The power of friendship helped Eleanor, Lita and Penny survive the war. Upon meeting, they made a pact to keep each other safe and an unlikely sisterhood was formed. While their paths differed, each nurse faced imprisonment during World War II. Due to their nationalities, they were captured and imprisoned by the Japanese during the war. Forced to endure cruel treatment, their strength and love embolden them to save others.

I love historical fiction and authors Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris and Susan Meissner brilliantly captured the era and unlocked a chapter of history that often goes unwritten. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #WhenWeHadWings in exchange for an honest review. Historical fiction fans will fall in love the women's stories and the bravery they displayed.

I just finished When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner. All very talented writers, how can you not read this one? If you are a fan of any of those incredible authors or if you love historical fiction, this book is for you. I am in awe of anyone who writes historical fiction and cannot imagine the amount of research that goes into a book like this!

Reading about the Philippines during World War II was interesting and I appreciated the details of the setting. The nurses struggled to keep it all together as they did their job under the worst of conditions and they were certainly brave and strong in ways I could never be!

Synopsis:

The Philippines, 1941. When U.S. Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, U.S. Army nurse Penny Franklin, and Filipina nurse Lita Capel forge a friendship at the Army Navy Club in Manila, they believe they’re living a paradise assignment. All three are seeking a way to escape their pasts, but soon the beauty and promise of their surroundings give way to the heavy mantle of war.

Caught in the crosshairs of a fight between the U.S. military and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of the Philippine Islands, the nurses are forced to serve under combat conditions and, ultimately, endure captivity as the first female prisoners of the Second World War. As their resiliency is tested in the face of squalid living arrangements, food shortages, and the enemy’s blatant disregard for the articles of the Geneva Convention, the women strive to keep their hope— and their fellow inmates—alive, though not without great cost.

In this sweeping story based on the true experiences of nurses dubbed “the Angels of Bataan,” three women shift in and out of each other’s lives through the darkest days of the war, buoyed by their unwavering friendship and distant dreams of liberation.

This was a good story, though a little slow-moving. Take your time with it and savor the details with this solid historical novel.

It’s due out on October 18

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book follows Penny, a US Army Nurse, Eleanor, a US Navy Nurse, and Lita, a Filipina nurse as they are sent to Manila during WWII. The three meet in the Army Navy Club and are fast friends, relying on one another through the beginning of the war. As time goes on, the three are separated, each facing their own battles and worries as the Japanese slowly take over their residents and each become held in captivity as the first female prisoners of the World War II. The stories are told in alternating storylines and with bated breathe, the authors take readers through the war through the eyes of Eleanor, Penny and Lita. There were several times that my stomach was in my throat with the description of the story and the secondary characters within the story. I fell in love with not only the three nurses but the host of other characters, especially Charley, who made me smile more times than I could count. Before reading this book, I wasn’t as familiar with the Pacific front of WWII, as I was with the European front. In reading this, I learned a lot and really enjoyed the storyline. Highly recommend this book if you like any of the authors’ books.

Pub date: 10/18/22
Genre: historical fiction
Thanks @harpermusebooks for my ARC and ALC!

Susan Meissner is one of my favorite writers, and she and co-authors Ariel Lawhon and Kristina McMorris hit a home run here! I loved learning about the Angels of Bataan, nurses imprisoned in the Philippines during WWII. The three MCs defied the odds to survive and care for their patients, and their hope in the face of adversity was so inspiring. Saskia Maarleveld did a great job narrating, creating three distinct voices for Eleanor, Penny, and Lita.

If you enjoy historical fiction, don't miss this one! 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

I am a huge fan of Susan Meissner so when I saw she had co wrote this book with 2 other authors I had to request it.

I was a bit disappointed The plot was all over the place and I couldnt keep my attention on the characters. It felt like three writers wrote this book without paying attention to the other authors writing. It felt like the story went above and beyond what the story should of been. It felt like there was too much going on and I was getting dizzy from it.

Thank you to the publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by anyone else.

‘When We Had Wings’ follows three nurses stationed in the Philippines at the outset of WWII. After a short, idyllic time they became caught up in the Battle of the Philippines and subsequently POWs. Based on the real life ‘Angels of Bataan’, these women were a part of the largest group of American women to be taken captive during WWII.

Penny (US Army nurse), Eleanor (US Navy nurse), and Lita a local Filipino nurse, quickly become a tight trio despite working in different hospitals in Manila. However, once Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and aggressively fought for more of the Pacific, the Philippines quickly fell into Japanese hands and the nurses found themselves ‘in a strange hybrid world in which they are both captive and caregiver’. A world in which they remained until liberated in early 1945.

