This book has it all - love, betrayal, secrecy and history . It takes place in 1944 when young Tess finds herself pregnant and too ashamed to tell her fiancee that she has cheated on him. She contacts the baby's father to ask for help and is amazed when he asks her to marry him. Very soon after she finds that she has made a terrible mistake even though her new husband is very rich and provides well for her, there is no love between them and Tess longs for her old life and her childhood boyfriend. She lives with Oliver Kraft and his mother and sister in a mansion, which has been in the family for generations, along with their thriving business. Slowly Tess realizes that there is something else going on, a family secret which involves Oliver and a long time worker and friend. Then tragedy hits the family and It seems like the whole small town of Hickory, North Carolina, is despising Tess. She was taking her nursing exams when she discovered she was pregnant and now Oliver does not want her to continue working, but in 1944 an unexpected epidemic hits the nation - polio, and a hospital has to be built to help the huge influx of patients. This is where the story takes a turn and keeps you reading late into the night. I thoroughly recommend this book and thank the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC for my review.

I loved this book - I read a lot, and sometimes while I find the stories enjoyable as I am reading them, they are not exactly memorable for me. I will definitely remember this one, and it is probably one of the best books I have read this year (definitely in the top 5)!

It is set in the 1940's, and the war is a backdrop but definitely not a focus of the story and the characters mention rationing, travel being difficult, etc. Due to a chain of unfortunate events that she is determined to make the best of, Tess breaks off her engagement to her fiance, who is also a close family friend, to marry a virtual stranger and move from the only home she has known to Hickory, NC. She is forced to give up the various pieces of her identity as she tries to fit in with others in her new world - give up her burgeoning nursing career, her religion, and tone down her Italian ethnicity. Tess risks losing herself completely, and the life she has worked toward building for herself.

While I was reading it, I felt like something was "off" - I was not quite sure what was going on with some of the characters, or even why. There are undercurrents within the interactions of the supporting characters that add to the mystery of the story - it had me not wanting to put it down, and I read late into the night!

This is an interesting look into the polio epidemic, which is something I know a bit about, but not much in depth. This is also a glimpse into societal differences (i.e rich vs. poor, race, religion, etc.) and some characters who fight to maintain the status quo, while others take more open-minded approach. Definitely 5 stars in my eyes!

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain is the story of Teresa “Tess” DeMello and how one night’s mistakes leads her life on a different plan than the one she had planned. The story opens in June 1944 where Tess is married to Henry and his mother, Ruth, his sister, Lucy, and most of the town of Hickory dislike her. Lucy asks her for a favor, suspicious but wanting to connect with her sister-in-law, Tess agrees. It ends in a horrific event where the reader is left wondering their fate as the story rewinds to August 1943. Tess is a nursing student and engaged to Vincent Russo, a childhood sweetheart and doctor. While Vincent is in Chicago helping with a polio epidemic, Tess and her best friend, Gina, take a trip to Washington DC. There Tess meets Henry Kraft, a businessman from Hickory, North Carolina. After dinner with too many drinks, the two have a sex which leads to a pregnancy and a dilemma for Tess. She finds Henry and he suggests marriage. She agrees, leaving everyone behind with a false story for her sudden marriage. Once in Hickory, she is met with hostility and strange events. Once a polio epidemic occurs in Hickory, Tess is able to throw herself into helping the sick while she discovers her husband has terrible secrets. Will she be able to leave her marriage and this town?
The Stolen Marriage is a fast paced story with the backbone of a real life polio epidemic in Hickory, North Carolina and the amazing efforts the community took to help the sick. The story was wonderful with heartache and tears. There was one chapter that had me in tears. I was able to read this book in a few hours as I could not put it down. There were twists and turns, questions that I asked myself as I read. I highly recommend The Stolen Marriage. It is a story of secrets, betrayals, prejudices and the power of forgiveness.

The Stolen Marriage
will be available October 3, 2017
in hardcover and eBook

A Stolen Marriage
By Diane Chamberlain

5 Stars !  A great read, with engaging protagonists.
Set in a 1940's back drop, a spellbinding ride from the beginning to the end.

I received this ARC through Netgalley for a honest review.

I simply loved everything about The Stolen Marriage, from beginning to end, I was totally hooked and could not put it down.

