Moyes' fans won't be disappointed with this altogether pleasant voyage.
Australian brides form friendships as they make their way to England aboard an aircraft carrier in this novel, originally published in Britain in 2005, from Moyes (Silver Bay, 2014, etc.).
After World War II ends, more than 600 Australian brides are traveling to join their husbands in England. But the Victoria is no luxury liner—it's an aircraft carrier, and it's also full of naval officers. The novel follows four roommates (a pregnant farm girl, a social striver, a loudmouthed teenager and a quiet nurse) as well as some of the ship’s men as secrets are revealed and true friendships are slowly formed over the six-week voyage, but not every woman is lucky enough to get a happy ending. The troubles the characters face are not always due to marrying faraway men during wartime; their problems are often caused by the lofty expectations and limited roles forced on women in the 1940s, and this well-researched novel shines a light on women's postwar lives. In this world, men are able to have full lives and consequence-free extramarital dalliances, but even the intimation of an affair is enough to ruin a bride’s life. Although focusing on so many characters could easily have become overwhelming, Moyes masterfully balances their stories. The book drags in parts, and the largely unnecessary frame story is easily forgotten, but those are small complaints. Moyes creates characters full of warmth and heart, and readers will find themselves swept up in this quiet, emotional story.
Moyes' fans won't be disappointed with this altogether pleasant voyage.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-14-312647-8
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005,...
Murder mixes with anguish in steamy Savannah.
FBI-trained hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara is a lieutenant in the Savannah police department. Ever since Phoebe and her family were held hostage when she was 12, her mother has been agoraphobic, and Phoebe and her brother Carter still bear the psychological scars, but Phoebe’s used the memory to hone her skills. While talking a suicidal bartender off a ledge, she meets his boss, Duncan Swift. The charming millionaire coaxes her into meeting for a drink, and their relationship slowly deepens. But life takes a turn for the worse when a misogynist cop botches a hostage situation. Suspended, he blames Phoebe and retaliates by viciously attacking her in the precinct house stairwell. He loses his job, but his father’s connections keep him out of jail. Phoebe is physically and mentally injured, but her family and her blossoming relationship with Duncan help her cope until a dangerous pattern develops: A strange man keeps crossing her path. Dead animals begin appearing on her doorstep. A hostage taker is shot after she talks him into surrendering. Her ex-husband is brutally murdered by the mystery man, who phones her with sadistic threats. Is it the spiteful disgraced cop or someone from her past? Phoebe must identify the killer before he can carry out his final outrage.
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005, etc.).Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-15434-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
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