Roger Jewett (the pen name of Irving A. Greenfield) has published more than 25 novels. Battle Stations was published in 2020 and is the first volume in their US Navy Historical Thrillers series. This is the 75th book I have completed in 2022.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, mature situations, and mature language, I categorize this novel as R. This is not the story of one character, but of five. The oldest, Andrew Troost, has just been promoted to Admiral. His son, Warren, has followed the family tradition and commands a PT boat in the Pacific. Tony Trapasso enlists after Perl Harbor, leaving behind family connections to the mob. Jacob Miller is Jewish and is destined to be a Navy aviator. Farmboy Glen Lascomb is another young man assigned to the Pacific Theater.

The story begins just before the attack on Perl Harbor. It is the story of these Naval officers in the Pacific during the first few months of WWII. The action they see. Their affairs of the heart. Their encounters with one another.

I enjoyed the 7+ hours I spent reading this 353-page historical fiction set in WWII. While this is a fictional novel, it includes many details of the Pacific war. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

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BATTLE STATIONS was is the first military action and adventure story in the US Navy Historical Thriller series: a heart-pounding international Second World War thriller, encompassing major battles such as Midway and Okinawa.
This book was originally published in 1988 as part of a series. Back in those days I was reading a lot of WEB Griffin's fictional books on the land part of WW 2. I thought I would be interested in this from a Naval perspective but, as someone said, maybe Robert Frost, you can't go home again.

The story was good, the main characters interesting, but neither my heart nor my head were captivated. I guess my tastes have changed over the years. So, here goes, if you like naval, war adventures this may be right up your alley. Unfortunately for me, that boat has sailed.

Really good read, I normally read books set in the ancient world so this was a refreshing change for me that I really enjoyed. Well written and I couldnt put it down.

This is an action packed book about the Pacific naval battles of World War Two. I thoroughly enjoyed following the plot from pre Pearl Harbor through the attacks moving east. The characters were all well developed. The plot was interesting and fast paced.

Battle Stations by Roger Jewett
NAVY #1

Pearl Harbor was the date that many lives changed and especially those of Americans. This book focuses on five men that were in or joined the US Navy and fought in WWII as a result of the US going to war after Pearl Harbor was attacked. All five meet one another more than once in the book. All five meet women that impact their lives in one way or another. All five encounter experiences that challenge them in more ways than one and though they are called heroes they more often than not focused on doing what needed to be done to survive another day. As this is a series the book left more than one man hanging in a bit of limbo leaving the reader wondering how they will fare in the next book of the series. All of the men had women that were important in their lives though none had achieved their happily ever after ride into the sunset ending by the last page of this book.

What I liked:
* The real feel of the battle scenes
* The character development and feeling that I knew the men
* The friendships forged between the men in the story as well as some friendships they had with other sailors they met along the way
* That I felt I was in the scenes and that they were true to the time period
* The snippets learned about the families of the main characters
* That war was not glorified and the idea that most at war really seek peace

What I did not like:
* Being reminded that wars still exist and that they probably always will
* Being reminded of atrocities and death and all the rest that war brings
* More a question than a dislike and that is why neither the men nor the women used contraceptives as they were available in the 1940’s
* Being left wondering what will happen next...will the men survive and thrive or...not

Thank you to NetGalley and Sapere Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

The author undoubtedly did a good amount of personal interviews with surviving veterans of World War II in order to come out with the very satisfying book that he did just have published. Mr Jewett concentrates on the U.S.Navy and selected fictional characters serving there in order to tell the story of events that occurred during the war. He begins the novel a little before the outbreak of hostilities for the U.S. Andrew Troost, a captain in the U.S. Navy is seconded as liaison with the British Navy prior to his country entering the war. Troost is aboard a ship moving to become one of the escort vessels for a fleet of tankers and cargo ships sailing to deliver their cargos to an England at war. He experiences the ship that he is on being torpedoed and sunk. He and one other sailor are the only ones surviving the attack.
Returning to duty Troost is reassigned to an American ship just in time to go through the attack on Pearl Harbor and that begins the story featuring the US Navy and it's place in the war in the Pacific. Other characters introduced include the son of Andrew Troost starting his own career in the navy. At the same time Andrew Troost is promoted to Rear Admiral. The son of a gangster in New York City who refuses to allow family influence to keep him out of combat. There is the son of a Jewish Rabbi whose family envisioned him becoming a Rabbi and studying for that. He becomes a Naval aviator and finds that he loves flying. Another individual was raised on a farm in Iowa With them are the women that also take part in the war, either as actual combatants or as lovers of the men described. Roger Jewett blends all the personnel he has created and made a very powerful story about war and it's real effect on the people that take part in it. No one leaves a war the same as when they enter it. Jewett does an excellent job in logically bringing this change in all the characters in front of his readers. We all understand that someone placed in a position of kill or be killed can never emerge from this experience without complete change, and the author does an excellent job of bringing this out.
The novel ends near the final stage of WWII as the U.S. is waiting to invade Okinawa. This may mean that another novel is planned moving through the last days of the war and possibly touching on the return of the combatants described to civilian life. In any situation that means another Roger Jewett book I will head the line to pick it up and enjoy it.

A family war saga - like a mix of Jeffrey Archer and PT Deutermann.. It had me gripped immediately as the character stories unfolded. I liked that it was a long read as I didn't want it to end. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

naval-history, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, thriller, WW2*****

The naval history is very well done, but I would have preferred a little less emphasis on the bedhopping that happens when men are so distanced from their families (but without erotica). All of the scenarios onboard the ships, the ethnic rivalries, and of course the dangers and horrors of war all ring true. In spite of my personal views I really liked the book and read it in one stay-at-home day.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Sapere Books via NetGalley.