Well, I have to say, The Girls from the Beach is certainly a very intense historical fiction!
This is written in two timelines…….war torn 1944 France to 1989. The author draws you into the drama, horrors and chaos that the nurses were drawn into. What true heroines they were. Not only asked to preform their nursing duties. They are also tasked with going under cover to discover something vital to the war effort.
The ending was bit unusual for me. I’m actually not quite sure how I feel about it. Still thinking about it.
I highly recommend reading this book. It shows the what the nurses on the battlefield went through.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

Kit is a battlefield nurse in WWII France, dropped off on the Omaha beach during the D-Day landings. Along with her two best friends Red and Roxy, they’re there to save lives. And then a new girl is introduced to their group – Gail. At first things are a bit tense but when their Doctor asks them to go on a secret mission behind enemy lines to help save a few of their men, they have to pull together, for their country and their men.

But what they don’t expect is to find out what they’re really there for once they’ve arrived and it’s too late to turn back….. They’re expected to go undercover and get something from the Nazi’s – something that will save thousands of their men. They must pull together, and overcome more than. they could have imagined. But will they be successful? And will they all make it back alive?

I absolutely adored this book; it’s absolutely up there with one of my favourite reads of the year. It pulled me in from the first page and didn’t put me down until the last. I laughed, I cried, and I didn’t want it end. This is a gripping tale, full of danger and action, but more importantly friendship, camaraderie and the desire to do the right thing.

You will fall in love with the characters. An absolutely brilliant bunch of girls who see and go through so much. They are strong, independent and brave beyond belief. Their friendships are strong and will bring out so many emotions. Especially when you go through everything with them. They made me laugh, surprised me, and made me proud of them.

The setting is obviously quite heart wrenching. Set in the battle fields of WWII France and then behind enemy lines, it’s dangerous, dirty, unpredictable and will have you on the edge of your seat. It will also bring to life the reality of the conditions that people had to live in and the things they had to see, and it will make you feel like you’re there, with them. I could hear the bombs, the guns, the rain….everything.

The story is mainly told from the viewpoint of Kit as a young woman serving in 1944. However, the chapters also alternate to 1989 where the consequences of war becomes apparent. The story is told in a beautiful and warm way but with some truly heart wrenching moments. It will take you on a bumpy rollercoaster ride and fill you with happiness, dread, hope, despair and every emotion in between.

Honestly – I don’t have enough words to praise this book enough and I just hope this review does it justice. If you’re a fan of historical fiction or WWII fiction then this is an absolute must read. I will be getting this when it’s available in paperback and keeping on my shelves forever. A moving, gripping and fantastic story. Highly recommended by me. I would absolutely love to see this on screen one day so will keep my fingers well and truly crossed.

I don't even know if I have the words to share how this book made me feel. This is a split timeline historical fiction masterpiece. The author gives away only little bits of information as you go through the story until it all comes together at the end. I found myself sobbing at the end of this story. I found myself thinking about this story long after it was over. I would love to read more by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

“In 1944, four American nurses disappeared for five days. No one knew what happened to them. Until now.”
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One of the best historical WW2, books of 2021!
A harrowing historical fiction set to turbulent times of World War ll
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This is a spoiler free review, I am not going to giveaway to much of this book because it’s one to read for yourself.
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Andie Newton newest book was one I was not prepared for. It’s an extraordinary emotional charged book, that takes the reader on a nail biting journey. Richly atmospheric imagery along with some of the best insightful look at the bands of friendship forged during some devastating events surrounding four courageous war nurses. I was drawn into the details of lives of theses heroic woman that make this book so good.
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The grisly reality of WW2 battlefield comes to life under Newton’s skillful writing as we follow four American field nurses. The book gives the reader dual time periods present to past featuring the intense concentration on the 1940’s. We follow Red, Kit, Gail and Roxy, who find themselves serving at Lorraine near the French-German border during 1944. During a series of events the women come together and are tasked with a top secret mission that the actual truth doesn’t come to light until it’s to late.

The propulsive storyline, offering both drama and wartime authenticity will appeal to anyone interested in world war historical fiction.
The plot moves meticulously andunpredictably with several interesting twists that make the ending all the more anticipated and satisfying. The ending was so good!

