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Bluebird: A Novel
🎧Run Time = 10 hours and 11 minutes
A dazzling novel set during the Great War and postwar Prohibition about a young nurse, a soldier, and a family secret that binds them together for generations to come—from USA TODAY and repeat #1 bestselling author Genevieve Graham.
Present day
Cassie Simmons, a museum curator, is enthusiastic about solving mysteries from the past, and she has a personal interest in the history of the rumrunners who ferried illegal booze across the Detroit River during Prohibition. So when a cache of whisky labeled Bailey Brothers’ Best is unearthed during a local home renovation, Cassie hopes to find the answers she’s been searching for about the legendary family of bootleggers...
1918
Corporal Jeremiah Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company is tasked with planting mines in the tunnels beneath enemy trenches. After Jerry is badly wounded in an explosion, he finds himself in a Belgium field hospital under the care of Adele Savard, one of Canada’s nursing sisters, nicknamed “Bluebirds” for their blue gowns and white caps. As Jerry recovers, he forms a strong connection with Adele, who is from a place near his hometown of Windsor, along the Detroit River. In the midst of war, she’s a welcome reminder of home, and when Jerry is sent back to the front, he can only hope that he’ll see his bluebird again.
By war’s end, both Jerry and Adele return home to Windsor, scarred by the horrors of what they endured overseas. When they cross paths one day, they have a chance to start over. But the city is in the grip of Prohibition, which brings exciting opportunities as well as new dangerous conflicts that threaten to destroy everything they have fought for.
Pulled from the pages of history, Bluebird is a compelling, luminous novel about the strength of the human spirit and the power of love to call us home.
“A compelling, emotional story” from an author who “is uniquely talented at bringing history to light with characters who stay with you” ( Julia Kelly ): When museum curator Cassie digs into the history of Prohibition rum-runners, she uncovers the story of nurse Adele and soldier Jeremiah and their connection during World War I. Voiced by three Earphones Award–winning narrators!
A dazzling novel set during the Great War and postwar Prohibition about a young nurse, a soldier, and a family secret that binds them together for generations to come—from USA TODAY and repeat #1 bestselling author Genevieve Graham.
Present day
Cassie Simmons, a museum curator, is enthusiastic about solving mysteries from the past, and she has a personal interest in the history of the rumrunners who ferried illegal booze across the Detroit River during Prohibition. So when a cache of whisky labeled Bailey Brothers’ Best is unearthed during a local home renovation, Cassie hopes to find the answers she’s been searching for about the legendary family of bootleggers...
1918
Corporal Jeremiah Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company is tasked with planting mines in the tunnels beneath enemy trenches. After Jerry is badly wounded in an explosion, he finds himself in a Belgium field hospital under the care of Adele Savard, one of Canada’s nursing sisters, nicknamed “Bluebirds” for their blue gowns and white caps. As Jerry recovers, he forms a strong connection with Adele, who is from a place near his hometown of Windsor, along the Detroit River. In the midst of war, she’s a welcome reminder of home, and when Jerry is sent back to the front, he can only hope that he’ll see his bluebird again.
By war’s end, both Jerry and Adele return home to Windsor, scarred by the horrors of what they endured overseas. When they cross paths one day, they have a chance to start over. But the city is in the grip of Prohibition, which brings exciting opportunities as well as new dangerous conflicts that threaten to destroy everything they have fought for.
Pulled from the pages of history, Bluebird is a compelling, luminous novel about the strength of the human spirit and the power of love to call us home.
Audible Audio
First published April 5, 2022
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January 13, 2023
Bluebird is a historical fiction novel by one of my favorite Canadian authors, Genevieve Graham. “Bluebirds” was the nickname given by soldiers to the World War I Canadian nurses who wore cheery blue uniforms. The bluebirds served as both medical providers and a source of care and comfort to wounded soldiers. Adele Savard is a nurse who volunteered at the beginning of the war. Like the other volunteers, she had no idea of the horrors she would see. But like them, Adele rose to the occasion, often risking her personal health and safety to care for the patients.
One of Adele’s charges is Jeremiah “Jerry” Bailey who was brought to the field hospital by his brother, John, after being injured in a tunneling accident. Through the brothers’ story, the extreme dangers of trench warfare is detailed. Against her unspoken rule of becoming personal with the soldiers, Adele quickly finds herself falling for Jerry, who happens to be from Windsor Canada, near her own small hometown.
Just as the war ended in 1918, the State of Michigan went dry two years before prohibition was the law nationwide in the United States. In the words of Al Capone, “Prohibition has made nothing but trouble.” That was especially true for the folks in Windsor Canada, just across the river from Detroit, Michigan. When Jerry and John returned from the war, they use their father’s whiskey recipe and set up shop as distillers and rumrunners. While their customers were quite fond of Bailey Brothers’ Best whiskey, the competition wanted nothing more than to either take a chunk of the brothers’ profits or to stop them from operating altogether.
After her service ends, Adele becomes a nurse for a doctor in Windsor. She sees firsthand the injuries and brutalities inflicted by the rumrunner gangs on their rivals. When she and Jerry finally find each other three years later, they know their feelings for each other have not changed. They must grapple with the risk that Jerry’s new career puts Adele in by being associated with him.
Bluebird is a dual timeline story. The present-day story involves Cassie Simmons, a museum curator. When a contractor, Matthew Flaherty, finds 50 bottles of Bailey Brothers’ Best hidden in a wall inside the house he is remodeling, he takes them to the museum. Cassie, who does not disclose her unhappy connection to the house or the Bailey family, agrees to help Matthew research the value of the bottles.
This is a story about brave and resilient people. The love story between Adele and Jerry does not take away from the importance of the work they did or the love they have for their families. In the modern-day stories, Cassie must overcome her personal tragedies before she can begin to move forward.
5-Stars. Book club recommended. This novel will be published on April 5, 2022. Thank you to #NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
One of Adele’s charges is Jeremiah “Jerry” Bailey who was brought to the field hospital by his brother, John, after being injured in a tunneling accident. Through the brothers’ story, the extreme dangers of trench warfare is detailed. Against her unspoken rule of becoming personal with the soldiers, Adele quickly finds herself falling for Jerry, who happens to be from Windsor Canada, near her own small hometown.
Just as the war ended in 1918, the State of Michigan went dry two years before prohibition was the law nationwide in the United States. In the words of Al Capone, “Prohibition has made nothing but trouble.” That was especially true for the folks in Windsor Canada, just across the river from Detroit, Michigan. When Jerry and John returned from the war, they use their father’s whiskey recipe and set up shop as distillers and rumrunners. While their customers were quite fond of Bailey Brothers’ Best whiskey, the competition wanted nothing more than to either take a chunk of the brothers’ profits or to stop them from operating altogether.
After her service ends, Adele becomes a nurse for a doctor in Windsor. She sees firsthand the injuries and brutalities inflicted by the rumrunner gangs on their rivals. When she and Jerry finally find each other three years later, they know their feelings for each other have not changed. They must grapple with the risk that Jerry’s new career puts Adele in by being associated with him.
Bluebird is a dual timeline story. The present-day story involves Cassie Simmons, a museum curator. When a contractor, Matthew Flaherty, finds 50 bottles of Bailey Brothers’ Best hidden in a wall inside the house he is remodeling, he takes them to the museum. Cassie, who does not disclose her unhappy connection to the house or the Bailey family, agrees to help Matthew research the value of the bottles.
This is a story about brave and resilient people. The love story between Adele and Jerry does not take away from the importance of the work they did or the love they have for their families. In the modern-day stories, Cassie must overcome her personal tragedies before she can begin to move forward.
5-Stars. Book club recommended. This novel will be published on April 5, 2022. Thank you to #NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 15, 2022
My first Genevieve Graham book but definitely not my last! Alert to a wonderful Canadian author and a wonderful Canadian story! 🇨🇦
I was quickly immersed into the story. I can tell the author put a lot of work into accurately researching this historical era. The time and setting were portrayed so vividly that I felt like I was right there experiencing everything with the characters.
This is a dual-time setting although the present day story is very short. It almost feels like an introduction to the story and then it ties up the loose ends at the end.
The story in the past begins towards the end of WWI along the battlefields. A nurse meets a soldier that she is caring for. After the war the soldier goes back home and settles in Windsor, Ontario while the nurse goes back to a small town nearby. They will end up meeting again. The story is exciting as Prohibition has started and there are gangsters around Windsor who are selling whiskey ("rumrunners") across the river to Detroit. Ultimately, this is a love story with some action packed into it.
I really enjoyed learning about the history around the City of Windsor around this time period. A very well-written and researched novel!
I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for granting me access to this Advance Reader Copy.
I was quickly immersed into the story. I can tell the author put a lot of work into accurately researching this historical era. The time and setting were portrayed so vividly that I felt like I was right there experiencing everything with the characters.
This is a dual-time setting although the present day story is very short. It almost feels like an introduction to the story and then it ties up the loose ends at the end.
The story in the past begins towards the end of WWI along the battlefields. A nurse meets a soldier that she is caring for. After the war the soldier goes back home and settles in Windsor, Ontario while the nurse goes back to a small town nearby. They will end up meeting again. The story is exciting as Prohibition has started and there are gangsters around Windsor who are selling whiskey ("rumrunners") across the river to Detroit. Ultimately, this is a love story with some action packed into it.
I really enjoyed learning about the history around the City of Windsor around this time period. A very well-written and researched novel!
I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for granting me access to this Advance Reader Copy.
April 5, 2022
I wish to express my sincere thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this enthralling, meticulously-researched ARC in return for an honest review. Genevieve Graham has become my favourite writer of informative, thrilling historical novels based on little-known facts and incidents in Canadian history, always with an emotional and romantic appeal. Although my entire education was in Canada, none of our history texts at that time contained any Canadian history. We grew up thinking it was too uneventful and dull to be part of the curriculum. Genevieve Graham has shattered that belief with novels based on exciting, ground-breaking incidents in our history. Her characters are compelling and believable and grounded in factual historical events. Her books bring our history to life. The cover of the book is beautiful!
