The Liberty Scarf is a collection of 3 novellas based in WWI. Each story follows a different woman and her experience during the winter of 1918.

1- Iris live in London and works for the Liberty Scarf Co.
2- Genevieve is a French-Canadian immigrant in Maine that is going to France to serve as a bilingual phone operator at the front.
3- Clara is a war nurse from Belgium serving in France.

I really liked all 3 stories. At first, I didn't know it was 3 stories by 3 different authors, but the way the stories connect through a scarf was interesting. I was totally hooked on these stories and loved the writing. The book tells stories of love, romance, and finding hope during war. Really a beautifully written book with lovely characters. I listened to the audiobook, and it is very well done with wonderful narrators.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook for review.

I have enjoyed historical fiction stories for as long as I can remember. This was a fun one to read! This had everything you could want in a story - compelling characters, different plots and a great storyline.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts!

After joining forces on their 2023 novel, The Castle Keepers, authors Aimie K. Runyan, J’nell Ciesielski, Rachel McMillan are back with another collaborative book, The Liberty Scarf. Mainly set during the final year of World War I, we follow three different women working within the war, finding love along the way, and united by a recurring theme of hope via a special scarf. Though I don’t read much war fiction these days, I enjoyed this book quite a lot!

The Liberty Scarf is set up like an anthology of three novellas. First there is Iris, a woman who works at Liberty in London and aspires to design her own scarf. She meets Rex, a wounded soldier, who helps in her career ambitions. Then there is Geneviève, a French Canadian woman living in Maine who joins the US Army Signal Corps to work as a bilingual operator. She comes from a working class background, is more or less engaged to the wealthy Peter, and is finding friendship with a French man, Maxime. And finally there is Clara, a Belgian woman working as a nurse in Brussels but who is drawn to life’s stories. She tends to a violinist named Roman, quickly developing a fleeting romance limited to his time in her hospital. But as war continues to tear through Europe, will these six characters find lasting happiness?

Tropes & Narrative Devices:
• Three novellas as one full-length novel
• Partially epistolary
• Recurring scarf and poem motifs
• Third-person POV (Iris; Rex; Geneviève; Clara; Roman)

What I Liked:

• Loosely interconnected stories. Though the stories feel rather distinct from one another, with possibly no overlapping characters (for a while!), they do having recurring themes that glue them together. Iris, Geneviève, and Clara are connected by a Liberty scarf that holds special value to each. And while all three women are contributing to the war effort in some way, they also each find love with a soldier. Each of their stories ends on a cliffhanger… until the epilogue!

• Letters! All three sections have correspondence as a central portion of the characters’ relationship arcs. When Rex is called back to the frontlines, he and Iris write letters about their respective career wins. Geneviève and Maxime become friends while in France, and grow their friendship via letters, even as Geneviève worries about her relationship with her would-be fiancé, Peter. Clara and Roman fall in love when she tends to him as a nurse, bonding over their shared affinity for the arts. But letters are the only thing keeping them together after being driven apart.

• “Hope is the thing with feathers.” While the scarf is a recurring motif that the characters wear and cherish, the Emily Dickinson quote that inspired it is also an important theme that comes up again and again. As hopeless as war can feel, these characters cling to this poem and this quote as a guiding light amidst a dark time.

Audiobook
The audio version of The Liberty Scarf is narrated by Ann Marie Gideon, Gary Furlong, Caroline Hewitt, and Saskia Maarleveld. Each has an inviting speaking style and cadence, allowing listeners to get comfortable yet keeping interest alive throughout. I enjoyed the different accents used to make each character—whether English or French or Belgian—feel more authentic and vibrant. With a European setting, I loved hearing the different languages and accents from the myriad countries involved in the war.

Final Thoughts
The Liberty Scarf is a novel of hope, strength, and love no matter how dark the times become. I loved the format of three interrelated stories sharing recurring motifs and a hint of character connection at the end. Even as wars rage on today, this book offers some hope and love despite it all.

