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.

View all my reviews

Nightingales under the Mistletoe by Donna Douglas

Nightingales Under the Mistletoe by Donna Douglas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - dipped in and out over 3 days

Pages - 432

Publisher - Random House UK

Source - The Works

Blurb from Goodreads

Christmas 1941 and the nurses at the Nightingale are facing their toughest winter yet.


With shortages everywhere, and every news bulletin announcing more defeats and losses, the British people are weary and demoralised and The Nightingale Hospital is suffering too.


Millie is recently widowed and dealing with the demands of her family’s estate. It’s not long before her old world of The Nightingale begins to beckon, along with a long-lost love…


Jess is struggling with her move from East London to the quiet of the countryside.


Effie finds herself exiled to a quiet village, but the quiet doesn’t last for long as she soon finds excitement in the shape of a smooth-talking GI.


As Christmas approaches, even the shelter of the countryside can’t protect the girls from heartache.


My Review

I do love a book about nursing, set during the war or when it first started out. Nightingales is set in 1941 and we follow three main characters, Millie, Jess and Effie. Millie is a war widow with a little boy, lady of the manor and an overbearing grandmother who is set in her thoughts of how Mille should behave. Jess is in the country to help out, sent from London and finding her feet whilst dealing with her superiors dislike for Londoners and their "know everything" attitude. Effie has come from Ireland, she is on the run from something and just wants a bit of fun inbetween her nuring. There are other characters too and between them all we see the issues faced in the 40's during war, being a nurse, being an aid, soldier, a woman in that time period and all the trials and tribulations that follow.

I am partial to this kind of read, I just love it. You learn a wee something, you have some kind of scandal, questioning morals, friendship, bonding, a bad guy or two to dislike or hate and some acts of kindness to warm the cockles. I could read this time of book in one sitting if time and life permitted to be honest. The writing flows, the characters you invest in relatively quickly regardless of if you like or hate them, you engage.

Despite this being book seven I think it is my first read with these characters and I didn't feel at a loss coming in so late. I will absolutely be buying up more by this author. 4/5 for me this time, you will laugh, rage, be moved and annoyed at parts and who doesn't love when a book puts you through your paces.

View all my reviews