Makes me want to re-read Hemingways works but that's all. Historical fiction.

This one feels plodding at times but you do have to read and/or listen to the end to appreciate the full impact. You will not like the characters. It is not touchy feely. However it goes to the hidden side of life that we often do not like to admit is real.

This book ultimately
annoyed me on so many levels. I found the main characters implausible, and irritating. I selected the audiobook. I often find audiobooks disappointing if the narrator(s) portraying the roles come across forced and unbelievable. The book was recommended to me based on a survey of favorites. It was a miss.

This book is 600 pages in print and 25 hours on audiobook. I would not recommend for book clubs based on length alone. The story of Marian Graves would have been sufficient and was very well written even poignant. The war years in particular. The story of Hadley Baxter did not add anything to Marian's story but was needed to "end" the story. If this was Marian's story alone I would have rated it a solid "4" maybe even "4.5"

This came as a recommendation from find your next read type of book service. It did not resonate. If the author, Sarah Domet, intended to create empathy for the girls, the "Guineveres", it was lost on me. Less time on the saints and more time on the family circumstances that brought the girls to the Sisters of Supreme Adoration convent might have helped move the story along and help me to connect with Vere, Gwen, Win, and Ginny. I attended a girls only Catholic school so have some appreciation for the religious schooling the girls received, the role of the sisters, Sister Fran and even Father James. That felt all too familiar. The pain the pain of abandonment transferred to soldiers who could not reject their love felt possible but contrived. Heartache but not for the reader.