This was such an enjoyable one! Three couples are connected during the Great War by a Liberty of London scarf. The story is set in the winter of 1917 and is divided into three parts. Each part features a couple's story, and then the three threads connect in the epilogue. I enjoyed this format instead of having to juggle three story lines at once. I love this trend of writing collaborations in historical fiction, especially when the writing is as seamless and as well done as in this book.

After finishing the book, I had to peruse Liberty scarves online, and it was easy to see why the authors took inspiration from these beautiful works of art.

Great historical fiction book. I love the passion & dedication presented by the characters. Will definitely recommend to friends.

The Liberty Scarf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a Beautiful story for December & Christmas. The Authors collaboration together is perfect. I loved it! A beautiful Scarf connects three different woman in the Winter of 1917. It was really enjoyable. I loved hearing & learning about more history through the story. Truly a great treat. It made me look & feel my scarfs. LOL The Audio was great!!
Thank you NetGalley!

This was a lovely read. Great sense of atmosphere, well researched, and very well written. Even though each of the three stories felt like they ended abruptly it does wrap up nicely in the end. I must admit there was a certain amount of story change fatigue for me by the 3rd story because I am still living in the two previous worlds. The 3rd chance felt more like work to get through because I'm still thinking about the last two stories.

In The Liberty Scarf by Aimie Runyan, J’nell Ciesielski and Rachael McMillan, we are given an insight into the lives of three quite different but resolute women. There is Iris trying to get her talent seen and accepted. She is also attempting to decide her feelings for Rex. Clara is a nurse helping wounded men during World War I. Roman a young man drawn to music instead of his father’s profession. Genevieve was responsible for phone communications during the war. She is drawn to Maxime, whose world is so different from hers. All six of these people are drawn together by a horrific war and a beautiful scarf whose design is meant to inspire hope. A sweet novel.

War is hard and all three authors in the book bring this out. Beautifully crafted, we have three couples (I liked each one of them) who have hope, dreams and love to give. They lives are intertwined and we get to see how in the end. I was almost not going to read this book but decided to continue. What a mistake it would have been if I had not read it! Lovely, poignant and romantic.

#netgalley #TheLibertyScarf

The Liberty Scarf AUDIO by Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, Rachel McMillan is an enjoyable story taking place toward the end of World War I and is vignettes about three different couples, separated by war. The thread that binds their stories is an expensive art scarf, sold exclusively at Liberty department store in London. The first story is Iris who paints other people’s designs on the scarves. She longs to design them. She meets a man, Captain Rex Conrad, before he is shipped off. The next story is Genevieve, a telephone operator from Maine, although she she is French-Quebequois. Her beau is local, but from a different strata of society and key in the telephone business in Lewiston. They have an informal understanding. She meets a French officer called Maximillian and writes to him after he leaves. The third is a Belgian nurse who meets a violinist when he is under her care after being wounded. Only Genevieve is disappointed by her “fiance” and struggles to locate Max.

This is a wonderful listen, full of strong personalities and interesting stories. War is difficult at best, and keeping in contact nearly impossible. Genevieve has managed to retain her post in Europe, although moving to Strasbourg. She is worried about her family who need her income to survive. She is worried her former beau may cut her out of her job. One asks if any of these romances will continue to fruition. Well, remember this is a romance. It is full of drama, mostly because of the war. It encounters death and mutilation and as well as interesting situations and background on what serving the in war was like. It was excellent. I loved it. It proves love goes beyond physical limitations.

It was narrated by Ann Marie Gideon, Gary Furlong, Caroline Hewitt and Saskia Maarleveld who brought the story to life in an extraordinary way. They did the appropriate accents well, not too pronounced, but enough. It was so easy to get caught up in their renditions of this excellent book.

I was invited to listen to The Liberty Scarf by Harper Collins Focus. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #HarperCollinsFocus #AimieKRunyan #JnellCiesieliski #RachelMcMillan #AnnMarieGideon #GaryFurlong #CarolineHewitt #SaskiaMaarleveld #TheLibertyScarf

The Liberty Scarf, a collaborative work of three authors, presents an interesting perspective on life during WWI. I love Liberty fabrics and was intrigued by the character of Iris, who works for the company and yearns to design brightly-colored scarves as a sign of hope, during the dark days of the war. She and Genevieve were my favorite characters in this story of three couples who meet—and are separated—during the war. I found the stories a bit uneven, perhaps due to the collaborative writing, but the scarf that provides the main thread of the story is fascinating. I couldn’t wait for the moment when the three stories were tied together (pun intended) and it was very good, although it seemed brief and rushed. I really enjoyed this on audiobook, and I thank the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to share this honest review.

