The story of a woman’s struggles, hardships, unrequited love and unhappy marriage, set against a fascinating background of the great fire of Maine. Grace’s discovery of her inner strength makes for an interesting voyage of self discovery and courage although it was not an entirely satisfying read for me.

I have read all of Anita Shreve's other novels and was very excited to see this new one on NetGalley. I loved it straightaway, felt for Grace and her sad marriage, then was swept away by the horrific events of the fire. Grace is a wonderfully strong female lead and I was desperate for a happy ending for her and her children. At one point in the narrative, I was so caught up in her situation that I gasped, almost screamed! The author writes so cleverly and had lulled me into a false sense of security. The writing is understated, beautiful and evocative. Grace suffers so many hardships but is courageous and resilient. This novel is a very, very good read. I was sorry when it ended - yet the end is so poignant, I had tears in my eyes and had to re-read it a couple of times, just to be sure.

A very sweet story set in an idyllic time. A story about a woman's struggle during the worse time of her life and how she finally took control of her own life.

This was a great read. A story based on a true event of the fires that took out towns across the Maine Coast. I really enjoy historical fiction and the beautiful writing really gave a vivid description of the town and the characters set in 1947. A tragic event with sadness, humour, bravery and some triumphant moments lead by the wonderful Grace. A really enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley for my preview copy.

I love Anita Shreve's rather languid style of writing. I am always drawn into the story while really appreciating the textures and colours of the scenery and landscapes around the central characters. In essence the story revolves around Grace who is trapped in a loveless marriage until a catastrophic fire destroys her home and complete way of life. How she emerges literally from the ashes of her previous life and becomes a strong and independent women is so well depicted.

A thoroughly engaging novel based on a true event. This latest book from Anita Shreve is everything you would expect from this author, especially with regards to the main character, a strong female who overcomes some excessively bad times. A beautiful story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the ravaging great fire of Maine in 1947.

Some of this is very dark and rather difficult to read but all ends well if somewhat surprisingly in a situation some might think almost as bad as the life she left.

An excellent book that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

I've never read any Anita Shreve before but I definitely will be again! This was an evocative, nicely paced novel with interesting characters and enough of a story line to keep you hooked. Really good

I'm sorry, but I couldn't connect with this book. I felt disconnected and couldn't get into it at all, even though I really wanted to, as the context caught my attention from the moment I read the blurb. I tried until 30% before giving up because I wasn't feeling it, but will probably try again in the future, as I feel like this has certainly potential to be a good story. It jus wasn't the right moment for me and the slow pace and "cold" writing didn't help.

not my usual type of novel but I thought I should give it a try. Not sure I would buy this author again..

The story is set in Maine in 1947 and is based on real life events. After a long hot summer forest fires rage all along the Maine coast from town to village.

Grace Holland and her friend Rosie and their children flee their homes as their houses burn. The head to the ocean and do everything they can to save their children and themselves. Their husbands Gene and Tim are away fighting the fires.

Overnight they find themselves homeless, penniless and for Grace she has no idea where her husband is. Grace while shocked feels a new sense of freedom being away from her controlling husband and their life. With her mother's help they move into her mother-in-laws house which had recently passed to Gene after her death.

Grace finds herself a job and moves on with her life. She has a brief encounter with a wonderful man and realises what's missing from her marriage. Things change again and Grace finds inner strength to get through this terrible time and finally has to make a decision based on what's best for her and her children. Absolutely loved the story and characters and raced through it in two sittings.

As always a beautifully written book. No faults just the perfect read.

A beautiful book that lingered with me long after the last page. It is a novel. about a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage who through a natural disaster discovers true strength and her destiny. A historical and social commentary on a period of history (post war America) I knew very little about.
Beautiful storytelling and lyrical writing.

Set in post WW2 America, Grace is trapped in an unhappy marriage with 2 small children and a 3rd on the way. A wildfire takes hold in the area and as her husband Gene goes to fight the fire Grace is left to protect her home and family. The aftermath of the fire sees her husband missing and Grace homeless and lost. Her newly discovered freedom, the ability to take charge of her life, and the need to provide for her children sees Grace flourish and develop but just as she is settling into this new life and freedom, everything changes again. Grace's experience in life heralds the new found freedoms that are just over the horizon for women. Grace learns not to let her choices and the expectations of others decide who she should be. Shreve has created a likeable and believable character in Grace and I really enjoyed this book.

This should have been a depressing book, centring around Maine in the 1940s, a time when there was no sex ed and a woman's place was firmly in the kitchen and life was a never ending round of drudgery trying to get the washing dried when it won't stop raining. Things get even worse when a terrible fire wipes out whole communities yet somehow the book is so compelling and the characters so real that the book is never maudlin.
Grace married 'above her' when she became pregnant and her mother in law hates her for it. It soon becomes apparent that her husband doesn't think much of her either but until he disappears fighting the fire Grace doesn't have any alternative but to placate him and look after their home and children.
Grace's struggle to survive after the fire has destroyed everything helps her to become the kind of woman we take for granted in 21st century. But still she has no rights and her life is never going to be easy. Obviously she finds love along the way there are enough plot twists to take you to the very end, which I was expecting but somehow not disappointing.
Thanks to net galley for sending me a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book from beginning to end. Set in Maine, at the end of the 1940s, Anita Shreve tells the story of a young married woman coming to terms with how her life has turned out - and it us not how she expected. We follow Grace as she deals with her family, her marriage and the life of the time, including a natural disaster.

I loved the style, the well drawn characters and the plot. An excellent story about a strong woman. Highly recommended.

I was sent this book by the publishers for review. I have liked some of Anita Shreve's previous work but have found it a little inconsistent so I was interested to see what this book would be like. It is set in Maine in the 1950's - where bush fires are raging along the coast, and both Grace and Rosie's husbands are volunteers who help fight the fire. After an uncertain night sheltering on the beach to save their children's lives, Grace and Rosie find that dawn brings with it a completely different life. Gene is missing, presumed dead, after being seen 'walking into the fire'. Grace's house has burned to the ground and she and her twins are homeless. What follows is the story of an amazingly brave woman finding her way in a world that was made for men to be the providers. An interesting, rather than gripping, read.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
This is a very even paced book but the storyline was good and the characters interesting. I really liked Grace's strength, resilience and determination to look after her family despite the circumstances.
It was an emotional and powerful tale, well written despite the fact that I don't like books that are written in the present tense. It just feels wrong but of course, this is just a personal thing. So that slightly spoiled my overall enjoyment of this book, hence 4 stars.

Fantastic book by a brilliant and favourite author.

I really enjoyed this book which had a nice blend of history and fiction. I'd never heard of the 1947 great fires of Maine which this book is based around. It took a great number of lives and destroyed complete towns. I am inspired to read true account of that period in the book Anita Shreve recommends at the end.

In this book, a five month pregnant Grace Holland and her 2 toddlers have a dramatic escape from the great fire as it completely engulfs her town and destroys her home. Her husband, Gene, has gone to fight the fire and is missing afterwards. As are her friend, Rosie, and Grace’s mother, Marjorie, whose homes are also destroyed. This is a great tale of Grace's survival and rebuilding of her life from scratch. I would have liked the ending to be a bit longer as I wanted to know more about what happened to Grace in later years but maybe that is an indication of a good story to end on a high and leave the reader wanting more.

I haven't read any Anita Shreve books before but plan to do so now I've discovered her. I especially liked her clear style of writing and the fact it was all in one continuous time period from Grace's viewpoint. So many book jump about time periods and between characters these days that I appreciate being able to relax into one that doesn't.