Bluebird was our wounded soldiers' name for our nursing sisters during WW1 because of their bright, distinctive blue uniform. Of 2,000 applications for Canadian nurses to serve in field hospitals during the First World War, 75 were selected and tended to wounded soldiers with skill, care and compassion. They displayed great courage, often facing injury or death during enemy attacks while protecting hospitalized soldiers. One of these nurses was Adele Savard from Ontario, who roomed with three women, two from NB and one from NS. These four nursing sisters became friends. Adele tended to the care of Jerry Bailey, who was severely injured with a damaged face and broken ribs. Jerry, along with his brother, John, was part of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company with the agonizing task of digging tunnels beneath enemy trenches and planting explosives. After being rescued by his brother, Jerry was hospitalized and recovers under Adele's care. They form a strong bond. Jerry is from Windsor, Ontario, and Adele is from a nearby town. Jerry is to be sent back to the front, and they hope to meet again after the war ends. After four years of experiencing the horrors the war inflicted on the wounded, Adele returns home.
The war has ended, and Jerry and John Bailey return to Windsor and find much has changed. Their parents have died from the Spanish flu, which killed countless others. They see Windsor has become prosperous due to prohibition and the rum-runners becoming wealthy by brewing rum and smuggling it across the border into Detroit. The two Bailey brothers go into the illegal activity of manufacturing a prized form of rum and hiring unemployed former soldiers to assist in the brewing and delivering it to Detroit businesses.
One day Jerry sees Adele for the first time since their return. She is being confronted in anger by Ernie, a man she had been dating and is trying to break up with him. This man is the most powerful and wealthy head of the rum-running gangs. He and Jerry had had a strained personal history. Ernie carried a grudge against Jerry for his brother's drowning when they were boys. With his fury directed at Jerry, he becomes his rival in the liquor business. Ernie's men begin to steal from the Bailey Brother's rum shipments and warehouses, even firing on boats bound for Detroit. Adele has a sister who left nursing for marriage and children. Her sister's husband will not let her visit Adele, as he considers Windsor a city of sin and danger. Jerry and Adele marry, and the rift between the two sisters is healed. Adele is worried about Jerry's involvement in the liquor business and the possibility that rival gangs may kill him. She pleads for the company to be shut down.
In the present day, Cassie, a lonely curator, is approached by a man who finds a cache of 100-year-old liquor hidden in the walls of an old house he is renovating. This is the house where Cassie grew up, and she holds grief and guilt for something that happened there. Cassie has been researching the history of the house, and this discovery of the bottles of rum intensifies her research. She finds that John Bailey and Ernie Willoughby are absent from any records, reports, or documents after Bailey's business shut down. Where did they go? What Happened to them? There is plenty of information on Jerry.
An informative historical novel that transports the reader from tent hospitals during WW1 to post-war prohibition with bootlegging and rum-running in Windsor, Canada. Its speakeasies and danger from rival gangsters. The divisions and transformations in society, a small beginning for women's rights, and an emotional love story. Recommended!
Bluebird was our wounded soldiers' name for our nursing sisters during WW1 because of their bright, distinctive blue uniform. Of 2,000 applications for Canadian nurses to serve in field hospitals during the First World War, 75 were selected and tended to wounded soldiers with skill, care and compassion. They displayed great courage, often facing injury or death during enemy attacks while protecting hospitalized soldiers. One of these nurses was Adele Savard from Ontario, who roomed with three women, two from NB and one from NS. These four nursing sisters became friends. Adele tended to the care of Jerry Bailey, who was severely injured with a damaged face and broken ribs. Jerry, along with his brother, John, was part of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company with the agonizing task of digging tunnels beneath enemy trenches and planting explosives. After being rescued by his brother, Jerry was hospitalized and recovers under Adele's care. They form a strong bond. Jerry is from Windsor, Ontario, and Adele is from a nearby town. Jerry is to be sent back to the front, and they hope to meet again after the war ends. After four years of experiencing the horrors the war inflicted on the wounded, Adele returns home.
The war has ended, and Jerry and John Bailey return to Windsor and find much has changed. Their parents have died from the Spanish flu, which killed countless others. They see Windsor has become prosperous due to prohibition and the rum-runners becoming wealthy by brewing rum and smuggling it across the border into Detroit. The two Bailey brothers go into the illegal activity of manufacturing a prized form of rum and hiring unemployed former soldiers to assist in the brewing and delivering it to Detroit businesses.
One day Jerry sees Adele for the first time since their return. She is being confronted in anger by Ernie, a man she had been dating and is trying to break up with him. This man is the most powerful and wealthy head of the rum-running gangs. He and Jerry had had a strained personal history. Ernie carried a grudge against Jerry for his brother's drowning when they were boys. With his fury directed at Jerry, he becomes his rival in the liquor business. Ernie's men begin to steal from the Bailey Brother's rum shipments and warehouses, even firing on boats bound for Detroit. Adele has a sister who left nursing for marriage and children. Her sister's husband will not let her visit Adele, as he considers Windsor a city of sin and danger. Jerry and Adele marry, and the rift between the two sisters is healed. Adele is worried about Jerry's involvement in the liquor business and the possibility that rival gangs may kill him. She pleads for the company to be shut down.
In the present day, Cassie, a lonely curator, is approached by a man who finds a cache of 100-year-old liquor hidden in the walls of an old house he is renovating. This is the house where Cassie grew up, and she holds grief and guilt for something that happened there. Cassie has been researching the history of the house, and this discovery of the bottles of rum intensifies her research. She finds that John Bailey and Ernie Willoughby are absent from any records, reports, or documents after Bailey's business shut down. Where did they go? What Happened to them? There is plenty of information on Jerry.
An informative historical novel that transports the reader from tent hospitals during WW1 to post-war prohibition with bootlegging and rum-running in Windsor, Canada. Its speakeasies and danger from rival gangsters. The divisions and transformations in society, a small beginning for women's rights, and an emotional love story. Recommended!
June 19, 2022
As a hist fic fan, I was SO excited to finally read my first book by well-loved author, Genevieve Graham! My Canadian friends have sung her praises for years, and now I can do the same! When I finished this book, it went right into my mom’s hands, and she is cherishing every word, just as I did.
Bluebird has two timelines: the present day story of Cassie who works in a museum, and in 1918, with the story of Adele, a nurse in the war, and Jerry, a tunneler in the war.
It’s a story about second chances and starting over. It’s also exciting and dangerous, both during war, with Jerry and his brother digging tunnels, and also during Prohibition afterwards. The author’s note brings it all together, too. Such an inspiring story, and I can’t wait to dig into this author’s beautiful backlist.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Bluebird has two timelines: the present day story of Cassie who works in a museum, and in 1918, with the story of Adele, a nurse in the war, and Jerry, a tunneler in the war.
It’s a story about second chances and starting over. It’s also exciting and dangerous, both during war, with Jerry and his brother digging tunnels, and also during Prohibition afterwards. The author’s note brings it all together, too. Such an inspiring story, and I can’t wait to dig into this author’s beautiful backlist.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
July 16, 2022
This is a Historical Fiction with a romance. This book as to two timelines (Present day and 1918). This book starts out during WWI, but Most of this book takes place during the roaring 1920s. I love this book was mostly about the rumrunners and not the war. The roaring 1920s always interest me, so I know I had to pick this book up. I live in the Southern part of North Carolina where there was a ton of Whiskey doing homemade and ran illegally during that time period just like the rumrunners in that part of Canada, so I enjoyed reading a story that had that in it. I think that this book shows the scary parts of it and the fun parts of it really well. Genevieve brings history and characters to life. She is one of my favorite Historical Fiction authors. This is a great story with a great romance and fill of history. I loved every second I spent reading this book. I have to add I love the cover of this book so much. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Simon & Schuster) or author (Genevieve Graham) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.
April 5, 2022
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon&Schuster Canada for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was one of my anticipated 2022 historical fiction novels and it didn't disappoint.
Bluebird is set in two separate timelines and told from the perspective of three different characters. Canadian nurse Adele Savard and Canadian soldier Jeremiah Bailey take us through lesser-known events during the First World War and the Prohibition era. In the present, we follow historian and museum curator Cassie as she tackles a mystery linked to her personal family roots. From the get-go, Graham transported me from my couch to the horrors of the front during the war and later to the speakeasies and the danger of rum-running in the Windsor-Detroit tunnel.
This novel has enough romance, action, history and mystery that I tried to pace myself and not gobble it down in one read. So, I just got up super early and finished it before work.🤣 The history of the two world wars tends to go into our history books missing the voices of many individual Canadians. The fact that one of the female protagonists(Adele) is a Canadian nurse at the front and we experience the challenges these women faced as they saw the horrors of war at the front and worked with the wounded and the dead. After the war, the nurses unlike many of their fellow citizens were more aware of what veterans returning with physical and mental wounds had faced. I liked that Graham uses that experience and knowledge to also explore what Adele's perspective on prohibition would have been. I was also very unaware that Canadian women who served as nurses received the same type of indifference as the men returning from war. This made me think of my grandfather's half-sister who served as an ambulance driver in France during that war. I wonder what her experiences were when she returned to Canada.
Another aspect of the story that had me fully engaged was the very challenging and extremely dangerous job that Jerry and his brother John had as tunnellers. I don't think that I have ever read about what these men endured and I really appreciated the author's note which further shed light on this little-known history.
I have read every single one of Genevieve Graham's books and I must admit that it is quite possible that Bluebird has tied with Tides of Honour as my absolute favourite.
Genevieve Graham is definitely Canada's Queen of Historical Fiction!
Expected Publication 05/04/22
Goodreads review 27/03/22
This was one of my anticipated 2022 historical fiction novels and it didn't disappoint.