When We Had Wings’ is authored by three writers who do well to manage the flow, continuity and tone across the three nurses’ experiences. The book captures both the monotony of imprisonment, juxtaposed with uncertainty, fear and violence. The despair the nurses must have felt, being rendered helpless by circumstances is palpable to the reader. Despite this Penny, Eleanor and Lita never gave up hope and kept fighting to live another day. ‘They’ll say we’ve been rescued instead of acknowledging that we’ve been doing a fine job rescuing ourselves over the last four years’. This book is a great WWII, strong women, historical romance which highlights the war for the Pacific- as an alternate to the more frequently written war for Europe.

I was delighted to recommend this on Episode 350 of What Should I Read Next, with an air date of 10/11/22. It was the perfect recommendation for a reader who loves historical fiction, particularly when it deals with untold stories of history. The connection to the Philippines was particularly meaningful for this reader.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Three authors teamed up to write this WWII novel set in the Philippines, and I think there were too many cooks in the kitchen. I don't know how the writing was divvied up, but having read both Lawhon and Meissner before, this book didn't measure up to my previous experiences with their novels. The story follows three nurses - an Army nurse, a Navy nurse, and a civilian Filipina nurse - as Japan captures the Philippines and they each undergo countless tribulations as prisoners of war. The book was well researched and I learned a lot about this portion of WWII history. It was bleak, but still a story of resilience and deep friendship. Overall, the character development was a little lacking, and I struggled to keep the various storylines and light romantic interests straight. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for a digital review copy.

I loved the setting of this book. It was an interesting departure from WWII fiction set in Europe, and it provided some great insight into the events happening in The Philippines at the time. Unfortunately, despite taking place amidst such pivotal and heartbreaking events, the story fell a bit flat for me.

I found the pacing was off, which affected both the plot and the character development. In attempting to build mystery surrounding each main character's motivations, the authors delayed too long in providing much-needed detail. Ultimately, I became frustrated and didn't grow attached to any of them.

The plot was somewhat chaotic, with the characters moving around so much that I felt disoriented. It felt as though the priority was to adhere to historical events at the expense of the story, and I believe the book would have been more effective with a shorter timeline. In my opinion, the authors tried to do too much with this story, and it just didn't quite hit the mark.

Thank you to the authors, Harper Muse, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WHEN WE HAD WINGS (Pub 10.18) Authors @ariellawhon and @susanmeissner write some of my all-time favorite historical fiction novels and I had a feeling that new-to-me author @kristinamcmorris could only add to the powerhouse. I was right. Thank you to @harpermuse and @netgalley for the early copy.

The literary world is not lacking for WWII stories, but it was missing a fascinating untold story of the nurses serving in the Philippines in August 1941, who quickly formed a strong friendship and later became POWs after the Japanese occupation. The harrowing and emotional experiences of Eleanor, Lita and Penny were cleverly crafted and expertly researched which made for compulsively readable historical fiction. Their courage and resilience left me stupefied on more than one occasion.

If you like stories about women with unrelenting strength and irreplaceable friendships- add this to your TBR.

These three master storytellers came together to give all of us this exquisite piece of literature, and I, for one, am very happy about that!! I love my historical fiction, and with this book I was able to learn so much more than the typical WW2/Pearl Harbor drama. We're taken to the Philippines and are given a very close up look into what it looked like for Army nurses at that time (my dad's rank and profession, coincidentally enough - which is part of the reason I requested this egalley). The nurses on this team are all female and we're shown all the ins and outs of being captured by the Japanese Imperial Army and held in several different POW camps, a very harsh reality indeed.

I like that the romance didn't drown out the plot, which was very essential to the storyline, but it was still given enough of a presence for an element of happiness in a time and place where there were very few things to be happy about. Sort of like a light at the end of a long, dreary tunnel.

A few things that made me subtract a star from this otherwise fantastic book... The relationship between the three women. We're not given much of a backstory on their bond/friendship. Just that they worry about each other immensely while held at different/separate prison camps. Was it that they went through Basic together? Met at parties after graduation? But even then that doesn't really work because 1 of the girls is Navy. And at least 1 is Army. So their Basic/Boot Camp would have been separate. Did they meet at Tech/Training school? When they were being trained on how to be a military nurse? I'm still wondering about this after reading the last page and it's bothering me.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 💛

The premise of this book caught my eye as it was a topic I had not yet read about. but I found the storyline to be far too convoluted to follow. I believe the fact that there were three authors played into this odd story format. There were several times during the story when I was unsure who was speaking or how we suddenly went from inside a cave to outside the cave without explaining how we got there.

This book had potential but it was not something I could finish.

When We Had Wings is one of the best WW2 historical fiction novels I’ve read. It’s the story of three very different women, two from the U. S. And one from the Philippines, and their accomplishments and struggles as nurses in the Philippines. Be prepared for some tears mixed with feelings of joy as we follow our heroines through their initial deployment, imprisonment, and beyond.

