Another great book from Diane Chamberlain. Based on the facts of a polio hospital it gives an insight into what life must have been like. Excellent read

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an uncorrected proof of this book in exchange for an honest review ..

This is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Chamberlain and I look forward to reading many more of her books. The Stolen Marriage takes place in 1943 during World War II. Tess DeMello and Vince Russo grew up living next door to each other in Little Italy, Baltimore, Maryland. The two families loved each other and Tess and Vince ended up becoming engaged. Both families were ecstatic with their engagement.
Vince was a new doctor and Tess was finishing up nursing degree and getting ready to take the nursing exams. It was their dream to get married and work together.
As a new doctor, Vince did not have a job so he decided to go to Chicago and volunteer with the polio epidemic for a couple of weeks. Two weeks turned into four weeks which turned into months. Although Tess understood this was something Vince needed to do, she was beginning to get angry with the fact that he kept delaying his return home.
Tess’ best friend Gina talked Tess into going to Washington for the weekend. Since Vince kept delaying his return, she decided it would be nice to get away. After all, what harm would that be? One weekend, one night of a bad decision changed her life, Vince’s life and so many other lives in the town of Hickory, North Carolina including a man named Henry Kraft.
You’ll have to read the book to understand how everyone’s life changed, some for the better and other, not so much. You definitely will not be disappointed in this book. It was a page turner, to say the least!

3.5 stars. It's so hard for me to rate this book. I found it had glaring flaws and yet I ripped right through most of it today. I think that tends to be my relationship with Diane Chamberlain's books. Set during WWII, the story focuses on Tess, who lives in Baltimore and is all set to become a nurse and marry her childhood sweetheart. Through events that I won't recount to avoid spoilers, her life is set off course and she finds herself in Hickory, North Carolina, in a loveless marriage with someone other than her childhood sweetheart. Tess' situation gives Chamberlain an opportunity to explore issues of sex, class and race. What struck me as glaring flaws are that Tess is too perfect, there is an overload of dramatic events, the politics are simplistic and, with one notable exception, the story is pretty predictable. But despite these flaws. I did manage to get caught up in the story, wanting to follow Tess through to what one knows will surely be a happy ending. To give Chamberlain more credit, I should also note that, as in many of her books, she highlights an interesting historical event. In this case, the story takes place in Hickory, North Carolina which was particularly hard hit by polio in 1945. Part of the book delves into this devastating disease and how this small town came together to deal with it. Many readers liked this book far more than I did, but despite its flaws, I still enjoyed it enough to be glad I read it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

I love Diane Chamberlain's books & I think I must have read them all. When I heard there was a new one out & I was approved for it on Netgalley (thanks to them & the publisher) I couldn't have been more pleased.

It's the mid 1940's. Tess & Vincent live in Little Italy in Baltimore. Madly in love they plan to marry. Vincent is a doctor and Tess is training to be a nurse. When Vincent has to go away to Chicago to help fight a polio epidemic Tess understands. However, her patience wears thin after a few months & she decides to have a weekend away with her friend. After too many martinis she finds herself in bed with Henry Craft & soon after realises she is pregnant. To her surprise Henry insists they will marry. She finds herself in Hickory North Carolina with a mother & sister in law who are far from friendly and a husband who is, and continues to be a stranger.

This book deals with racial segregation, polio and the world of 1940's America. It is well researched & well written. As always the characters grab a hold of you, although maybe not as much as in previous books. I did feel the whole idea of Tess & Henry's marriage was a bit contrived, but fair enough, it served to make the story. All in all a good read, it nearly but didn't quite reach the five star point.

This historical fiction novel is gripping. It's moving. It has loss and love, secrets and revelations. So much emotion is tied up into the relationships, and the story. I feel that I knew Tess personally, that she could have been a relation that has now passed, because she is that well written. A fascinating read.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

Woman (Tess) leaves fiance (Vincent) to marry her baby's father (Henry) -- it's complicated! -- but what the heck has she gotten herself into? What secrets are her new husband and his family hiding from her? Will they all remain safe from the polio epidemic?

Set in a small town in North Carolina in 1944 during the polio epidemic, this was the story of Tess, a 23 year old woman, who thought she knew what she wanted out of life until one night, when everything changes. Why did she break off her engagement with Vincent, the boy next door she's loved her entire life, so abruptly only to move away and marry a stranger? Will she regret her decision? Or, will she persevere against adversity and make a better life for herself?

While living in the small town of Hickory, North Carolina, Tess -- who has a nursing degree -- volunteered at a hastily built hospital for polio patients. Before reading this book, I didn't know much about the polio epidemic. I was fascinated to discover that the hospital in the story was based on the real Hickory's Emergency Infantile Paralysis Hospital, which was built and staffed in only 54 hours and evaluated 663 patients during its nine months of existence.

Lastly, I have to thank my friends -- Tina, Caryn, Melissa, and Regina -- for recommending this author to me. Without them, I might not have requested this excellent book from NetGalley. I very much enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! I've heard so many great things about this author, so I'm excited about this opportunity :)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am a big fan of Diane Chamberlain and have read many of her novels over the years. This novel takes place during WWII in North Carolina, with the polio epidemic and racial divides forming the backdrop to the story. The story starts off slowly and doesn't really pick up any pace under well over 50% of the way through. As a reader, I kept waiting for something substantial to happen. I always like the author's historical backdrops and this one was no exception. I especially enjoyed the author's notes at the end. In summary, this was not one of my favorites .... slow pacing and the story felt a bit contrived. In general, I do think Diane Chamberlain's fans will like this book, but it just wasn't my favorite.

Tess DeMello’s life was all planned out. She was going to marry her childhood sweetheart, become a nurse, assist her newly minted doctor husband and live in Brooklyn close to their parents, who live next door to each other. Her wedding date is set, she is shopping for a dress. But then Vincent, her fiancé, takes a temporary position in Chicago studying the polio epidemic and he is gone a long time longer than the two weeks he promised. It’s time to pout a little and so Tess goes on a weekend jaunt with her best friend, Gina. Things don’t go well.
Tess, pregnant and single in 1944, knows she has messed up and has to fix things fast. She leaves a goodbye note for Vincent, travels to Hickory, North Carolina, where Henry Kraft, the father of her coming baby lives, looking to him for financial help but he suggests they marry. She agrees. She knows she has to. But the small town gossip is convinced she trapped the catch of the town and she is alone and ignored.
As Tess works through a belittling mother-in-law, a snarky sister-in-law and a town populace that refuses to accept her, a husband who won’t touch her and who works all hours of the day and night, Tess’s entrapment is hard to take.
A polio epidemic comes to Hickory and within 54 hours the town builds a hospital. Tess insists on using her skills as a nurse and it is through the avenue things start to look up.
But don’t get cocky with yourself and think you know how this story is going to work out. You could be wrong. I was.

One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever.

It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.

The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.

When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love—and the life—she was meant to have?

My Thoughts: I was immediately caught up in the story of Tess and Vincent; I felt her pain when one mistake led to impossible choices.

Her pregnancy and marriage to wealthy Henry Kraft would take Tess outside her comfort zone. No longer living in Little Italy in Baltimore, she struggled to fit into her new life in Hickory, North Carolina.

But even as she tried to settle into her new life, Henry’s behavior toward her was puzzling, and the hostility she felt from all the townspeople, including her mother-in-law, made her adjustment almost impossible. Would she ever unravel the secrets Henry held deep within?

When Tess finished her licensing for her R.N. and, despite her husband’s objections, began working as a volunteer nurse during the polio epidemic that had hit the town, she started to regain her feelings of self-worth and confidence.