Bluebird is set in two separate timelines and told from the perspective of three different characters. Canadian nurse Adele Savard and Canadian soldier Jeremiah Bailey take us through lesser-known events during the First World War and the Prohibition era. In the present, we follow historian and museum curator Cassie as she tackles a mystery linked to her personal family roots. From the get-go, Graham transported me from my couch to the horrors of the front during the war and later to the speakeasies and the danger of rum-running in the Windsor-Detroit tunnel.
This novel has enough romance, action, history and mystery that I tried to pace myself and not gobble it down in one read. So, I just got up super early and finished it before work.🤣 The history of the two world wars tends to go into our history books missing the voices of many individual Canadians. The fact that one of the female protagonists(Adele) is a Canadian nurse at the front and we experience the challenges these women faced as they saw the horrors of war at the front and worked with the wounded and the dead. After the war, the nurses unlike many of their fellow citizens were more aware of what veterans returning with physical and mental wounds had faced. I liked that Graham uses that experience and knowledge to also explore what Adele's perspective on prohibition would have been. I was also very unaware that Canadian women who served as nurses received the same type of indifference as the men returning from war. This made me think of my grandfather's half-sister who served as an ambulance driver in France during that war. I wonder what her experiences were when she returned to Canada.
Another aspect of the story that had me fully engaged was the very challenging and extremely dangerous job that Jerry and his brother John had as tunnellers. I don't think that I have ever read about what these men endured and I really appreciated the author's note which further shed light on this little-known history.
I have read every single one of Genevieve Graham's books and I must admit that it is quite possible that Bluebird has tied with Tides of Honour as my absolute favourite.
Genevieve Graham is definitely Canada's Queen of Historical Fiction!
Expected Publication 05/04/22
Goodreads review 27/03/22
July 28, 2022
A capturing novel on Canada’s unique history in the early to mid 1900s.
Bluebird tells the story of Adele and the Bailey Brother’s, who are from Windsor, Canada. John and Jerry Bailey are soldiers, and specifically tunnelers, in the Great War. Adele goes overseas to work as a nurse on the front. She serves in Belgium with the Nursing Sisters and Canadian Army Medical Corps that were in need of qualified nurses. These nurses were nicknamed Bluebirds, because they wore vibrant blue uniforms. They were known for their focused nursing skills and compassionate attitudes towards the wounded. They provided the hurt a sense of light and ease during such a dark time.
Adele, who vows to not become attached to any soldiers, develops a connection to Jerry who is brought in from a tunneling accident. With his face in pieces, Adele helps put him back together. They bond over their homeland and childhoods. Once he is recovered and goes back to the front, they hope, against all odds, to see each other again.
Once the war ends, Jerry and John return to Canada where prohibition is in full swing. They discover their father’s notes on producing whiskey, and soon decide to become manufacturers. We learn about the dangerous rumrunning business. Alcohol was available for consumption in restaurants and speakeasies, while being strategically hidden from the police. It was smuggled across the Detroit river to buyers, and there were some intense company rivalries that existed. During this post WWI era, alcohol also helped returning soldiers forget some of the war’s devastation.
Bluebird includes a dual timeline, where one of the Bailey’s ancestors works to uncovers her family’s past. This aspect was not the main focus of the novel. Although, it was a nice addition that helped tie everything together. The story alternated between Adele and Jerry’s perspectives. It was fascinating to learn about Adele’s nursing experiences in Belgium and the tunnelers job in the war. The novel even touched on the Spanish Flu’s severe effect on the diminished post-war popular. However, at times, the story was dominated by the rumrunning business. I wished that there was more history on nursing in Canada and in the Great War.
There were a variety of endearing and lively characters that each had a part in the story. Adele is a courageous, humble, and kind heroine. Jerry and John had a strong brotherly tie. They were both honest, skilled, and sincere men.
Overall, this was a well-written story that included a little bit of everything from romance to action and mystery. It made me aware of many pieces of history that I never knew about before. The novel captured my attention from the beginning, and the writing flowed nicely throughout. The author sheds light on Canada’s interesting history and brings it all together in an immersing story of bravery, love, and brotherhood.
Bluebird tells the story of Adele and the Bailey Brother’s, who are from Windsor, Canada. John and Jerry Bailey are soldiers, and specifically tunnelers, in the Great War. Adele goes overseas to work as a nurse on the front. She serves in Belgium with the Nursing Sisters and Canadian Army Medical Corps that were in need of qualified nurses. These nurses were nicknamed Bluebirds, because they wore vibrant blue uniforms. They were known for their focused nursing skills and compassionate attitudes towards the wounded. They provided the hurt a sense of light and ease during such a dark time.
Adele, who vows to not become attached to any soldiers, develops a connection to Jerry who is brought in from a tunneling accident. With his face in pieces, Adele helps put him back together. They bond over their homeland and childhoods. Once he is recovered and goes back to the front, they hope, against all odds, to see each other again.
Once the war ends, Jerry and John return to Canada where prohibition is in full swing. They discover their father’s notes on producing whiskey, and soon decide to become manufacturers. We learn about the dangerous rumrunning business. Alcohol was available for consumption in restaurants and speakeasies, while being strategically hidden from the police. It was smuggled across the Detroit river to buyers, and there were some intense company rivalries that existed. During this post WWI era, alcohol also helped returning soldiers forget some of the war’s devastation.
Bluebird includes a dual timeline, where one of the Bailey’s ancestors works to uncovers her family’s past. This aspect was not the main focus of the novel. Although, it was a nice addition that helped tie everything together. The story alternated between Adele and Jerry’s perspectives. It was fascinating to learn about Adele’s nursing experiences in Belgium and the tunnelers job in the war. The novel even touched on the Spanish Flu’s severe effect on the diminished post-war popular. However, at times, the story was dominated by the rumrunning business. I wished that there was more history on nursing in Canada and in the Great War.
There were a variety of endearing and lively characters that each had a part in the story. Adele is a courageous, humble, and kind heroine. Jerry and John had a strong brotherly tie. They were both honest, skilled, and sincere men.
Overall, this was a well-written story that included a little bit of everything from romance to action and mystery. It made me aware of many pieces of history that I never knew about before. The novel captured my attention from the beginning, and the writing flowed nicely throughout. The author sheds light on Canada’s interesting history and brings it all together in an immersing story of bravery, love, and brotherhood.
March 13, 2022
I have just finished reading Bluebird by Genevieve Graham.
This is a Canadian themed War and Prohibition story, and rumrunners in Windsor Ontario and Detroit.
The main character Adele Savard is a nurse who heads to the front lines in Belgium. The nurses were named Bluebirds because of their blue gowns, and white caps. Many mistake them for nuns. She meets a young Corporal - Jeremiah Bailey of the 1st Canadian tunnelling Company. When he is brought in with his brother after an injury, only to find out he came from an area close to each other..
They became close and grew strength from each other in difficult war times.
It was enlightening to read of the prohibition, and the lucrative smuggling that happened at this time from a Canadian viewpoint.
This was a story of war, love struggles, and so much more.
I did enjoy this book but would have liked a bit less on the romance side.
Thank you to NetGalley, Author Genevieve Graham, and Simon & Schuster Canada for my advanced copy to read and review.
#NetGalley
This is a Canadian themed War and Prohibition story, and rumrunners in Windsor Ontario and Detroit.
The main character Adele Savard is a nurse who heads to the front lines in Belgium. The nurses were named Bluebirds because of their blue gowns, and white caps. Many mistake them for nuns. She meets a young Corporal - Jeremiah Bailey of the 1st Canadian tunnelling Company. When he is brought in with his brother after an injury, only to find out he came from an area close to each other..
They became close and grew strength from each other in difficult war times.
It was enlightening to read of the prohibition, and the lucrative smuggling that happened at this time from a Canadian viewpoint.
This was a story of war, love struggles, and so much more.
I did enjoy this book but would have liked a bit less on the romance side.
Thank you to NetGalley, Author Genevieve Graham, and Simon & Schuster Canada for my advanced copy to read and review.
#NetGalley
May 17, 2022
Bluebird by Genevieve Graham took place starting in WWI. It involved a Bluebird (nurse) and a wounded Soldier. They formed a friendship. The books movies into the 1920s. Then romance love and a baby in a carriage. Okay, so that was cheesy. Go read the book! Enjoy this action packed book which is interwoven with light romance.
December 27, 2021
Full of wartime heroics, rollicking rumrunners, and star-crossed lovers, BLUEBIRD has it all. But most of all, it is full of heart and compassion for the men and women who served in the first global conflict facing our world and whose grit, determination and enterprise forged the one in its wake. Graham keeps the action consistently interesting and intriguing as she toggles between a lonely curator in the present and the local discovery of a secret stash of bootlegger whisky, and the heartbreaking history of two WWI veteran brothers, the brave nurse who tends to them, and their later escapades during Prohibition when the men start ferrying booze across the Detroit River from Canada. All the characters burst with emotion and author Graham knows how to tell a rollicking good yarn, unearth the legends of the past, and move the reader with hope and inspiration.
August 11, 2022
Adele Savard is a Canadian nurse who volunteers to serve overseas during WWI and becomes a Bluebird which is what the soldiers called the nurses because of their blue uniforms. She develops a bond with Jerry Bailey, one of the wounded soldiers who coincidentally comes from Windsor Ontario, the same area of Canada that Adele comes from. He returns to the Front, the war ends and Adele and Jerry return home without ever reuniting.
This is a dual timeline story depicting the separate lives of Adele and Jerry after they return home from the war and the present day story of Cassie Simmons who works as an assistant museum curator at the Maison Francois Baby (pronounced Bah-bee) House Museum in Windsor. It's a great story with lots of information about prohibition, rum running and the characters involved in that world. Having spent many years in Windsor (long after prohibition!) it was fun to come across mention of familiar streets and locations like the Dominion House which is still operating and Abars which was just demolished about 5 years ago. Adele herself is from Petite Cote near Windsor which I looked up and is actually now LaSalle where my sister and her family live!
