Tess DeMello made the biggest mistake of her life when her fiance was out of town. The year is 1944 and Tess's fiance, Vincent has been in Chicago for so long that she needs a distraction from her loneliness. She agrees to go away for the weekend with her best friend, Gina. Two handsome men and several martinis later, Tess sleeps with one of the men. Her guilt is compounded when she realizes she is pregnant. She breaks it off with Vincent and heads to Hickory, North Carolina to confront the man who got her pregnant, Henry Kraft. Henry marries her and Tess quickly realizes that life in Hickory, North Caroline is worlds apart from her life in Baltimore. Henry's family is distant and critical, as is Henry himself. When Tess loses the baby she thinks it will be her way out of her marriage and Hickory, but Henry will not let her go. Tess is miserable until she gets to put her skills as a nurse to work at the town's newly created hospital for polio patients. She finally has a purpose and has something to live for in such a dismal situation. Then Vincent shows up to work at the hospital and Tess knows that she has to find a way to get out of her marriage - but at what cost?

The Stolen Marriage is a rich, historical novel that eloquently illustrates how far this country has come from since 1944. In 1944 the country was rationing gas and food while soldiers fought in Europe. The Civil War still held great influence over behaviors and laws in the south and Polio was very much a medical threat. In fact, the book is historically accurate in regards to Hickory, South Carolina and the hospital that was created nearly overnight. - Miracle in Hickory. I really liked Tess, but one really bad decision changed her life. Moving to the South was such a culture shock for her that she almost immediately regretted it. Henry's mother and sister we less than welcoming, his mother even went so far as to call Tess a slut, more than once, it just highlighted the fact that Tess was from a different world. I couldn't figure out Henry and his stand-offish behavior to Tess. He didn't HAVE to marry her, so why did he? -- CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom Line - Diane Chamberlain has a real gift for crafting a story that takes the reader to a different time and place. Her characters in The Stolen Marriage are so rich and the story is so captivating it is easy to get swept away, in my opinion, that is the mark of a true craftsman.

Details:
The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
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Pages: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 10/03/2017
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Firstly, I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for giving me a copy for an honest review!

“The Stolen Marriage”, is now my second Diane Chamberlain book that I have read. It’s been several years since I’ve picked up another one of her books, but I can see why she is a popular author; “The Stolen Marriage”, was really good!

Throughout the entire book we are following one woman’s perspective: Tess. I really appreciated Tess as a character, she was very flawed, but by the end had such an amazing character arc; had she not been a bit of a mess in the beginning the ending would not have worked.

Tess at the beginning is trying to become a nurse. It’s 1944 and polio is running rapid. Her life is not going as planned at all and ends up marrying a man she barely knows and leaves nursing behind; until she stands up for herself!

Also, the time period was pretty much a character in itself and was very interesting to read about. It always amazes me where we have come from, from where we have been. History has changed so much in the last 70 years: vaccines, mixed races marrying, and homosexuals rights. Not saying that we certainly have it all figured out, but I will say we have come such a far way in how people are treated. I feel like that was Diane’s point to writing this story!

This is the second book I ready by Diane Chamberlain and I was not disappointed! I loved The Stolen Marriage, the story keeps you hooked from beginning to end.

The book kept me guessing, and I did not expect the outcome at all. Excellent story, highly recommend!

Tess's fiancé travels out of state to work with polio victims. While he is away, Tess has a drunken one night stand with Henry Kraft. When she finds out she is pregnant, she is wracked with guilt and unsure of what to do. Traveling to Hickory, North Carolina, she asks the guy for money to run away and raise her child in a new town. Instead, he proposes marriage. Unsure of what to do, she accepts his proposal. Both the community of Hickory and Henry's family are scandalized and make life hard for Tess. When a polio epidemic strikes, a hospital is build and Tess battles her new family to work as a nurse in its wards.

This was an interesting and dynamic book. The beginning was very dramatic and quickly hooked me. Tess and the other characters were well developed and interesting to read about. Overall, well worth picking up. I look forward to reading more from this author.

4 stars

Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors and she has done it again with The Stolen Marriage. More historical fiction than what I am used to by Chamberlain, but still a character driven drama in her usual style.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Tess and loved how she evolved as a woman and became a leader in a time when women were not leaders in our country. Her story was engaging and evoked plenty of different emotions. I kept reading well past my bedtime to find out how this one ended.

