid Detachment, helping the injured troops in a hospital in France. Leaving her daughters at boarding school, a devoted housekeeper and absent husband, she sets sail across the Channel, not knowing what to expect. I loved hearing the medical stories, the hardships of war and how strong and resilient these women turned out to be.
Daughters of War is informative, inspirational and most of all a very emotional read. Any fans of British history, especially around the time of WWI will love this book.
The characters are flawed and believable, especially May's husband George who turns out to be a vile man. I almost cheered when May met a previous character, Elsie Knocker, a remarkably strong nurse herself. Elsie persuades May to join a Voluntary Aid Detachment, helping the injured troops in a hospital in France. Leaving her daughters at boarding school, a devoted housekeeper and absent husband, she sets sail across the Channel, not knowing what to expect. I loved hearing the medical stories, the hardships of war and how strong and resilient these women turned out to be.
Daughters of War is informative, inspirational and most of all a very emotional read. Any fans of British history, especially around the time of WWI will love this book.
November 29, 2018
May living with an abusive alcoholic husband with two daughters at boarding school feels her life is worthless. She volunteers to go to the Western Front as a nurse with no experience. Funding herself she sees the horrors of the war. Friendships are made but her cruel husband makes her life hell when she returns for visits. This story is so beautifully written and is truly an insight into these brave women who made such a difference during this period. Wonderful friendships are made. It bought a tear to my eye several times with real hard hitting truths of this time and the very young men sometimes boys who went through this. I have since found it is number two of a trilogy so will be purchasing Book one right away.
November 11, 2018
This isn’t my usual kind of read, but I thought I would give it a try based on the number of positive reviews from other Netgalley readers.
It was a decent enough story, but I felt it took rather a long time to get going and I must admit I nearly gave up half way through.
I also found the story rather lacking in atmosphere to say it was written during such an awful time and the characters seemed rather simply drawn. The story needed more grit and realism.
If you like wartime romance stories, give it a go. Otherwise I can’t recommend it.
Thank you to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
It was a decent enough story, but I felt it took rather a long time to get going and I must admit I nearly gave up half way through.
I also found the story rather lacking in atmosphere to say it was written during such an awful time and the characters seemed rather simply drawn. The story needed more grit and realism.
If you like wartime romance stories, give it a go. Otherwise I can’t recommend it.
Thank you to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews