Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Release Day Review: The Major's Daughter

The Major's Daughter, by J.P. Francis
Series? No
Publisher: Plume
Date: August 29, 2014
How did I get this book? free from the publisher for my honest review
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Publisher

In three words: Conflicted. Romantic. Tragic.

I'm not much of a romance-novel reader, but I am still a sucker for a story about star-crossed love. And what could be more star-crossed than a young American (the titular Major's Daughter) falling for a German prisoner of war?

Inspired by a real little-known POW camp in New Hampshire, I was at first taken aback to realize just how close to home this camp was. WWII novels taking place in New England tend to be about those who've been left behind and don't typically feature German soldiers on American soil. While it is believed that the German prisoners were treated humanely, the author notes in her Afterword that prison life was much more difficult than she portrayed in this book. Her main focus was on the characters, so those aspects were intentionally softened. If you are looking for a gritty, 100% realistic portrayal of the time period, this may not be the book for you. But if you are looking for a literary tale about forbidden wartime love, than this definitely is a book I would recommend.

I read this while away on vacation and it was a perfect beach book -- I felt completely transported to a bygone era. The story is very character-driven and the main characters as well as the supporting characters felt very real to me. For better or worse, they are a product of their time and more than once I wanted to throttle a few of them. They are real and flawed and far from perfect, but I think that makes for very interesting reading. I didn't like everything that happened or agree with every decision, but felt the story was very fleshed out and the relationships and consequences were realistic. There's no neat little bow tying this one up, but I think I would have felt cheated if there was.

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Reading Challenges:
New to Me
Historical Fiction
Review Pile

10 comments:

  1. I like the sound of this one and will have to give it try. I am also loving the cover!

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    1. The cover is gorgeous -- I hope you get a chance to check it out :)

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  2. I'm glad I saw your review! I hadn't heard of this one, but it does sound like something I'd want to check out. Thanks!

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  3. I love that you were transformed into the era! I love books like that!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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  4. I love a character driven novel. Whist historical fiction isn't a go to of mine, I've discovered some great historical fiction over the past year or so. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. Characters are pretty much the most important aspects of any novel for me -- even more so than plot. I don't need to love them or agree with them all the time, but I want them to feel like real people, so I love when I find those kinds of characters in books. And I'm a total sucker for historical fiction :)

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  5. Good love stories are the best. I am a sucker for love. LOL! Glad you liked it.

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    1. I have to agree -- this one is a bit more on the tragic side of love given the whole star-crossed thing, but still a great love story :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)