I used to really enjoy reading Diane Chamberlain, but for some reason I had a really rough time with this one. I gave it an honest shot, but I just couldn't finish. DNF @ 33%.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33574127-the-stolen-marriage" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Stolen Marriage" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1489460469m/33574127.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33574127-the-stolen-marriage">The Stolen Marriage</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/93345.Diane_Chamberlain">Diane Chamberlain</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2044546792">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This novel starts with a young couple in Little Italy, Baltimore, Maryland in 1943, who have grown up together and are engaged. A situation happens, and then the story moves to Hickory, North Carolina, 1944 during the years when polio was first being treated. A really good historical novel!<br />This was a real page turner! Secrets abounding! <br /><br />Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/12851291-karen">View all my reviews</a>

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I was mostly interested in reading it because it is set in the area where I live, but was quickly engrossed in the characters and plot of the novel. I appreciated the author's attention to detail in setting and the accuracy of her knowledge of the Hickory, NC area which she worked into the novel. I do not typically enjoy novels in this genre, but I found this one to be a true joy!

My review in a word: Conflicted. The writing, while good, was repetitive and slow. The story was not within my realm of believable. There was a lot of hang wringing and misplaced belief in the goodness of strangers. I did not open this book with any expectations and reading the last page was a relief. I have read the reviews of others and perhaps the fairest comment is that this was just not the book for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC

Diane Chamberlain has a large and loyal fan base. This novel is a perfect example as to why. Her books tell stories about real life situation with perfectly drawn characters. They touch us and they move us.

Oh so good!!!! I couldn't put it down!!!! I read this is record time! Edge of my seat ride!!!! Thanks!! I will be buying some copies for the store for sure!!!!!

I've read most of this author's books and like her writing style. This book was no exception, as I was quickly pulled into the story of Tess and Henry. Tess was a compelling character and you felt her pain and sense of loss throughout the book. The backdrop of this story was Hickory during the time of the polio outbreak. Some of the story was set in a real life event - the building of the hospital.
Ultimately this story is about life and how the choices we make can have a lasting impact on those we love. I found this to be a quick, easy read, but one that will linger. I would say the only character that had true dimension was Tess and that's OK because it was her story. I was surprised by the twist at the end as all the foreshadowing led me down a different path. Overall a great summer read from Diane Chamberlain.

I'm not even entirely sure where to start with this review... I have many thoughts swirling around in my brain and placing them will be difficult, but I hope you'll hang around for the ride.

I went into this book completely blind, knowing that I've wanted to read something by Diane for quite some time, but unwilling to spend the money on an author I knew nothing of.

I didn't know that this book would take place in 1944, in the height of the polio epidemic. I didn't know I'd read about segregation, and the incredible difference to how we live now.

I didn't expect to fall so deeply in love with a character who at first seemed like an ungrateful, terrible human.

We all make choice that define our futures, though we often don't know it at the time. Tess made one of those decisions, and while it changed her life path completely, it takes us on a wild ride, too.

I loved every second of this book, but towards the end my jaw dropped and I was wholly enthralled! Like what? Who is this mastermind?

I'm so thrilled to have received an early copy of this book and I urge you all to read it when it becomes available to you!

The story of Tess, a totally enamored young bride-to-be, anxiously awaiting the special day when she would be wed to the love of her life Vincent Russo. Vincent, an aspiring pediatrician, flees Baltimore to go to Chicago to assist with the outbreak of the polio epidemic while Tess, who is finishing her nursing degree, waits for him back home. A one-day trip with her best friend Gina to DC sets Tess's world on a disastrous path - one dinner, too many drinks and one selfish encounter with a stranger. The outcome is one Tess has to own which will determine the fate of not only her, but her love and many still to come.

A tragic story with a wonderful telling that has surprising depth and just the right ending.

5 +.+.+.+.+.+.+ WONDERFUL ENGROSSING UNPUTDOWNABLE Stars!

Loved it all....from the very first page of the enticing prologue straight through to the Author's Notes at the very end detailing her in-depth research that made the characters and history behind the town of Hickory come to life.

It's 1943 in Little Italy. Tess and Vincent have their whole lives planned out. He's a doctor....she's a nurse.....but all does not go as expected.....not by a long shot.

THE STOLEN MARRIAGE takes us from Maryland to North Carolina where a kind-hearted, but distressed Tess bravely steps forward to make a difficult request....and decision....about the rest of her life. And from there, all hell breaks loose....in her life and in the world.

WONDERFUL - are the characters....some you will like....some you won't.

ENGROSSING - is the storyline....the historical data....polio...the hospital.

UNPUTDOWNABLE - the result of DC's writing; she makes the story......REAL.

Of course there are secrets.... BIG ones.....SURPRISING ones; and you may anticipate where it all ends, but what enjoyment getting there.

If you've never read a Diane Chamberlain novel, you're REALLY missing out! Highly Recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolute fangirl of The Stolen Marriage here! It is obvious that a lot of research by the author went into this book. I learned so much about polio, the "Miracle of Hickory" hospital, and yes, even the taboos and law standing in the way of interracial marriage in 1940s North Carolina.

The depth of character development, the details such as the smells and sounds of the quickly set up Miracle of Hickory and the suspense created by Henry's puzzling behavior all served to draw me in deeper and deeper even though I was already in love with this story!

I absolutely felt like I was there, in Hickory, reading about Reverend Sam, picturing the unpaved roads in his part of town, 'seeing' the main street in my mind and the hustle and bustle as people went about their lives. I could feel the fear when Butchie became ill and I rooted for Tess as she became a stronger person who stood up for herself and did exactly what she thought was right.

