Lizzie Page's latest novel, When I Was Yours, follows Vivienne Mudie-Cooke, as she experiences not only the Great War, as a young girl on the brink of marriage, and then skips to WW2, where she is married to her childhood sweetheart, but life did not turn out quite as Vivienne hoped.
As London is experiencing the Blitz, young Pearl Posner is evacuated from the city and settles in Hinckley with Vivi and her nasty husband Edmund. You know something is not right with the marriage because Edmund is just never home, and when he is, he is mostly out in his shed. But Vivi is so glad for Pearl’s company! Vivi learns Pearl is Jewish, and though she's heard a lot about "Jews", this turns out to be an eye opening opportunity for Vivi to really get a chance to learn first hand about Jewish people.
Flashing back to the Vivi as a teen ager, she is growing up with her Dad and younger sister, Olive in London. Olive is the more vibrant sister, who has a passion for art and loves to draw. While Olive goes to study art, Vivi stays home and helps in the family carpet business, dreaming of the day, her childhood sweetheart Edmund, will court her and propose marriage. It does not seem to be happening.... With conditions deteriorating in London, Vivi and Olive decide to do their bit, and volunteer to be ambulance drivers in France.
The story in both timelines is gripping and it takes many unexpected twists and turns. In the author's note, Lizzie Page says that her own Dad was evacuated to Hinckley as a young boy, and she included some of his own stories. I love how Lizzie Page highlights women who "did their bits" in the war efforts. When I was yours shows how women helped not only in the small country towns, but on the front lines of the war, evacuating wounded soldiers. Vivi's sister, Olive Mudie-Cooke, was actually a true war artist and whose paintings are kept at the Imperial War Museum.
This is actually the third book in a series by Lizzie Page, which I did not know until I read the book, but it can be read independently, and I highly recommend reading it. Five stars for Lizzie Page's When I was Yours. Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for allowing me to read #wheniwasyours.

Keep the home fires burning
While your hearts are yearning
Though your lads are far away
They dream of home

Lyrics by Mrs. Lena Gilbert Brown Ford:
Music by Ivor Novello.

A fine WWII historical novel, sensitively written. Having to evacuate London to the country due to the danger of enemy bombs, Pearl must adapt to a very different life with Vivienne, who is confronting troubles of her own in her marriage and her past. Poignant and deeply affecting.

I enjoyed this emotional book, especially the characters of Pearl and Olive, as it spans two world wars and all the changes that those times brought to the people of England. I loved the dual time format, and to see how ultimately those two intersect. The experiences of Vivienne during World War I were really fascinating and among my favorite parts of the book. There were mentions of the way the war was affecting their lives during World War II, which were nice touches and historically accurate.

Why Vivienne wanted to take in a war orphan seemed so real, I really felt for her. Otherwise, the character of Vivienne seemed to lack self-awareness and self-reflection at points which made her a frustrating character. Also, this isn't really a spoiler but how did she not develop any real friendships the whole time after she left London?! She seems so social before, it seems odd. On the other hand, her sister Olive's throwing off of social conventions made her a more interesting character that I would have liked to see more of. While there were aspects to Olive that could have been explored much more in depth, I appreciated eventually learning them (even if they were things I long suspected). The character of Pearly was adorable, and I liked that she was Jewish although it wasn't explored as much as it could have been. The ending was very satisfactory as well and demonstrated some nice growth from the characters. I would definitely recommend this book to friends.

When I Was Yours is set in England in the years before and during WWII. Vivienne is sure of what she wants from life -- marriage to the proper English gentleman, Edmund. When WWI breaks out, her world is drastically changed. While the men are fighting, she volunteers to drive an ambulance in France, and finds herself more courageous than she ever dreamed. She marries Edmund, but things are not as she had hoped. Now it's another war for a different generation to fight. Her part will be to care for an evacuee, Pearl. This tiny child gives Vivi purpose. She begins to look at the travesty of her marriage. Who could have guessed that Pearl would help Vivi make a connection to her past that would give her the courage to change and look forward to the future.