Loved it!!! A little bit of a different historical fiction book. The story focused on four nurses in France during WWII, who ended up going on a top secret mission. Kit, Roxy, Gail and Red were such wonderful characters. Not only were they great nurses, but wonderful friends. Even Gail in her white dress and cape. There were all incredible brave and never got the recognition that they deserved. Poisoned bullets was a new thing for me. I didn't realize people actually did that during the war. The girls encountered some scary stuff, but the Butcher and Gilda were the worst. Their farm was terrifying. I would definitely say no to any of Gilda's tea parties. Evelyn was traumatized from her time in the war and I could believe how the doctor treated her when she opened up to him and told him how the rain affected her. I understand why she didn't want to talk about it with other people, after his horrible reaction. I couldn't put the book down because I needed to find out what happened to everyone during the mission. I was sad to see the book end because I loved reading about Kit and her fellow nurses.

Definitely recommend the book, especially if you enjoy historical fiction. Loved the story, characters and writing style. This was the first book I read by the author and I look forward to reading more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Aria & Aries through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Girls from the Beach is my first novel by Andie Newton but it will not be my last! This is the story of four battlefield nurses who landed in France during the invasion of Normandy to care for the wounded and are sent on a mission into enemy territory. It’s told in a dual timeline sequence, from Kit’s POV. The four swore to never talk about those 5 days ever again, but after 40 years the trauma of keeping it bottled up has gotten to be too much for Kit. This was a book I didn’t want to put down.

I’m not going to spoil the story, but I do want to thank the author for giving women a voice and a story of war and PTSD that we can relate to. Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have read all of Andie’s books prior or shortly after their pub date and every time, I fall in love with a book again. The Girls from the Beach is no exception. Four wartime nurses are overseas in a field hospital and are approached about a mission over enemy lines to provide care to some injured soldiers. Little do they know, that’s not the true mission. Whether or not they will survive and be successful is one giant question mark!
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The amount of grit and determination the women demonstrate is admirable. Each woman has a different personality and it helps balance the group out. You never know which way the story is going to turn; it’s one heck of a rollercoaster! There’s also an alternating timeline of life many years after the war. What really happened on the beach wasn’t revealed and is it finally time?
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I devoured this book in 24 hours which very rarely happens anymore. If that’s not recommendation enough, I’m giving this five big bright stars!
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If you’re looking for a fast-paced WWII histfic read complete with strong women and a secret mission, look no further! Check out the summary in the comments below and let me know if you’re adding this to your TBR!
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Many thanks to @atriabooks and @andienewtonauthor for the opportunity to read this book! This review expresses my own personal opinions.

This story didn't engage me right away. I had no idea that women landed on the beaches of Norrmandy. This is the story of three nurses, Kit, Roxy and Red and eventually Gail joins their ranks. At first I was confusing the characters Roxy and Red but that changed as the characters were developed more. Kit speaks German and she is sent on a secret assignment to question a German prisoner. A few days later the four of them are sent behind enemy lines to retrieve "the giant." The story is told from two time lines, Kit during the war and then after the war when she is called Evelyn. At times Evelyn would tell of flashbacks and then Kit would also flashback to her earlier life. It could have been distracting but it was done so well the story still flowed. This was a page turner. The rain was relentless and if something could go wrong it did. I could feel the rain and the cold and the smells and was rooting for them the whole way. This would make a wonderful movie.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Aria and Aries for providing me a copy of this intense story.

This is an insightful and well-researched story based on the little known contribution of nurses during the D Day campaign in 1944 war-torn France. The reader follows the women as they undertake a dangerous undercover mission vital to the war effort. This is an engaging story full of action, danger and emotion. There are vibrantly drawn characters, pertinent historical details and suspense that keeps you turning the pages.

I received a copy of this book from Aria via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Kit, Red, Roxy, and Gail are nurses from different lived experiences stationed in France during WWII in the 45th Field Hospital. There are risks to being a nurse in war time, more risk than in peace time, and for these ladies those risks might be even more dangerous than most nurses faced. What happens when you are given a direct order by your Commanding Officer to follow an unknown soldier and no questions are allowed?! The Girls From The Beach is that vehicle to tell the nurses story.

There are few stories in the world that haven’t been told. The Girls From the Beach is one of those stories that I’ve never read before and they need to be told more often. We read about nurses, we read about WWII, and we read about the heroic actions of the soldiers, which is fantastic, but we never read of nurses who not only did their job in the field, but also risked the highest dangers behind enemy lines and are as heroic as the soldiers. I was pleased to find a place for those women to be celebrated here in Andie Newton’s The Girls From The Beach. This book would make an excellent television mini series or movie!