No major twists and turns, but all around good story telling in a character driven family drama set in the 1940’s. I would highly recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction or domestic dramas. This is an amazing story of love, secrets, family, betrayal, forgiveness and strength.

I have read many books by Diane Chamberlain and have been moved by each and every one. In THE STOLEN MARRIAGE she has written a very compelling and, for me, and emotional story set during the 1940’s polio epidemic and the discrimination still held in the South between the whites and folks of color.

The setting for the majority of the book is in Hickory, NC when a young engaged Italian woman made a mistake that changed her life. Tess DeMillo’s life had been mapped out for years, she was on her way to becoming a nurse and her fiancé, the boy next door, was on his way to becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, a brief trip to Washington DC, and too many cocktails led Tess to sacrifice the virginity she was saving.

Pregnant with nowhere to go, Tess knew she needed financial help and approached the man who was the father of her child. Instead of monetary help he asked her to marry him but Tess discovered the handsome man, with a gorgeous home and wealthy beyond her wildest dreams was kind but had no interest in consummation of the marriage. In a difficult situation and wanting something for herself, Tess finishes her nursing degree and goes on to become a nurse for the NC’s Emergency Infantile Hospital, which was built and staffed in just 3 days.

Even though I am late in writing the review, I finished this book in record time as the story was not something one could let go of. Ms. Chamberlain continues to write the books that take you away to another place and time - just what I look for and another WOW book others must discover!

Marilyn Rondeau

Another good read from Diane Chamberlain! Set in the 1940's, it was a different day and time and Tess feels she can't live a lie. She gives up the life she's knows and the life she wants not to shame her family. Little does she know her new husband is hiding his own secrets. Little by little Tess tries to find her way in small town Hickory NC and finally gets the chance to do something she loves, nursing, when polio comes to NC. When tragedy strikes Tess fights to learn the truth and in turn, finds everything she was looking for. Great story!

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Tess is trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out. Secrets and lies build up and she finds herself seeking advice from the local medium. Also happening is the country's worst ever polio outbreak.

The book had a slow start. Tess spent too much time waffling over her decisions. Get a clue! Tess bothered me. Not making a decision is still a decision. The last half of the book was a bit better, finally understanding the problems and motives of the characters involved.

3.25☆

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: I've read quite a few books by Diane Chamberlain and find each one to be deeply engrossing, multi-layered stories that capture your attention right from the start and never let up. This latest one was certainly no exception, and having a historical aspect to it only added an extra dimension to an already fascinating tale.

I love how Diane has taken an actual event - an event I fully admit to knowing nothing about - and spun this amazing tale around it. This is historical fiction at it's best! Little did I know when I was reading this book that not only does the town of Hickory, NC actually exist, but that back in the 1940's they actually did build a polio hospital in 54 hours. How amazing is that? It just goes to show that when there is a dire need for something, people really do come together to help out! That's just human nature...always has been, always will be.

This book keeps you engaged from start to finish. There's the sense that all is not right with Tess's husband - the man that she is forced to marry after she makes the most dreadful mistake of her life. Henry Kraft might be doing the right thing for her, but he certainly doesn't love her, and his odd behavior is definitely puzzling to Tess. But just when I thought I had figured out what was going on with him...I was completely thrown off base - a few times! I totally didn't see where Diane was going with this story line and that's a good thing...I love being surprised!

I loved that Tess, though she had an uphill battle, kept pushing and defying what her husband and mother-in-law thought was "appropriate" behavior for her, especially when it came to her nursing license. She was bound and determined to work at that polio hospital and wasn't going to let anyone stop her...and she didn't. She might have given in to their demands early in the marriage, but this was important to her...this was her life and what made her her.

This book is constantly moving. There are no dull parts, there are no lulls. I found myself constantly on edge, waiting to see what was around the corner for these characters, because there was always something happening, always one more thing to unravel or reveal. This book is full of secrets and well-developed characters that just tug on your heartstrings. It's the type of story that will linger in your mind long after you finish reading. This is why I love reading Diane Chamberlain...her books are so good and so complex - it's like being transported to that world. I just love them.

