Sometimes two timelines in a story can be confusing but not in the deft hands of Genevieve Graham. This is the second book I have read by her, and I’m hooked on this author. Bluebird has two timelines, one in the present day with a story of Cassie who works in a museum, and in 1918, with the story of Adele, a nurse in the war, and Jerry, a tunneler in the war. I’d never read about the tunnelers, the danger they endured and what their job was.

In WWI, Bluebird was the Candaian wounded soldiers' name for the nurses because of their bright, distinctive blue uniform. They displayed great pluck, often facing injury or death during enemy attacks while protecting hospitalized soldiers. We follow Adele Savard from Ontario, who roomed with three others, and soon they become best friends. One day, Adele meets a new patient, Jerry Bailey, who is severely injured with a damaged face and broken ribs. Jerry, along with his brother, John, are part of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company. They form a strong attachment. Jerry is from Windsor, Ontario, and Adele is from a nearby town. Jerry is to be sent back to the front, and they hope to meet again after the war ends.

The war ends, and Jerry and John Bailey return to Windsor and find much has changed. Their parents have died from the Spanish flu, which killed countless others. They see Windsor has become prosperous due to prohibition and the rum-runners becoming wealthy by brewing rum and smuggling it across the border into Detroit. The two Bailey brothers decide to hop on boar5d the money-making train and illegally manufacturing their own rum and hire former soldiers to assist in the brewing and delivering it to Detroit businesses.

In the present day story, Cassie, a lonely curator, is approached by a man who finds a cache of 100-year-old rum hidden in the walls of an old house he is renovating. This is the house where Cassie grew up, and she holds grief and guilt for something that happened there. Cassie has been researching the history of the house, and this discovery of the bottles of rum deepens her research. She finds that John Bailey and Ernie Willoughby rivals from the day, are absent from any records, reports, or documents after Bailey's business shut down. Where did they go? What happened to them?
This story has it all. Intriguing WWI details, a love story, and the danger and excitement of prohibition and speakeasies.
The research that Ms Graham puts into her novels is wonderful. Be sure to read her author notes at the end—they alone are worth the price of the book.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel.

Corporal Jeremiah “Jerry” Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunneling Company did the job many men at war avoided. He and his brother John were not just near the enemy, they were often beneath them building tunnels to plant mines under their trenches. Their job was an extremely dangerous one and in one explosion Jerry lands himself in a Belgium field hospital where he meets Adele Savard, who is assigned to take care of him. In the blue uniform, these Canadian nurses were given the nickname Bluebirds by the men fighting. Despite what her superiors warned against, Adele forms a tight bond with Jerry and they find that they are both from the same area of Canada, just across the border from Detroit. They vow to find each other if and when they return home.

When they do finally find each other, they find themselves in the midst of Prohibition and rumrunners are banking selling illegal alcohol across the border in Detroit. With his dad’s whiskey recipe, Bailey Brother’s Best is born and Jerry does what he can to provide for them. But local competitor Big Will will stop at nothing to destroy everything Jerry and John have, and his threats are not to be taken lightly. Jerry is forced to make a choice he doesn’t like that gives him flashbacks to the war to protect what is his.

Cassie Simmons is summoned from her post as a local museum curator in Windsor when a local home renovator discovers a stockpile of whiskey in the wall he was removing from an historic home. Cassie is determined to learn more about this hidden alcohol as she is returning to her own childhood home where it was discovered. She has a personal stake in learning more about Baileys Brothers Best and how it ended up concealed in a wall.

Bluebirds is a quick read. Rather than simply a dual timeline novel, there’s the added pre and post WWI for Jerry and Adele. There is also definitely a bit of a gangster vibe with the tricky business of selling alcohol while its prohibited.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Canada, and of course Genevieve Graham for the advanced copy. Bluebirds is out now. All opinions are my own.

I love reading about history especially if a talented author can wrap a fiction story around the historical facts. This book does just that. The history is about the Canadian nurses who served in WWI and then when the was was over went back to Canada to resume their lives. The story also includes the history of prohibition and rum-running of whiskey between Canada and the US and what that life was like. Interesting story woven well into the history of the time.

My first Genevieve Graham book but definitely not my last! Alert to a wonderful Canadian author and a wonderful Canadian story! 🇨🇦

I was quickly immersed into the story. I can tell the author put a lot of work into accurately researching this historical era. The time and setting were portrayed so vividly that I felt like I was right there experiencing everything with the characters.

This is a dual-time setting although the present day story is very short. It almost feels like an introduction to the story and then it ties up the loose ends at the end.

The story in the past begins towards the end of WWI along the battlefields. A nurse meets a soldier that she is caring for. After the war the soldier goes back home and settles in Windsor, Ontario while the nurse goes back to a small town nearby. They will end up meeting again. The story is exciting as Prohibition has started and there are gangsters around Windsor who are selling whiskey ("rumrunners") across the river to Detroit. Ultimately, this is a love story with some action packed into it.

I really enjoyed learning about the history around the City of Windsor around this time period. A very well-written and researched novel!