I really enjoyed the story and the characters and highly recommend it. The romance was a little too cutesy for me but it was subtle and an important part of the story. Be sure to read the Author's Note to Readers at the end as it contains a lot of interesting historical information. I felt so proud of the Canadian Bluebirds and the tunnellers that I was left with tears in my eyes.
This is my first Genevieve Graham novel but it won't be my last! Thanks to the London Public Library for the loan of this book.
This is a dual timeline story depicting the separate lives of Adele and Jerry after they return home from the war and the present day story of Cassie Simmons who works as an assistant museum curator at the Maison Francois Baby (pronounced Bah-bee) House Museum in Windsor. It's a great story with lots of information about prohibition, rum running and the characters involved in that world. Having spent many years in Windsor (long after prohibition!) it was fun to come across mention of familiar streets and locations like the Dominion House which is still operating and Abars which was just demolished about 5 years ago. Adele herself is from Petite Cote near Windsor which I looked up and is actually now LaSalle where my sister and her family live!
I really enjoyed the story and the characters and highly recommend it. The romance was a little too cutesy for me but it was subtle and an important part of the story. Be sure to read the Author's Note to Readers at the end as it contains a lot of interesting historical information. I felt so proud of the Canadian Bluebirds and the tunnellers that I was left with tears in my eyes.
This is my first Genevieve Graham novel but it won't be my last! Thanks to the London Public Library for the loan of this book.
October 27, 2022
Bluebird by Genevieve Graham
Synopsis /
Present Day
Cassie Simmons, a museum curator, is enthusiastic about solving mysteries from the past, and she has a personal interest in the history of the rumrunners who ferried illegal booze across the Detroit River during Prohibition. So when a cache of whisky labelled Bailey Brothers’ Best is unearthed during a local home renovation, Cassie hopes to find the answers she’s been searching for about the legendary family of bootleggers...
1918
Corporal Jeremiah Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company is tasked with planting mines in the tunnels beneath enemy trenches. After Jerry is badly wounded in an explosion, he finds himself in a Belgium field hospital under the care of Adele Savard, one of Canada’s nursing sisters, nicknamed “Bluebirds” for their blue gowns and white caps. As Jerry recovers, he forms a strong connection with Adele, who is from a place near his hometown of Windsor, along the Detroit River. In the midst of war, she’s a welcome reminder of home, and when Jerry is sent back to the front, he can only hope that he’ll see his bluebird again.
By war’s end, both Jerry and Adele return home to Windsor, scarred by the horrors of what they endured overseas. When they cross paths one day, they have a chance to start over. But the city is in the grip of Prohibition, which brings exciting opportunities as well as new dangerous conflicts that threaten to destroy everything they have fought for.
My Thoughts /
Genevieve Graham is known for writing brilliant historical fiction novels, and her latest offering, Bluebird, is no exception.
Nestled within its pages, Graham highlights a unique part of Canadian history which you may not have heard about (I know I hadn’t) – something called, tunnelling.
LET’S LEARN THINGS:
The 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company was one of the tunnelling companies of the Canadian Military Engineers during World War I.
While the war raged aboveground, an equally horrifying and sometimes more dangerous battle took place underground. Tunnellers lived a relentless existence in the depths of the battlefield, enduring physical and mental stresses that were often more extreme than their aboveground counterparts. Stalemates on the Western Front led to revival the medieval practice of building tunnels or saps (deep narrow trenches) under enemy positions. By 1916, the Canadian Army had raised the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company, C.E. from eastern Canadian recruits. Over the next two years tunnels were dug under enemy lines and crater fighting played a central role in many 1915 and 1916 battles. Tunnelling companies also dug subways, cable trenches, saps, and underground chambers for signal or medical services. In many areas extensive networks of tunnels were dug behind Allied front lines, allowing for movement of men and supplies into the front trenches without enemy detection.
In my research on this subject, the best example of tunnelling efforts assisting a Canadian attack occurred during the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. In the months prior to the attack, tunnellers dug an incredible 20 kilometres (12 miles) of subways for foot traffic. There were tramways equipped with rails for moving ammunition to the front lines and evacuating wounded soldiers and even, light railways. The tunnelling system housed a whopping 24,000 men prior to the attack and was equipped with electric lighting, kitchens, latrines, and even a medical centre. All of which was concealed from the enemy.
Tunnellers all, we are “doin’ our bits”
Deep down in the bowels of France;
In the darkness we flits—a-givin’ Fritz fits,
And when WE blows—he’s sure got to dance.
— Edward Synton, Tunnellers All, (London: Grant Richards Ltd., 1918), 7.
TO THE STORY:
Bluebird is written in a dual timeline: Present Day, and during and immediately after WWI. In the present day we meet enthusiastic museum curator, Cassie Simmons. Cassie is the assistant curator at the Maison François Baby House Museum in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It’s here she meets a man called Matthew Flaherty, who tells her he’s bought, and is renovating, the old house on the outskirts of town. Knocking down a wall inside the house, Matthew has uncovered bottles of old whiskey and he’s come to Cassie to see if she can shed some light on their history. The bottles are still full of liquid, and all bear the label, “Bailey Brother’s Best, 1920”. Bailey Brothers’ Best, founded by Jeremiah Alexander Bailey and John Joseph Bailey, former World War I tunnellers turned bootleggers. Cassie loves her job and especially, unlocking mysteries from the past, so she begins to investigate the original story of how those bottles came to be entombed in the wall of a house, and their post history.
Segue back to 1918 and to the hospital tents of France, and military nurse Adele Savard falls for a patient. Corporal Jeremiah Alexander Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company, who, along with his brother, John, had been seriously injured. Adele is unprepared for the hell that war brings. However, she takes her patients under her wing, diligently and compassionately caring for each patient, even though she realizes many will die. It wasn’t long before the soldiers came to affectionately call the nurses ‘Bluebirds’ whenever they caught sight of their cheery blue uniforms. After the war ended, Jerry and his brother return home to discover their parents have died from Spanish Flu. It’s Prohibition, and everyone in town, including Jerry’s late father, have been making a fortune from rumrunning.
When the war had ended, everyone had celebrated with cheers and toasts, but no one had discussed much of any substance, and he understood why. They were all still in shock. Because how was a man supposed to return to “How do you do?” when he’d just spent the past four years blowing others up?
Using their late father’s ‘secret’ recipe, Jerry and his brother John decide to make their living as bootleggers and begin to smuggle whiskey across the Canada-US border.
To say I like Graham’s writing style is an understatement; I’m enamoured. She is simply, my favourite Canadian author. Her writing about historical events and then, overlaying them with her sure-fire recipe for wonderful characters and human relationships is like a warm hug on a cold evening. Although the subject matter is tough and brutal, at times; Graham’s writing style makes this an easy read. You really get three books-in-one here. You get a mystery; a beautiful love story; and a history lesson all rolled into one! Both timelines are equally interesting, although I must confess to being a little more partial to Adele, Jerry, and John. All that tunnelling and rumrunning history was fascinating, as well as the research into the nursing corps of Canada in WWI. Her attention to detail regarding returning soldiers and PTSD post war was on point. This will certainly be one of my favourite top 10 reads this year.
Synopsis /
Present Day
Cassie Simmons, a museum curator, is enthusiastic about solving mysteries from the past, and she has a personal interest in the history of the rumrunners who ferried illegal booze across the Detroit River during Prohibition. So when a cache of whisky labelled Bailey Brothers’ Best is unearthed during a local home renovation, Cassie hopes to find the answers she’s been searching for about the legendary family of bootleggers...
1918
Corporal Jeremiah Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company is tasked with planting mines in the tunnels beneath enemy trenches. After Jerry is badly wounded in an explosion, he finds himself in a Belgium field hospital under the care of Adele Savard, one of Canada’s nursing sisters, nicknamed “Bluebirds” for their blue gowns and white caps. As Jerry recovers, he forms a strong connection with Adele, who is from a place near his hometown of Windsor, along the Detroit River. In the midst of war, she’s a welcome reminder of home, and when Jerry is sent back to the front, he can only hope that he’ll see his bluebird again.
By war’s end, both Jerry and Adele return home to Windsor, scarred by the horrors of what they endured overseas. When they cross paths one day, they have a chance to start over. But the city is in the grip of Prohibition, which brings exciting opportunities as well as new dangerous conflicts that threaten to destroy everything they have fought for.
My Thoughts /
Genevieve Graham is known for writing brilliant historical fiction novels, and her latest offering, Bluebird, is no exception.
Nestled within its pages, Graham highlights a unique part of Canadian history which you may not have heard about (I know I hadn’t) – something called, tunnelling.
LET’S LEARN THINGS:
The 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company was one of the tunnelling companies of the Canadian Military Engineers during World War I.
While the war raged aboveground, an equally horrifying and sometimes more dangerous battle took place underground. Tunnellers lived a relentless existence in the depths of the battlefield, enduring physical and mental stresses that were often more extreme than their aboveground counterparts. Stalemates on the Western Front led to revival the medieval practice of building tunnels or saps (deep narrow trenches) under enemy positions. By 1916, the Canadian Army had raised the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company, C.E. from eastern Canadian recruits. Over the next two years tunnels were dug under enemy lines and crater fighting played a central role in many 1915 and 1916 battles. Tunnelling companies also dug subways, cable trenches, saps, and underground chambers for signal or medical services. In many areas extensive networks of tunnels were dug behind Allied front lines, allowing for movement of men and supplies into the front trenches without enemy detection.
