In 1930s Antwerp, having fled a pre war Poland with her family, Zoshia, a young Jewish girl, battles to survive intense persecution from the Nazis and bravely endangers her own life in order to help save others.

During the war years, Grace, a young teenager, suffers severe personal abuse at the hands of her family in Lyme Regis, England and courageously tries to overcome the repercussions. As adults, both Zoshia and Grace face personal struggles as they try to recover from their traumatic experiences.

This unique and exquisite tale of two women from different backgrounds, juxtaposes both their lives as they each journey through the decades, over coming tragedy and anguish from World War II onwards. The narrative chronicles the injurious plight of women in an age of gender inequality, demonstrates the disastrous effects of war, human cruelty and exploitation, and dynamically showcases the power of female friendship.

Sadly this book just wasn’t for me, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it I just could not get into it. Giving this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Bound by the Scars We Share" by Vivien Churney is a touching novel about two women who have struggled through a tumultuous, life-changing time period, oppression, sexism, and a complicated family relationship.

It's hard to say a novel like this is "enjoyable" when it focuses on triggering and emotional topics. The experiences the women in this novel go through are heartbreaking and how they managed to survive through it all is a miracle.

Churney highlights the impact of the war on two women with different backgrounds living in different countries. The story takes readers through the life of Grace and Zoshia as children all the way until they are elderly women, depicting the unpleasant situations they ended up in as well as some of the lighter, happier moments of their lives.

Though this is a tough and emotional read, these two women lead interesting lives that are informative of the ways in which prejudice, racism, and misogyny were very prevalent in their society. It's a story that will make one's blood boil with anger as they read about the inequality they've faced, the effects of the war, and human cruelty. Yet they will also smile at the rare moments of human companionship, overcoming impossible situations, and the power of friendship.

This is a stunning novel that, despite the tough themes running throughout, is a story that will resonate with many. "Bound by the Scars We Share" is out now and available for purchase. Pick up this novel and give it a read!

A huge thank you to both NetGalley and Matador for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.

Though WWII era historical fiction books are my favorite, I did not find this one to be captivating in the end. I appreciated the historical truth behind Grace’s narrative of a young married woman in the 1930-1950’s who had very little control over her own life, even when it came to her physical safety and well-being. However, I felt that the two stories between Zoshia and Grace could have tied together sooner and been elaborated on for a more joyful, tied-together ending. The writing style and passage of time was different than I’m used to, but this was still a good read in the end.


Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador Publishing for this ARC e-book.

This book is one of those books you will either like or dislike it. I'm literally on the fence with this one. I had expectations of this book but I was slightly disappointed because it wasn't what I had expected. However at the end I was happy that I proceeded on and read the book.

Viven highlights the danger and extremities of war, death, abuse exceptionally well. She puts us there as if we are living what the character is living.

This book wasn't about the war as such but more what the war can do to you after the war has ended. I thought it was a historical fiction during the Holocaust but it wasn't. Its about the effects that war has on people, those hiding and those who are fighting it. We follow a juxtaposition story of two little girls who we watch grow up into adults whose lives don't intervene until the very end. I'm on the fence on whether I like the ending or not. I was hoping for more stories between them, but on the other hand the ending has such a powerful impact.

The only downfall I had with the book was there was so much information dumping which for me ruined the book and some of the sentences ran on in the book. It took me forever to get into the book. This is why I gave it a 3 star rating.

Other than that, I found the book just likeable. I think you would like this book if you want to see how two different girls/ladies face the world in the 1930s, watch feminism bloom, and how strong one can be after being a victim for too long.

This book was not for me. I could not get past the first page. The descriptions were too much - it felt like the author was trying way too hard to build atmosphere and it took away from the story. "Figures filled the atmosphere with their cloudy breath, as if they too contributed to the life forces in their freezing surroundings" - what?

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4042075972

This book had such a good premise, the power of female friendship is what initially drew me to the book. However, I felt that it was a missed opportunity. The writing felt disjointed, the time jumps seemed to make no sense and the dialogue was a little off. On the other hand, the writing style was wonderful, the imagery created was beautiful and I feel that Churney has a way of painting these vivid scenes. If anything, I'd recommend this novel for the writing alone. She does not shy away from the brutalities and raw emotions of war.

WOW. This was devastatingly beautiful. I loved the way this book made me think for days. The ending was bittersweet. One of my favorite reads this year.

Disclaimer: This book is an e-book ARC given to me through NetGalley by Matador (Troubador Punlishing) in exchange for my honest opinions.

While I held great hopes for this book, it did not quite meet my expectations. The stories of the two ladies were told through differing POV chapters. I was intrigued because I love reading war stories, but it felt like too wide of a time span covered. The ladies's intertwining did not even happen until close to the end of the story. It was a good read, but not memorable or one that I plan to come back to again. I do appreciate the pretty cover and the depth of some parts of the story. I also enjoyed the clean writing and the incorporation of real war events such as the Nuremburg Trials.

Trigger Warnings: Attempted sexual assault, depression an anxiety, abuse and neglect, genocide

Yoshia is a young Jewish women who along with her family escapes Poland at the beginning of the war and hides to avoid capture by the Germans. She marries the love of her life and begins a life of hardship and depression. Grace lives in Lyme Regis in England with her abusive and unsupportive family, and is sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle who attempts to rape her. She marries an abusive and domineering man and lives a life of abuse. Both girls face persecution and traumatic experience throughout their lives. Eventually their lives interweave and they are bound by the scars they share.

