Mercy Road
A Novel
by Ann Howard Creel
Lake Union Publishing 
 General Fiction (Adult)  |  Historical Fiction 
Pub Date 19 Nov 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Mercy Road through Lake House Publishing and Netgallley:


1917 Arlene Farvier looses her home and Father in the same fire, and finds out most of her Father’s money is gone so she must find a way to support her mother and younger brother. If she doesn’t succeed, they will all be poor.  The problem is job opportunities are scarce, so when a daring opportunity arises she must take it, the American Women’s Hospital needs ambulance drivers to join a trailblazing, all-female team of doctors and nurses bound for war-torn France.




While on the frontlines Arlene and her fellow ambulance drivers work day and night to aid injured soldiers and civilians.  While in between dangerous ambulance runs Arlene reunites with a childhood friend, Jimmy Tucker, who is now a soldier.  She opens her heart to Jimmy like she had to no one before.  Arlene has not only caught the attention of  Jimmy, but also of Felix Brohammer, a charismatic army captain who harbors a dark, treacherous secret.



Exposing Brohammer means risking her family’s future and the promise of love. Arlene must make a choice: stay in the safety of silence or take the greatest chance of her life.



If you are looking for an excellent  World War 1 era novel I highly recommend Mercy Road!


Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Good characters and interesting to have the main character as an ambulance driver. I haven't seen many books with this role even in historical fiction. The plot itself wasn't too riveting but as a fan of historical fiction, it works.

I would say this is a good, solid book. It didn't impress me, but it offered some interesting historic background on the role of ambulance drivers in the second World War.
The bad guy was a little too bad for my taste and I missed deeper reflections on the War itself, but it was a totally ok read.


I thank Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC to read and review.

I haven't heard of this author, but I will definitely look out for them again.  
I was drawn in my the cover as I really enjoy books set in this era.

I found the book full of compassion, the main character was so endearing. 

Pleased I gave it a go.

I enjoyed following this story and the main character as she and her medical associates aid those in need during the war. Character voices were done well, and story plot held my interest. I normally read YA books, but was drawn in by the cover and back of the book description. I was not disappointed and was happy I ventured outside my preferred reading genre.

A powerful, emotional read set during WWI. Arlene is resilient, but the reality of war takes its toll on her. I absolutely hated Brohammer from the start, WWI changed the roles of women across America, and this is a snapshot view into one woman's journey from naive farm girl to an ambulance driver who needs nerves of steel. For me the romance side wasn't nearly as interesting as the rest of the story. Overall a great historical read with aa hint of romance.

Mercy Road by Ann Howard Creel

Brief Summary: After a house fire kills her father and burns her home to the ground Arlene Favier must find work to support her family. With limited options, she signs on to be an ambulance driver for the American Women’s Hospital in war revenged France. Against orders she is caught between two men, her childhood friend Jimmy, a soldier, and the devious Captain Brohammer. I requested this novel because I love historical fiction about the important roles women played in the war at a time when little was expected of them. 

Highlights: My favorite aspects of this storyline was the historical implications of identifying as LGBTQ and potential grave consequences. I also found the profiteering aspect interesting. It’s hard not to say more without giving crucial spoilers away.

Explanation of Rating: 3.5/5; This story waxes and wanes at times. It does add unique premise to the genre. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy it. 

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

In order to earn a living and support her mother and brother after a fire burns down their home, Arlene Favier joins the ambulance crew of a women's hospital.  They are headed for France in the middle of World War I.  She falls in love with a childhood friend who is now a soldier, and she becomes involved concerning an army officer.  The story is well written and holds your interest from start to finish.  It is also well researched for historical details.  I can highly recommend Mercy Road.

This novel starts out with a tragic beginning. Arlene, along with her mother and her brother witness their home destroyed by a fire. But worse than that is that her father was inside and he died in the fire. They lose so much because of this. Arlene is determined to find a job to help support her family. She ends up joining the American Women’s Hospital to be an ambulance driver. She is sent to France. It’s here that Arlene forms close friendships with some of the other women. She also runs into someone from her younger days. But it’s hard work and the women witness more than they expected when they joined. And a captain decides he likes Arlene and he pursues her in a frightening manner. The novel is set in the 1918, 1919, and 1920 time period.

I feel like this book had the ability to be great, but it just never captured my interest. I powered through, hoping that it would get better, but it failed to meet my expectations.

"Alene Favier was awoken in the middle of the night by her father. She smelled smoke. Their home was on fire. Maman, her younger brother Luc and her father met on the front lawn in Paris, Kentucky, and watched their worldly possessions go up in smoke. Suddenly without warning or reason, her father runs back into the house, in search of who knows what, but he did not return".
It has a steady pace, but nothing about it stands out.