This is not what I would classify as "Christian fiction," but the lifestyles of the characters are true to the time. The characters are real and believable. Lizzie Page is an excellent writer.

When I was Yours by Lizzie Page is an historical novel covering both world wars, seen through the eyes of civilians. It centres around a few families and their relationships, decisions, hopes, dreams, loves and losses.

It was fascinating how Ms. Page covered the two wars with the same characters, exploring how their thoughts and biases grew, changed, or didn’t. I was so intrigued by the different lives they led at these different times in history. The first war, at least initially, seemed to be filled with music, dancing, parties and romance while the second war was terribly sad, debilitating, with little love and tolerance to go around.

It is a beautiful tribute to the many women who participated (“kept the homefires burning”) with their many different efforts. During WW1 Vivienne and her wonderful sister (I loved her!) were ambulance drivers in France and during WW2 Vivienne hosted an evacuee child from London. This sets in motion a life-altering change for Vivienne as she takes stock of the many bad choices she has made between the two wars.

Ultimately, it is a wonderful, beautiful story about perseverance and love in the face of turmoil and death.

My favourite quotes:
“Times change – isn’t that what people say? No, times don’t change…well, they do, but they don’t change by themselves. People have to change, it’s people who change the times.”

“That I have made wrong choices at every fork in the road, that I have made choices to please other people, choices through the eyes of other people, never my own; and even worse than that, that all those other people I had made choices for…it didn’t make a difference to their lives – only mine”.

#netgalley #lizziepage #wheniwasyours #bookouture

Loved this book.
It starts with the 'now' and Vivienne at the start of the second world war, unhappily married and anxious about taking in Pearl, an evacuee child from London. Each chapter alternates with the 'then' of Vivienne's life choices during the first world war, the death of her cousin, her relationship with her husband Edmund and her work as an ambulance driver in France.
It is a story about relationships, Vivienne and her sister, Vivienne and her husband, Vivienne and her mother-in-law. As the book progresses we learn how the decisions Vivienne made during the Great War influenced the rest of her life and her relationships with those around her. It is also about her relationship with Pearl, the little girl she becomes a second mother too.
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture for my copy of When I Was Yours by Lizzie Page, in return for an honest review.

It had been quite some time since I'd read an historical saga set during one the world wars, yet here I am reading two back to back this week. At one time I read a lot of these types of books, and after this week I really won't be leaving it so long - I've really appreciated the change from thriller after thriller and am reminded how much I do like historical fiction - especially that set in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

When I Was Yours has a somewhat unique approach - at least one I have never come across before - with a dual narrative set in both WW1 and WW2. I thought this was brilliant, not only in demonstrating the differences in the periods through the eyes of main character, Vivienne, but also in seeing the impact the wars had on those who lived through them both.

I enjoyed both time frames, which are told in alternating chapters. I was intrigued by Vivienne's story - as a brave ambulance driver during WW1 and an anxious and reluctant evacuee host during WW2 and wanted to know what had happened in the intervening years to change her so much? I loved the characterisation of her vivacious sister, Olive, in particular and found her tragic story both inspiring and heartbreaking. Having grown up on my own grandmother's stories of her time as an evacuee, I fell head over heels for Pearl Posner and the impact her arrival had on Vivienne. I still find it staggering that children were sent away to live with what could be anyone!

There's a strong theme of intolerance running through this book. Not just between warring countries, but also at home where expectations and attitudes are slowly shifting. It's interesting and quite poignant to see the shift played out between both WW1 and WW2, both within the community but individually as Vivienne developes and grows as a fully formed character.

When I Was Yours was an emotional and thought provoking read with the fascinating perspective of both wars. It brought tears to my eyes several times and yet also managed to make me smile. Well worth a read!

