Susan Meissner is an accomplished writer of historical fiction (see A Bridge Across the Ocean). This story, spanning the years 1918 to 1926, follows a Philadelphia family as it experiences the final months of World War I, the ravages of the wide-spread Spanish flu epidemic, and the long-lasting effects of both events.

We become a close observer of three teen-aged sisters – Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa – each of whom has a distinct personality and voice. Evie, the oldest, is the scholar, practical and level-headed. Maggie, in the middle, is caring and passionate. Willa is willful and possesses a temper; she is no stranger to smashing delicate objects when she doesn’t like the way things are going. Their mother, Pauline, is a quiet woman mourning the recent loss of her infant son from a defective heart, and their father, Thomas, is a hard-working man who is learning his uncle’s trade as a mortician. The unexpected flu deaths of family and friends and the aftermath of war touch them all, and each sister copes in her own way.

The story is narrated in alternating chapters by one of the girls or their mother. The chapters are fairly short, and I found the continuous change in point of view disconcerting at times. While first-person narration seems to be the thing nowadays, this story could easily have been told by an omniscient author in the third person, allowing the reader to feel less thrashed about.

The book starts out slow; nothing significant seems to happen for the first twenty-five percent. Once the flu hits, the pace picks up, and one gets a real sense of what life was like in that dreadful era. The ending is almost too tidy, but the story has enough tragedy that one can simply accept and appreciate the good.

I received a free e-reader copy of this book through the publisher.

I fell in love with this author's writing style when I read A Bridge Across the Ocean and she continues to deliver a story with this book that is impossible to put down despite being a completely different setting and time period. I cared so much about the characters and what happens to them in the book. It made my heart soar and cringe as they grow up and evolve. I usually hate when a book skips several years, but in this case, it didn't detract from the story at all.

Did you know that the Spanish Flu killed more people than the Black Plague? I certainly didn't, nor did my tween daughter who dressed up like a Black Plague Doctor for Halloween and loves those odd kind of facts. This is a historical fiction account of one family's experiences during the Spanish Flu in Philadelphia.

I hope I can do this novel justice as I review it because this was such a touching, heartfelt, amazing book that this is one not to miss. This story begins with the Bright Family, a family living in Quakertown, Pennsylvania in 1918, they are father Thomas, wife, Pauline and their 3 daughters, Evelyn, Maggie and the youngest, Willa. Here the Bright family together make a meager living drying and rolling tobacco leaves to make as cigars but they are a close knit family who together dream of a better life for themselves when Thomas's elderly uncle who runs a mortuary invites them to help him run it in Philadelphia. As they settle into a nicely improved life, The Great War looms on and The Spanish Flu epidemic begins to invade the city reaching their family and friends. This was such a deep touching novel that parts of it made me cry which I usually don't do. It was also warm and hopeful, I felt the anguish and fears The Bright family felt as they struggled to make sense of what was happening to them and the people they loved during this tragic and depressing time. Without giving away anymore of the synopsis, this book is one not to pass up and I am glad for having spent the time reading it. Highly recommended.

Thank you to author Susan Meissner, Natalie Sellars at Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for sending this to me for an honest review.

As Bright As Heaven is a beautifully written story about a family...its loves, its heartaches, its passions. It starts with an intriguing premise, as the family lives above a mortuary, and they all become involved in the family business. But there is no morbidity, the story is not maudlin...the focus of this story is on the living, a family who tends to the bereaved families as well as the deceased. The story takes us through WWI and the Spanish flu epidemic, and how the lives of the Bright family are impacted by these horrific events. The characters in this book, the parents and their three daughters, were like dear friends from the very beginning of this book. My heart celebrated their joys, my heart broke through their sorrows.

4.5 stars

What an amazing book. This is the second book by Meissner that I have enjoyed. Her book The Secrets of a Charmed Life was an amazing audiobook. So I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her newest book, As Bright as Heaven.

This is an intimate look at how one family deals with loss, death, and war. There are four alternating points of view. At times, this book gutted me. I haven't had an ugly cry since reading The Nightingale. Grab your tissues because you will need them.

