I feel that this story lacks depth. The characters seemed awkward and superficial. I found myself struggling to continue reading about a thrid of the way through and finally gave up.

I love a good dual timeline story and that’s what I got with The Poppy Field. Gemma is a trauma nurse in Brighton but a tragedy has led her to France, to a farmhouse that her father wants her to help renovate. It’s near the Somme and this leads in nicely to the other story, that of Nurse Alice le Breton, who left her home in Jersey to work in the Casualty Clearing Stations in the area during the First World War.

Gemma finds Alice’s letters and reads them during her time in France, alongside Tom, the builder she meets and who she asks to help with the farmhouse.

I liked Gemma very much. She has to learn to be happy again, but it’s a struggle for her and she doesn’t know what her place in the world might be. Reading Alice’s thoughts, and of the atrocities that took place 100 years in the past, aids her recovery somehow.

But whereas I liked Gemma, I loved Alice. I thought she was gutsy, clever and as independent as she could be, especially for the era she was living in, although it’s well known that war changes all that is normal. Her story is moving and heartbreaking and by the end of the book I had shed a few tears.

The scenes in 1916-1918 are vivid and I could imagine the horror of being so close to the Somme and to explosions, and the CCS where injured men were coming in faster than they could be dealt with.

The one thing that slightly let the book down for me was that I didn’t feel like the two strands were as closely woven together as they could perhaps have been, in that for much of the book it felt like two completely unrelated stories. I’m not sure how it could have been done differently but I’d just have liked more of a link. But it’s only a minor issue and overall I found The Poppy Field to be a romantic, moving and haunting read and one which is ideal to read in the year that marks 100 years since the end of the war that should have ended all wars.

The Poppy Field has two narratives, one set in 2018 and the other in 1916-18. First, in the present day, we meet Gemma, a British trauma nurse who has taken some time away from her stressful job to work on the renovation of a farmhouse in Doullens, in Northern France. Her father has recently inherited it and wants to get it into a good enough condition to be able to sell. With the help of Tom, a man she meets in Doullens who offers to assist with the building work, Gemma begins the long and difficult task of restoring the house to its former beauty. During the refurbishment, they discover a bundle of old letters dating back to World War I, written by an Alice Le Breton, and as soon as Gemma settles down to start reading them, she becomes obsessed with finding out how Alice’s story will end.

The other thread of the novel follows Alice, a young woman from Jersey in the Channel Islands, who volunteers as a VAD nurse at a casualty clearing station near Doullens during the war. Working conditions at the station are challenging and often horrifying, as wounded soldiers are brought in from the front line and the doctors and nurses do their best to save lives with the limited medication and equipment available to them. In the midst of so much pain and suffering, Alice is still able to find some happiness when she falls in love with one of her patients – but in times of war life is uncertain and Alice knows that her dreams could be shattered in an instant.

Although Alice and Gemma are very different people, there are many parallels between their stories – they are both nurses, they have both reached important turning points in their lives, and they have both found themselves in the same part of France. They also each become involved in a romance, but while I found Alice’s very moving (as wartime romances usually are), I thought Gemma’s was less convincing and very predictable. She meets the man who will become her love interest almost as soon as she arrives in France and there’s no real suspense involved in wondering whether they will end up together or not. Gemma’s whole storyline felt like little more than a frame for Alice’s, but I find that’s often the case with dual-time period novels and I almost always prefer one narrative over the other.

Although I’d hoped for more from this book, I did still enjoy it, particularly the historical sections and the details of Alice’s nursing work. The two separate threads of the story tie together nicely towards the end and the novel as a whole is an interesting and poignant read.

The Poppy Field is a poignant story of the parallels between two women living 100 years apart, who find themselves drawn to the same building in France. The book shifts between the present day and the latter half of the First World War, as Gemma, our modern day nurse, unravels the tale of Alice’s war, whilst searching for her own sense of peace.

World War One, the Great War, was supposed to be the war to end all wars, but the world we live in today sometimes seems to be headed full circle, as reflected by Tom’s experiences in Kabul, and even by the injuries witnessed by Gemma working in a UK trauma centre.

Whilst I enjoyed Gemma’s part of the story as she tried to settle her personal demons whilst renovating the old farmhouse, it was Alice’s story that really got under my skin, and lit a fire under my inner war historian. Whilst the true horrors of the casualty clearing stations where VADs like Alice spent their war are just unthinkable, Deborah Carr’s writing brought them to life through her sensitive characterisation of the varied patients that passed through them. I was intrigued to see mention of the “casualty dogs” as this was not something that I had come across before, but have since read up on further. I had no idea that dogs were used in this way during the war.