When an unexpected person from her past gives her new hope, she suddenly and unexpectedly finds just the power she needs to regain her life. And a mysterious journey leads her to treasures she had never anticipated. The Stolen Marriage was a beautiful story that kept me rapidly turning pages. 5 stars.
***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

I am a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain, and this newest book may be her best yet. The book is set in 1944, back when it was expected that you got married and had children, in that order. Having children out of wedlock was a scandal, and inter-racial and same-sex relationships were against the law. Tess breaks off the engagement with the love of her life, and rushes into a loveless marriage with Hank, who is heir to a furniture factory and one of the town's most prominant citizens. As Tess tries to come to grips with in-laws and townspeople that openly dislike her, she longs to be free of the constraining marriage.
This book is definitely a must-read. It will keep you captivated from beginning to end.

Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors. So I was very excited to read “The Stolen Marriage”. I’m usually not a big fan of historical fiction novels but I always find that I am pulled in by whatever subject matter Ms. Chamberlain is writing about, and this time was no different.

The book opens in Baltimore, Maryland in August 1943. Tess DeMello is celebrating her twenty-third birthday and her fiancé, Vincent’s completion of his hospital residency. Tess has loved Vincent for as long as she can remember. Now that he’s a full-fledged doctor and Tess will be graduating from nursing school, they are looking forward to working side by side. She has it all planned. Where they will live, how many children they will have…everything. After being engaged for the last year she will finally be his bride in May 1944.

But in a shockingly turn of events, Tess ends her engagement to Vincent and marries a man she knows nothing about. She relocates to live with her new husband, Henry in Hickory, North Carolina. Hickory is NOTHING like Little Italy. Her new husband runs a fine furniture factory that’s been in his family for years. Everyone judges Tess thinking she married Henry for his money. They don’t trust her and many seem to outright despise her.

Now Tess is unhappy and trapped in a loveless marriage to a man who has many secrets. Although Henry can be very kind, he’s often moody. He’s usually late coming home and sometimes doesn’t come home at all – offering lame excuses for his absence. While their house is being built they must live with Henry’s mother and sister who barely tolerate Tess. People tell her that there are so many things she doesn’t know but won’t tell her what those things are.

“It’s a terrible feeling, being despised. From the moment I set foot in Hickory, I felt the suspicion, distrust, and outright hostility of most of the people I met”

Tess is hit with one thing after another as things go from bad to worse, and it doesn’t look like things are going to get much better.

But when a polio outbreak hits Hickory, Tess is determined to do all she can to help. Will Tess ever find happiness and acceptance in Hickory? And will she ever find the love she so desperately wants and deserves?

After a promising start, there was a lot going on and at first it wasn’t pulling me in. However, I needn’t have worried as it wasn’t long before I was gripped by the story and excited to find out what was going to happen next. As usual, the author has created many wonderful characters. Some characters I absolutely loved and others that made me furious. I was annoyed with Tess at first and at times I wanted to shout at her to stand up for herself. But I also admired her ability to hold her head up high.

Diane Chamberlain writes fiction books but the stories are often written around real events in history such as the war, polio, racism etc. This novel was no different. I always learn new things when reading her novels, and often end up doing more of my own research to find out more. I found it interesting reading about a time that my mother lived in. In many ways it made me realize how fortunate I am, and how much I take for granted.

A fantastic story about secrets, love, racism, betrayal, forgiveness and so much more. I can’t wait to read more from Diane Chamberlain.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

4.2 - I really enjoyed this one; it kept me guessing. Solid characters, interesting historical plot.

