I read the, debut novel of Lynda Cohen Loigman, The Two Family House, and loved it. So, it was a no brainer, that I would be thrilled to read her second one., The Wartime Sisters. I was not disappointed, and loved it as well.
This story is one of a fractured relationship between sisters, Millie and Ruth, raised in Brooklyn. Their mother, obviously favoring the beautiful Millie over studious, plainer Ruth, unwittingly creates an atmosphere of jealousy and angst between the sisters. The timeline alternates between childhood and teen years, to the adults they become.
This is a story of sibling discord, destructive favoritism and the remnants of a mother’s mistakes. We experience the war effort of women, doing their part to fight an unseen enemy, while reveling in the wonderful music of that era and the comfort it provided, during unsettling times.
If you like historical fiction, this will satisfy your craving. I thank NetGalley, St Martins Press and Lynda Cohen Loigman for this ARC for my honest review.

The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a wonderful story that demonstrates how our parents treat us – especially a mother who perhaps hasn’t seen her own dreams fully realized – can affect our lives, as children and forever. How our parents treat us shapes our world view, it’s how we assume others see us, and it then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – that’s what we’ve been told we are so that’s what we become. In the time period of the book maybe there wasn’t much emphasis on being careful about what was said to a child, it wasn’t thought to have a lasting effect. But it does. Things said, looks made, conversations overheard, never leave us.

Ruth is smart and sensitive and inquisitive. But she is not pretty. We initially see things through Ruth’s eyes and we firmly put ourselves in her camp: she thinks Millie is silly and thoughtless and selfish. And Millie is all those things. But even when she tries to be otherwise, her mother runs roughshod over her in the wait for Prince Charming. And all of this because Millie is pretty and Ruth is not. How sad.

In order to cope Ruth becomes hard and cold and selfish herself. So we move out of her camp into Millie’s. Millie seems to have had the harder life. All those compliments about her beauty and all her mother’s dreams haven’t amounted to much. And Ruth is still distant and judgmental.

The Wartime Sisters is full of well-researched, fascinating history, and a believable look at a relationship between two sisters. The story moves back and forth in time and place – Brooklyn, New York in the 1930’s and Springfield, Massachusetts in the WWII 1940’s. Both are full of details that help us to understand why the sisters are who they are and why their relationship may never change. The Armory in Springfield is especially interesting, with a view into an environment, a town centered around the war effort with all its drama and hierarchy, that I never realized existed. The supporting characters are well-developed and there is just enough danger and intrigue to keep things moving at a good pace.

The Wartime Sisters was a very enjoyable read, tugging at my heart at times and at others making me angry at both Ruth and Millie, and especially their mother. It brought back memories of my mother always referring to her sister as that baby who always got her way and made me wonder how that sister relationship came about.

I received an advance copy of The Wartime Sisters from the publisher St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I heartily recommend it.

This is a slow moving story of two sisters, Millie is vivacious and beautiful, while Ruth is contained and full of resentments and rage. These two very different sisters are under one roof again when Millie’s husband is killed in the opening days of WWII. Ruth, resenting the need to take in her younger sister and her child, offers Millie a refuge in her home at the Springfield (MA) Armory. Ruth quickly adds to her long list of resentments from the moment her sister sets foot into Ruth’s stable life.

The author wrote this book with each of the early chapters belonging to one of the sisters. A third voice is added when the older sister begins residing at the Armory. And a fourth voice is added about half way through the book. You can practically feel the resentments building and the tension stretching each sister tight. The writing is quite good, but you get a better “feel” for Ruth because her hidden feelings are so negative and strong.

After a while, however, the reader may grow tired of Ruth resenting everything about her younger sister even over things Millie can’t control. Perhaps this wouldn’t have happened if the author had moved her story along at a faster pace and not gotten bogged down in Ruth’s resentments.

Overall, though this book was a good read with interesting characters and a unique setting.

