Narrated by: Karen Peakes
I have seen this author being reviewed a lot by those people who read a lot of historical fiction. The reviews usually sing high praises for the author and the characters she writes about. I decided this book was a good enough place to start and I really enjoyed it!
The story is of English women who married American soldiers when the latter was posted in London and nearby areas. The marriages in this story (and the reality that it happened in) is a whole different level of trust altogether! There is no way to verify the facts of the situation since intercontinental travel was not easily accessible to all and the entire courtship lasted a very short time. We focus on four such women, with only a mild difference in social standing and all set for New York. None of them have an escape plan or a way to return if things do not go the way they want it to and they also have their own fears. I was listening to this audiobook in public and had to find a way to stifle my tears at certain parts. The narrator and the author have done a great job of getting us to emotionally invest in all of them.
Each of these four women has certain hopes and dreams and requirements about and from their new lives. They form a very strong bond of friendship on the ship over and as they settle into their new lives (or not settle in some cases), they do not reach out to the other for different reasons. When they finally do things change at an amazing pace. There are some convenient endings which are meant to make people like me who were teary-eyed from some sadder events, smile. This is that kind of book after all. There is ample scope for discussion about social situations and how much would be too much for any particular person. I am looking forward to reading/listening to more books by this author.
My last KU review was: The Rescue (Ryan Decker #1) by Steven Konkoly and my queue now looks like this:
Superfluous Reading 