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

When I Was Yours is the third book from Lizzie Page centred around women and their experiences of war. This book is slightly different in that it has a dual timeline focusing on one woman’s experiences of both World Wars. I thought this was an interesting slant to war time fiction as normally books in this genre focus on one war over the other. Admittedly it did take me until the 25% mark to really get stuck into the story but once I passed this point I thought the book really found its footing and took off. For the first quarter I thought things jumped around an awful lot and I couldn't work out where it was going. There seemed to be an awful lot of unnecessary description which didn't move the story forward or reveal too much as to what the actual story was going to be about. I couldn't determine the common thread that would join the two strands of the storyline together but that all changed and I was glad I kept going as When I was Yours turned into a fascinating read and gave the reader a deep insight into the life of Vivi.

If one was to judge this book on the cover and blurb alone you would be forgiven for thinking it was based upon a little girl's participation in the evacuation of young children from London during World War Two due to the threat of bombing raids. It soon became apparent that this wasn't the focus although Pearl does feature heavily throughout the book as she has such an affect on Vivi and she is the catalyst and connecting factor that brings about change for Vivi. I hope people do not pass this book over thinking it was another run of the mill wartime story for it is so much more than that and Lizzie Page has done a wonderful job of bringing her characters and the story to life.

Each chapter alternates between World War One and World War Two and once the reader becomes aware of this, and after the first quarter as I have said when the book settles into its rhythm, you do become engaged with and concerned for the welfare of Vivi and her family. Vivi was a very complex character and as we see where she is during the late 1930's and early 1940's we question how she has come to be in a loveless marriage to childhood sweetheart Edmund. All through the book I could tell she was haunted by something or even several things in her past that affected how she lived her life. I was desperate to know what had happened to her to make her a woman who seemed in fear almost of Edmund. She didn't seem to be able to stand up for herself and it was as if she was just merely existing from day to day with no sense of real purpose in her life. With the arrival of Pearl from London she finds an objective to keep her going. It was almost as if Pearl replaced the hole in her heart due to the absence of the much longed for family which she believed would pull herself and Edmund together.

Edmund was a very cold and aloof character and I thought Vivi was always tiptoeing around him and doing her best to please him. I couldn't fathom why she didn’t just up and leave him despite it being frowned upon at the time. Looking to the past may very well provide us with the answers but this was not to be an easy road to travail and I thought the manner in which the story progressed as in having the dual time line showed us there were many reasons for the position Vivi found herself in. I think I preferred the chapters set during WW1 as they provided a very different insight into Vivi and they were necessary to show us what had happened to her to make her into this person who couldn't seem to escape the shadows of the past and break free from a marriage that was clearly doing her no good in terms of self esteem and strength.

It is only as we near the conclusion that I felt everything was coming full circle and the chapters during WW2 began to make sense. At times I thought nothing much was happening and that there was just detail regarding Vivi and her neighbour Mrs. Burton as they do their bit in the Women's Voluntary Service or else there were just chapters concerned with how Pearl was getting on. Where really this story wasn't about her although she does have a pivotal and vital role to play. But as things become clearer I was racing through the final chapters to see would resolution, forgiveness and acceptance be found and would all the innumerable questions I had be supplied with definitive answers?

Vivi during WW1 was a very different person from the person we meet over twenty years later. I wouldn't say she was strong and independent and someone who knew her viewpoints and wasn't afraid to express her opinions. Between her and her sister Olive I think Vivi was the one who played it safe. Who never wanted to upset anyone or bring confrontation upon herself. She seemed to follow the crowd and do what was expected of her. Whether that was allowing her to follow her heart or not it didn't seem to matter. I desperately wanted her to go with the flow, to break out of the mould of convention she had surrounded herself with just like Olive seemed to do. But Vivi appeared to be too stiff upper lip so to speak and because she couldn't or wouldn't defy what was expected of her maybe that changed the course of her life.