Linda Cohen Loigman writes with such authenticity! She draws you into the story and sets you down in the middle of the sisters and all the secrets and competition that is part of one sister being beautiful and one being a bookworm. The authenticity of wartime and life at the Armory during the war draws right into the time and place! The writing is superb!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy...

I real,y enjoyed reading about two sisters who gets through everything together but, they're working on getting along better..

Definitely will read more author soon..

The Wartime Sisters is amazing! The story follows estranged sisters, Ruth and Millie, from their childhood in Brooklyn to the Springfield Armory at the height of WWII. The story is told from multiple viewpoints and flashes back and forth in time. I loved how the story unfolded, one layer at a time. I liked The Two-Family House but LOVED The Wartime Sisters!

"The Wartime Sisters" takes place in the 1930s and 1940s in Brooklyn and Springfield, MA. Loigman explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, Ruth and Millie. Ruth, the older, serious, smart, and reliable sister has always been overlooked by her beautiful younger sister, Millie. Ruth feels constantly overshadowed while Millie thinks she can never measure up to Ruth. This complicated and tense relationship creates many problems for the two sisters when Millie moves to Springfield after her husband goes missing. During WWII, the two sisters work at the armory and old secrets will finally be revealed.

I was completely caught up in Loigman's book and look forward to reading anything else she writes. She deftly explores the complex relationships that exist between family members, in particular a pair of sisters. There's a cast of secondary characters that also greatly add to the story. Arietta, the chef/singer at the armory who becomes Millie's best friend. Lillian, who has her own tragic past, is the wife of a colonel and friend to both Ruth and Millie. Then there are the husbands, Arthur and Lenny. All characters seem real, flawed, and relatable. Even though Ruth and Millie have their own shortcomings, I couldn't help but like both of them and was rooting for the two of them, hoping that they would finally see each other clearly.

If you're looking for a historical fiction novel set in WWII that explores the complexity of sibling relationships, read this!

Just to start, I think this book is going to be a bestseller and do really well this year!

There is constant intrigue and yearning that the two can sort out their differences. It is brilliantly written and makes you want the best for both characters despite them feeling like they are constantly pitted against each other.

The sisters both perceive each other in ways opposite to how they feel. It’s an interesting dynamic that Ruth thinks that Millie is spoilt and perfect though Millie sees herself as insecure and that she’ll never be as good as Ruth who she believes looks down on her. Millie thinks Ruth is strong, confident and cold but Ruth puts on a front so that people don’t see how she really feels.

I like Lillian’s character. I feel like she could introduce something very important to the sisters, like putting their differences and judgements aside and becoming like real sisters, loving each other despite their differences. I love the focus on the female characters, the men are secondary. It’s full of strong women who lift each other up when it is so desperately needed.

I really enjoyed this book. It is set in Springfield, Massachusetts at the Armory in 1940 mostly. So you have the backdrop of WWII, but on the US side, as the people are gearing up to enter the war. The sisters are very realistic and their relationship, secrets and difficulties seem to be very authentic. There are obviously lots of little “wars” or feuds going on here, in addition to WWII. The War tends to be a backdrop setting for many books, but this one was different in several key ways which also helped to make it more appealing in its uniqueness: US military base setting, and the Jewish sisters feuding.

4.5 stars

2019 hasn't started off too well for me, as I've been sick since the end of December and have been dealing with some issues at home the past few days -- all that plus the usual "busy-ness" with work and a bunch of other things going on in my life -- have managed to put me in a not-so-pleasant mood as of late. Whenever I encounter these types of "dark periods" in my life, I turn to books as my solace, as the one source that allows me to escape from my problems, even if only briefly, and immerse myself into another world entirely. In keeping with the goal I set for myself this year to make a stronger effort with staying on top of my ARC list, I picked up Lynda Cohen Loigman’s sophomore novel The Wartime Sisters to read, though given my mood, I will admit that I was a bit apprehensive with this choice, as I knew from reading the brief synopsis that the story would be set during the WWII time period, so I was expecting an emotional, heart-wrenching read that would leave me feeling even more sad and depressed. Fortunately, this book didn’t turn out that way at all – in fact, I found the story to be an uplifting one that actually helped brighten my mood a bit.