In my research on this subject, the best example of tunnelling efforts assisting a Canadian attack occurred during the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. In the months prior to the attack, tunnellers dug an incredible 20 kilometres (12 miles) of subways for foot traffic. There were tramways equipped with rails for moving ammunition to the front lines and evacuating wounded soldiers and even, light railways. The tunnelling system housed a whopping 24,000 men prior to the attack and was equipped with electric lighting, kitchens, latrines, and even a medical centre. All of which was concealed from the enemy.
Tunnellers all, we are “doin’ our bits”
Deep down in the bowels of France;
In the darkness we flits—a-givin’ Fritz fits,
And when WE blows—he’s sure got to dance.
— Edward Synton, Tunnellers All, (London: Grant Richards Ltd., 1918), 7.
TO THE STORY:
Bluebird is written in a dual timeline: Present Day, and during and immediately after WWI. In the present day we meet enthusiastic museum curator, Cassie Simmons. Cassie is the assistant curator at the Maison François Baby House Museum in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It’s here she meets a man called Matthew Flaherty, who tells her he’s bought, and is renovating, the old house on the outskirts of town. Knocking down a wall inside the house, Matthew has uncovered bottles of old whiskey and he’s come to Cassie to see if she can shed some light on their history. The bottles are still full of liquid, and all bear the label, “Bailey Brother’s Best, 1920”. Bailey Brothers’ Best, founded by Jeremiah Alexander Bailey and John Joseph Bailey, former World War I tunnellers turned bootleggers. Cassie loves her job and especially, unlocking mysteries from the past, so she begins to investigate the original story of how those bottles came to be entombed in the wall of a house, and their post history.
Segue back to 1918 and to the hospital tents of France, and military nurse Adele Savard falls for a patient. Corporal Jeremiah Alexander Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company, who, along with his brother, John, had been seriously injured. Adele is unprepared for the hell that war brings. However, she takes her patients under her wing, diligently and compassionately caring for each patient, even though she realizes many will die. It wasn’t long before the soldiers came to affectionately call the nurses ‘Bluebirds’ whenever they caught sight of their cheery blue uniforms. After the war ended, Jerry and his brother return home to discover their parents have died from Spanish Flu. It’s Prohibition, and everyone in town, including Jerry’s late father, have been making a fortune from rumrunning.
When the war had ended, everyone had celebrated with cheers and toasts, but no one had discussed much of any substance, and he understood why. They were all still in shock. Because how was a man supposed to return to “How do you do?” when he’d just spent the past four years blowing others up?
Using their late father’s ‘secret’ recipe, Jerry and his brother John decide to make their living as bootleggers and begin to smuggle whiskey across the Canada-US border.
To say I like Graham’s writing style is an understatement; I’m enamoured. She is simply, my favourite Canadian author. Her writing about historical events and then, overlaying them with her sure-fire recipe for wonderful characters and human relationships is like a warm hug on a cold evening. Although the subject matter is tough and brutal, at times; Graham’s writing style makes this an easy read. You really get three books-in-one here. You get a mystery; a beautiful love story; and a history lesson all rolled into one! Both timelines are equally interesting, although I must confess to being a little more partial to Adele, Jerry, and John. All that tunnelling and rumrunning history was fascinating, as well as the research into the nursing corps of Canada in WWI. Her attention to detail regarding returning soldiers and PTSD post war was on point. This will certainly be one of my favourite top 10 reads this year.
March 11, 2022
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: April 1, 2022
Canadian author Genevieve Graham’s newest historical fiction novel, “Bluebird”, is a dazzling and poignant tale full of rum running, prohibition and love both lost and found.
Museum curator Cassie Simmons loves history, especially Canadian rum runners who ran alcohol across the border to Detroit during Prohibition. So when she comes across cases of whiskey, buried in the wall of her old home, and uncovered during a home renovation, she seeks to find the origin and the secrets that the whiskey brings.
Jerry Bailey is a “tunneller” with the Canadian army, digging tunnels and trenches underground to sneak up on the enemy during wartime. When he is taken to the war hospital after being injured, he meets beautiful nurse, Adele, and they develop an instant connection. Both have seen tragedies too great to mention, and when they both return home to Windsor, they become involved in another risky activity- rum running during Prohibition.
“Bluebird” of course, is based on real life happenings during the early 20th century in Canada (most specifically Windsor and surrounding areas), just after the First World War. It is clear that Graham’s story is well-researched, and the novel shed light on a part of Canadian history that I was not familiar with. I always love to learn a little bit as I read, and this novel fit the bill!
Told from the perspectives of Cassie, Adele, and Jerry (in their respective timelines), Graham builds a suspenseful plot with easy to root for characters that oozes with romance. As the plotlines intersect, Graham is able to bring the novel to its satisfying conclusion with ease and creativity.
Graham’s other novels include “The Forgotten Home Child” (which I loved by the way) and “Letters Across the Sea”, and I think “Bluebird” lies among one of Graham’s best. For those with an interest in the seedy underbelly of rum running, or reconnected love after the desolation and desperation of war, “Bluebird” is a can’t-miss!
Expected publication date: April 1, 2022
Canadian author Genevieve Graham’s newest historical fiction novel, “Bluebird”, is a dazzling and poignant tale full of rum running, prohibition and love both lost and found.
Museum curator Cassie Simmons loves history, especially Canadian rum runners who ran alcohol across the border to Detroit during Prohibition. So when she comes across cases of whiskey, buried in the wall of her old home, and uncovered during a home renovation, she seeks to find the origin and the secrets that the whiskey brings.
Jerry Bailey is a “tunneller” with the Canadian army, digging tunnels and trenches underground to sneak up on the enemy during wartime. When he is taken to the war hospital after being injured, he meets beautiful nurse, Adele, and they develop an instant connection. Both have seen tragedies too great to mention, and when they both return home to Windsor, they become involved in another risky activity- rum running during Prohibition.
“Bluebird” of course, is based on real life happenings during the early 20th century in Canada (most specifically Windsor and surrounding areas), just after the First World War. It is clear that Graham’s story is well-researched, and the novel shed light on a part of Canadian history that I was not familiar with. I always love to learn a little bit as I read, and this novel fit the bill!
Told from the perspectives of Cassie, Adele, and Jerry (in their respective timelines), Graham builds a suspenseful plot with easy to root for characters that oozes with romance. As the plotlines intersect, Graham is able to bring the novel to its satisfying conclusion with ease and creativity.
Graham’s other novels include “The Forgotten Home Child” (which I loved by the way) and “Letters Across the Sea”, and I think “Bluebird” lies among one of Graham’s best. For those with an interest in the seedy underbelly of rum running, or reconnected love after the desolation and desperation of war, “Bluebird” is a can’t-miss!
July 25, 2022
3.5 stars
I am not very interested in the subject of bootleggers, but I did learn more about them and about tunneling in WWI which I hadn't heard about before. If you read her 'A note to readers' at the end of the book, you see how much research has gone into this story and how much has also been taken from actual history.
I am not very interested in the subject of bootleggers, but I did learn more about them and about tunneling in WWI which I hadn't heard about before. If you read her 'A note to readers' at the end of the book, you see how much research has gone into this story and how much has also been taken from actual history.
April 28, 2022
Historical fiction author Genevieve Graham has once again given us a wonderful fictional story based on Canadian history!
Set during the Great War and postwar Prohibition this is the story of a young nurse, a tunnel digger (soldier) and a family secret that binds them together for generations to come.
Genevieve Graham has stated "My goal, my passion, is to breathe life back into Canadian history"!
And she certainly did that with this unforgettable novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Set during the Great War and postwar Prohibition this is the story of a young nurse, a tunnel digger (soldier) and a family secret that binds them together for generations to come.
Genevieve Graham has stated "My goal, my passion, is to breathe life back into Canadian history"!
And she certainly did that with this unforgettable novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
March 6, 2022
Just because I read this book it doesn't mean that I agree with everything that was a part of the story. There are many things I liked and some things that I didn't care for. I felt that the author's research was excellent on the Blue Bird Canadian Nurses that served overseas in tent hospitals during the Great War and in the years following the war when the soldiers and nurses returned to their homes. Since I was born in Canada I was drawn to this book and I'm familiar with the Detroit/ Windsor area and some of the places mentioned in the story. Because I was born 75 years ago I can remember hearing my teachers at school talking about election results and being glad that the majority of voters had cast their ballots for a dry town preventing the hotel there from the sale of liquor. I didn't live in Windsor but visited family who lived near there. So this story sparked my interest and I learned a lot of Canadian history about that time period. I didn't approve of the swearing and taking the Lord's name in vain that made its way to some of the pages in this book. I understand that the author included bad language in order to make the story seem more real but I feel that the book would have been fine without it. I'm a fan of war time fiction and enjoyed reading about some of Canada's contribution to WWI and the the kind of things that took place in Windsor in the after war years. The illegal practices of making liquor in stills, bootlegging and the illegal selling of it to Windsor and Detroit during the dry years.
This story is fiction but based on actual history . The author has blended a beautiful heart felt romance into this novel that began during the Great war over seas and continued on after the two leading characters returned home to the Windsor area. The story is a time split from the 1918 war years to the present years. More time was spent in the earlier years than the present years but both time frames where drawn together by one person in the present years as she strived to learn the history of her family and to learn more about her great grandparents. The story ends with a note of sadness from the past but the present time has a beautiful ending. All in all I'm glad I decided to read this unique and different book. Though I no longer live in Canada I feel that it has connected me to the history of my Canadian roots.
I recommend this book to readers of Historical Romance and War Romances. This book can be read as a stand alone. This book is scheduled to be released on April the fifth of 2022.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a advanced reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are my own.
#BlueBird#NetGalley
This story is fiction but based on actual history . The author has blended a beautiful heart felt romance into this novel that began during the Great war over seas and continued on after the two leading characters returned home to the Windsor area. The story is a time split from the 1918 war years to the present years. More time was spent in the earlier years than the present years but both time frames where drawn together by one person in the present years as she strived to learn the history of her family and to learn more about her great grandparents. The story ends with a note of sadness from the past but the present time has a beautiful ending. All in all I'm glad I decided to read this unique and different book. Though I no longer live in Canada I feel that it has connected me to the history of my Canadian roots.