It’s no secret I live for the next Diane Chamberlain novel. Though I discovered her work pretty late in the game (she debuted in 1989 but my intro was her 2014 release, The Silent Sister!) I instantly fell hard for her writing and with 2015’s Pretending to Dance, knew Diane was someone special…and someone who clearly had a mission in life to crush my heart. So when her latest appeared at my door, you better believe I was ALL over it.

Everyone knew Tess and Vincent were destined to be together. When they were kids they spent almost every waking moment together and as they became older that friendship deepened into something more. Now engaged with a wedding rapidly approaching, Tess couldn’t be more excited about her future. Until the day she suddenly breaks off the engagement, moving hundreds of miles away to marry a man who’s practically a stranger.

Cutting off all ties to her life back home, Tess tries to love her husband and fit in with his elite Southern community as each day Henry becomes more and more mysterious. He spends long nights at his family’s furniture factory, he has a secret stash of money in a hidden compartment in his dresser, even his sister is in on it and never hesitates to rub Tess’s cluelessness in her face.

When the polio epidemic reaches Hickory, Tess feels compelled to act – despite Henry’s insistence that there has never been (and will never be) a Kraft woman with a job. All Tess needs to focus on is decorating the new house Henry is having built. But Tess can’t sit by, not when she has her nursing license, and soon begins feeling like the old Tess, the Tess she was back home in Baltimore. As the illness spreads, however, more and more doctors are brought in from around the country – including a doctor Tess never imagined she’d see again.

Right from the start I was captivated by The Stolen Marriage. It’s set in the mid-40s – hello, historical fiction! – and I was enchanted by Tess’s small but so tightly-knit Italian community. She and Vincent were so clearly made for each other and I’m a total sucker for a childhood romance. Diane Chamberlain is an expert at crafting characters and before I was even halfway into the book I felt as though I’d known Tess, her family, Henry, the people of Hickory, for years! She’s also very good at creating sympathetic characters – Tess breaks off her engagement to Vincent because she is raped by Henry and discovers she’s pregnant. Tess was convinced she was to blame, that what happened that night was consensual when, as a reader, I knew exactly what went on and absolutely hated Henry for it. Imagine my shock when, by the end of the novel, I saw him in a completely different light.

There are numerous storylines at work within this book’s pages: Tess’s lost love and her new life, whatever Henry is up to, a jilted lover who thought she was going to become Mrs. Henry Kraft, a man who can communicate with spirits, but the one that stood out the most was the polio epidemic. Or, more specifically, Hickory’s response. If you know me you know one of my all-time favorite sub-genres is what I’ve dubbed biographical fiction. Novels that feature real people and places from history. Here (and I wasn’t aware of this until Diane’s author’s note) it was the hospital that sprung up practically overnight. Known as the Miracle of Hickory, a functioning, fully staffed hospital was erected in just 54 hours. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, over 500 patients were treated there!

I once compared Diane’s books to Lifetime movies – and not in a bad way! Her books are filled to the brim with characters and plots and there’s never a dull moment (one of the characters in The Stolen Marriage fakes their own death)!

Diane Chamberlain has hit another homerun with The Stolen Marriage. While it didn’t tug at my heart nearly as much as Pretending to Dance, I was still glued to the page. She has the amazing ability to truly write something for everyone: there’s romance (including forbidden romance), intrigue, history, drama, the list goes on. I’ll admit I was angry with how the rape (yes it was indeed rape, Tess) was handled, but I understand the reasoning behind it. Despite that, however, The Stolen Marriage is a great read and I’m so excited to see what Diane does next!

I loved this book. I have always loved Chamberlain from the very first book I read by her and I still love her today. I feel like everything she writes is magic. I thought The Stolen Marriage was one of her best books yet. One of those rare books that kept me guessing, on edge of my seat and fully engaged from start to finish. She has always done a great job building the story off of her unique characters and with this story she blew we away. She wrote with depth, insight and heart. This is a great book for fall and for book clubs.

