Audio: Come from Away - Genevieve Graham

A Novel of the Second World War

By: Genevieve Graham

Narrated by: Michelle Ferguson

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 03-05-19

Language: English

Publisher: Audible Studios

Historical fiction

For review

My Thoughts

The couple from the previous books have grown children in this one, and it is their story. Well Grace's story to be honest.

WWII, Grace's 3 brothers go to war and she is left at home wondering if she should do more. But she has her job and parents. So life goes on, until she meets a handsome stranger. I liked Grace, she was levelheaded, but she could also hold one big grudge. 

Then there is Rudi, disillusioned by the war and Hitler, and Canada sure looks a lot greener than the hell that is war. I liked Rudi, he made no excuses. He had believed in what he believed until it got harder and harder as more policies were made.

This book is about them falling in love, but that is only a small part. It is about Rudi doing his best to get away and show that he is worth more. It is about the war taking a toll on people at home and those fighting. And again the dark side of war and how men suffer.

Final thoughts

Yes this one is tied together with the previous one, but this one is set 25 years later and is about their kids. So you can read in order, you can read out of order. It all works.

Narration

At first I was not sure, I felt like the voices blended together. But then they did not, so maybe it was just a 5 minuter bump in the road. Soon they all had distinct voices. I liked the light and darkness she managed to bring to Rudi's voice and the cheerfulness of what to call it in Grace's.

I liked her narration and I would listen to more.

From the best-selling author of Tides of Honour and Promises to Keep comes a poignant novel about a young couple caught on opposite sides of the Second World War.

In the fall of 1939, Grace Baker’s three brothers, sharp and proud in their uniforms, board Canadian ships headed for a faraway war. Grace stays behind, tending to the homefront and the general store that helps keep her small Nova Scotian community running. The war, everyone says, will be over before it starts. But three years later, the fighting rages on and rumors swirl about “wolf packs” of German U-Boats lurking in the deep waters along the shores of East Jeddore, a stone’s throw from Grace’s window. As the harsh realities of war come closer to home, Grace buries herself in her work at the store.

Then, one day, a handsome stranger ventures into the store. He claims to be a trapper come from away, and as Grace gets to know him, she becomes enamored by his gentle smile and thoughtful ways. But after several weeks, she discovers that Rudi, her mysterious visitor, is not the lonely outsider he appears to be. He is someone else entirely - someone not to be trusted. When a shocking truth about her family forces Grace to question everything she has so strongly believed, she realizes that she and Rudi have more in common than she had thought. And if Grace is to have a chance at love, she must not only choose a side, but take a stand.

Come from Away is a mesmerizing story of love, shifting allegiances, and second chances, set against the tumultuous years of the Second World War.

Audio: Tides of Honour - Genevieve Graham

Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi

Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 11-09-17

Language: English Genre: historical fiction

Publisher: Audible Studios

For review

My Thoughts

I guess when a couple is almost together at once then one should expect a bit of heartache along the way.

Danny met Audrey in French, in the midst of war. When he is sent home cos he lost his leg she follows. And then the real story begin. And that is what it was. It felt real. 

Once he tells himself that he is luckier since he does not suffer from shell shock. But he clearly is not ok and he does have ptsd. Drinks too much, depressed (I mean he did loose a leg!), violent. Pushing way those who care. And yes I confess that there sure were times I did not like him when he was an idiot, but then it was not really him. It was war that had changed him and he tried to fight his demons but could not.

Since this is another time he also had trouble with his wife making money while he was useless.

So all credit goes to Audrey. She stands by him for better and for worse. It is not an easy life, but worry not, there is happiness at the end. And I am glad for it.

There was also this really interesting historic event woven into the story. The explosion in Halifax. I had no idea that it had happened. And at that scale! Mind blowing and horrible. I do love learning things like this. So much I do not know.

I enjoyed it. The ups and downs. The bitter reality of life.

Narrator

I have not listened to him before (I think). But I enjoyed his voice for women and men. He made it into a nice tale to listen to.

Blurb

In the summer of 1916, Private Daniel Baker marches into battle with the boys of Nova Scotia's 25th Battalion. Out of brutal necessity, Danny has steeled himself against the trials and horrors of war, but he is completely unprepared to meet the love of his life in war-torn France.

Audrey Poulin has the soul of an artist. She lives alone with her grandmother in the quiet French countryside, where her only joy is in her brush and palette. When by chance she encounters Danny, the handsome young soldier captures her heart and inspires her painting. The young lovers believe that only together can they face the hardships the war brings.

But love is just the beginning. Mere months later Danny is gravely wounded at the Battle of the Somme, and his future is thrown into uncertainty. Soon he and Audrey find themselves struggling to build a new life in Halifax, a city grieving its lost men. As the gray winter of 1917 sets in, Danny's lack of purpose and Audrey's isolation continue to mount, pulling the two apart just as a new catastrophe threatens their existence.

Heartrending and enthralling, Tides of Honour is a novel of love and second chances set against Halifax's most devastating moment of the First World War.