Very well written WWII book. The whole thing will keep you riveted and keep you going. All the characters were relatable and their stories humbling.

Thank you for the ARC’! The book is a slow flame but I found myself intrigued from the beginning and couldn’t put down. I loved the alternating storylines and really enjoyed that this book was set during WW1 since I don’t feel I read much historical fiction at this time. I learned a lot, which is my favorite thing about the genre, and think the author did a beautiful job pulling this story together.

The Poppy Sisters is a WWI historical fiction novel and one of my favorite genres. Sisters Phoebe and Celia are volunteering for the war effort after their parents are killed during a raid in England. Phoebe is working at a base hospital in Etaples, France. Her sister, Celia, is a nurse working at a POW camp hospital on Jersey. The story follows them navigating their journey through war, job transfers, dangerous love interests and the pull of family. Even though the subject matter is heavy, I found the writing and scenarios to be more superficial than other books in the genre.
Thank you for the opportunity to read the complimentary arc.

In this fantastic World War I historical fiction novel, readers follow sisters Celia and Phoebe, both British nurses. Celia works at a POW camp on Jersey island, while Phoebe works in a hospital near the front lines in France. Both sisters find love while working as nurses, but the war, naturally, makes things difficult for the two of them and their paramours. Both sisters make friends and enemies along the way, but their duties as nurses come first, before everything else. Carr’s characters inhabit an incredibly detailed, complex world, and she brings the horrors, realities, and emotions of hospitals and POW camps to life in this incredibly detailed historical fiction novel. Focusing on the two sisters, the novel alternates between their perspectives, narratives, and locations, and Carr connects the two through letters and a shared backstory. Carr’s characters are the stars of the show, from Celia and Phoebe to minor characters Archie, Jocasta, and Otto, and each character has a unique personality and backstory. The relationships that Celia and Phoebe form with other minor characters (as well as their preexisting relationship as sisters) are particularly compelling, emotional, and realistic. This novel is a fascinating, immersive, and highly enjoyable historical fiction read.

2 sisters, separated by war, Phoebe and Celia. They have recently lost family loved one and are nurses in 2 different situations. I loved these 2 women and the love stories they have.

This story had such promise but fell just short. I couldn’t connect with the sisters and, despite the fact that they were stationed in different areas, it was difficult to distinguish between the two at times. The story itself was OK; there was nothing really different that in any other historical fiction and the ending left a lot to be desired. At times, the story moved pretty slowly so the pacing was a little off but overall, an OK read.

Review: The Poppy Sisters by Deborah Carr

This WWI historical fiction was a heartfelt and beautiful read. The descriptions of not just the field & POW hospitals, but the island and coastal regions the book takes place in were vivid and beautiful. The characters were developed quite well and you felt for them. When I first started reading I wasn’t sure about this book, but it sucked me in and I quickly finished the whole story. The juxtaposition of the sisters similar experiences was interesting and I enjoyed reading this book.

I would recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

If you are looking for a story about sisters who truly love each other no matter what this is the story for you. I found this story so engaging and was surprised at the things that I learned because I am not very well versed in WWI history.
My least favorite part of this book was probably the pacing just because we went from watching these characters day to day life and then months and almost a year jumped. I do understand the need to jump time the way the book did I just wish we could have seen a little more of our characters during those time jumps.
My dislike aside I thought that the story of this book was fantastic and enjoyed the conversations that this book brings up. I thought that both of the sisters felt fleshed out and stood on their own. I do think I preferred Phoebe's point of view the most but Celia's point of view was definitely not bad. I also loved both of the male love interest.
I think that this book does a great job of giving those of us who love the War type stories a new and interesting time period to explore and I will be picking up more of this authors work.

I enjoyed the WWI story about two sisters, who having lost the rest of their family in a zeppelin attack, each turned to nursing. One is sent to a POW camp in the Channel Islands, nursing German prisoners, and the other goes to France to work in a field hospital. Each sister falls for a soldier in her hospital, which is rather coincidental, but Carr does a good job of depicting grief and loss.

The drama in this book was amazing, it kept the historical elements perfectly and glad I was able to go on this journey with the cast. The use of war worked overall and I thought how good Phoebe and Celia were written. Deborah Carr writes a great story and it left me wanting more.

In Deborah Carr’s soon to be published WWI novel, The Poppy Sisters, we meet sisters, Phoebe and Celia, who are both working in separate locations as a VAD (voluntary aid detachment) and nurse respectively after losing their parents and brother in a Zepplin bombing. Celia works in a prisoner of war camp and forms an attachment with an Austrian fighting for the Germans who is in the camp recovering from wounds. While their attraction is taboo, they secretly try to hide their growing feelings for each other, until one of the other nurses discovers them. Meanwhile, Phoebe helps out changing dressings and tending to wounded soldiers where she meets Archie who is being treated for injuries of his own. Over their brief time, they fall in love and eventually get engaged. Then more tragedy strikes.

What the reader finds with The Poppy Sisters is a little romance and a little bit of life in wartime. The sisters are not serving medically on the front lines, but you get a glimpse into what happens when the wounded come to heal. There is brief mention of the shell shock that soldiers experienced as well as how life in the trenches brought about life changing injuries. Sometimes I did confuse the sisters as to who was whom and involved with which man. I also felt a short epilogue would’ve been the perfect closure for the story instead of how it ended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on January 2, 2024.

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