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War Brides Audiobook
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(3.00) - 5,095 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
An international bestseller with over one million readers.
With war threatening to spread from Europe to England, the sleepy village of Crowmarsh Priors settles into a new sort of normal: Evacuees from London are billeted in local homes. Nightly air raids become grimly mundane. The tightening vice of rationing curtails every comfort. Men leave to fight and die. And five women forge an unlikely bond of friendship that will change their lives forever.
Alice Osbourne, the stolid daughter of the late vicar, is reeling from the news that Richard Fairfax broke their engagement to marry Evangeline Fontaine, an American girl from the Deep South. Evangeline’s arrival causes a stir in the village—but not the chaos that would ensue if they knew her motives for being there. Scrappy Elsie Pigeon is among the poor of London who see the evacuations as a chance to escape a life of destitution. Another new arrival is Tanni Zayman, a young Jewish girl who fled the horrors of Europe and now waits with her newborn son, certain that the rest of her family is safe and bound to show up any day. And then there’s Frances Falconleigh, a madcap, fearless debutante whose father is determined to keep her in the countryside and out of the papers.
As the war and its relentless hardships intensify around them, the same struggles that threaten to rip apart their lives also bring the five closer together. They draw strength from one another to defeat formidable enemies—hunger, falling bombs, the looming threat of a Nazi invasion, and a traitor in their midst—and find remarkable strength within themselves to help their friends. Theirs is a war-forged loyalty that will outlast the fiercest battle and endure years and distance.
When four of the women return to Crowmarsh Priors for a VE Day celebration fifty years later, television cameras focus on the heartwarming story of these old women as war brides of a bygone age, but miss the more newsworthy angle. The women’s mission is not to commemorate or remember—they’ve returned to settle a score and avenge one of their own.
Revised edition: This edition of War Brides includes editorial revisions.
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"I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was wanting more even after the storyline came to a conclusion. Evangeline, Alice, Elsie, Francis and Tanni all came to live in the English countryside, quite by chance, before War broke out in Europe. Their lives became entwined in such a way that they became forever friends. They were an unlikely bunch to have formed such lasting friendships. Alice, the local minister's daughter who had never stepped outside Crowmarch Priors, Frances, the admiral's daughter who had been "banished" to the countryside because of her lively antics, Evangelne, the American, who had hurriedly married the dashing English aviator to escape from her arranged marriage , Tanni, a refugee who had narrowly escaped the German persecution of the Jews and Elsie, the lowly tenemant girl sent to live in the country to escape the bombings of London. Together they formed a family unit helping each other get through the long, lonely war years. THe hardships they endured and their acts of solidarity kept them through hard times and after fifty years are finally reunited to celebrate VE day in England. As the story closes the last of the puzzle pieces comes together as to the "missing" member. In some ways the ending is sad but totally unexpected ."