Genevieve Graham is one of those rare authors that takes a truly original story and imbues it with the most beautiful, lyrical writing that it feels like you are swept away into another time, yet also reading poetry. I liked the originality of this story, how it contained both WWI and after the war, depicting how it was for those who survived and came home, along with prohibition and illegal alcohol trade. I really enjoyed the plot and characters. the romance, I didn't want it to end, and will definitely be reading it again!

Lush and rich with details, this story will transport you into two separate worlds brought together by shared history.

A unique premise. True events. A little danger wound into a light romance. Such a mystery and such a delight.

Completely loved this book. Awesome characters with lots of intrigue and action to keep the pages turning. Interesting information about prohibition and rumrunning. I would never have imagined the tunneling that took place during WWI. Loads of historical information and facts about that time period. Highly recommend for those who like historical romance.

I recently read this newest book by Genevieve Graham, Bluebird. Set against the backdrop of World War 1 , Canadians Jerry and John work as tunnelers on the battlefields. One fateful day Jerry is in an explosion and is taken to the hospital where he is cared for by Adele. As she sees past his quiet demeanor and his scars heal their bond grows. When the war ends they return to Canada to a vastly changed society - amidst the turbulence of prohibition and an outbreak of the Spanish Flu - Jerry, John and Adele struggle to adapt to coming home and hoping their paths will cross again. I enjoyed this story and the glimpse into Canadian history that this author always brings to her writing. I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

Historical fiction set in Canada during/just after World War I. In this second-chance love story, a military nurse falls for a patient who, along with his brother, had been seriously injured doing dangerous work. After the war, the former soldier and his family make their living as bootleggers and smugglers across the Canada-US border, and the nurse unwittingly begins dating the brothers’ biggest competition, a gangster who is out to ruin his enemies. I’ll definitely look for more by this author. (5 stars; Netgalley review.)

Genevieve Graham writes Canadian historical fiction and all her books are informative and entertaining. Bl;uebird tells the story of a Canadian WW2 nurse called Bluebirds.The story has 2 timelines, current day and 1918 wiuth the story of Adele , a nurse, and Jerry , a soldier. I highly recommend this book !
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Bluebird by Canadian novelist, Genevieve Graham, a historical novel of WWI. is the story of Cassie who as a museum curator, is enthralled to find out of the mystery of Bailey Brothers whiskey bottles hidden in a wall in her family home renovation.. She investigates the lives of the brothers during the war and also how they were involved in the Prohibition movement. Not only. does she learn about bootleggers but also about her family history. Read this novel to find out why the whiskey bottles have a bluebird on the label bottles. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read the book.

This is only my second of Genevieve Graham’s books (though I do own a fair few of her backlist) but she has already became an auto buy author for me. The research that goes into this author’s books is quite incredible and I’ve learnt so much from both of her books that I’ve read but at no point have I ever felt like I was being “schooled” which for me can be a real turn off with historical fiction.

Genevieve’s books also tend to touch on parts of history that I know very little about, in this one both the bluebirds role during the war and also prohibition in post war Canada.

Jerry and Adele totally stole my heart and I adored every single second of their love story. Highly, highly recommend this one.

This was a fantastic read that I enjoyed from beginning to end. The intricacies of the characters and how they were woven into the story had me rooting for the mains and feeling aggravated w/the villains. From the war to the aftermath had depth and drew you into more than just the story. The historical research and the setting were drawn really well. I really felt connected and invested in the characters and I could see reading additional novels highlighting other characters (hint hint).. I would highly recommend, and would read this with a book club and will look out for more from this Author. This has been the best of recent books I've read through NetGalley and on my own. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review in advance.

This book is a definite 5 stars!!! I love historical fiction and this one hooked me from the very first page!! Told in viewpoints from the past and the present it has everything needed for an amazing story, such details in reference to the war, the nurses, the brothers who were tunnelers (which i thought was pretty cool). Adele's devotion to her patients and the way she took of them was very inspiring and then she meets Jerry. Once the war is over and everyone is home its a whole new story, the family ties definitely added to the story, the bonds between brothers and sisters.

There was also the bootleggers and the extremes they would go to for the products to sell and to wipe out the competition, and how the tunnelers used their skills after the war was pretty ingenious. True love tops this story out and it was one of the best i have read in a long time. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. #BLUEBIRD

Wow! This was a great story from start to finish. Great historical fiction that teaches me something new about the past makes for such a great read and enriching experience. Can’t wait for Genevieve Graham next novel. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

As a historical fiction fan, I was so excited to recieve this egalley. The idea of reading about the prohibition era and how it impacted Canada and the United States as well as how it impacted soldiers and nurses returning from WWI was really fascinating to me.

Graham delivers a fantastic historical fiction novel with the perfect amount of romance, history and story to spark any historical fiction reader's interest. I really enjoyed the characters of this book and especially loved the periods of time in which she was writing from the perspective of our Bluebird and soldier himself. I found myself drawn into the story during these parts of the novel and wanted to learn more and more about rum runners, distilling and the mob style competition that was bred between rum runners during that time. Graham clearly did her research and spent time being very intentional about this in her writing.