Starting in 1943, Tess DeMello and her fiancé Vincent have a promising future ahead of them. Then after a huge mistake that destroys their future together, Tess marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina, a small town struggling with racial tension and the hardships imposed by World War II. Although Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, seems to be a kind man, there is no love between them.

When a sudden polio epidemic strikes the town, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital, in just a few days, a true story that I found fascinating and had to go and read up about it. Tess, who has a nursing degree, is determined to work in the hospital against her husband’s wishes.

Some wonderful characters and some not so wonderful ones, but they all worked beautifully.

The Stolen Marriage has it all, love, betrayal, lies, secrets and a HUGE surprise.

A brilliant book which is a must read for everyone.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy of this fantastic book and this is my honest review.

Another five star read by Diane Chamberlain. A solid, interesting story with three-dimensional characters. I liked the setting and the fact that the people of Hickory really did build, staff and get a hospital up and running in fifty-four hours. Wow! That's impressive. I really liked Tess and was rooting for her to find happiness after everything she'd been through. Chamberlain has a way of making you feel part of instead of simply reading a book. I loved it!

4.5 stars (rounded to 5 stars)

This is my third Diane Chamberlain novel, and I have to say she writes fiction as well as anyone I’ve read. I could easily get in a rut and read several Chamberlain stories in a row. It’s been about a year since I read my last one; it won’t take nearly that long for me to read my next.

The story is set in the mid 1940s, first in Baltimore, then in the town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess DeMello had a good thing going. She had a wonderful fiancé, a budding career, a loving mother, her church, and a hometown she loved. Then she made a mistake that would change things forever. Stolen Marriage is a compelling story about regrets, deception, heartache, strength, and redemption. It is also a powerful tale of prejudice, privilege of the rich, forbidden love, fierce loyalty, and the pulling together of a community to save many lives.

Stolen Marriage is written in first person from Tess’s perspective. Ms. Chamberlain does a stellar job in developing Tess and letting us in on the roller coaster ride of her thoughts and emotions. For many reasons Tess is not welcome in Hickory. I admired the way she didn’t wallow in the circumstances of her own making, but forged on, doing everything she could to make the best of a bad situation. The tale is full of intriguing characters. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft is a well-respected businessman, but his actions are curious and his motives are not clear. Henry’s mother Ruth and his sister Lucy have their own agendas, and they do not include having Tess as a member of the family. We also are introduced to Reverend Sam and a bit of paranormal imagery. Then there is sweet Hattie and Honor, Zeke and little Jilly amongst an array of other townspeople.

Playing a large part in the story is the hospital for polio victims set up in Hickory in an astounding 54 hours when the emergent need arose. Much of this section is based on fact and is clearly well researched. Learning about the way the epidemic was handled back then was fascinating. It was a nice change to read and learn about a crisis other than the war from that time period.

The plot turns in the story were well done. I thought I had things figured out on several occasions, but the twists kept coming. The ending was very satisfying, and I appreciated the epilogue, which takes place ten years later.

I found Stolen Marriage to be very inspiring. This gets a lot of points in my book. The only thing keeping it from a full 5 stars is that I wish Vincent had been more fleshed out. I didn’t feel I knew enough about him and his history with Tess to fully feel their relationship.

Overall, Stolen Marriage was a captivating read. Kudos to Ms. Chamberlain for being able to write such a quality book so far into her career (and without a co-author, lol). This novel is highly recommended for everyone. I look forward to reading many more of Ms. Chamberlain’s novels.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for inviting me to read an ARC through Net Galley. Opinions expressed are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was such a complex story. I was blown away by the issues the author wrote about. All of them extremely controversial for the 1940s and she brilliantly told each one in a heartfelt way. We start with Tess. Engaged to her childhood sweetheart and ready to become a nurse. Then she ends up making a drunken mistake and ended up pregnant by a man she just met. He comes up with the idea they need to get married. She agreed, but had no idea he was hiding a secret. Each chapter made me more curious about these characters. Very well done.

That night with Henry Kraft was all I could think about, and each time it filled my mind, I felt the same nausea I’d fought all that morning.

