Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this lovely book, loved the characters and found the storyline really interesting.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book, The Beekeeper's War by Deborah Carr. It took a while to understand the significance of the book title, which intrigued me. The main characters are Pru and Jack. It is set during the 1st and 2nd World Wars. Pru is a young girl from Jersey who is a nurse at Ashbury Manor helping injured soldiers. It is here she meets Jack. Events mean they lose touch until 1940 when Pru's daughter leaves Jersey for safety at Ashbury Manor with Pru's friend from their nursing days. I will not spoil the story by telling more.

This book is well worth reading. It would be a good holiday read.

The Beekeepers War by Deborah Carr

A first time read by this author and a brilliant read it was.
During WW1 Pru a nurse , meets and falls in love with Jack and we follow their sort of love and loss.
We then turn to WW2 and we now go through those war years through the eyes of Emma , Pru & Jack's daughter and how the experiences of both womens loves and family secrets entwine at a special place to both of them.

Thanks to One More Chapter | HarperCollins and the author Deborah Carr for this engrossing story of life on and off the Isle of Jersey in both WWI and WWII.

From Publisher :' " 1916 At the onset of war, Nurse Pru le Cuirot left her home in Jersey to care for injured soldiers at Ashbury Manor, Dorset. She wanted to do her bit but she never expected to meet American pilot, Jack Garland, so unlike any man she has ever met."
and "1940 .. another war and Pru’s daughter Emma comes to Ashbury Manor. As Jersey falls to the Germans, Emma is fearful for her mother back home. When she meets the mysterious beekeeper who lives in the grounds of the manor she finds herself caught up" in both the past and the present.'

I'm in book clubs and review books for authors but this is a book I read straight through- It was that engrossing! I've read many of this author's books and very much enjoyed them but this book makes me hope that more will be written about this time.

From the bare bones I posted from the publisher, I've laid out some of the book but it was a heartwarming and entrancing read! All the characters were vibrant and remained so and were joined by a new young generation in 1940. The Channel Islands and especially Jersey and it's wartime saga(s) over centuries make me want to read more! I'm planning to read "The Poppy Fields" next!

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley. This book is focused on Pru who is working as a nurse during WWI. She falls in love with a pilot and deals with the normal heartache of being alive during wartime. Things get complicated and I don't want to give all of the book away, but it's a good read about making the most of each day.

An unusual dual timeline in that it is set during the First and Second World Wars, but I enjoyed The Beekeeper’s War all the most because of it.

I have read Deborah Carr books before and she is so skilled at recreating believable and accurate historical settings and characters, without ever beating you over the head with it. The history just flows as the natural backdrop for her story, which is of course how it should be but is nonetheless not easy to achieve.

The novel opens in 1916 when two friends from Jersey, Pru and Jean, are nursing wounded soldiers. Despite herself, Pru begins to fall for a handsome airman Jack who visits Ashbury Manor and is a close friend of the son of the house, Monty, who is a patient there. Jack is still very much on active service and the book opens with a scene of him escaping his German captors a year later, so we know this affair is not going to run smoothly.
In 1940 Pru’s daughter Emma finds herself at Ashbury to stay with her mother’s friends, determined to unlock some secrets from the past. To say more would spoil this story and that I don’t want to do, because it is such an enjoyable read it would be a shame to spoil it.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars
Publication Date: July 21, 2022

"The Beekeeper’s War” was hands down, wonderful read by Deborah Carr. This is my second book that I have read by this author that I truly enjoyed. This was a story that captivated my attention and one that I read in one sitting. Not uncommon for books by One More Chapter, it has its tragedy that takes place during WW1 that shares the loss and heartbreak between Pru a nurse and her love for a serviceman named Jack. Their story spans across 20-something years. It is not until the 1940’s where her daughter Emma embarks on a journey to the place where her mother worked and is told secrets hidden by her mother by a beekeeper that worked on the manor grounds that could have destroyed lives. A heartwarming and loveable story. Highly recommend the read.

This was a great read and I finished the story in one evening. The story swings back and forth between WWI and WWII. In 1916, Nurse Pru le Cuirot is caring for injured soldiers and falls for a Canadian pilot. When he is dispatched on a dangerous mission, Pru makes a decision that haunts them both forever. The story fast-forwards to 1940, where Pru's daughter Emma comes to the same Manor where her mother worked. She stumbles upon her mother's secrets thanks to a mysterious beekeeper on the manor's grounds. I found the story kept me occupied and was not very predictable, which I enjoyed. I empathized with the characters and they were all fleshed out in rich detail within the story.

What a wonderful read. Set across decades from the 1916 Great War to 1940, and the beginning of WWII ; this is a heart breaking story of love, loss, secrets and new beginnings.
The book commences during the Great War with a group of nurses living and working at Ashbury Manor in Dorset, England.
The story centres around Pru, a nurse from Jersey and her new found love with an American serviceman Jack. The chapters alternate between Pru and Jack’s story over the 20 plus Years.
A really lovely read and highly recommended if you are a historical fiction fan.,

A tragic story of loss and heartbreak in WW 1 and the fallout from a long kept secret could have destroyed a few lives . I enjoyed reading this .