Kit, (Evelyn, as we find out her name in future pages,) is the type of woman who gets into trouble a lot because of her gumption and creative ways of looking at keeping life a little interesting while dealing with the sadness and stress of working on soldiers who have lost limbs, hope and more times than she wants to count — life. Red is the strong one, the instant best friend of Kit, she, in a lot of ways is the mother of the group. She is kind, caring and unselfish. Roxy, the tough one, the darling of the soldiers, the ones that can lift their spirits and help them leave the world feeling as if they are the most cared for person in the world. Gail, is the new nurse, freshly arrived from General in her starched Whites looking like a beauty queen. These are the women of The Girls From The Beach. Andie Newton’s woman are brave, strong, quirky, and one of them has a secret that she doesn’t want the others to find out. Could this secret cause more danger, is she the danger herself, or will the secret help during the war? A deeply emotional story ensues even in the early pages of her new novel. I suggest you keep the tissues close by. I know I did.

The supporting cast of characters are richly woven into the story adding to the drama, the realities that the nurses experience, and the darkness that they encounter are ones that I’ve always wanted to know how was dealt with during war times. I can’t go any further without spoiling the plot, so I won’t. I just know that if you love Historical Fiction, if you want to read a story not told of the women in war times and want a feeling of inspiration, introspection, and a little intense connection between people told through an intricately intriguing story telling, this is your book.

The Girls From The Beach is a deeply researched story one that you can tell the author poured her soul into and in-between the lines is empathy for the roller coaster emotions that war can leave behind when its all over and life gets intertwined into those haunting experiences.

Order this book from your local independent book store, or borrow it from your local library. I tell you, you won’t want to miss meeting these women!

4.5 Stars
for a unique angle to a story and the ability to reach into a readers soul and pull out every emotion imaginable!

Confronted with questions about her past, Evelyn Jones struggles with the PTSD she has hidden and relives the events she has kept secret for forty years in The Girls from the Beach by Andie Newton.

As she relives her time as a frontline battle nurse known as Kit, her experiences in World War II begin to unfold along with the camaraderie she shares with fellow nurses Red and Roxy. Just as a fourth nurse takes up residence in their tent, they are pulled into a mission that takes them behind enemy lines and deeper into danger than they have experienced before.

A well researched, well written, and absolutely fantastic work of historical fiction that feels so plausible, down to the reaction Evelyn’s confession of her ongoing battle sickness (PTSD) receives from a doctor not long after the war. The slow revelations and changes between first and third person points of view in this perfectly paced novel make for a compelling read that put me through a bit of an emotional wringer, with a repeated ratcheting up of tension and vivid depictions of the horrors experienced and witnessed by Kit, Red, Roxy, and Gail.

Highly recommended, this is one of the best works of World War II fiction I have read.

This review refers to a temporary digital galley I voluntarily read via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

The Girls From The Beach by Angie Newman
Genre - Historical Fiction
Rating - 5 out of 5 stars

This book had a very slow start but once I got into it a bit I was wowed. This was a great book about the nurses of WW2 and how strong they were, especially when working on the frontlines, and behind enemy lines in this case.

This book is about four nurses that go on a secret mission behind enemy lines. They do not know what they were doing when they first start out. They are just told that there is a solider behind enemy lines that needed their aid. It turns out that they were to help a solider but also go on a mission to find the German Reich’s secret weapon known only as the Giant.

They decide to accept this mission and the insanity of WW2 starts. This gives us a peak (although fictional) look behind enemy lines and what would have happened had they been caught. I must warn people that this book is not for the faint hearted. There are some bad things that happen along the way. There is talk of bombings and graphic descriptions of wounds sustained during the course of the war.

There are a lot of twists and having to cover for themselves throughout the book. Things get a bit dicey behind enemy lines. One of them even gets separated from the group. Will they survive or will they be killed at the hands of the Reich or one of it’s sympathizers or will they live to go on and lead happy lives. You will have to read it and see. I must warn you though that you may need a box of tissues at the ready for the ending. You might cry happy and sad tears though out the book.

Reviewers note - During WW2 their was talk of a weapon that has been named many things. Mostly referred to as the Giant. It was supposedly to have been a war chest of jewels that would fund the Reich for a second war. Although nothing like this was ever found it is talked about in some non fiction documentaries and books.

Kit and Kat formed a strong bond when they landed on Utah Beach during the Normandy landings and work together in a busy field hospital. They treat badly wounded American soldiers, not wearing a white nurse’s dress that Kit imagined, they wear practical men’s army fatigues and boots.

One day in 1944, four army nurses disappear for five days and it’s kept a secret. Kit, Kat, Roxy and Gail think they will be treating wounded soldiers behind enemy lines, they stock up with medical supplies and set off with Dr Burk. It’s actually a top secret mission and an extremely dangerous one. The assignment is to find a chest full of precious treasure, needed to save allied prisoners of war and before the German werewolves do. The women have to walk the whole way, disguised in dresses, they endure everything that’s thrown at them, and all the sets backs and establish a strong friendship.