I recommend this book to readers of Historical Romance and War Romances. This book can be read as a stand alone. This book is scheduled to be released on April the fifth of 2022.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a advanced reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are my own.
#BlueBird#NetGalley
February 16, 2022
Bluebird blew me away.
Genevieve Graham is one of my favourite Canadian authors and has made a name for herself with her engaging stories set around often lesser-known aspects of Canadian history. In this new novel, she sets her sights on (and pulls no punches) with her story that centres around WWI and post-war Prohibition in Windsor, Ontario.
Bluebird is set in two timelines (post-WWI and present day) and is told by three POVs - Adele Savard, one of Canada's 'Bluebird' nurses who works in a field hospital where she meets Corporal Jerry Bailey, a tunneller in the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company. The third voice comes from Cassie, a museum curator in present day Windsor, Ontario whose link to Adele and Jerry develops into an intriguing mystery.
When Adele and Jerry return home after the war to the Windsor area, they see how much their hometowns have changed. The Spanish Flu has invaded, Prohibition has taken over, rumrunning is a booming business and they witness firsthand how war veterans and nurses don't receive respect after risking their lives overseas. Adele and Jerry adjust to this new life and through them, Graham tells a riveting and emotional story that brings parts of Canadian history to life, particularly what life was like during Prohibition and the dangerous (but oh-so-exciting) lives of Canadian rumrunners.
This is a fantastic and fascinating story that will sweep readers away to battlefields, speakeasies (and Blind Pigs - look it up!) that balances a sweet romance, a modern mystery and a look into the dangerous lives and long-held grudges of Windsor rumrunners. If you're in the mood for some history, mystery, with a splash of true love and just one helluva good story, make sure to pick up a copy (or preorder now) for Bluebird's April 5th release.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for my advanced digital copy provided in exchange for my honest review.
August 11, 2022
3-1/2*
1918 - Adele Savard, a Bluebird so called being a Canadian nurse stationed in Belgium & France during WW1, meets a wounded fellow Canadian soldier, Jerry Bailey, and although close relationships are not recommended between nurse and patient they form a connection especially as they are both from neighbouring towns in Windsor, Ontario.
After the war they return to Windsor where Prohibition is the law. Illegal liquor is flowing like a river between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan and money is flowing like a river.
Jerry and his brother John arrive home to find both parents have died from the Spanish flu, but their dad had a still so why not make use of it? Jerry and John get involved in the liquor trade (referred to as rum-running) while Adele takes a job in a doctor’s office.
It is some time before Jerry and Adele meet up again and of course their relationship is rekindled.
Written in dual timelines the book opens with Prologue: Present Day – Cassie, but Cassie’s relevance to the story is not revealed until near the end of the book.
Learning about the Canadian Army Medical Corps nurses nicknamed “Bluebirds” for their blue uniforms and about the bootlegging at the Windsor-Detroit border during Prohibition was interesting reading.
1918 - Adele Savard, a Bluebird so called being a Canadian nurse stationed in Belgium & France during WW1, meets a wounded fellow Canadian soldier, Jerry Bailey, and although close relationships are not recommended between nurse and patient they form a connection especially as they are both from neighbouring towns in Windsor, Ontario.
After the war they return to Windsor where Prohibition is the law. Illegal liquor is flowing like a river between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan and money is flowing like a river.
Jerry and his brother John arrive home to find both parents have died from the Spanish flu, but their dad had a still so why not make use of it? Jerry and John get involved in the liquor trade (referred to as rum-running) while Adele takes a job in a doctor’s office.
It is some time before Jerry and Adele meet up again and of course their relationship is rekindled.
Written in dual timelines the book opens with Prologue: Present Day – Cassie, but Cassie’s relevance to the story is not revealed until near the end of the book.
Learning about the Canadian Army Medical Corps nurses nicknamed “Bluebirds” for their blue uniforms and about the bootlegging at the Windsor-Detroit border during Prohibition was interesting reading.
March 18, 2022
I almost passed on this novel because I have read so many stories set during war, but I am really glad I read it! It is set in both Europe and Canada, and there are two timelines: 1918 and present day. The 1918 timeline is riveting and was my favorite part, and the present day timeline is interesting as well.
The present day timeline has Cassie, a museum curator in Canada, approached by a man who has bought a house in the area. He had knocked down a wall and found a hidden room full of 100-year-old liquor that has a small bluebird on the label. The house happens to be the house that Cassie grew up in and she wants to find out why the liquor was hidden in the wall. There's a mystery here to be solved.
The 1918 timeline is dramatic. Adele Savard, a brave woman has volunteered as a nurse and ends up in Belgium working in a hospital taking care of soldiers who are sick and injured during World War I. These nurses, mostly nuns, are called "Bluebirds" by the soldiers because of their blue uniforms. While there Adele meets Jerry Bailey, a fellow Canadian, whose face was badly injured while he was working as one of the men digging tunnels under enemy lines and planting explosives. Adele and Jerry are very attracted to each other, but after and extended recovery, Jerry was sent back to digging tunnels. After the war Adele returns to Canada. She thinks about Jerry, but doesn't know if he made it out alive. However, they cross paths later and get together. Jerry had returned from the war with his brother, John, to find their parents both dead from the Spanish flu. Jerry and John become part of the lucrative, illegal rumrunning business during Prohibition, running liquor from Canada to the United States. (I didn't know Canada had Prohibition too!)
This was a page-turner and I found it exciting and filled with action. The writing was delightful! I'm definitely going to read some of Graham's previous books.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on April 5, 2022.
The present day timeline has Cassie, a museum curator in Canada, approached by a man who has bought a house in the area. He had knocked down a wall and found a hidden room full of 100-year-old liquor that has a small bluebird on the label. The house happens to be the house that Cassie grew up in and she wants to find out why the liquor was hidden in the wall. There's a mystery here to be solved.
The 1918 timeline is dramatic. Adele Savard, a brave woman has volunteered as a nurse and ends up in Belgium working in a hospital taking care of soldiers who are sick and injured during World War I. These nurses, mostly nuns, are called "Bluebirds" by the soldiers because of their blue uniforms. While there Adele meets Jerry Bailey, a fellow Canadian, whose face was badly injured while he was working as one of the men digging tunnels under enemy lines and planting explosives. Adele and Jerry are very attracted to each other, but after and extended recovery, Jerry was sent back to digging tunnels. After the war Adele returns to Canada. She thinks about Jerry, but doesn't know if he made it out alive. However, they cross paths later and get together. Jerry had returned from the war with his brother, John, to find their parents both dead from the Spanish flu. Jerry and John become part of the lucrative, illegal rumrunning business during Prohibition, running liquor from Canada to the United States. (I didn't know Canada had Prohibition too!)
This was a page-turner and I found it exciting and filled with action. The writing was delightful! I'm definitely going to read some of Graham's previous books.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on April 5, 2022.
March 18, 2022
What a fabulous trip to the prohibition era!
This was a fantastic story that was told in dual timelines.
Present day: Cassie works at a local museum in Windsor, Ontario. One day a man named Matthew enters the museum to inquire about some bottles of alcohol he found hidden in a wall while remodelling a home he had recently purchased. Cassie is immediately intrigued and offers to research them.
1914-1921: John and Jerry Bailey are assigned as tunnellers during the first world war. Jerry is wounded and taken to a hospital where he is tended by Adele, a woman working as a nurse. Jerry and Adele realize they grew up near one another and have an immediate connection. Once Jerry is healed, he returns to war hoping he will meet up with Adele when the war is over.
After the war, John and Jerry return home to find their lives are forever chance. They decide to start a rumrunning business. Alcohol is prohibited and there is good money in smuggling it to the States. It is a dangerous business and not for the faint of heart. Jerry inquires about Adele but does not immediately find her. When he does, he is forced to reevaluate his life and the risks he takes.
This was such an exciting story! I have always been interested in the time of prohibition and Genevieve Graham brought the time period to life! She has the wonderful ability to have you become so invested in the characters, the story, and the setting that you can smell the whisky and feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins!
If you enjoy historical fiction, I cannot recommend Genevieve Graham enough! Bluebird has it all - romance, action, mystery and adventure. It will without a doubt be one of my top reads of 2022!
**with thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC**
This was a fantastic story that was told in dual timelines.
Present day: Cassie works at a local museum in Windsor, Ontario. One day a man named Matthew enters the museum to inquire about some bottles of alcohol he found hidden in a wall while remodelling a home he had recently purchased. Cassie is immediately intrigued and offers to research them.
1914-1921: John and Jerry Bailey are assigned as tunnellers during the first world war. Jerry is wounded and taken to a hospital where he is tended by Adele, a woman working as a nurse. Jerry and Adele realize they grew up near one another and have an immediate connection. Once Jerry is healed, he returns to war hoping he will meet up with Adele when the war is over.
After the war, John and Jerry return home to find their lives are forever chance. They decide to start a rumrunning business. Alcohol is prohibited and there is good money in smuggling it to the States. It is a dangerous business and not for the faint of heart. Jerry inquires about Adele but does not immediately find her. When he does, he is forced to reevaluate his life and the risks he takes.
This was such an exciting story! I have always been interested in the time of prohibition and Genevieve Graham brought the time period to life! She has the wonderful ability to have you become so invested in the characters, the story, and the setting that you can smell the whisky and feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins!
If you enjoy historical fiction, I cannot recommend Genevieve Graham enough! Bluebird has it all - romance, action, mystery and adventure. It will without a doubt be one of my top reads of 2022!
**with thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC**
March 6, 2022
Oh man, I have been waiting for a book like this for a while. I have been in such a reading slump, and Bluebird brought me right out of it.