The story starts off with Ruth and Millie, estranged for 5 years, reuniting at an armory in Springfield, Massachusetts – Ruth lives an idyllic life at the armory with her officer husband and twin girls while Millie, penniless and desperate, arrives there as a war widow with a young son. The sisters have a rocky relationship, harboring jealousy and resentment toward each other going back to their childhood growing up in Brooklyn, under the tutelage of parents who loved them but treated them very differently. There are also secrets, things that neither sister wants the other to find out, as it would put further strain on their relationship. In alternating chapters, we are taken back to the 1920s and 30s in Brooklyn, to the sisters’ childhoods, and as the story evolves, we learn the many (and at times complicated) reasons why the two of them were driven so far apart. Interspersed between the sisters’ narratives are those of Lillian, the wife of the armory’s commanding officer, and Arietta, the cafeteria cook with a feisty personality and a previous career as a singer – these two wonderful women became my favorite characters in the story.

I really enjoyed this excellent, well-written work of historical fiction that centered on strong yet flawed female characters, with a story that didn’t have a lot of fanfare, but was still engaging and kept my attention from beginning to end. Though set during WWII, this was a story where the war played more of a periphery role to the main, in-depth, absorbing character-driven story of sibling rivalry and the impact of family dynamics in shaping both past and present, while at the same time, highlighting the importance of friendship and standing together in times of adversity, giving each other hope and the will to survive. The historical aspect was also well-depicted, as was the sense of time and place, both in the past timeline with the sisters growing up in Brooklyn as well as the present one with them living together again at the armory. I also enjoyed reading through the Author’s Note at the end of the book and understanding the differences between the real life events and where liberties were taken in depicting armory life and other historical events.

In the way that this book portrayed strong women contributing to the war effort in their own ways through an ultimately uplifting, inspirational story, this reminded me of Jennifer Ryan’s The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, which I had read 2 years ago and had enjoyed just as much. After finishing this book, I realized that Loigman is the same author who wrote The Two-Family House, which has been on my TBR for awhile and I even own a copy of the book, but never got the chance to read it – looks like I should rectify this sooner rather than later!

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

This is my second novel by Loigman and let me tell you, I was just as invested in this one as I was the last (The Two Family House. Check it out). Lynda Cohen Loigman writes family amazingly well, especially the sometimes tumultuous relationships between siblings. Her latest, The Wartime Sisters, had me caring from page one.

A WWII historical fiction book it is, though this one takes place right here at home. While the war is about to hit its height, Millie comes to stay with her sister, Ruth, in Springfield. A long way from Brooklyn, the sisters tip toe around each other as old grievances fight to come to the surface. Alternating their stories and timelines so you get a true sense of the resentment and rivalry, The Wartime Sisters is an expert read in family drama.

An unexpected visitor brings everything to a head, the truths come out, and you are now officially, completely transfixed until the story comes to a close. Supporting characters Lillian and Arietta are an absolute pleasure, while Grace Peabody is a force to be…dealt with.

The Wartime Sisters was my first read of 2019 and I’ll say this right now, it’s already at the top of my list of favorite books of the year. Highly recommend a cozy chair for this one. It’s got “binge read” written all over it.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine alone.

It's books like this that make me wish I had a sister! I mean, OK, so Ruth & Millie definitely have some serious family issues, but I never even got a chance to fight with a sister... cause I never had one!

Ruth and Millie have been estranged for years. Ruth has always been the responsible one, with the best grades and the drive to succeed in life. Millie, on the other hand, has always been the life of the party, everyone has always been drawn to her and her beauty. A rift begins and slowly grows wider and wider as the sisters grow up in Brooklyn, and as they move on with their own separate lives, each hold onto secrets that are equally shocking.