The Girls From The Beach is an action packed story, I didn’t know that nurses landed on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day and came under fire. Kit, Kat, Roxy and Gail were four courageous, strong and brave women. By reading the book, it also makes you aware of the mental toll the war had on the nurses both during and after the war.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and four stars from me.

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary digital copy of The Girls from the Beach by Andie Newton. I voluntarily agreed to read and review by release day. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating.

The Girls from the Beach is a riveting historical fiction novel set during WWII and follows four American nurses who are given a top-secret mission. Ms. Newton’s vivid descriptive writing had me glued to my Kindle, breathlessly waiting to see if they would survive. There’s no doubt that Ms. Newton is a true historian because she manages to make the history in this novel exciting!

Kit and Red are a team, and both show immense courage and determination. They literally put their lives on the line on numerous occasions as they make their way into enemy territory. It’s easy to understand the close bound they share.

Roxie and Gail are the other duo, and they too show amazing courage and will do what they must to not only survive but complete their mission. I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship that develops between them. What a horrifying ordeal they go through! I adored the amazing ending.

If you enjoy tale with strong female protagonist and a nail-biting plot, then you will love The Girls from the Beach as much as I did. While this is the first book, I’ve read by Ms. Newton, it will not be the last. Happy reading!

Extremely well written, huge congratulations to Andie Newton! This story is superbly told, nurses who tend to injured soldiers during WWII. I felt the emotion ooze from the characters, felt the strength of the nurses, amazing brave women! The bond between the nurses was a pleasure to read about, a realistic and heartfelt storyline. I enjoyed this book, a bit slow to begin with but it continues on to be a must read, don’t forget the tissues!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this - a new take on WW2 and not a story I from this era that I have ever read before. I liked the author's style of writing and loved that this book focused on the nurses from WW2. I'm really enjoying reading female focused historical fiction at the moment and this is a fantastic example of the genre. I'll be recommending this book to my friends.

I LOVED this book! I was so intrigued by the opportunity to learn a bit about the nurses during WWII and this blew away any expectations and hopes! Friendship, the power of hope, true guts and grit and loyalty to the job...ugh, I am in a legit book hangover right now!

What a fascinating book! This work of historical fiction is told from the perspective of a World War II nurse who is sent on a mission with three other nurses. They experience war atrocities that are not easily forgotten and their story is a sad reminder of war and its devastating effects on so many. The humanity of these nurses shines through and makes the reader care and rout for them. I loved reading this novel . I learned so much about war that is seen through the eyes of courageous nurses. Read it and gain a new perspective on World War II. Thank you to the author Andie Newton and netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley. I have read a lot of WWII historical fiction and non-fiction, and this is the first story I read about battle nurses. Andie Newton did a beautiful job of bringing Kit, Red, Roxy, and Gail to life. The vivid imagery throughout the book, made me feel like I was on the beach of D-Day, in the clinic area, and all other parts these ladies travel to.. While the story itself is a work of fiction, the struggles these nurses dealt with during the war and PTSD after are very real.

Four American nurses from a field hospital on the German, French border in 1944 are thrown into a situation they don't want to be in. The story is set around a WW2 mystery which has never been solved. The author gives us one scenario of what might have happened.

As happens in war situations these nurses become closer than sisters and would even die for each other. They decide never to mention the five days they went missing from camp and what happened during those days.

Years later when they are much older one of the nurses,Kit is still experiencing stress and nightmares from her time in France. It has stayed with her throughout her life.
A newspaper reported has found out who she is and turned up on her doorstep wanting an interview.
There is a reunion of all nurses who served during the war in a few weeks and kit is persuaded to tell her story them. A story that will shock everyone.

This book is such a good read. I must admit that I found it a bit slow to start with so if this happens to you just keep going, it will be worth it.
I didn't want to put it down but I was also scared of reading what happens next. I was so afraid for the safety of the four nurses. I couldn't believe how brave they were with what was expected of them.
Even their day to day life was horrendous . The sights they witnessed when trying to save the lives of soldiers.
The descriptions made me feel their fear as though I was walking along beside them.
. The mud around the camp, the smell of the not so tasty food, the dirty fatigues they had to wear,it all seemed so real. There was also humour in the book with the nurse's banter with each other.
I really enjoyed this book although I think my heart beat a bit faster while reading it. As I usually say when I've read a good book, it would make a great film and this one definitely would.
Review will be on my blog on publication day.