The Stolen Marriage begins with a tragedy, and takes us back to the start- a change of direction in young Italian Tess DeMello’s love life. Sworn to marry her beloved childhood sweetheart, Vincent Russo, there is nothing she wants more. Close and destined for each other their entire lives, both are deeply connected to each other’s families. Studying to be a nurse, Vincent a doctor- the dream is to share a future together in medicine. When Vincent leaves Tess, promising only to be gone for a short time, doubt enters her mind. Could he be seeing someone else? Just how long should a woman wait and keep her faith? With doubts creeping in, when her friend Gina talks her into a weekend away in Washington, her wild friend encourages her into letting loose, and it will change the future she and Vincent had intricately planned.

Shamed into a marriage of necessity, she becomes Henry Kraft’s wife. A wealthy, successful prominent ‘catch’ to the people in his community, his own family had plans of their own for their noble son. Tess is a life-crasher of sorts, and Henry is full of his own secrets, the night they shared is now eclipsed by his cold withdrawal. He promises rto take care of her, she’ll want for nothing, one day they’ll have their own home, so just be respectful of ‘mother’ and accept he has a busy life. He seems to be a good man, if disinterested in her. Occupied with his furniture business, leaving Tess alone night after night, shunned by her sister-in-law, the society ladies and her Henry’s mother- she knows she will need more to fill her life. But Henry is controlling, no wife of his will ever work, though Tess still burns to see part of her life dream fulfilled, that of nurse.

With her humble origins, and her Italian blood the community finds her ethnicity vile, that their southern son would chose such a creature boils the blood of many, and the women won’t let her forget that she will never fit in. She is nothing but a usurper! A marriage thief! She feels much more comfortable with ‘the help’. Everyone knows you don’t mingle with the help! Tess feels an affinity for the maid, and this is 1944 when the race divide was wide. This is not how either Henry nor Tess’s lives were meant to unfold. Both need each other, her reasons are open, impossible to hide but Henry would risk too much in revealing his reasoning. It’s vital Tess remains in the dark. Is he as self-sacrificing as he seems? Or does Tess serve a purpose she has yet to learn?

When a polio epidemic reaches the people of Hickory, North Carolina- Henry can’t deny Tess’s skills to those in desperate need. But the past will rear it’s ugly head, in suffering and loss- the truth will out. Love can’t be denied, and sometimes you have to burn the bridges of your present, watch your life turn to ash before you can meet your destiny.

The beauty of this novel is the emotional mess Tess makes, how one misstep can change your entire life. As she struggles to make the best of her unwanted situation, she finds herself torn- attacked from all sides (community, her new family) and with Henry turning away from her, she must search herself to discover her strength and decide on the life she wants. She carries with her the regret of having betrayed her first love, and his family. Nothing happens as you expect. I spent a lot of time wondering what Henry was caught up in, why he was so closed off. The accident in the beginning was a shock, and the story that followed was heart-breaking. People hurt others sometimes to get what they want in life, some could say necessary evil, others may not be so forgiving. These characters are true to life, faced with complicated choices, messy and burdened by expectations. This is a lesson in what happens when you manipulate your loved ones, rather than just letting nature take it’s course. Love where and who you will, in a perfect world it wouldn’t be so dangerous. Expectations can beat the life out of our children, can destroy their chances at happiness.

The only certainty in any life is that you will get where you’re going, but there will be many forks in the road, many diversions. Life isn’t usually as you imagined it would be and you may ask yourself ‘how did I get to this place’. It’s the beauty and horror for us all, the what ifs, the lack of guarantees, the unknown. I found this novel engaging, terribly sad, hopeful and unique. A love story and yet an un-love story too. You have to read it to understand.

Publication Date: October 3, 2017

St. Martin's Press

The Stolen Marriage was a great story! It features Tess DeMello, a young woman who is working on her nursing degree. She has a solid relationship with a finance she loves dearly, but she is suddenly in a situation where she abruptly marries a stranger and moves to his home in a small North Carolina town.

Her new husband isn't what she expected. He is very secretive and his mother, whom they live with, does not accept Tess. When tragedy strikes the family, Tess is blamed.

Soon, a polio epidemic hits, and Tess uses the nursing degree she acquired right after her marriage to help alleviate the suffering of the victims. Tess finally begins to feel that she has some value in her new town when her past turns up.

With her new husband's mysterious behavior, the raging polio epidemic, and her past facing her, she has to untangle her life and figure out what direction to take.

This book was filled with wonderful characters, some very likable, and others not. The storyline was captivating and kept me interested throughout. I enjoyed the small town setting. I thought that some difficult subjects were handled very adeptly. This is one I would recommend without hesitation.