There were a number of times when reading this book when my emotions got the better of me, but there is one particular scene about a quarter of the way in that really got to me, and which I hope Deborah won’t mind me pinpointing (don’t worry, it doesn’t give anything away). In this particular scene there is a conversation between two of the soldiers at the casualty clearing station who are wondering if anyone would remember the soldiers who fought and all the men who died in a hundred years time. Even writing about this now brings a tear to my eye, because as we approach this hundred year mark, yes, we do remember and we will continue to do so.

Two women, separated by 100 years, living remarkably similar lives…

The Poppy Field, by Deborah Carr, tells the tales of two English nurses, Alice and Gemma, living in northeastern France. Alice is a World War I VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse working near the front line, and Gemma is a NHS (National Health Service) trauma center nurse. And although both women suffer immense losses, in the end they find lasting love.

From the opening sentence to the last, The Poppy Field is an engaging page-turner. Like Gemma reading Alice’s letters, I often lost track of time while reading this book—hours passed in what seemed like minutes, and I stayed up much too late some nights just so that I could see what happened next.

Alice’s letters give a glimpse into the gruesome reality of World War I—where soldiers died from a simple cuts infected by the excrement and gore that soaked into the soil of the trenches to the agonizing, slow suffocation caused by mustard gas. I could almost hear the screams and moans of the dying and injured.

Yet, despite the horror and heartache, bombs and blood, love took root and bloomed like the red poppies that covered those French fields. And when the last bomb fell and the last soldier was laid to rest, those poppies still remained, a reminder that hope and love will always conquer despair and hate.

***
I received a complimentary copy of this book from HarperImpulse through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

When Gemma takes a break from her career as a nurse to renovate a farmhouse for her father, she discovers a box of letters written by Alice Le Breton, a volunteer nurse caring for casualties of WWI. With each alternating chapter being told from each woman’s point of view their stories are told in a dual timeline. As their tales unfold, the reader is pulled into each woman’s life, wanting them each to find love and her own independence apart from the expectations of her family. In a remembrance of The Great War, present day Gemma wonders what life must have been like for soldiers and nurses caring for them. Interesting facts are told throughout the novel which doesn’t glorify the war but speaks of the importance of remembering those who lost their lives. I give The Poppy Field 4/5 stars.

Stayed up way past my bedtime reading this one! I loved Alice and Gemma's story and couldn't wait to find out how it ended. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This present day/historical flash back novel will appeal to fans of Anita Shreve, Kathryn Hughes and Kate Morton. The lives of two very strong women – both nurses, both facing difficult situations – are examined during a crucial time in their lives. Alice is a nurse during the second world war who falls in love with Ed, a British soldier. Gemma, in present time, is also a nurse who takes a sabbatical from her highly demanding job in a Brighton casualty ward to renovate a derelict farm house in France for her father. While there, Gemma meets Tom, another ex-pat Brit, who happens to be a builder/renovator. During the renovations, Gemma finds some relics and letters which cause her to try to find out more about one of the farm house’s former inhabitants, Alice, and her romance with Captain Ed. The writing is good, but I couldn’t get emotionally invested in the characters – they did not seem real to me. This book will appeal to readers who do not like overly descriptive, steamy love scenes, and who prefer to get a gentle mix of history and light romance.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Harper Collins for my eARS of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review.
A book which takes you from past WW1 to the present. A wonderful emotional story and so well written.

have read many stories set during the WW1 era but I think that this could be one of my favourites, it is simply stunning and one of those rare books that I did genuinely have a weep over. The last couple of pages will break even the most hardened of hearts. This is a powerful, emotional and incredibly poignant and romantic book that will leave the reader with a lump in their throats and feeling completely overawed by the unimaginable heart-break and loss and yet at the same time it is hugely satisfying.

The Poppy Field is split between two era’s and follows two different but incredible woman who are both facing a tough and emotional time. Linked together through nursing, present day Gemma is a NHS trauma nurse, she is feeling the strain and is struggling by what she has experienced in her job. She needs to get away from everything she has seen and try to move on, so she agrees to help er father renovate an old farmhouse in Northern France. She only see’;s this as a break to basically clear her head, she doesn’t intend of staying in France. That is until two thing’s happen.

One, she meets Tom, the supremely handsome contactor who has agreed to her her with the refurbishment; and two she finds an old box in the house that is full of letters from a woman called Alice who was a volunteer nurse during the great war. I think reading about and getting to know Alice through these old letters is so good for Gemma, she isn’t overly confident, she is definitely stuck in her shell and reading about what this amazing woman went through is a soothing balm for her. As Gemma and Tom get on with renovating the house, Tom is very smitten with shy Gemma, he sees something in her that she unfortunately doesn’t see herself; that she is a wonderful woman.