I loved the ending and would love to see a sequel, but sadly, I don't believe that is planned, after I chatted with the author on FB. I've read several of Diane Chamberlain books and will now go back and check into her other books because as crazy good as this one is, I don't want to miss any of her work!

Thank you very much to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC.

Another wonderful book from master storyteller Diane Chamberlain !

I thought this book was great. So many twists and turns I did not expect at all.

I love historical fiction, especially anything to do with the depression or world war II. It was the great equalizer if you think about it. Whether you were wealthy or poor you worried about your loved ones fighting in the war. You mourned and grieved those who didn't make it home. You learned to go without sugar in your coffee when your rations ran out, and all the money in the world couldn't save you from getting polio before the vaccine finally became available. Polio didn't care if you were black or white or rich or impoverished.

So while there were many things about this book I loved, I have to say I disliked Henry Kraft immensely. Before I get ahead of myself lets start with Tess, the good girl from Baltimore madly in love with Vince and about to pursue their lifelong dream of getting married and working together in the medical field. He is a doctor and she is about to become an RN. This dream is ruined by one awful night, and although Henry is portrayed as a kind and caring and decent man.. well to me that awful night was entirely on him.

Tess ends up leaving the only life she has ever known, and moves to North Carolina with Henry, where she is treated as an unwelcome unwanted outsider by his family and the townspeople. When an outbreak of polio strikes and the town comes together to build a hospital, Henry's mother is disgusted by Tess wanting to work there as a nurse. Tess refuses to sit idly by when she has skills that are in such desperate need, especially considering she has been told by the only person who has shown her any kindness, that it's what she is meant to do. I loved Tess, and the remarkable strength she showed especially considering women in those days were expected to do as their husbands told them.

I received an advance copy for review.

Diane Chamberlain often writes about interesting but little-known historical events, and this book was no exception. I found it so interesting to learn about the polio hospital in Hickory, from its incredibly fast construction to the unusual new treatments offered there.

The pace of the story felt a tad slow to me, and although it became exciting with surprises I hadn't expected toward the end, I wish some of those events occurred a little earlier to keep me more engaged. Overall, I enjoyed this book and raced through it in a single day!

I love most of the authors books, I've read most of them if not all, maybe missing one or two, so when I got the email inviting me to read the book for a review, I jumped on it. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started it. I'm not used to seeing books based on a more recent time period, I usually find in historical fiction it was from forever ago.

The first chapter I was like..okay..im not sure if I'm going to like it, then I started reading the next chapter, next thing I know..I got sucked in. It read to me like a day in the life of a wife in 1944, around the polio history, war going on and polio outbreaks. A wife/nurse in a marriage during the period of race and war and on the very verge of feminism happening. There were some twists and woah..moments but not much, I wasn't really sure where the book was leading the entire time. It was interesting putting myself behind the eyes of a lady in a somewhat southern town where it's still illegal for a white male and a black female to be married together. A time where there were thins like book clubs and southern snobbiness. It was interesting when the MC went to a meeting where there was real concern about women becoming "manly women" because they like their jobs at the factory, and knowing what the world is like now.

anyways I really enjoyed this book, I recommend it to those that like the historical fiction of more recent times

I've been looking forward to reading this book for months and I must say, it's not a disappointment. I could not put it down! It may be written and told in a slightly different way and voice than the author's previous novels but I'd say this one could sit well side by side to Kristin Hannah's outstanding historical fictions.

The time frame of this book is fabricated during the World War II, when racial tensions, life threatening diseases and the hardships of the war are running high. What made the book interesting is the fact that it instead focusses on a small town called Hickory, it's people and the courage that runs through it as they fight against the Polio epidemic in the midst of the difficulties of the war. The book reminds me a lot of the famous BBC TV SERIES 'Call The Midwife' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird', the two of which are dear to my heart. But despite this, the book clearly stands on its own and it carries its own valuable message. You can see a lot of researches had gone into the making of the book and it reeks with mystery, intriguing characters and a strong female protagonist, whom solid personality I truly adored, except for her negative attitude towards mixing of races back then in the 1940s.

On the whole, this is yet, another one of Diane Chamberlain's best piece and I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to learn about polio, the 40’s and Hickory NC. I enjoyed reading about Tess. I was so glad she she was able to become an RN. I highly recommend this book.

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain does not disappoint.  I always feel a bit nervous when I open a new book from a favorite author; what if this book does not compare to their earlier work? No fear here.  The Stolen Marriage was fantastic and held my attention the entire time.

The book starts with a fairy tale like romance of two characters who grow up together.  A mistake takes them away from one another and lands our leading lady in a strange town living under strained circumstances.  

The mystery of the town she is moves to and the family she lives with unfolds nicely throughout the story.  There is an added element for fans of historical fiction because the book is set during World War II when the ravages of Polio were being felt across the world.  Living in a time when the Polio vaccine is widely available, it is easy to forget how terrifying and horrible the disease was before it was treatable and the story weaves these issues into the narrative beautifully.

For fans of Diane Chamberlain's previous books or readers who enjoy historical fiction such as the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd, this book should be a must read.

Chamberlain has done it again. Historical fiction is usually not my forte, however, I will read absolutely ANYTHING this woman writes. I would read her grocery list. Tess is such a well fleshed out character and I enjoyed every page I got to spend with her. Just when I thought I had every last detail figured out, my jaw quite literally dropped. Another 5-star from a favorite author of mine.