When I decided to request this book, I had something different in mind. I love medical fiction and history novels so it looked like an interesting combination. 
What I found was very little medical subject running in the plot but very well developed characters. The story is well written and the subjects are universal. But the way the author goes around them is what makes the difference. 
World War I is a subject that's not as frequently used as WWII as a time setting. And it felt good to read about it.
Arlene is a nice character who, a after a serious change in her life, and at a time that was not common, takes the chance and travel to Europe to be an ambulance driver. Once there she will find not just what she was looking for but a series of revelations that will change her future.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mercy Road by Ann Howard Creel started off by capturing my attention and held it throughout the book. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and this story, which takes place mostly in France, of an American ambulance driver for the American Women's Hospital during World War I did not disappoint. I loved Arlene's spunk, she knew that in order to save her family, drastic measures had to be taken and she was up for the challenge. I feel the author did a good job of giving sufficient backstory to all of the characters that needed it and the time period and location seemed well-researched.

I love a good story based on real history. This is one of those. Beautiful and strong. Centered on passionate, realistic female characters and covering important concepts in history.

A pleasantly enjoyable read. Inspired by the true story of the World War I American Women's Hospital, Mercy Road is a novel about love, courage, and a female ambulance driver who risks everything. A little slow to start, but definitely worth the read. Recommended

Arlene Favier is a fictional character and she tells for us the story of the brave women who formed the American Women’s Hospital during World War I. Starting in Kentucky horse country, MERCY ROAD leads us from the privileged but hard working stud farm owners to the soldiers and ambulance drivers across the muddy fields of war-torn Europe.
continued

Mercy Road  by Ann Howard Creel  283 pages

This novel takes place in 1918. America has entered the Great War, but it hasn’t affected the Favier’s of Kentucky. They are kept quite busy with their thoroughbred horse farm. Arlene, the oldest child, is happy caring for the horses and cannot imagine any other lifestyle---no matter what her mother thinks. That is until a fire consumes their home and takes the life of her father. Thankfully, the horses are spared. Arlene is sure that her father left the family in financial security and the stud services will help to pay for what they need.

Unfortunately, Dad didn’t do that.  Now the family is virtually destitute and with stud services drying up (no pun intended), Arlene realizes that she will have to find employment to care for her mother and brother.

Looking for work is not easy. Young women of that era do not work outside the home. Widening her scope, Arlene heads to the largest nearby city, Cincinnati. There she finds the American Women’s Hospital, a privately-supported organization that is as desperate for ambulance drivers as much as Arlene needs work. After an extensive interview, Arlene joins the all-female team of doctors and nurses headed for France, where the fighting is the heaviest.

Arlene goes through training that will teach her everything about the ambulances. There she meets Cass and they become friends, watching each other’s backs and helping each other.  The scenes of the ambulance convoys driving to the front are the scenes of nightmares. The author, Ann Howard Kreel, does a great job describing the sights, sounds and smells of war.  This reader felt as if she was there, but there was little tension that I felt a war scene should have.

I was disappointed that Arlene didn’t meet Ernest Hemingway, who was also an ambulance driver during World War I, but he was stationed in Italy, not France. But Arlene does meet another rake, an officer who takes no as a challenge, Felix Brohammer.  He is a smarmy jerk who believes every woman wants him. He sets his hat on Arlene.

Nothing about Felix attracts her. She would rather concentrate on her job and the bonus that she is promised if she stays the entire course. However, she does run into an old heartthrob from back home, Jimmy.

I was confused a bit by the title. I thought “Mercy Road” was the actual name of a road. Instead it’s a euphemism for the road she and the other girls are traveling.  Based on the points I covered in the review,  “Mercy Road” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I tried reading this book and I couldn't get involved with the characters who I felt where far too flat for my taste.

Ann Howard Creel is one of my favorite authors; she writes compelling stories that explore human emotion and does so through historical events that are not widely known. Mercy Road was sparked by a photo of the American Women's Hospital, which served in World War I. (Characters are fictional, at least the main ones). We spend so much time focusing on World War II; it was enlightening to read about this time period. That being said, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I have others by her. Arlene seemed a bit hard to believe: a pampered (though not feminine) young lady from a well-to-do family finds that she alone can ensure their survival after a tragic accident leads to her father's death. And so she - almost flippantly - takes a position with the AWH. There were opportunities for her to find that she was "stronger than she believed" or grow in deep and personal ways through adversity" - and yet, they all just missed the mark. Being on the front lines in France certainly has horrors that cannot be escaped - and yet, it seems like they weren't really dealt with in the raw, emotional way I expect from Creel.

I'm giving this 2 stars - which is really about 2.6 as I did enjoy it, just not at *quite* the same level I use for a 3 star read.

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Ann Howard Creel for free e-ARC in return of my honest review. 

Arlene Favier, the protagonist, suffers from a great tragedy - who loses her father to house fire - and in order to provide for her family, she joins the American Women’s Hospital as an Ambulance Driver. The reader follows her through battles trying to save some and leave others. She saw horrible truth of the war but survived and this experience made her stronger. 

However, this story line feels flat for me. There was not much development neither in the plot direction, not character. On the one hand, there is a strong-willed young woman, who considers her family needs before her own. She is a modern woman in 1917 who is not afraid to get her hands dirty with her manners in tact. There is a plot line with another woman who is supposed to be her friend but it does not get developed much further. There is a love line that is quite predictable. 

Personally, I did not feel excited about Arlene’s adventures and did not feel sad about her misgivings. Neither Arlene nor other characters from the story did not become dear, and I did not care what would happen next.