5/5 read.
Again, my reviews don’t contain the plot because I feel like everyone can find the synopsis online. This story… it’s amazing. One of my favorite things about reading historical fiction is when I discover a part of history I did not know about. I had no idea about the Bluebirds of Canada. I cannot even imagine the courage it would have taken these women to do what they did. I mean, I knew about nurses during the war but this story just made it so much more personal.
I also didn’t know how involved Canada was with the prohibition. So that was very interesting to me as well.
This book gave me romantic vibes. The era, the story, and the history. I couldn’t put this one down. I don’t know who finds books for movies, but I hope that this one finds it way to the theatre. I’ll be first in line!
5/5 read.
Again, my reviews don’t contain the plot because I feel like everyone can find the synopsis online. This story… it’s amazing. One of my favorite things about reading historical fiction is when I discover a part of history I did not know about. I had no idea about the Bluebirds of Canada. I cannot even imagine the courage it would have taken these women to do what they did. I mean, I knew about nurses during the war but this story just made it so much more personal.
I also didn’t know how involved Canada was with the prohibition. So that was very interesting to me as well.
This book gave me romantic vibes. The era, the story, and the history. I couldn’t put this one down. I don’t know who finds books for movies, but I hope that this one finds it way to the theatre. I’ll be first in line!
February 15, 2022
From the battlefields of war-torn France to the speakeasies of Canada's prohibition-flaunting towns, Bluebird weaves a compelling, emotional story of love, second chances, and sacrifice. Genevieve Graham is uniquely talented at bringing history to light with characters who stay with you long after the last page. Bluebird is why I never miss a new Genevieve Graham book!
August 22, 2022
This is my new favorite read of 2022! It had everything I look for in a historical fiction novel: romance (it was SO cute), fascinating history seamlessly woven in, compelling characters, and so well-written. I really loved the deep-dive into Canadian WW1 history, as well as its contribution to the rip-roaring 20’s and the Prohibition-era. If you’re looking for a page-turning look into a very unique part of history and an adorable romance underlying it all, look no further!
March 3, 2022
Do you know anything about tunnelers, whiskey sixes, trepanning, blind pigs or porters named George?
Do you know much about the Prohibition era in Canada and why returning soldiers were attracted to this dangerous activity? Why nurses were called ‘nursing sisters’? ‘Bluebirds’? How their service and sacrifice helped influence federal voting rights for Canadian women in 1917?
No? Then you MUST read this one - especially if you are Canadian and answered no to the above. Go ahead, pre-order it now. You won’t be disappointed. It’s our legacy and showcases women in the military who faced distinct challenges and proved their dedication and bravery.
Bluebird is a Prohibition-era love story that takes place during WW1 and tells the story of Adele Savard, a Canadian nursing sister working at the No. 1 Clearing Centre at Adinkerke, near the Belgian Front, who forms a strong bond with Corporal Jeremiah Bailey, a fellow Canadian and wounded member of the 1st Canadian Tunneling Company. After nursing him back to health, he returns to the front and their paths don’t cross again until they return home to Windsor, Ontario. Just when it looks like they have a chance to start over, Prohibition threatens to tear them apart.
Graham, a Nova Scotian author, gives readers a uniquely Canadian perspective on WW1 and the days following by setting this novel in Windsor, Ontario at the dawn of Prohibition and at a Canadian nursing center on the frontlines. I’m always amazed at what I learn about my own country’s history from Genevieve’s books. I’m saddened to think that our students don’t learn about this interesting history. I felt the author’s plea as I read; a plea to read the stories from OUR past so that we can experience the incredible history she unearths. In this story in particular, I was very aware that when it comes to the military and behind the scenes work in a conflict zone, women’s efforts often go underappreciated.
This dual timeline brings together a present-day assistant museum curator, Cassie Simmons and a home renovator, Matthew Flaherty, when a stash of bootlegger whisky is found, linking them to legendary bootleggers who ferried booze across the Detroit River from Canada.
It’s rare that I love both timelines equally well, but these stories burst with emotion, the characters are endearing and the plot is compelling. I’m going to predict that this is my favourite Canadian historical fiction book of the year and that it’s the author’s most widely received book she’s written. It has such heart, hope, and compassion within the pages.
“One thing the war has shown me is how short life can be. And I don’t want to live my life depriving myself of the things I want.”
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for publishing and allowing me to preview such a phenomenal book about our country’s history. I commend you for facilitating the education of our citizens on topics that they wouldn’t normally discover on their own.
I was gifted this amazing advance copy by Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
Do you know much about the Prohibition era in Canada and why returning soldiers were attracted to this dangerous activity? Why nurses were called ‘nursing sisters’? ‘Bluebirds’? How their service and sacrifice helped influence federal voting rights for Canadian women in 1917?
No? Then you MUST read this one - especially if you are Canadian and answered no to the above. Go ahead, pre-order it now. You won’t be disappointed. It’s our legacy and showcases women in the military who faced distinct challenges and proved their dedication and bravery.
Bluebird is a Prohibition-era love story that takes place during WW1 and tells the story of Adele Savard, a Canadian nursing sister working at the No. 1 Clearing Centre at Adinkerke, near the Belgian Front, who forms a strong bond with Corporal Jeremiah Bailey, a fellow Canadian and wounded member of the 1st Canadian Tunneling Company. After nursing him back to health, he returns to the front and their paths don’t cross again until they return home to Windsor, Ontario. Just when it looks like they have a chance to start over, Prohibition threatens to tear them apart.
Graham, a Nova Scotian author, gives readers a uniquely Canadian perspective on WW1 and the days following by setting this novel in Windsor, Ontario at the dawn of Prohibition and at a Canadian nursing center on the frontlines. I’m always amazed at what I learn about my own country’s history from Genevieve’s books. I’m saddened to think that our students don’t learn about this interesting history. I felt the author’s plea as I read; a plea to read the stories from OUR past so that we can experience the incredible history she unearths. In this story in particular, I was very aware that when it comes to the military and behind the scenes work in a conflict zone, women’s efforts often go underappreciated.
This dual timeline brings together a present-day assistant museum curator, Cassie Simmons and a home renovator, Matthew Flaherty, when a stash of bootlegger whisky is found, linking them to legendary bootleggers who ferried booze across the Detroit River from Canada.
It’s rare that I love both timelines equally well, but these stories burst with emotion, the characters are endearing and the plot is compelling. I’m going to predict that this is my favourite Canadian historical fiction book of the year and that it’s the author’s most widely received book she’s written. It has such heart, hope, and compassion within the pages.
“One thing the war has shown me is how short life can be. And I don’t want to live my life depriving myself of the things I want.”
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for publishing and allowing me to preview such a phenomenal book about our country’s history. I commend you for facilitating the education of our citizens on topics that they wouldn’t normally discover on their own.
I was gifted this amazing advance copy by Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
July 27, 2022
This is the first book that I read by Genevieve Graham and I really appreciate her writing style!!
She draws you into the characters lives from page 1. The reader gets to know and care about the lives Cassie, Matthew, Jerry Bailey and his brother John. The brothers strong bond,love and concern for each other is amazing! It continues through out the entire book. It really pulled at my heart strings. Adele is the main character...so strong and amazing courageous!!
It has a duel time line alternating from the present day to the end of WW1 is beautifully written. I enjoyed how how the present day connected to the past... there's a mystery that connects them...that I will not disclose!! 😃
I love learning and I learned so much that I never knew before. I learned that C.A.M.C. ( Canadian Army Medical Corps.) Were highly trained nurses having to pass many tests to qualify. The character of Adele is such a nurse. They were nicknamed Bluebirds because of their robin colored uniforms with white veils. The Bailey brothers, Jerry and John were tunnelers who dug in the trenches on the front line risking their lives every day,as much as all the soldiers!! I never even heard of this in all the historical fiction books that I read!! I was amazed to learn that the nurses earned$4.10 a day compared to the soldiers who earned only $1.10 a day!! This is because the nurses were expected to live & the soldiers weren't!! How sad!
This book truly focuses on life after WW1 and how the people returning from the war had to adjust to a whole new life with many changes in the places that they came from!!
It's now " The Roaring Twenties" when The Prohibition is in place ( both sides were presented equally.) There's gangsters,such as Al Capone, rumrunners,who risk there lives exporting illegal whiskey and even doing crazy things such as driving over the frozen Detroit River to bring whiskey to America!! I learned a lot about speakeasies and flappers. Also how women who risked their lives in the war being nurses were not considered " the type of woman a man would marry!" How hard these adjustments had to be on the men and women who risked their lives to save their country!!
As much as I really did enjoy this beautiful book, I was a wee bit disappointed that I didn't learn more about the Canadian nurses and doctors side of WW1. Please read the Authors notes at the end of the book, you will learn how this story came to be!! Over all, I really liked this emotionally moving book and very highly recommend this amazing book to all who love historical fiction and to all who love to read!!! 🇨🇦🍁💜🐦
She draws you into the characters lives from page 1. The reader gets to know and care about the lives Cassie, Matthew, Jerry Bailey and his brother John. The brothers strong bond,love and concern for each other is amazing! It continues through out the entire book. It really pulled at my heart strings. Adele is the main character...so strong and amazing courageous!!
It has a duel time line alternating from the present day to the end of WW1 is beautifully written. I enjoyed how how the present day connected to the past... there's a mystery that connects them...that I will not disclose!! 😃
I love learning and I learned so much that I never knew before. I learned that C.A.M.C. ( Canadian Army Medical Corps.) Were highly trained nurses having to pass many tests to qualify. The character of Adele is such a nurse. They were nicknamed Bluebirds because of their robin colored uniforms with white veils. The Bailey brothers, Jerry and John were tunnelers who dug in the trenches on the front line risking their lives every day,as much as all the soldiers!! I never even heard of this in all the historical fiction books that I read!! I was amazed to learn that the nurses earned$4.10 a day compared to the soldiers who earned only $1.10 a day!! This is because the nurses were expected to live & the soldiers weren't!! How sad!