<p>I just came off of a very long book with a lot of characters and a complicated storyline. I was in desperate need of an engaging, easy-to-read story and that is just what I got with The Stolen Marriage. I was hooked right from the first chapter and couldn’t wait to see where the story was going to go. It also blends two of my favorite genres history and mystery – it doesn’t get any better than that!</p>
<p>I read a few spoiler-free reviews and I knew this was a book I wanted to read. I skipped over the synopsis until right now when I sat down to write this review. I have to say I am incredibly grateful I did because in my opinion it gives away far too much of the storyline. So if you haven’t read it yet, don’t!</p>
<p>It’s 1943 and Tess is engaged to be married to Vincent, the boy next door who she has known for most of her life. Tess and her best friend Gina take a weekend trip to Washington. While there Tess makes one bad decision and life as she knows it is turned upside down.</p>
<p>I’m a bit torn because I really enjoyed this story, but there were moments when the story felt a bit forced. I found a couple of Tess’s decisions questionable and seemly out of character. Most of the time I really liked Tess and I was in her corner, cheering her on. Then were times when she frustrated me, I wanted her to not be submissive and to express how she feels. Of course that is twenty-first century me, my how times have changed.</p>
<p>While the story largely revolves around Tess, it also sheds light on the polio outbreak, the fear it caused and the hospital that was built in Hickory to treat those sickened by the disease. There is also a mystery revolving around Tess’s husband that keeps us wondering what he is hiding.</p>
<p>Upon finishing the book, I was delighted to read that there really was a hospital built in Hickory in just fifty-four hours to take care of those who came down with polio. I should have realized this actually happened, fifty-four hours is an awfully specific number of hours, I just didn’t think about it at the time. I always enjoy reading about the research authors do prior to writing their book, and in the case of this book Diane Chamberlain even drew upon a personal experience she had. You’ll have to read more about that in the Author Notes and Acknowledgments.</p>
<p>This is my third Diane Chamberlain book and I am a fan for life!</p>

I enjoyed this book! Very easy read. Tess was a great flawed character. I was rooting for her to get back with Vincent. I enjoyed the plot twist in the end between hank and honor, I didn't see that coming!

I love all of Diane Chamberlin books, this was right up there with the rest. I read it in one day !!!!!!!
I would recomend this book to anyone who likes to read.

Baltimore native Tess DeMello’s life changed forever when she joined her friend Gina on a short trip to Washington, DC. The plan was for the girls to stay with Gina’s aunt, who rented rooms to travelers, because in 1944, good girls were still chaperoned overnight. However, Gina’s aunt couldn’t be there, and Tess and Gina went out with the two young men staying at the house. They all had too much to drink, and Tess and Henry ended up in bed together, with Tess discovering several months later that she was pregnant.

I appreciated Tess’s initial courage in leaving behind everything familiar, including her fiancé Vincent, in order to protect herself and the baby by marrying Henry. I could understand how she was in a holding pattern, waiting for the baby’s arrival, waiting for the new house to be built, waiting for her mother-in-law Ruth (an awful woman, BTW) to accept her, but that part seemed to drag on too long. Once the polio hospital was built, Tess, a Registered Nurse, defied both Henry and Ruth by volunteering, and I was drawn in to the story once again.

The last third of the book is where the action is. Tess’s strength is shown in full force, she shows what a capable woman she truly is, and in case you were wondering, there is the expected and hoped for Happily Ever After.

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first book I have been able to finish in quite a while. Definitely a beach read but it was hard to put down. Something happens in every chapter that makes you want to turn just one more page.

THE FIRST LINE: "It's a terrible feeling, being despised."

THE STORY: Tess and Vincent have loved each other all their lives and plan to marry, but one fateful weekend changes everything. Tess ends up marrying another man and moving to Hickory, North Carolina where she endures a loveless marriage. How she finds herself during the polio epidemic of 1944 is historically fascinating.

WHAT I THOUGHT: This is my second Diane Chamberlain and it appears that her formula is similar. Her chic-lit stories feature young women allowing secrets to complicate their lives. This plot has everything but the kitchen sink, but you'll keep reading until all the secrets are revealed. My lack of enthusiasm is a minority. Other readers adore everything Dian Chamberlain has written.

Historical fiction is not my first choice but this book incorporates an event that actually happened.