— Michele (5 out of 5 stars)
War Brides Listener Reviews
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" Okay, but disjointed kind of characters. "
— Ilene, 2/18/2014 -
" I had no expectations going into reading this book but I found that it was hard to follow at times. There were a lot of characters in this book and at times I found myself really confused as to who was doing what. There were also quite a few grammatical errors in this book that made it hard to follow. Overall, not terrible but not something that I would really recommend to other readers. "
— Sarah, 2/4/2014 -
" I liked the story line and reading about life in a small English town in the war. It did seem contrived, though, and just a little simplistic. "
— Darlene, 1/31/2014 -
" This was a very good story. It was not compelling but very easy reading. There was a lot of insight into what it was like in England for women during the war. Very enjoyable. "
— Cara, 1/28/2014 -
" Totally enjoyed reading this book. Characters were well developed all though a little too good too be real. It captured the spirit of the British quite well and relayed the desperate situation during WWII in a relatively realistic way. The novel did deserve a bit better ending. Had just finished Those Who Save Us before this novel. As always the British do it well and have earned my deep respect. "
— Mary, 1/20/2014 -
" This is a fairly easy read that held my interest. It is a perfect read for a no heavy lifting mood. "
— Elise, 1/20/2014 -
" Suprising ending. Enjoyable read. More than a romance. "
— Cheryl, 1/19/2014 -
" After reading nearly 400 of the 480 pages in this book, I knew I would be sad to finish it. Not too many books grab me the way this one did. I loved it! "
— Rachelle, 1/14/2014 -
" Story was a little thin but overall a good book. It's nice to read a WWII book from the perspective of the people at home "
— Lizzie, 1/14/2014 -
" One of my fave of this genre "
— Sara, 12/29/2013 -
" I really enjoyed this book. It showed a side of WWII that I had never thought about. Great characters and stories. "
— Sara, 12/27/2013 -
" A chick lit take on historical fiction in which a group if women from different countries and backgrounds come together in WWII England. "
— Stacey, 12/2/2013 -
" An OK story. Nothing really special. Good for a bad TV night. "
— Nancy, 11/28/2013 -
" Good Story. Loved the characters. Gave it a 3 star rating due to typographical errors. Needed better editing. "
— Patricia, 11/21/2013 -
" Awesome book !! Once starting to read, very hard to put down. "
— Stefmorgan, 11/19/2013 -
" I enjoyed this book-- I fell in love with these women that became War Brides -- they were incredible people. The book also gives you a better look at what life was like for the women back home when the fighting was happening abroad . . .I would recommend this book! "
— Nikki, 11/19/2013 -
" The editor definitely missed some things, however it is a beautiful story. A little difficult to follow at times but I really enjoyed it. "
— Michelle, 11/13/2013 -
" War Brides was ingeresting but not engrossing. I liked reading about WWII from the British perspective. The plot took lots of turns and twists which made the ending more than a happily ever after romance. It had a good mix of different characters representing various cultures. "
— Elisa, 10/22/2013 -
" Very disjointed. I feel like I skipped a chapter somewhere in the middle because the book lost its track... The ending was a complete let down. It's like the author ran out of steam. "
— Niki, 9/20/2013 -
" I enjoyed the historical setting, a little village in England around World War II, and the characters were appealing. The plot was a bit contrived, but I didn't seem to mind. "
— Akalen, 8/15/2013 -
" too many characters, unresolved stories within the book and a totally unrealistic ending "
— Sharonh, 6/24/2013 -
" Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing books I've read about a group of English women who worked during WWII, and their efforts in helping those along the English coast survive. "
— Katy, 5/15/2013 -
" It was okay. Some parts were super sweet, but off set by the other parts that were super annoying. "
— Alexis, 4/6/2013 -
" It started out as a good story, but in the end it just didn't hit the mark. And it needed editing! "
— Karen, 3/9/2013 -
" I think this could probably have been better. It was a good idea but it ended up being a waste of time "
— Julaine, 2/7/2013 -
" I never do this. I NEVER do this. But I hated this book. Bad writing, bad editing, and thoughtless sentimentality. I hated it so much that I returned it before I finished it because I decided it wasn't worth the time and energy. Thank god I got it for free! "
— DMluvsPrufrock, 2/2/2013 -
" I'm so torn because I absolutely LOVED this book right up until the end which was absolutely ridiculous! "
— Jennifer, 11/11/2012 -
" Really enjoyable read interesting characters "
— Emma, 10/1/2012 -
" Mediocre at best. Interesting story. Sort of a World War II era Downton Abbey. "
— Carrie, 6/24/2012
About Helen Bryan
Helen Bryan spent ten years as a barrister before leaving law to write full time. In 2003, she received the Award of Merit from the Colonial Dames of America for her biography Martha Washington: First Lady of Liberty. Her first work of historical fiction, War Brides, was a bestseller on Amazon.com. She is also the author of the law handbook Planning Applications and Appeals. Raised in Tennessee and Virginia, she currently resides in London with her family.
About Tavia Gilbert
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.