Present day Ruth lives at the Springfield armory, now an officer's wife, and is finally free from the shadow of her illustrious little sister, and happy to start a life where she's not second best and doesn't have to take care of anyone but her kids. Until one day Millie shows up, widowed and broken, moves in with Ruth and begins working in production at the armory. What follows is a myriad of relationships between wives of soldiers, work friends, and sisters struggling just to coexist. And the secrets these two have been holding onto, may just be forced to come out when someone from their past shows up.

This is a really riveting portrait of how things that happen in your childhood can follow you... and affect you deeply... for years. How the choices you make, and secrets you keep, can ripple out and affect not only other people's lives, but can haunt you more than ever anticipated. How the relationship between sisters is so very, very complicated, but also one of the most beautiful bonds family has. And how blood does not define who your sisters are. Sometimes friends understand and help you more than family ever could. A wonderful story!

The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman

The Wartime Sisters, by Lynda Cohen Loigman, is an unusual entry in the World War II genre in that it is squarely set within the United States war effort to arm our forces overseas. The title encompasses the community of women who find themselves thrown together by chance and circumstance as well as two particular women.

At the center of this engrossing and intense story is the complex relationship of two sisters who have been at odds most of their lives. They are almost complete opposites in their appearance, talents, challenges, and values. Their childhood conflicts, shaped in part by inadvertent parental influences, have hardened into adult distance and mistrust. The older sister is at the Springfield Armory as the wife of an officer only to have her younger sister ask for refuge in her home as a war widow seeking employment on the assembly line.

Loigman captures the emotional torment of both sisters as they struggle with each other and the new circumstances in which they find themselves. Loigman portrays two generations and four marriages with nuance and empathy. Even secondary characters are fully rounded and memorable. Frankly, I hated to leave them on the last page and have reflected on the family dynamics several times since.

I highly recommend this novel. I learned a lot about the war effort on the home front. Readers will be captivated by the characters, plot, and writing. Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#TheWartimeSisters #NetGalley

As a middle child with two very demanding, attention-seeking sisters, I definitely related well to both of the sisters - Ruth and Millie. I appreciated the story telling from both sides because it really demonstrated how people often perceive things from what others put out and what is perceived isn't always fact, although we take it as such.

While I also liked Lillian as a character, I think that the narrative from her point of view distracted from the story. This novel worked better switching perspective back and forth between the two sisters and including Lillian in the supporting role that she played took a bit away from the point of the story. I do think however that this would be easily extended into a series in which additional novels can delve into the various supporting characters' perspectives and how their lives were shaped.

Ruth was only 3 years old when her sister was born and envisioned her sister to be a miniature version of herself.Ruths mother was told the new baby was the real beauty . Ruths father told her people lose interest once a baby grows up.Millie ,the younger sister , loves to play outside while Ruth would rather read or play house.people seem to like millie more than ruth.Millie and ruth haven’t seen each other in 5 years at their parents funeral.millie was married a few weeks later. Millie is widowed or so it seeems,the story being her military husband dies overseas . Ruths husband is a military officer but far from being on the front lines.Ruth trys her best to fit in with the military wives but still felt like an outsider until Lillian moves in at 1940.Millie son ,michael,at two years old looks exactly like his grandfather Morris.Ruth lives in Springfield far from her Brooklyn home.She invites millie to come and work at the armory .millie was given her mother’s valuable Opal and diamond ring.Ruth was jealous she received a pair of clip on earrings and not the desired ring.Millie holds her head high even during hard times and does not sell the ring.It was said at Ruths wedding that millie was the prettier one.I liked the switch between time peiords and characters.Ruth has always been jealous of her sister while millie yearns to be closer to her. I liked ruth and understood her jealousy but wished her and millie would become closer.Some of the officers wives feared millie would come after their husbands when she gets over losing her husband . Both sisters hold a secret.