I greatly enjoyed 'The Liberty Scarf,' a historical fiction title set in WWI, specifically focused on 3 women and their efforts during the war. These women are tied together in the most creative way by a particular scarf. I found myself engaged in each of the women's stories to the point that I was always disappointed when the perspective shifted because I wanted to know what would happen next for each of them.

The authors did a nice job of highlighting women from different walks of life and exploring how the war experience impacted them .

I was lucky enough to review this book on audio. I found the narration added to the story.

Thank you to Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielsk, Rachel McMillan, and HaperCollins Focus for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of 'The Liberty Scarf.'

The Liberty Scarf is a beautifully written collection I absolutely loved! Through these three novellas, an elegantly designed Liberty scarf weaves its way into each story as three women survive the turbulent times of WWI. Letters, sweet romance, & hope find their way into each woman’s life whether she’s on the front lines or waiting anxiously back home.

London: Scarf maker Iris Braxton spends her days copying other people’s patterns into the scarves she creates. She dreams one day of seeing one of her designs produced on a Liberty scarf. When she meets the handsome, wounded Capt. Rex Conrad on temporary leave, he tries everything to get her to dance with him to win a bet. She finally agrees if he’ll show her designs to Mr. Liberty. Their fast friendship grows to more until the war calls again. I loved the delightful banter, Rex’s uncle’s estate, & the sweet romance as Rex tries to win Iris’ heart. I also enjoyed the symbolism of Iris’ design & the way this story set up the others.

Maine: Geneviève Tremblay, a French-Canadian immigrant, is a telephone operator living in Lewiston, Maine. She joins the war effort in the US Army Signal Corps to serve as a bi-lingual operator, mainly to impress her boyfriend’s family who looks down on her humble roots. When she meets a charming Frenchman in London, she questions her choices, especially when she agrees to correspond with him throughout the war. I loved the correspondence between Jennie & Maxime. Though Maxime’s a wealthy wine merchant, he admires Jennie for who she is & is so noble & gallant. He’s a perfect contrast to her arrogant boyfriend.

Belgium: Clara Janssens, a Flemish Nurse, & Roman Allaire, an Alsatian violinist, meet in a Brussels palace-turned-hospital. As Clara nurses him back to health, they form a strong bond. When friendship turns to love, their relationship is threatened by the war & an enemy within. I enjoyed the almost poetic way music was used & referenced throughout this story. I loved their first kiss & the way Clara approached it. Letters also play a huge role & I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

All three stories were so compelling. The writing was gorgeous & I enjoyed each couple equally. The way a scarf played a role in each story was cleverly woven in. I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version. The narrators were fabulous & I loved the way each character was distinguished, making each novella unique. With each story, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next as each story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I loved the way they all came together in the end for a fantastic conclusion. The historical aspects & rich attention to detail made this collection unforgettable.

Highly recommend to historical fiction/romance fans! I received an advanced listener’s copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own & voluntarily provided.

This book was a fantastic historical fiction. Leaning on a scarf and its significance throughout different lives during WWI, it really was an interesting book to read.

This book introduces you to three women around the world, Iris (a scarf maker in London), Geneviève (a phone operator in Maine), and Clara (a nurse in Belgium). Not only do you see how the war affects them , you also watch them in what appears to be the beginning of fall in love and see how the Liberty scarf plays a significant role in their lives at the time.

It was a beautifully written story. I really enjoyed all three POVs and their individual stories. Though they were great all by themselves, I really appreciated their connections, especially seeing the scarf flow through the story. I appreciated seeing it from the beginning.

It was a great story! I appreciated their connections history, and really just the overall story. I thought it was a great book for fans of historical fiction!