I’ve read a lot of WW2 fiction, but hadn’t read much about the war in the South Pacific. With three “Can’t Miss” Authors, I knew from the start this would be a winner. I was also intrigued by the fact that the 3 protagonists, while all nurses, represented three different groups, a Navy Nurse, an Army Nurse and a civilian Filipino Nurse. They formed a friendship socially while working in the Philippine in 1941, just before Manila became involved in the war. Once the Japanese invaded, their assignments weren’t always in the same place, but their friendship was foremost in their minds as they sought news of each other. We go in and out of their individual lives with alternating chapters, while reading of the hardships endured by patients, providers and civilians. The atrocities committed by the Japanese make it extremely difficult for the nurses to provide care to their soldier/patients.. It’s only recently that I had heard about “The Angels of Bataan and Corregidor”, thru documentaries and articles. These authors brought life to these angels and put me, the reader right there as they made a hospital in a cave, suffered as POWs , etc., The Nurses are resilient, as is their friendship.
#Netgalley. #Whenwehadwings

This book had the best of the best co writing it and I had to request.

I was not disappointed. WWII showed us the strength of so many hero’s and the nurses in this book were incredible. Although a few times I felt like it was a textbook, over all I was endeared to the characters and heartbreak.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

“When We Had Wings” is a WWII historical fiction book that takes place in the Philippines from 1941-1945 by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner. Let me first applaud these authors for telling a story that long has needed to be told. About 30 years ago I stumbled across a book written by a US civilian POW in Santo Tomas and later Los Banos. I had had no idea, before reading that book, that there even were internment camps in the Phillippines. So, when this book became available for a preview I so hoped I’d be approved to read it because this was a book I wanted to read. And I’m so glad that I was not only approved, but that this book was enjoyable. If you want to know more about what life was like in the Philippines before Pearl Harbor and also what life was like under Japanese occupation of the Philippines, this book is for you. If you want a story that also tells a bit about nursing under those conditions and surviving on decreasing amounts of food in a way that tells the truth but also does justice, then this book may be for you. One of the things I wished was that the authors’ resources had been mentioned - there are a number of books written about the Philippine occupation and I’m always wanting to learn more about that time period. I do wish that the pace had been a bit quicker in some parts of this tale - sometimes it dragged and needing tightening (I think one story is repeated twice). I also wish that there’d been a bit more doing and less showing, but that’s a minor quibble of mine. Overall, this is a great book about a topic that I haven’t seen much written about in the historical fiction realm. I have read books by two of these authors and was pleased that they had banded together to write this book.

A truly great novel about the little known events regarding nurses and being prisoners of war during WW2. The story is truly inspirational and the hardships endured by these heroines is heartbreaking. A true must read for all.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

i am amazed over how good they collaborated over this book. this book gave me vibes from the tenko series, which was aired in the 1980 s i believe. it is about 3 female friends incarcetated under horrible conditions during ww2 in asia. i loved how they fought the enemies, how the stood up for themselves and others. even though the book deals with heavy topics, it also has some glimmer of hope in it. even though i loved the book, some chapters needed for me more meat on it, it was some easy soloutions. but that is just my opinion. thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc

I am always amazed how multiple authors can write a book together and these three did such a fabulous job.

This novel is about the friendship of three women during war.

August 1941- U.S Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom goes to the Philippines. She meets two other women who strike up a friendship when they meet at the Army Navy Club.

They bond and each have had a difficult past. Eleanor meets Penny and Lila. Bonding over the loss of a husband, lost love and promises, yet their future remains unclear.

At first the are enjoying life in the South Pacific and dealing with light nursing duties, but then Pearl Harbor is bombed. Next the Philippines is attacked and the three are sent to different internment camps.

This novel tackles so many topics and things that happened during that time in history. I enjoyed that the novel follows up with the ladies after the war.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperMuse for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

It was the three authors collaborating on this book that was enough for me to push the request button. Perhaps the second reason was the WWII setting and storyline of three nurses( Penny, Eleanor, Lita) in the Philippines who become Japanese POWS. We certainly read about the harsh conditions that the nurses endured while trying to take care of each other and hold out hope that soon the allied forces would arrive.

I found that the plot moved slowly and that sometimes I was being "told things" in the same tone of a history textbook. Also, as much as I loved the three characters, I feel like Lita was my favorite. She offered a perspective( as a Filipino nurse that was of mixed race) that I had never encountered anywhere else in fiction and I felt that I always wanted to return to her particular narrative. It would have been great if it was just her but I am guessing three authors and three characters is sort of the equation that works here. Although I don't want to spoil the ending, can I at least state in my review that I appreciated the "realistic "conclusion for each of our characters? Also, thanks to all three authors for keeping the romance to a low vibe and not letting it overshadow the main vein of the plot.

All in all, a good historical fiction that I am going to plant "safely" at a three star rating.




Goodreads Review Published 26/09/22
Expected Publication Date 18/10/22
#WhenWeHadWings #NetGalley