Sisters, Ruth and Millie, couldn't be more different. Ruth is studious, serious and a little on the plain side. Millie, a little flaky, cute and adored by all, including her parents who think she can do no wrong. Growing up in their house couldn't have been easy for either one of them.

Years later, Ruth is happily married to Arthur, a scientist, and Millie, a widow, has a toddler son. When Ruth finds out Millie's husband died, she invites her to stay with them in Springfield, MA and helps her get a job at the Springfield Armory where both she and Arthur work. After their complicated relationship growing up, how will this ever work out?

Author, Lynda Cohen Loigman, is genius at writing complicated family relationships. Because this story was narrated by both Ruth and Millie, I felt like I got both sides of the story and was able to empathize with both. The Wartime Sisters encompasses a piece of history that I was not aware of before reading this novel; the amount of women employed by the Springfield Armory, doing their part to support the efforts of World War II.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy; all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! I’m a sucker for anyth WW1 or WW2, so this was up my alley. The storyline between the sisters as they were growing up and even as adults showed a side of most historical novels you don’t get to see that often. The writing style was done well and I loved the discriptions the author used.

This is the story of two estranged sisters, Ruth and Millie, who find themselves reunited at the Springfield Armory, where Ruth's husband works. It is the early days of WWII, and women are needed for positions in the Armory factories as a “soldier of production.” Resentment festers between the two, and secrets are spilled, threatening to break the bond of family once and for all.
You know the saying about how 'the grass is always greener'? Well, that is the way it was with Ruth and Millie.
Ruth was the smart one, Millie was the pretty one. To further drive a wedge, their mother was always critical of Ruth and doting of Millie. There were times when I just wanted to shake Ruth and make her see how great her own life was and to just appreciate Millie for who she was. I really enjoyed the storyline, and it kept my interest, and made me want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. This is definitely a must-read for historical fiction fans

The book The Wartime Sisters is really a story about two girls raised in the same Jewish household where one has been treated differently than the other. One sister, Millie, seems favored over the other sister, Ruth, because she possesses looks, allure, and the mother's desire for her to marry up in society, while the other daughter is treated like she is not even a close second to being what her sister is. As you can imagine, this causes a huge chasm to open in the girls' relationship that carries them into their future with anger and resentment.

The girls grow and both marry, Ruth to a scientist assigned to the Springfield Armory, which was an actual place, established by George Washington in 1794. The other sister, Millie, marries as well, assigned to a life that is the exact opposite of what her parents wanted or wished for. Eventually, through fate, they wind up together based at the Springfield Armory where tensions seethed as they both learn the secrets and the duplicitous nature that each has.

This was not particularly a story of wartime, although there are some references to it. It is a story of how resentment grows and destroys relationships between siblings that should be solid and loving. It was a sad story for lost years, lost opportunities, and the harm at times a parent does in seeming to favor one child over another. Some can recover and form a familial relationship, while others continue to feel and live the great divide that exists between them. How these two sisters relate and perhaps resolve the things that have driven them apart over the years is what makes this book an engaging story.

Thank you to Lynda Cohen Loigman, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book due to be published on January 22, 2019.

When I started The Wartime Sisters I was in the mood for a good historical fiction. Turns out, this is not historical fiction but an emotional, complex look at sibling relationships and family ties. Two sisters, Millie and Ruth, are raised in Brooklyn by their parents. From the beginning, one is deemed the smart sister and the other is deemed the beautiful sister. This sets the sisters on a trajectory for their entire upbringing, driving a wedge between them as they set out on the paths these labels put on them. The sisters grow up with resentments, bitterness, jealousy, and a complete lack of communication. Told in both perspectives, it’s easy to see the divide between the sisters and the utter longing from both for a different relationship. This intricate look at their stories was emotionally captivating. For me, The Wartime Sisters was ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @stmartinspress for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.