Great historical fiction with a mystery set in 1940's between small town Hickory, NC and big town Baltimore, MD! This book excelled with period detail, set into the nuances of the book. Not the "look at me I'm a historical fact" kind of storytelling, but the kind that breathes life into the time period, characters & setting almost effortlessly. It was so enjoyable to read the descriptive writing. Polio, or Infantile Paralysis, is a major childhood disease that terrified parents and communities alike. The disease, the hospitals, Doctors, & nursing care given are a main player and made things come alive in my mind. There is also a storyline that relates to the time period I won't reveal for fear of spoiling the plot and the twists and surprises. Suffice it say that after a poor, aggravating choice or 2 made by our main character Tess, I was enthused to read and find out what would happen next clear to the end. Great writing really makes all the difference in a good book and a not so good one.

-Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review-

There's a reason Diane Chamberlain is a best selling author- she's a terrific storyteller who writes novels like this one. This is historical fiction at it's best. Tess marries Henry, a man she hardly knows, because she's pregnant and they move to North Carolina, away from her friends and family. There are secrets abounding here, not least of which are about Henry. How different, thank goodness, things are today for women in these situations. Tess, though, is a tough cookie and when the town is hit with the crisis of the polio epidemic, she comes through, thus earning her place in this conflicted town at long last. There's tension here, as well as suspense; this is a page turner. How will things turn out for her? What's the truth about Henry? Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have read all Diane chamberlain books and have to say this was not one of her best. Maybe it was my frame of mind.

3.5 I am not going to rehash the summary of the plot for this book, you can read that on your own. This was another sisters read and my review is just what I wrote as my final analysis on the sisters thread for final thoughts. The year is 1944, and takes place for the most part in Hickory, South Carolina.

I definitely think the last third of the novel was the best, we got to finally know the characters and what they are made of. Such different times, choices for women so limited. At least Henry proved honorable in the end. Still though for me this was way too dramatic, too many things thrown in,made it unbelievable. Definitely reminded me of a soap opera. Yes, she did a vast amount of research but it seemed as if everything she found out she just had to include..
Did like the parts about polio, the hospital, those seemed very real. The happy ever after ending, nice but maybe too good to be true.
My rating will be a 3.5. as I did like the last part. In fact the book was very likable for me, just not more than that. Know I will probably be in the minority here.

Turned out I wasn't the only one who felt this way about the book, we ended up split down the middle. It is important to mention, as the author did at books end, that this hospital for those inflicted with polio, did in fact exist. Most amazing of all is that is was actually put together and functional within a matter of days. I don't think I was the ideal reader for this book, but I did enjoy the historical elements of this, just not the piling on of things that went wrong.

ARC from Netgalley.

So good! From the first pages, I was enveloped by Tess and her story. I laughed with her, cried with her, and cringed with her when she made the one horrible decision that changed the course of her life. In addition to loving Tess and her story, I found the tales of polio to be quite fascinating. I have never known much about this horrible disease, and I really enjoyed learning about it from such a personal point-of-view.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Diane Chamberlain writes characters that you truly care about. This one is a great story but this reader has so much empathy for Tess that it makes getting to the end heart wrenching but so worth it. Great, fast paced story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain that I read and reviewed.
This book was completely out of the area that I usually find myself reading but I can honestly say that I enjoyed The Stolen Marriage a great deal more then I thought I was going to when I realized it was a historical book. I found I enjoyed the story a great deal and I really liked Tess as a character.
I found some other aspects of the story intriguing as well but I don't want to go into them because I refuse to give spoilers but I will say that Chamberlain explored a lot of thing in this book from race, to religion, to health and a number of other things people were dealing with during the forties and she did and excellent job with characters that you grew to care for as you got more involved in the book. This is a book I was not able to put down because I had to know what was going to happen to Tess and how was she going to deal with the situation she got in and finally if she would ever get her happy ending. Tess was one of those characters you could not walk away from because she grew so much throughout the book you had no choice but be her cheerleader because everyone has a little bit of Tess in them, or I would hope they do.
I am giving The Stolen Marriage five out of five stars.

Another hit by this author, who never fails to provide a thoughtprovoking, enjoyable read, with well drawn characters who pull you into the story. I did find it a bit drawn out but still a good holiday read with an ending that I didn't expect.