I didn't love the present day parts of the story as I felt that they left me wanting more. It was interesting to read about the ways that alcohol was hidden during the prohibition times and I definitely understand the desire to add that piece of the story however I felt that there could've been more to the story if she spent so much time writing in those scenes. They almost felt like an after thought.

For those readers who were hoping for a home run when they read The Lost Apothecary in 2021, I believe this may be closer to the home run you were looking for. Women who use artifacts from the past to discover more about themselves in conjunction with a female heroine who pushed back against the societal norms for women? ....you'll find that in Bluebird.

What an interesting and extremely informative tale Genevieve Graham has woven for the reader. She takes us back to WW I Belgium and introduces us to the “Bluebirds”, who were Canadian nurses, originally just nuns who took care of injured soldiers. They were named for their blue uniforms. We meet Adele, the main female character as she nurses Jeremiah (Jerry), a tunneler in a “Mash like” hospital. I had never heard of either Bluebirds or tunnelers. But how they saved lives and ended World War I respectively was amazing. What a fascinating story she weaves. They both return home to Windsor, Canada and we are introduced to rum running during the prohibition and the extreme dangers involved in transporting illegal liquor from Canada to Detroit. It was fascinating to learn stories of a period in Canadian history that is so unknown. The author, who writes Canadian historical fiction. does not disappoint as she treats us to a real page turner. Character building is excellent. Recommended highly. Her notes at the end provide a wealth of information.

To say that the historical fiction genre is saturated with novels from the first and second world wars is a gross understatement, but I have always been fascinated with this era for a myriad of reasons, and continue to give this genre a chance.

When I first started reading Bluebird I had a sense of deja vu. I could’ve sworn I’d read this novel before, even though I knew I hadn’t. Like I said, this has been my historical fiction go-to lately, so it’s not surprising, but it was distracting as I tried to submerge myself into this world, though the ravages of war took care of that real quick, taking over my imagination.

The world building was immense, and reading about the history of prohibition in Canada was fascinating, and something I really didn’t consider until this novel. The details behind the speakeasies, altered modes of transportation, and all the tricks to stay under the police radar while smuggling hooch was nothing short of genius.

The overall story is well written and I enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t too graphic, despite part of the story being during a war. Jerry and Adele are wonderful, and I loved being a witness to their love story. There were a few side stories that I could’ve seen having more bearing, and some seemed incomplete but, for me, it didn’t hurt the overall story.

I truly enjoyed Bluebird, and if you’re looking for a great glimpse of The Great War, as well as prohibition in Canada, paired with a very sweet love story, this is the novel for you.

Bluebird by Genevieve Graham is a wonderful book. This is my second book by Ms. Graham and I can easily say that it did not disappoint. Ms. Graham is a Canadian author and Bluebird is her latest historical fiction novel.

This book is separated into two timelines (Present day and 1918). This book begins during WWI and continues on into the 1920’s. It is set in both Europe and Canada. The earlier timeline was my favorite.

The 1918 timeline is captivating and dramatic. Adele Savard, a brave Canadian woman from Windsor has volunteered as a nurse in Belgium working in a hospital taking care of soldiers during World War I. These nurses, some of them nuns, were called "Bluebirds" by the soldiers because of their blue uniforms. There weren’t enough nuns so they recruited young nurses willing to go overseas.

While there, Adele meets Jerry Bailey, a fellow Canadian, whose face was badly injured while he was working as one of the men digging tunnels under enemy lines. Adele and Jerry are attracted to each other, but after an extended recovery, Jerry was sent back to digging tunnels. After the war Adele returns to Canada. She thinks about Jerry, but doesn't know if he made it out alive. Jerry has also returned to Canada. Jerry and his brother become part of the lucrative rum running business. This is during Prohibition where the brothers were running liquor from Canada to the United States.

This is a great story with a great romance and full of well researched Canadian history. I loved every second I spent reading this book, I can’t wait to see what Ms. Graham has in store for us next. Well done.

I would like to thank Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bluebird drew my attention to the striking color on the cover. Genevieve Graham weaves a tale both in the past and in the present that are so intertwined that it is a complete page turner. Adele Savard is a WWI nursing sister working at a clearing station in Belgium. She was known as a Bluebird because of the color of their clothing. She took care of many patients, but one patient came to be a good friend, Jerry Bailey. He was a tunneller, digging trenches and setting mines during the war. He served with his brother John. The book then moves into the 1920’s decade in telling the story further of Adele and Jerry and how they met state-side, rumrunning and prohibition.
The present-day storyline follows Cassie Simmons who worked at the Maison Francois Baby House Museum as an assistant museum curator in a National Historic Site of Canada in Windsor. Matthew Flaherty brings in some old whiskey bottles of Bailey Brother’s Best 1920 that he found in the wall of a house he is renovating. He wants to know if she knew the history behind the bottles and why they would be behind a wall.
The book is written in four different parts. Graham brings her characters to life with her writing, and it seemed so realistic in the way she interweaved the two storylines. You need to read it to the end because you won’t be disappointed. At least I was not.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. #Bluebird #GenevieveGraham