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pramsay13's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
As always a great book from Jo Jo Moyes.
It was fascinating to hear her take on the ships carrying brides to Britain mixed with the news reports and quotes.
It was fascinating to hear her take on the ships carrying brides to Britain mixed with the news reports and quotes.
ruby_99's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
veraann's review against another edition
3.0
Stand-Alone Book
The second book of Moyes I've read. I'm on the fence on this author. Interesting premise to the books. The start draws me in, but the middle just drags and is boring for me. In this one I liked the beginning, the character build was interesting, parts of the voyage were interesting, but I found myself wanting to skim to the end.
For me this author can initially grab my interest, but so far not completely hold it. Not quite a want to put it down and walk away. I wouldn't go out of my way to read this author and would hesitate to pick up another.
The second book of Moyes I've read. I'm on the fence on this author. Interesting premise to the books. The start draws me in, but the middle just drags and is boring for me. In this one I liked the beginning, the character build was interesting, parts of the voyage were interesting, but I found myself wanting to skim to the end.
For me this author can initially grab my interest, but so far not completely hold it. Not quite a want to put it down and walk away. I wouldn't go out of my way to read this author and would hesitate to pick up another.
karrama's review against another edition
4.0
The story of women who married British seamen leaving Australia toward the end of WWII, this is the story of finding yourself on the open ocean in all the ways. Following the lives of several brides, this is primarily Frances's story, but it's also about everything that can happen to a woman when she takes a chance.
rachbreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
I thought the concept was really good, and I love that she thought to turn her grandmother's story into a book. The idea of over 600 Australian women bunking on an aircraft carrier to cross the ocean and reunite with their husbands is super interesting and ripe ground for a story.
But the writing was just so messy. The structure was wild - the POV shifts were so rapid and it always took forever to figure out who was talking by which point you'd have to go back and start the section over. The frame narrative was completely unnecessary and introduced yet more characters for us to keep track of that added absolutely nothing to the core story. She would spend paragraphs on the working of the boat but left important characters' stories unfinishedwtf happened to Jean?!? . Really unlikeable characters never grew or changed, they just stayed annoying right to the end *cough* Avice *cough* I just basically skimmed major parts of it and finished the book solely to figure out what happened with Frances.
But the writing was just so messy. The structure was wild - the POV shifts were so rapid and it always took forever to figure out who was talking by which point you'd have to go back and start the section over. The frame narrative was completely unnecessary and introduced yet more characters for us to keep track of that added absolutely nothing to the core story. She would spend paragraphs on the working of the boat but left important characters' stories unfinished
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape, Body shaming, War, and Miscarriage
Forced prostitution/sexual slavery, rape of an intoxicated underage girlmariie_24's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
book_concierge's review
3.0
Digital audiobook performed by Nicolette McKenzie
In 1946 a group of women embarked on a six-weeks long journey to Great Britain, leaving Sydney harbor aboard the HMS Victorious, a royal navy aircraft carrier. The 650 (or so) women joined the crew of some 1,100 sailors on a journey none of them would forget. The women were all married to British service men whom they’d met when those men were briefly stationed in Australia during WW2. This is fact. Moyes own grandmother was one of those women and her story inspired this novel.
The novel focuses on four women: Jane, a 16-year-old teen without much education and who is ready to party; Avice, a society debutante from a wealthy family; the visibly pregnant Maggie, who’s leaving behind her father and brothers on the farm to join her husband; and Frances, a nurse who keeps mostly to herself, and wants nothing more than a fresh start. Moyes intersperses these women’s personal stories with events aboard ship: beauty contests, educational seminars on how to be a proper British wife, drunken brawls among the sailors, shopping in exotic ports, heart-breaking telegrams, secrets kept and scandals revealed.
Two men feature prominently as well. Captain Highfield whose Naval career is about to end, is tasked with getting his men, his ship and the women passengers safely to Britain. And Marine Nicol who is part of the detail tasked with guarding the women’s quarters and who has his own personal heartache.
Nicolette McKenzie does a fine job of performing the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to contend with and manages to make each sufficiently distinct, so I didn’t get confused about who was speaking.
In 1946 a group of women embarked on a six-weeks long journey to Great Britain, leaving Sydney harbor aboard the HMS Victorious, a royal navy aircraft carrier. The 650 (or so) women joined the crew of some 1,100 sailors on a journey none of them would forget. The women were all married to British service men whom they’d met when those men were briefly stationed in Australia during WW2. This is fact. Moyes own grandmother was one of those women and her story inspired this novel.
The novel focuses on four women: Jane, a 16-year-old teen without much education and who is ready to party; Avice, a society debutante from a wealthy family; the visibly pregnant Maggie, who’s leaving behind her father and brothers on the farm to join her husband; and Frances, a nurse who keeps mostly to herself, and wants nothing more than a fresh start. Moyes intersperses these women’s personal stories with events aboard ship: beauty contests, educational seminars on how to be a proper British wife, drunken brawls among the sailors, shopping in exotic ports, heart-breaking telegrams, secrets kept and scandals revealed.
Two men feature prominently as well. Captain Highfield whose Naval career is about to end, is tasked with getting his men, his ship and the women passengers safely to Britain. And Marine Nicol who is part of the detail tasked with guarding the women’s quarters and who has his own personal heartache.
Nicolette McKenzie does a fine job of performing the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to contend with and manages to make each sufficiently distinct, so I didn’t get confused about who was speaking.
melmaus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0