If she had been more free spirited perhaps she would not have been shackled by Edmund. In my mind she made wrong choices at every fork in the road and although the loyalty and duty she felt to her father and Aunt and Uncle were to be admired she could have been like Olive and didn't give a jot for what people thought of her. She made choices that pleased other people not herself and as it said in the book times have to change but not by themselves - people have to change, it's people who have to change the times. But did Vivi have the ability to do this or was she too caught up in the past brooding over the one thing she could have altered but chose not to at the time and certainly couldn't later instead of focusing on what she could achieve now?

Following Vivi and Olive's experiences during The Great War as they worked as FANYS: First Aid Nursing Yeomanry was intense and as always with Lizzie Page the detailed provided was very well researched. The constant threats and danger were always apparent and it was evident that what the women saw and lived through during their time of service deeply affected them. So twenty years later Vivi cant believe that the same thing is happening again. So much loss, devastation and heartbreak is about to be unleashed again but this time she cannot serve. But yet I sensed there was several things that had happened in her time in France which she had not had any resolution for and maybe now was the time when she can confront what has eaten away at her.

At times I found Vivi to be a very frustrating character and I didn't always like her whereas Olive was someone who threw caution to the wind. She was a daredevil, fearless and ambitious but yet there were signs that she wasn't always comfortable in her own skin. That she would rather be at home with the bohemian set of people she had become involved with instead of on the battlefields witnessing unspeakable sights. I think she would rather have her life continue the way it was and that she could indulge her passion for art. Instead her experiences made her more wild and reckless and a chasm between herself and Vivi grew. I don't think Vivi ever truly understood Olive or was she just closing her eyes in an attempt to not see what was right before her?

When I was Yours is an excellent read and one which I think would be an ideal for a book club as there is so much that could be debated and discussed. The characters are all complex and flawed even more so after their varying experiences of war. I loved the contrast between the two wars as it really allowed you to get inside the head of Vivi in order to gain a deeper understanding of her although you mightn't always agree with her ways of thinking or her actions. With the longer timeframe for the story it allowed Lizzie to explore more than just a snapshot of life which all too often we are only given in books set during this time period and I think the book was all the better for it. There are numerous issues dealt with throughout the book and it was good to see themes ad emotions outside the realm of Vivi herself being explored.

With the Easter holidays fast approaching I think this certainly a book that you should pick up and read and lose yourself in for a couple of hours. Lizzie Page is a real talent and I'm excited to see what she has in store for us next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lizzie Page brought to life characters that you ended up caring about and wanting to see them live through the wars. The book moved seamlessly between WWI and WWII, telling the story of Vivienne and Olive Mudie-Cooke. The choices they made, right and wrong that shaped their lives before, during and after both wars. Vivi takes on Pearl Posner, an evacuated child from London, who brings her life purpose and joy once again.

This book is beautifully written about a dark time in history. It tugs at your heart and will stay with you long after the last page is read.

I read two of Lizzie Page's previous books and extremely enjoyed them so I couldn't wait to see what When I Was Yours had in store. The book is in actual fact, the third in a series, but don't let this put you off because all three work fine on an individual basis.

It is set between the two world wars and shows the lives of the main character Vivienne and her sister Olive. They struggle to do what they can for the war effort from volunteering as ambulance drivers in WWI, then on to 1939 when Vivienne takes a young evacuee into her home.

I found the first chapters a little slow to start with. I understood that Vivienne was trapped in a loveless marriage and her life seemed extremely mundane. I was initially frustrated that she didn't welcome the idea of taking in an evacuee. So, with that in mind, it was lovely to see the story of Vivi and Pearl flourish right in front of me and to discover an amazing connection between the two of them. I could actually feel Vivienne's heart open out as she slowly started to embrace the love of a child, something that she desperately wanted for herself, but had accepted that it was not to be.

I loved the character of Olive the artist who I believe was based on the famous wartime artist Olive Mudie-Cooke. I desperately wanted Vivienne to listen to Olive and her friends when they warned her about the ghastly Edmund, whom she followed around like a lovesick puppy and eventually married.