" We only see a little bit of our stories at a time, and he hard parts remind us too harshly that we're fragile and flawed. But it isn't all hard. Your story isn't all hard parts. Some of it is incredibly beautiful."

I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

This powerfully written story of love, loss and hope takes place in Philadelphia during World War One. Thomas and Pauline Bright leave their small town of Quakertown for Philadelphia so that Thomas can learn the undertaking business from his childless Uncle Fred. The family of five with their three daughters Evie, Maggie and Willa leave everything they know and love behind to move to Philadelphia. What starts as a dream for a new future quickly becomes a nightmare as the Spanish Influenza creeps quietly into Philadelphia and changes their lives dramatically. After twelve thousand die the family is left with devastation, an orphan child, and the need to rebuild their lives. This is a wonderful story and a page-turner all rolled into one. A must read.

Full disclosure- I relish well-crafted historical fiction. Susan Meissner writes well-crafted historical fiction. What I love about her novels is her focus on lesser known events in history. Those events whose stories haven't been told thousands of times. This time the focus in on the 1918 Flu pandemic.

The story takes place in Philadelphia and is told her two parts, 1918 and 1925 through multiple narrators, Pauline Bright, her undertaker husband and their three daughters- Evie, Maggie and Willa.

The characters and their reaction to shared experiences are compelling, vivid and genuine. If you are looking for a book with love, loss, hope, secrets, drama and family- add this to your list!

Be prepared to fall into the internet rabbit-hole to learn all you can about the 1918 Flu pandemic. Isn't that what happens when you read amazing historical fiction?

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley Books for an Advanced Reader Copy in enhance for an honest review.

Some books grip you and never let you go. The cover was beautiful and the pages inside even more so

Have read other books by this author and had recently recommended another book of author's for a book club discussion. Good historical fiction .

“Love something long enough and true enough and fate will tear it out of your hands if it chooses and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Loved the setting of this book, during WWI and the Spanish Flu epidemic in the U.S at the time. I was not at all familiar with this era, having read more WWII historical fiction. However, this book dealt with family relationships and boy, do I know about those! Are we predestined in our familial relationships or do we have any control over them?
The Bright family moves to the big city, in hopes of a better life and to a degree, achieved it, but at what price. Was their fate sealed, or could they change it? I loved the development of the characters in this family and description of their surroundings. The author did an excellent job of describing their circumstances, dilemmas, and challenges. I would imagine this would be a good pick for a book club discussion.

Sue Meissner’s books just get better and better with each new one; every time I pick up her latest book I hope that it will be as good as her last ones, and instead I end up liking the newest one the most. Very few authors can sustain that level of excellence; it is quite an impressive feat. As Bright as Heaven is simply fantastic: Meissner’s tale is fascinating, heartbreaking and an all-around beautifully written book. Moreover, her characters are well-developed, authentic and believable. Using the four Bright females as narrators was a solid and effective choice; their various stories are slowly unfurled as the pages fly by. Each female character has a distinct personality, and I was constantly awestruck at how Meissner chose the perfect individual to reveal a particular secret or fact.

I knew virtually nothing about the Spanish Flu epidemic in the United States (I knew that it had devastated parts of Europe) at the end of World War 1 before I read As Bright as Heaven. Learning about events like this is one of my favorite things about historical fiction, and I especially enjoyed that aspect in this book because it was a significant event about which I am glad I now know occurred. In her Author’s Note, Meissner states that the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919 was the deadliest disease in history, significantly worse than the Black Plague, and she chose it because it was an untold story. I am so glad that she did.

There are times when I am reading a novel, and the events occurring are such that I cannot see an ending that will be satisfactory to me. There were two such plot lines in As Bright as Heaven. Without including any spoilers, Meissner managed to wrap both issues up successfully (one better than the other but both reasonable resolutions) which I felt was no small feat.

I highly, highly recommend As Bright as Heaven. I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought’s Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

This was recommended to me
I enjoy reading Susan Meissner.
I was excited to read this book.

Rotating between characters gives you the entire story
from different viewpoints.

It is January 1918 and a family moves to Philadelphia
to live in a funeral home not truly knowing what future they have.
Then the Spanish Flu hits hard!