I thought this would be a much darker novel, and I'm glad that it was not. When Tess and Hank have a one night stand that ends in an unwanted pregnancy, Hank proposes and they hurriedly marry. However, Hank has no interest in Tess, and his mother and sister are extremely unkind to her. The story takes place during a polio epidemic and Tess's nursing skills set her relationship with Hank on the right path. The historical portion of the novel was intriguing. I am appreciative to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.

I have read just about every Diane Chamberlain novel on the market and as yet have failed to find one I didn't enjoy. This latest one is no exception.
If you're looking for a feel good story to curl up with for the weekend then this is the one to choose! The central character Tess, is a warm and likeable young woman who irrevocably changes her perfectly planned future in Little Italy with the man she loves by making one irrational wrong move. I don't wish to give away the plot but ultimately this changes her life course and Tess finds herself leaving behind everything and everyone she loves as she journeys to a new life in Hickory amongst strangers. This period in Tess's life is central to the book and a little history is interspersed among the fiction with the great polio outburst of the 1940's being covered along with the building of the polio hospital by the townsfolk of Hickory.
The story has many twists and surprises along the way and has a lovely happy ending so what's not to like?

My first experience with Diane Chamberlain (although Necessary Lies has been on my list for quite some time), and I was NOT disappointed. She sure has the ability to whisk you away into the character's world. That world being 1944, this was an enjoyable experience for sure. I learned quite a bit (without even realizing it, as it didn't feel like learning!) and feel like I can truly understand more what it was like to live during that time. "The Stolen Marriage"was not what I was expecting. It caught my interest right away and never let go. Tess, early 20's, is a newlywed who has recently relocated from Baltimore to a small town in North Carolina to be with her husband. Every one is different and seemingly suspect. This book is not actively "suspenseful" but there is an underlying of suspense as the reader doesn't know what's going on. Tess's new husband is quite strange and leaves you so curious! The most interesting thing about this book is that its not even the plot that keeps you going - its just the book itself!! And I don't mean that as a criticism to the plot because that plot is quite good!! Its just that the writing is even better somehow! It just transports you to Tess's world and makes this reading this book an experience.. Not only did I learn about every day life and social structures of the '40s, I also learned about the polio epidemic and she was even able to make THAT enjoyable!! I highly highly recommend this book - of course to readers of historical fictions - but to other readers as well! Trust me, don't just lump this in with typical historical fiction and feel like it won't be "your thing" - you will miss out.

An interesting look at how historical prejudices both have and haven'the changed. Believable and sympathetic characters and historically accurate. Would recommend.

From the first chapter I was totally engrossed with Tess and her life in 1940s America. One silly mistake and her dreams and plans totally ruined, how could she come back from this? Her story was wonderfully written each chapter leaving me wanting more. An excellent and easy 5 stars from me.

I rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for sending me this book, in exchange of an honest review.

I own Diane Chamberlin books, I have not read them yet. There was something about this book that was calling my name. If this is how good her other books are, than I am in for a real treat once I get the time to read them. The Stolen Marriage was so good! And I love that it was based on a real event in history. The Polio outbreaks and the hospital that was built-in under 3 days to take care of the children suffering from Polio.

The story woven around this sad time in history was equally good. I loved everything this book touched upon. Social stature, racism, same-sex un-equality, rich people, poor people, looks, breeding, prominent people vs. commoners. It was just such a fantastic read, I felt like I flew through the pages, Diane really had me drawn into this world. I loved Tess, and I ultimately wanted the best for her, and I had a serious soft spot for Henry. He appeared cold and distant, but I knew there was more to him.

This book comes out October 3rd, and I highly suggest it. I have included the Amazon link below to make it easy to pre-order.

Very interesting story and it kept me hooked all the way through. Diane Chamberlain does it again! 5 stars.

Ms. Chamberlain is never afraid to tackle tough subjects and "This Stolen Marriage" is no exception. Interracial marriage, money fraud, and adultery are just a few of the elements in this historical fiction. Set during WWII, sweet Tess has dreamed of marrying the man of her dreams, Vincent Russo, since she was a teenager. Plans have been made and a date has been set, but several decisions made in the course of the engagement will cause a detour in both Vincent's and Tess' lives. Will they be able to find their way back to one another?

The Stolen Marriage is well written and has Diane's knowledge running through the pages. I enjoyed it although it was tough going in places.