The book gives such an insight into wartime Britain, how it wrecked families, hopes and dreams. It also shows the great strength and warmth of people at that time, not just the ones fighting abroad but the loved ones who 'kept the home fires burning'.

As always, Lizzie's writing is meticulously researched and beautifully written. Anyone who loves historical wartime fiction will be fascinated by When I Was Yours and I can't wait for the next book from Lizzie Page.

When I was Yours by Lizzie Page is an immersive story set during WWII. During this time, children are being sent from London to the countryside for safety. Vivienne Lowe does not want an evacuee child , but fate has a way of stepping in and she soon finds herself a host to a seven year old Jewish girl, Pearl Posner. In Pearl, Vivienne slowly starts to find herself and opens herself up to love which she neither wants or thinks she deserves. Little does Vivienne know, but Pearl is going to bring Vivienne back to a past she has never forgotten or forgiven herself for. Will Vivienne finally find her way out of all of the hurt in her past?

There is something about WWII novels that has a certain quality to it that remarkably atmospheric and beautiful even though it is set during a horrible war. People were so different back then and you can really see the determination in people to help during the war effort. Lizzie Page really poured her heart out in this story especially when it came to both Vivienne and her sister, Olive. Vivienne is the more practical of the two. She has her heart set on marrying Edmund, the best friend of her cousin, even though her sister, Olive thinks Edmund is the wrong one for her. Olive is the artist, I would say she is more of a rebel and doesn’t quite fit into the norm of women during that time period. Olive is an artist and is passionate and determined. Often times it leads to both sisters butting heads and not seeing eye to eye.

This story is told in dual timelines, during the the start of WWI and in the present right at the beginning of WWII in 1939. While I loved the present story, my heart really went out to the women during the war effort in 1914. Lizzie Page really showed what is was like for women who became nurses to help soldiers in distress. You can really see the research and the love that went into the writing and it really shines through page after page. I loved learning about FANY, a first aid nursing Yeomanry which was an all female registered charity.

I will admit that at first, I did feel sorry for Vivienne as she seems to be trapped in a loveless marriage and I felt like she had no backbone, which for a good part of the story she doesn’t. But, slowly I started to see her growth as both a woman capable of love, capable of making friends and having a life outside of her marriage and finally, finding it in her heart to love a child, something she never had during her marriage.

If you love an immersive war time story, I encourage you to read When I was Yours. It is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Lizzie Page shows true strength and perseverance at the heart of this story. This is definitely a story to be remembered.

Lizzie Page’s When I Was Yours is like watching Masterpiece but savoring the story as only one can do when reading. Spanning two wars, this novel looks at war from a civilian perspective, with perhaps a third quietly fought within a marriage. This is Vivienne’s life from The Great War, which I had forgotten WWI was once called, to the end of the Second World War. Then there is Pearl, one city evacuated little girl coming to stay with Vivienne, inadvertently causes reflection which leads to responses to different outcomes for all.

I found it a compelling and intriguing read as the author pieced the past with the present time of the story. I was fascinated by Vivienne’s story, not really understanding what Pearl staying with her would do. I was equally fascinated by the story of her life and family during the First World War. It was brilliant the way the author parallels the years during the wars together with the dual timelines. Though I couldn’t see the deeper connections at first, it is all brought together flawlessly. Vivienne and Pearl are characters I will certainly never forget.

I volunteered to give an honest review in exchange for a free copy of the book. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't get past the first few chapters. It's a great story, but it reads rather dry and boring. The main character has absolutely no self confidence. It's about children sent from London during WWII to live with families in order to escape the bombing. The woman and her husband are forced to take a child in, because they have the room. Her husband is against the idea. He doesn't want to be burdened, and he believes that his wife is incapable of taking care of a child.