This book truly focuses on life after WW1 and how the people returning from the war had to adjust to a whole new life with many changes in the places that they came from!!
It's now " The Roaring Twenties" when The Prohibition is in place ( both sides were presented equally.) There's gangsters,such as Al Capone, rumrunners,who risk there lives exporting illegal whiskey and even doing crazy things such as driving over the frozen Detroit River to bring whiskey to America!! I learned a lot about speakeasies and flappers. Also how women who risked their lives in the war being nurses were not considered " the type of woman a man would marry!" How hard these adjustments had to be on the men and women who risked their lives to save their country!!
As much as I really did enjoy this beautiful book, I was a wee bit disappointed that I didn't learn more about the Canadian nurses and doctors side of WW1. Please read the Authors notes at the end of the book, you will learn how this story came to be!! Over all, I really liked this emotionally moving book and very highly recommend this amazing book to all who love historical fiction and to all who love to read!!! 🇨🇦🍁💜🐦
December 26, 2025
Rated 4 stars. Read on Libby Kindle. Dual-time line historical fiction that takes place partly during WWI in Belgium but mostly takes place in 1910's and 1920's Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The contemporary section is only for a few chapters.
I really enjoyed learning about the "Bluebirds", young Canadian nurses who served in Europe during WWI. They gave up their personal lives in Canada to serve during very horrific war conditions. And many of them lost their lives.
Most of this novel revolves around Bluebird nurse Adele Savard and Corporal Jeremiah "Jerry" Bailey. He's seriously wounded while planting mines while tunneling. It was difficult to read about the soldiers experiences during what I personally have always felt was an unnecessary conflict. I have admiration for these brave young men and women who went off to war not knowing if they would survive.
Adele and Jerry meet while she is nursing him in Belgium. They have an immediate connection plus learn they both grew up in Ontario, Canada. When Jerry returns home after the war with his older brother John they become involved in the Whiskey business and run liquor from Canada to Detroit, Michigan, USA during the beginning of Prohibition. This was a very dangerous business to be involved in. Eventually Jerry and Adele's paths cross. Not going to go further into the plot as that would involve spoilers.
A very entertaining novel with engaging characters. This is the 1st book I've read by this author. Unfortunately this is the only title of her's that is available through our library's Libby system.
Here are 2 quotes that are included in the beginning:
“I think if one knew beforehand what all this was going to be like one would hardly want to face it, but somehow you’re glad to be there.” Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914–1915
“Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. Fanatics will never learn that, though it be written in letters of gold across the sky. It is the prohibition that makes anything precious.” Mark Twain
I really enjoyed learning about the "Bluebirds", young Canadian nurses who served in Europe during WWI. They gave up their personal lives in Canada to serve during very horrific war conditions. And many of them lost their lives.
Most of this novel revolves around Bluebird nurse Adele Savard and Corporal Jeremiah "Jerry" Bailey. He's seriously wounded while planting mines while tunneling. It was difficult to read about the soldiers experiences during what I personally have always felt was an unnecessary conflict. I have admiration for these brave young men and women who went off to war not knowing if they would survive.
Adele and Jerry meet while she is nursing him in Belgium. They have an immediate connection plus learn they both grew up in Ontario, Canada. When Jerry returns home after the war with his older brother John they become involved in the Whiskey business and run liquor from Canada to Detroit, Michigan, USA during the beginning of Prohibition. This was a very dangerous business to be involved in. Eventually Jerry and Adele's paths cross. Not going to go further into the plot as that would involve spoilers.
A very entertaining novel with engaging characters. This is the 1st book I've read by this author. Unfortunately this is the only title of her's that is available through our library's Libby system.
Here are 2 quotes that are included in the beginning:
“I think if one knew beforehand what all this was going to be like one would hardly want to face it, but somehow you’re glad to be there.” Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914–1915
“Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. Fanatics will never learn that, though it be written in letters of gold across the sky. It is the prohibition that makes anything precious.” Mark Twain
April 8, 2022
I highly recommend this novel. Graham’s best yet. I enjoy a dual time line that connects with such passion.
1948 -Corporal Jeremiah Bailey job is planting mines in the tunnels beneath the trenches of the enemy. After he is wounded he finds himself in a Belgium field hospital. His nurse Adele Savard is taking care of him and a friendship envelops. Adele does not want to give Jeremiah hope, but she is struggling as her feelings develop. The nurses are nicknamed “Bluebirds” because of their uniforms which have white caps and blue gowns.
Present Day-A museum curator Cassie Simmons enjoys solving mysteries of the past. One of those mysteries is the history of rumrunners who ferried booze across the Detroit River during Prohibition. During a home renovation, several bottles labeled Bailey Brothers’ Best are discovered. What happens next is unraveling an age old mystery of a family.
I enjoyed this novel so much. Interesting history involving prohibition and people did to get their liquor. Human spirit, love, conflict, consequences, and loss are all explored.
1948 -Corporal Jeremiah Bailey job is planting mines in the tunnels beneath the trenches of the enemy. After he is wounded he finds himself in a Belgium field hospital. His nurse Adele Savard is taking care of him and a friendship envelops. Adele does not want to give Jeremiah hope, but she is struggling as her feelings develop. The nurses are nicknamed “Bluebirds” because of their uniforms which have white caps and blue gowns.
Present Day-A museum curator Cassie Simmons enjoys solving mysteries of the past. One of those mysteries is the history of rumrunners who ferried booze across the Detroit River during Prohibition. During a home renovation, several bottles labeled Bailey Brothers’ Best are discovered. What happens next is unraveling an age old mystery of a family.
I enjoyed this novel so much. Interesting history involving prohibition and people did to get their liquor. Human spirit, love, conflict, consequences, and loss are all explored.
January 30, 2022
Genevieve Graham has outdone herself yet again! One of my favorite Canadian historical fiction authors, she is the sweetest, friendliest and most generous with her time. This latest book was full of rich historical detail and so many aspects of Canadian history that will be new to many readers!
As someone with a Masters degree in Canadian history I always love reading her books and am constantly amazed at her ability to unearth details I'd never heard about. Just a few of the many things this book covers include:
- The WWI Canadian Nursing Sisters (aka "Bluebirds)
- The WWI Tunnellers
- The Spanish Flu
- The Temperance movement
- The Black sleeping car porters who were all called "George"
- The origins of the modern day War Amps
- Rumrunning and bootlegging in Windsor/Detroit
- Great descriptions of actual Speakeasies and "Blind pigs"
Ostensibly a love story between a nurse and a soldier, this book is so much more, spanning the years from the Great war to the roaring 20s. You will fall in love with Adele and Jeremiah and their families. The dual timeline narrative was perfectly paced alternating between the past and the present. I loved how Genevieve tied these two storylines together in the most clever of ways! Such a beautiful story with a beautiful cover to match!
I can't recommend this book more, especially for fans of Jennifer Robson, Kate Quinn and Susannah Kearsley. This book would make an excellent book club pick, with a great reader's guide included and a detailed author's note.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review! I sped through this book as soon as I got it and can't wait for my pre-order to arrive. This is a must read for Canadian history lovers!
As someone with a Masters degree in Canadian history I always love reading her books and am constantly amazed at her ability to unearth details I'd never heard about. Just a few of the many things this book covers include:
- The WWI Canadian Nursing Sisters (aka "Bluebirds)
- The WWI Tunnellers
- The Spanish Flu
- The Temperance movement
- The Black sleeping car porters who were all called "George"
- The origins of the modern day War Amps
- Rumrunning and bootlegging in Windsor/Detroit
- Great descriptions of actual Speakeasies and "Blind pigs"
Ostensibly a love story between a nurse and a soldier, this book is so much more, spanning the years from the Great war to the roaring 20s. You will fall in love with Adele and Jeremiah and their families. The dual timeline narrative was perfectly paced alternating between the past and the present. I loved how Genevieve tied these two storylines together in the most clever of ways! Such a beautiful story with a beautiful cover to match!
I can't recommend this book more, especially for fans of Jennifer Robson, Kate Quinn and Susannah Kearsley. This book would make an excellent book club pick, with a great reader's guide included and a detailed author's note.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review! I sped through this book as soon as I got it and can't wait for my pre-order to arrive. This is a must read for Canadian history lovers!
May 26, 2022
Actually 4 1/2*
Learned interesting facts about Prohibition. Did you know Prohibition started in 1918 in Michigan, 2 years before the rest of our country? Interesting to me as my father was born and raised in Michigan, born 1905. This book has much history about end of war and Prohibition‘s effects on daily life.
Learned interesting facts about Prohibition. Did you know Prohibition started in 1918 in Michigan, 2 years before the rest of our country? Interesting to me as my father was born and raised in Michigan, born 1905. This book has much history about end of war and Prohibition‘s effects on daily life.
January 31, 2022
Genevieve Graham has done it again. She has found something in Canadian history that is not so well known and weaved an intricate and evocative tale around the perils of prohibition. Told in a dual timeline, there are themes of love, loss, ptsd, the importance of family, finding purpose, forgiveness and survival.
I knew nothing about tunnelling, the origins of the War Amps, the hospital ship Llandovery Castle, Bluebirds and very little about prohibition in Canada.
The characters are rich with emotion and come alive when reading about them. You can’t help but feel for the Bailey Brothers, Adele and Cassie and you turn the pages. There are some excellent secondary characters as well. There will be tears.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book prior to its publication.
I knew nothing about tunnelling, the origins of the War Amps, the hospital ship Llandovery Castle, Bluebirds and very little about prohibition in Canada.
The characters are rich with emotion and come alive when reading about them. You can’t help but feel for the Bailey Brothers, Adele and Cassie and you turn the pages. There are some excellent secondary characters as well. There will be tears.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book prior to its publication.
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