This book had a lot of potential, I feel like the stories of the two girls were very well laid out. The concept behind the story was very original. I just felt like their individual stories were so rushed through! I kept waiting for their lives to intertwine and it literally happens in the very last paragraph.

Disclaimer: I received access to this e-book through NetGalley by Matador (Troubador Publishing Ltd.) in exchange for an honest review. ALL opinions are strictly my own and are in no way influenced by the publisher or NetGalley. This is not an affiliated post and does not contain spoilers.

Trigger Warning: This story describes different types of abuse, rape, genocide, feelings of depressions, isolation and attempt in suicide/suicidal thoughts.

Summary: Bound By the Scars We Share is a heartbreaking story that follows the hardships of two female characters, Zoshia Freedman and Grace Brookfield. Both grew up during the 1940’s, but had very different experiences. We follow Zoshia through what it was like growing up in Poland as a Jew and the horrific things her and her family saw and had to go through in order to survive. We follow Grace over in London as she navigates a world in which women were inferior to men, and their only jobs were to obey their husbands, take care of the children, and keep house. Having a father who hated females and an uncle who nearly raped her, Grace learns early on that men can’t be trusted. Bound by the Scars We Share confirmations that we do not merely suffer alone. Suffering comes in many different forms and it is our job to learn how to recognize it and even if we might not understand it, to be compassionate and understanding. Many of us are fighting battles that no one knows about.

What I Liked: Bound by the Scars We Share dives into two colossal historical occurrences that have shaped the world we live in today. Even though I only gave this book three stars, it is important for men, women, and children to understand and remember the prejudices of the Jewish community and the horrendous treatment they received from those who followed Hitler and his demented visions of an Arian race. An event in history that will forever stain our world, regardless of how good the story was, it is imperative for us to never forget and hope that this will never happen again.

Grace’s story resonated with me the most, with the evolution of women in our society. Grace grew up in an age when women were taught to not have a mind of their own and be subservient to the men in their lives. Women could not talk about things like domestic violence and rape because no one would believe them. In addition, their ideas of wanting something more out of their lives was seen as nothing more than foolishness. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. For both Grace and Zoshia, the constant fear, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness, I don’t know how someone can survive it. However, this story proves that so many can and do survive. Bound by the Scars We Share highlights that you can still preserver and experience peace, no matter the suffering you experience.

One other thing that I absolutely loved about Bound by the Scars We Share was the imagery that Vivien uses in both explaining the setting as well as the experiences of both Zoshia and Grace. She literally gave me goose bumps and to read some of the disturbing scenes, it makes you reevaluate your own life experiences.

“The afternoon sky made subtle shifts in the light and shade, darkening slowly as the distant, hazy clouds lazily drifted towards the water, winter sun. Two days previously, snow had fallen heavily onto the paving stones in the winding streets and its frozen impact metamorphosised into small hillocks of sleet that, in miniature, resembled the icy glacial formations of the Carpathian Mountains, which surrounded the Polish city.”

“Bodies were dragged violently and mercilessly from their homes like pieces of blood-soaked raw meat ready to be taken to the abattoir.”

“The little boy, whose arm has been ripped off by the soldier while he dragged him from his mother, was callously thrown into the van; his limb was left on the ground and his beaten mother accompanied her son in the van with blood gushing and splashing.”

“Everyone was starving - children were dying in the streets. Typhus was rife. Thousands of Jews died from starvation. It was so cruel. The suffering, the hunger, the torture. It was a slow death for so many.”

What I Would Have Changed: One reason why I gave Bound by the Scars We Share 3 stars was due to the wordiness and run on sentences throughout the book. If there were more time given to making edits, it would make for a smoother reading experience while eliminating the few typos throughout the book. As an example: Grace’s mothers name is Jean and in one part of the story, her name switched to Joan. Completely understandable, but also confusing for this to happen.

Another thing that I did not like was the jumping around in both Zoshia’s and Grace’s stories. I felt that certain sections were incomplete. In addition, it seemed like a lot more time was spent explaining Zoshia’s story over Grace’s. I wish both stories were the same amount of attention.

Lastly, through the book I kept wondering when these women would finally met, which the title of the book indicates. It took the whole book! I was hoping I would read more about both women confiding in one another and seeing their friendship blossom. This to some, could be why they loved the book so much. It does keep you reading until the end, but I was almost let down. I felt unsatisfied with the end.

Additional Thoughts and Recommendation: In no way am I stating this book is not worth reading, and in fact, I do recommend that you do read this book. I wanted to be fair in my assessment and explain my feelings of why and why I did not mesh with this book, which resulted in the three star assessment. Based on the historical events alone of Bound by the Scars We Share, this book is worth reading. Furthermore, the book does a good job of teaching us that, you may be hurting and experiencing some horrible things in your life, but there is always light that comes after a storm. It is worth hanging on to, because there is so much good that will be missed by giving up. It really does put life into perspective. At least it did for me. Thank you so much to both Matador and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review Bound by the Scars We Share by Vivien Churney.

Set In 1930s Poland. This gripping story was life! I am really starting to get into these types of genres!
This book was so beautifully written I couldn't stop reading it! I actually was intrigued by the characters so strong willed and awesome!
Such an amazing book to read!