When I Was Yours is a historical fiction book set during World War 2 with flashbacks to World War 1. It tells the story of Vivienne and her experiences during the wars. I liked this book, it had a good plot and it was easy to follow. My main problem was I didn't find it overly original and that there are better novels out there set during this time period.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I'm a big fan of Lizzie Page's writing and enjoyed this, her third book, so very much. The three books kind of make up a trilogy of war fiction but don't worry about reading them in order as each story is completely standalone (but with some lovely little touches that I will talk about later).

So When I Was Yours. This one appears, from the blurb, to be set during the Second World War. The previous two books were set in the First World War. I wondered to myself how the author would fare writing about the second war when her writing had previously been very much entrenched in the first. Well no worries at all, as it happens, for two reasons. The first is that Page is a wonderful writer, one that draws me in to the story completely and utterly (by the end of the first chapter I thought to myself that I was going to love this book). The second reason is that this is actually a dual timeline novel with one strand set during World War Two and the other during World War One so the familiarity from the previous books remains.

In her notes at the end of the book Page states that she wanted to explore one character living during both of the wars and that character is Vivienne. In 1939, she finds herself taking in an evacuee from London, Pearl. Vivienne is living a half life with her husband, Edmund, and it turns out that Pearl being around gives Vivienne the chance to try and make her life whole again.

Back in 1915, Vivienne and her sister, Olive, had been FANYs (the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry), ambulance drivers in France during the carnage of the first war. This is where the author is back on familiar ground as her first two books had similar themes. I really liked how the two strands came together, in alternating chapters, so that I could see how what had happened previously was affecting what was happening 'now'. At times, I wanted to put my hands into the book, get hold of Vivienne and give her a damn good shake. She's a lovely person, but my goodness, also naive and capable of making some really bad decisions.

One thing that I absolutely love about Lizzie Page's books is the way she always weaves some real life characters and events into the story. This time, she has Olive Mudie-Cook, a renowned war artist and, for the purposes of this book, Vivienne's younger sister. And she also has Ivor Novello when he was still called David, and Lena Guilbert Ford, actually composing Keep the Home Fires Burning (one of my favourite wartime songs ever). It makes for fascinating reading along with the return of one or two characters from The War Nurses. I love this sort of thing!

When I Was Yours has it all going on. It has wonderful characters (despite what I said earlier, I loved Vivienne), is brilliantly plotted with a delightfully intertwined story, it has the heartbreak of war and a gorgeous love story. Once again, Lizzie Page has written a book that transported me off to the hell of the war front but this time adding the stoicism of the home front. I thought it was fantastic.

Lizzie Page has gone and done it again with this beautiful, poignant and immensely emotional story that spans across two world wars. I have been a fan Of Ms Pages work for a while now, her grasp of this particular era is amazing, she really draws you into the past with her eloquent and sensitive writing. She is by far one of my favourite authors, and this is a brilliant addition to her rapidly growing CV.

What I particularly loved about this is the cleverly written duel time line, set in both wars. We see the lead character Vivienne make her way through WW1 as a young woman and then into WW2. I love each part of the Vivi’s story but I was particular taken with her years in WW1 – but that’s not because those parts of the story written any differently, every part of the book is just as great as the next, It’s just I have a soft spot for that era and I’m fascinated with the roles women took at the time.

In 1914 and very young Vivienne and her sister Olive want to do something for the war effort, so they start working as ambulance drivers – it is this aspect of the story which really caught my attention, it is both historically detailed so much so that you can see every scene with absolute clarity, and it is also hugely emotional to read. Vivi has fallen in love with her cousin’s best friend; Edmund, and becomes engaged to him. Then she suddenly she meets charismatic pilot Sam, that does capture Vivi’s attention but she is a good, loyal women she has made a promise to him and she won’t go back on it no matter what she feels for Sam.