"In June 1944, the citizens of Hickory built a hospital in 54 hours to save their children from the worst polio outbreak that had ever hit the United States. Looking back now, even knowing the results – 13 wards erected, doctors and nurses flocking in by the dozens, hundreds of patients treated and released, with only 12 deaths, one of the country’s lowest-ever rates for polio – the enormity of the undertaking still bewilders." (Charles D. Dixon, Hickory NC)

As a matter of fact, I found myself talking about this to my book group mostly because of the historical aspects. I have called Diane Chamberlain's work 'Nancy Drew stories for adults' but that isn't fair. I was drawn into the story because so many of the outrageous things mirrored parts of my own life and many other women. Besides when I was growing up, I read every Nancy Drew I could find. It's good to know that there are tons of other titles waiting for me to pick up!

Title: The Stolen Marriage
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Women's Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
No. of Pages: 384
Copyright: October 3, 2017
ISBN-10: 1250087279
ISBN-13: 978-1250087270

Disclaimer: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for an honest review.

DIANE CHAMBERLAIN is the international bestselling author of more than 25 novels published in more than twenty languages, including The Broken String and The Silent Sister. She lives in North Carolina with her partner, photographer John Pagliuca, and her shelties, Keeper and Cole.

This book was really beautiful. The writing was gorgeous but not overly lyrical, the setting was brought perfectly to life and the characters were extraordinarily vivid. It was also incredibly sad. I've heard quite a lot about polio from my Grandmother who grew up in a small southern town in the 30s and 40s. Entire families were decimated in a week's time with no warning. The boy who played in a high school football game one Friday night was dead by the next Friday night. Swimming pools were closed and people stayed in their houses hoping to protect their children from the merciless disease. In the age of modern medicine I've always had a hard time imagining that level of helplessness and fear though the imagery was so vividly grim. However, Chamberlain's book brought it fully to life.

My heart broke for Tess. She's so full of life and happiness and determination in the beginning of the timeline and we then we see her so lost and scared and empty. She's alone in a houseful of people with no support whatsoever except for little scraps of kindness she finds in unexpected places. But when the polio epidemic hits Tess's new home of Hickory, North Carolina the sun starts to shine again though the sky is far from cloudless.

While there were tears in my eyes many times through out the reading of this book it was all worth it to see Tess slowly start to find herself again and stand on shaky legs. I would have liked more hope or a twist of humor to lighten things a little but that is personal preference and not a problem with the book. If you're looking for vivid historical fiction that brings a time period to life than this is a great choice - just have tissues nearby!

The Stolen Marriage

Diane Chamberlain is one of my favourite authors and I know when I have one of her books, I’m in for a real treat!

Necessary Lies is my favourite, but now The Stolen Marriage is a close second. I love how Diane will take potentially difficult issues and manage to write about them in the most beautiful way. No plot details in this review as I don’t want to risk any spoilers. Just know that A Stolen Marriage is a beautifully captivating historical fiction that will completely grip you from start to finish and leave you almost bereft that it’s ended. Five stars from purplebookstand.

I was lucky enough to be provided with an advanced copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it.

Diane Chamberlain knows exactly what's she's doing. This story, of Tess, Vincent and Hank pulls you in and doesn't let you go.

Tess and Vincent have known each other their entire life and are madly in love. Vincent, a doctor, volunteers to help in an emergency and is away much longer than expected. Tess...full of nerves, go out with her best friend and makes a drunken mistake. She ends her engagement and finds that a well to do man, Hank, still wants to marry her.

It quickly becomes apparent that Tess and Hank have a tragic and hard marriage. Tess isn't welcome in Hank's town and her life become mundane. Tess eventually finds herself back in the medical field, but still find herself up against Hank and his mother.

I love books set in the 1940's and this was written in such an engaging manner that I didn't feel that it was dated, the atmosphere was beautiful. In the end, this is about much more than a bad marriage, this is about redemption.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This story takes place in 1944 and is about 23 year old Tess who is engaged but it comes to an end when she marries a stranger in Hickory, North Carolina. There is a lot of racial tension and hardships during world war II. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows no interest in making love. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out. Henry's family is very respected in town and Tess is shunned by everyone including Henry's family. Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain, especially after one of the town’s prominent citizens dies in a terrible accident and Tess is blamed. When a sudden polio epidemic strikes the town, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle her husband’s mysterious behavior and save her own life?
I loved the characters and finding out why they act the way they do.