So, if you’re looking for a WWI novel, or a book little different from the normal historical fiction novels, I’d recommend this one! Also, don’t hesitate to listen to the audiobook version - it added so much to the story!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, received from @jnellciesielski @rachkmc @bookishaimie @harpermusebooks @austenprose through NetGalley. However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.

A truly excellent novel set in WWI with three stories very lightly interwoven. Sometimes I have a hard time with books that switch to new characters once you’ve gotten into the groove with that story line. This one switches to a different woman’s story 1/3 and then 2/3 of the way through but it really works. I got immersed in each almost immediately, and the thread about the scarf was really moving. More than a gimmick or even narrative device, the scarf is the central way the book shows how art and color, representing hope and beauty, truly do touch people in their darkest moments - and each section shows how this is true in different ways, including the other thread of the violin.

Thanks to NetGalley for an opportunity to read this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend it!

The Liberty Scarf is more than a piece of fabric–it’s a symbol of hope, resilience, and unity in the face of war, binding these three women together in an indelible bond.

These three women, Iris Braxton, Geneviève Tremblay, Clara Janssens are each unique in their own way. They are definitely strong willed and love with a great fierceness. I enjoyed each of their stories!

This novel did not flow as well as I expected. It tends to feel more like a collection of short stories instead of one novel. Each part starts over with different characters and it takes a bit to get into this section of the story. But the scarf is ever present and it definitely gives hope and ties all of them together with a bond that is unstoppable.

This is narrated by a wonderful tag team: Ann Marie Gideon; Gary Furlong; Caroline Hewitt; Saskia Maarleveld. Excellent…especially with the different dialects.

Need a good WWI tale with hope as it’s center…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.

Set during WW1, “The Liberty Scarf” is three stories connected through as scarf. Iris is a scarf maker with a desire to become Liberty’s first female scarf designer. Genevieve is a telephone operator that signs up as a US Army Signal Operator. Clara is a nurse and violinist who is chosen to play to raise moral.

Loving historical fiction, I had high hopes for this WW1 focused novel. However while interesting, it struggled to keep me fully engaged. Instead of a multiple POV novel interwoven with each other, this is more of three novellas that are briefly connected by a scarf during the transitions from one story to the other. Because of the shorter formats, I felt that the stories were more superficial than I typically enjoy and wanted more from each of the stories. While the plots were okay, I would have liked more of the historical aspect threaded through. You might like this If you like short stories or historic fiction.

I enjoyed this story. I am amazed how three amazing authors have sewed up three stories, matching their language, toning, emotions, excitement and vibes. I read the stories one after another and one can believe that the stories are written by the same person, specifically when you listen to the audiobook.
I immediately loved the main characters of the book, they all had their backgrounds and dedications in life. Despite the difficult times, they all managed to keep the hope, the belief and love at a level, allowing them to survive and move through the war times.
The stories entwined at the end, which confirms how small this world is.

This was an interesting novel of historical fiction set during WWI about three women who have relationships with soldiers serving in the war, and they are each connected by a Liberty of London scarf which was created to inspire hope. Iris Braxton designed the scarf with a poem by Emily Dickenson embedded in the design. Genevieve is a telephone operator working for the allies moving code through the telephone lines and Clara is a Belgian nurse. All three treasure their Liberty scarves and hope that they will bring them luck and hope. Iris's and Genevieve's stories were interesting, but Clara's story got bogged down, confusing and much too long. The end was unfortunately not believable for this reader although I still enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of the novel very much. 3 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for a chance to read an ARC version of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Harper Collins Focus and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook.

This novel takes place during World War I and its aftermath. The story is written by three authors: Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski and Rachel McMillan. I was familiar with Ms. Runyan, but not the other authors. However, they all did a wonderful job bringing this beautiful story together. Each author writes the story of one of the main characters. The stories are tied together by a beautiful scarf. The epilogue does a great job bringing all of the main character's stories together in a very satisfying conclusion. The audiobook was narrated by several narrators and all did a beautiful job conveying each character and keeping the reader engaged. If you love historical fiction and are looking for a unique book that uses a scarf to tie together the lives of three women during wartime, I think that you will enjoy this story.