In 1939, Vivi and Edmund are not quite so happily married, they are living separate lives, there are various factors into why they aren’t living in happily married bliss which I really won’t go into – no spoilers here – and on top of that they never did have children of their own, which you can really sense that is a tough subject for Vivi, but her unhappiness comes from more than that. Personally speaking, I think that Vivi marrying Edmund was the worse decision of her live and that has really ingrained itself on her.

Anyway they have been informed that she will be having an evacuee staying with them. Edmund doesn’t want a child in the house, especially someone else’s and like so many others he believes that this won’t come to anything that there will be no war. Vivi is both fearful and nervous about the prospect of having a child in the house, she doesn’t even know how to look after one. But she must soon learn, and once she meets her evacuee; a little girl named Pearl, she learns far more than to look after children she learns to love again and to open her heart which has been closed off for so long.

The relationship that blossoms between Vivi and Pearl is really something, looking after this sweet, quiet little girl gives Vivi something that has never thought to have; hope, a sense of being wanted and needed, a purpose, friendship and love, all things that she thought was lost to her so long ago and when she realises that there is more to this little girl, that there is a link between them really touches the reader and Vivi.

I absolutely love how this is written, Lizzie you have blown me away with your beautiful words, wonderful imagination and emotional story. I love how it tells us what happened to Vivi and her sister Olive during WW1 and then we move forward to see how Vivi is faring in 1939, the leaps from one era to the other is perfectly written, I found that there was no confusion of where you are in the story and each era seamlessly flows into one.

It is a lovingly written story that has real heart, and one that I cannot recommend enough. The story flows with so much ease, but it is the character’s especially Vivi which really steals the reader’s attention, she is a marvelous woman, her journey through live is one that many can relate to.

A book that lets you walk in the shoes of those who lived and fought in WWI and WWII, and we are in England with bombs being dropped.
The name of the book made me think of a previous read, and yes, children are involved, but they a very different story. While I did know about children from London going to the country during the blitz, we see where some of these youngsters go, and try to see what their lives were like.
Surprises here, but when some facts are released you want to cringe, so selfish, and so much pain.
I felt myself quickly involved in Vivienne’s life, and wanted to continue when the book ended, but we are left with a good idea of what is about to happen.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bookoutour, and was not required to give a positive review.

Really enjoyable women’s fiction read, though predictable in parts, this did not spoil my enjoyment. I was also perplexed why the main character was so set on marrying her miserable husband, she never really liked him and I didn’t feel she needed to role model a marriage. Still, I was grateful to have been introduced to Olive Mudie-Cook’s work which is fabulous and well worth seeing. Thank you for this interpretation of her life.

I love wartime fiction. It describes a time and a way of living that I can only imagine and when well written it can make you feel like you are experiencing it first-hand. This is my second book by this author and both books have been written just like this! This story begins in 1939, at the start of the World War II. Children are being evacuated from the cities into the countryside to keep them safe from the bombs which are relentlessly raining down. Seven year old Pearl Posner is one of those children and has been evacuated from the East End of London. She finds herself placed with Vivienne, who wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to have an evacuated child living with her, and her husband Edmund was even less sure.

This book gives a great insight into the lives of all those who were around at the times of both World Wars. I loved the character of little Pearl Posner. My heart broke for her during her evacuation out of London and could never imagine how those children must have been feeling at that time. Vivienne’s story was equally as sad being stuck in a loveless marriage with memories of her work during the Great War playing heavy on her.

The story switches between both wars from Vivienne and her sister, Olive volunteering as ambulance drivers in the Great War to the bombing and evacuations in World War II. The common theme of the loss of family and friends in both wars was particularly poignant and brought me to tears. I love how having Pearl as an evacuee gave Vivienne a purpose in life. The story has plenty of twists and turns between Vivienne, Olive and Pearl’s stories and it was so realistic and was clear that a lot of research into both wars had happened.

If you like romantic historical fiction, particularly which is set in wartime, then this is the book for you! This, at times, bought tears to my eyes and equally a warm glow to my heart. Would definitely recommend.