Something good comes out of that dark time.
A top quote is: "...eyes don't change much from when young, just how we see things that changes."

I loved a viewpoint of the Spanish Flu in this time period
and reading of a family during this epidemic and the lifelong consequences.

I really enjoyed this book. What a well written saga of a family during a time in our history that I haven't read much about. Learning about the Spanish influenza was heartbreaking.. This is a book that is hard to put down.

Beautifully written and vividly imagined, AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN is a mesmerizing portrayal of a family who we come to mourn for as the Spanish Flu epidemic hits Philadelphia. This Mother and her three daughters could be someone we know and love, the author makes them so relatable I felt that they were a bit like family. I also learned a great deal about this epidemic that I hadn’t known. This author can tell a story that draws you in and won’t let you go. Ms. Meissner has won a spot on my favorite authors list. I look forward to reading more of her work.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from The Great Ninja Thoughts Review Team. All opinions are my own. This book was beautiful, amazing and lyrical. She makes the scenes so realistic that you feel as if you are there with them. The characters were wonderful and believable. I don't read a lot of historical books but she awakened a love for this genre in me. Most definitely put this on your list for reading or better yet pre order it so it'll be waiting for you on release date. It's not to be missed. Happy reading!

1918, Philadelphia, a city with many opportunities, a city that the Bright family, Pauline, Thomas and their three daughters move to for just that purpose. Thomas's elderly, childless uncle wants them to live in his large house, and for Thomas to train and takeover his mortuary business. Leaving Quakertown behind, this is what the family looks forward to, a new and better life, especially after the tragedy of a terrific loss.

I fell in love with this family, and we hear individually from each of them in alternating chapters. Things look promising for them but then the Spanish flu comes to call, an unwelcome Spector that causes further loss. Such a winning combination of characters, history and a first hand look at the devastation of War. The Spanish flu hit Philadelphia extremely hard, the hardest in the nation and caused untold hardship and heartache for many. The Bright family will lose much but also gain a baby in an unusual manner, and this child will keep the family moving forward.

We watch as the girls grow, but there is a secret one is keeping that will come back to haunt. Prohibition is also instated at this time so we also are treated to a look at some of the results of this act. This is a wonderfully told story, rich in family, love, and history. So many details make this book stand out, details for n the mortuary business and in everyday lives. Sorrows and hurts, joys and happiness. An immersive story that tugs at the heart.

ARC from bookbrowse and publisher.

This novel is a work of historical fiction, with the 1918 outbreak of Spanish flu and its victims coming on the heels of deaths from WWI. In Philadelphia, the Bright family is trying to make a new start after losing their son Henry. Living with an uncle who is an undertaker, the family is in Philadelphia where 12,000 died of the flu. I loved the characters, mainly Maggie, Evelyn and Willa, three sisters who move beyond tragedy to make very different decisions. I recommend this story of family and their strength in the face of tragedy,

When the family moves from rural Quakertown, PA to Philadlephia, PA for their father to prepare to take over his uncle's undertaking business the life of the Bright sisters change in ways they could never imagine. Between the first World War and the Spanish influenza epidemic the girls struggle to survive in a world that seems full of death. Each sister must find their own strength to build a life. A story of family and home and survival in spite of the ever changing world.

It is 1918, and Evie, Maggie, and Willa, who narrate the chapters alternately, are relocating from their rural hometown to Philadelphia, where their father has been offered employment in his uncle’s funeral parlor. At the heart of this novel is Death. Loved ones, strangers, children, and adults are affected by the terrible flu pandemic sweeping the world, and the Great War is raging, changing those who can never forget the horror they have seen. The research is excellent, the characters are unforgettable, and the story is compelling—I saw so many positive reviews on Netgalley I felt I had to read this novel. I am glad I did. As Maggie says, “We are all doing the best we can with what life hands us. That’s all we’ve ever been able to do. This is how we live our story.”

Exceptional writing delivers a tale centered on the grief felt by the Bright sisters, their parents, and those they come to love. Not just historical fiction centered on the 1918 influenza outbreak and its impact on Philadelphia, but an examination of death and loss, and how different personalities cope with being left behind.