The Nightingale Girls by Donna Douglas

The Nightingale Girls by Donna Douglas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days

Pages - 512

Publisher - Arrow

Source - Bookstore

Blurb from Goodreads

Three very different girls sign up as student nurses in January 1936, while England is still mourning the death of George V. Dora is a tough East Ender, driven by ambition, but also desperate to escape her squalid, overcrowded home and her abusive stepfather. Helen is the quiet one, a mystery to her fellow nurses, avoiding fun, gossip and the limelight. In fact she is in the formidable shadow of her overbearing mother, who dominates every aspect of her life. Can a nursing career free Helen at last? The third of our heroines is naughty, rebellious Millie -- aka Lady Camilla -- an aristocrat on the run from her conventional upper class life. She is doomed to clash over and over again with terrifying Sister Hyde and to get into scrape after scrape especially where men are concerned. This utterly delightful novel brings a London pre-war hospital vividly to life.


My Review

Dora is an unlikely candidate to succeed and train as one of The Nightingale Girls, she isn't polished, poor and has a secret. Helen is avoided by almost all other nurses/students as the daughter of one of the hospital leaders she cannot be trusted and she has priors but is all as it seems with Helen? And Millie, a lady of worth who really doesn't need to do nursing yet she loves it and wants to see it through despite her grand mother just wanting to marry her off! The three are thrown together under the strict rule of the matrons, their superiors and nurses who run a tight shift and take no nonsense. Pass with flying colours, keep your nose clean or you are out!

Nurse training in the 1930s, surnames only, no fraternising with males, starched uniforms and rules rules rules. Learning on the job and knowing your place, we follow the story through three of the main characters, each with their own problems. Helen wants to be the best she can be but lives in a very minimal existence with her mother controlling every aspect of her life. Dora is escaping abuse and poverty to learn how to nurse and make something of herself and Millie just wants to be Millie and not have to worry about catching someones eye and giving the estate and heir.

Whilst there is a lot centred around nursing the heart of the book is on relationships, the girls, their colleagues, their families and why they behave the way they do. Abuse features in the book, not in great detail but enough for you to be livid and disgusted. This is the first book in a series and I cannot wait to see what is in store for the characters. Love, personal growth, courage, recovery, family and of course nursing. I do enjoy books like this and look forward to the next, I have a few in my tbr, and ordered another, 4/5 for me this time.

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Beyond The Sea by Melissa Bailey

Beyond the Sea by Melissa Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 304

Publisher - Arrow

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The second novel from Melissa Bailey, author of The Medici Mirror...

One summer's day, Freya's husband and son vanish at sea.

A year on, and struggling to cope, Freya returns to the lighthouse-keeper's cottage on a remote Hebridean island, where she and her family spent so many happy times.

Haunted by visions of her old life, Freya's dreams are dark and disturbed. And when a stranger, Daniel, is washed ashore during a storm, they turn even more menacing.

As dream and reality start to merge, Daniel seems to be following Freya's every move. What does he want from her and is he everything he seems to be?

Is her mind playing tricks? Or is the danger that she senses very real?




My review

Freya has lost her husband and young son to the sea, a year on she heads back to the Hebridean island filled with memories of her family. When she and her sister come to the aid of a stranger, Daniel, she soon realises they have things in common. Whilst Freya is struggling with her grief and some eerie happenings Daniel appears more and more, is there more than meets the eye to Daniel?

So this story breaks down into a few parts. The setting, Hebridean island was covered in vivid detail, I could picture the beautiful setting, the land, the sea, the surroundings. It is one of those locations that makes the reader want to go from book location to actual location. I do hope to visit one day.

Myths and legends come up in this book and I found myself putting the book down and googling some of them, Scottish stories and I want to buy a book on them. I love when a book peaks your interest and I used to love stories like that as a kid so I will be rekindling my love of those kind of stories.

Grief and loss is a big part of the story, it doesn't depress you or pull you down, instead taking you on a journey with Freya, adjusting to life and revisting memories. Learning to cope and keep going especially when you have no closure which I think every reader can connect with on some level. It is a story I wasn't expecting to be how it was, grief, love, loss, legend, a bit spooky at parts, snippets of almost a thriller, stories within a story. It was just really well written. 4/5 for me for this one, this was my first dance with Bailey, it won't be my last. I hope she has other books in similar veins or more focused on the old stories and legends, I could have read that all day long!

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Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson

Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Pages - 512

Publisher - Arrow

Source - Book shop

Blurb from Goodreads

There are three killers loose and Alex Cross is on the case for them all, with a family crisis at home things are looking bad for Alex, more so when he becomes the target of a hate campaign. Alex may be a fabulous man of the law but he is human and when pushed so far even Alex will react.

This is a busy wee book, we see Alex facing clever criminals as we have come to expect over the series and some family issues. The newest looks to threaten his family circle, the media are watching, the public are following the smear campaign and the killers are getting blood thirsty.

We know who the killers are, the pair working together are sadists, sexual aspects to the crime and getting more risky. To be honest there were, for me, quite a few questions about these guys and I think with there being so many aspects and different angles to the story something would be left overlooked. It is a busy tale and as always keeps the readers interest, I do hate being left questioning things though I am sure many will be happy with how things are tied up.

I have read Patterson before and will read him again, I enjoy the short chapters which allow for dipping in and out of as time allows. If you enjoy Patterson's previous Cross books I am sure you will enjoy this one, I have loved his previous offerings and feel for me, this one wasn't quite as strong as the others, 3/5 for me this time.

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