As much as Gemma and Tom’s story is beautifully touching, I was particularly drawn to Alice. It was her story that found impacted on me, Alice left home and her fiancé to volunteer with the nursing corpse which just happened to be next door to the Somme so she saw some real horrors. The letters she had been writing were to two men, Peter and Ed, both we come to learn are such an integral part of her life. Through her own words we get a glimpse of her life, of her experiences and most importantly we get a real sense of the strong, patient, kind and utterly brilliant woman that she was.

This book is incredible, it is a beautifully written, utterly mesmerising and beautiful story that captures the readers attention and takes them on a heart-wrenching journey through both of these amazing women’s lives. This is the first time I have read Deborah Carrs work and I can say for certain it will not be the last, her writing is gift we all need to receive.

A captivating, poignant and beautiful book.

This book was amazing, beautifully written and so moving. I could not put it down. An epic historical fiction novel that tells a story of life and love amidst the harshness of war. This the tale of two nurses: Alice living during WWI, and Gemma, the present day nurse, alternating between their stories based on a box of letters that Gemma discovers. Captivating story about what it was like to be a nurse during the war and how hard it was for a war-time love to survive. This book is both distressing and uplifting at the same time. Do not miss this one! Definitely worth your time!!!!

World War Two, France, love and war. When one thinks of historical fiction, these items must be on the checklist.
I adored the story of Alice and Ed. Gemma and Tom were definitely pinpointed in the beginning. You knew the outcome before it presented itself. I feel Alice was the more prominent character and story line. Quick read and it kept my interest.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read for an honest review.

This was a magical book which I thoroughly enjoyed. The Poppy Field was beautifully written and I loved the way it switched between both the two lead characters. Both women were likeable which really helped.

I loved the detail in the historical sections of the book. As a person with an interest in psychology, the references to shell shock and mental health problems with the wounded soldiers were interesting. I was particularly moved by the mentions of ‘will people remember what we have done in the future’. The people fighting for our country back then would have no idea of the impact of their actions, and I am pleased, 100 years on, to still be reading about their sacrifices.

Gemma in the present day was a great character – broken and looking for a fresh start. I liked the mirroring of the two women’s lives, over 100 years apart. It was good to spot the similarities and also the huge differences between the two of them and what they were doing.

A touching, story which is well worth a read!

I have been on a kick for World War I novels lately, so I have been reading all I can get my hands on. Maybe with Armistice Day coming this week? Anyway, they are good and kind of new to me history since we here in America study more about World War II in our schools than we do World War I.

This is a duel timeline story, 1918 follows the love story of Alice and Ed. Alice is a volunteer nurse working on the front in Doullins, France. Ed was brought in from the line and Alice was his nurse. As you can expect nurses were not supposed to fall in love with their patients, so their feelings had to be kept secret. Correspondence became their connection with her in the field hospital and him sent back to the line, but eventually they got their time together. With all wars, there is always tragedy, and always just this close, but in time happiness comes, and Alice eventually found much happiness.

The second story happens in 2018, when Gemma is sent to Doullins to clean up the house her father's uncle left him. It is in the barn that Gemma, and her contractor, Tom, find the tin of Alice and Ed's letters and the amazing love story they left behind. The farm must be magic, because it is there that Gemma and Tom fall in love, and just like Alice and Ed find that the farm is just not a place they can leave.

This was a good book. There were quite a few typos, mixing up of character names especially, but ones I could let my proofreader eyes overlook. It was a good love story, that was beautiful while it lasted. I would give this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) and recommend to those that like WWI, life on the front, and some romance thrown in.

I received this free copy from NetGalley, HarperImpulse, and Deborah Carr, all opinions are my own.

The events of The Great War continue to both fascinate and beguile us and even now, a hundred years from the end of the war, memories linger and emotions run deep.

When young nurse, Gemma, escapes to France from the pressure of being a trauma nurse in the modern day NHS, her story intertwines with that of Alice, a young VAD working at a casualty clearing station in northern France during some of the most momentous years of WW1. Alice's story comes to light when Gemma uncovers a stash of hidden letters during the renovation of a neglected farmhouse.

The parallels between the past and the present are nicely done and I enjoyed it when the alternate chapters gave us the story of both of these strong young women. That they have been touched by tragedy comes across and it was interesting to see how both of them coped with the difficulties life had placed before them.

The dual time element is strong, with some fascinating and quite poignant detail about what happened at the casualty clearing stations, when young men, so dreadfully damaged in both mind and body were patched up, to be either sent home if they were lucky, or hurried back to more fighting if they weren't so fortunate as to sustain a blighty, an injury which would, hopefully, see the end of their own personal war. However, in the midst of this horror, Alice discovers, that some relationships, despite the tensions and the danger and the petty bureaucracy which hindered personal contact, are worth fighting for. Gemma's story, in the here and now, with her struggle to discover what she truly wants from life, is equally fascinating, and the author does a great job at separating the two time frames so that both story lines feel fresh and relevant.

We are coming up to the hundred year anniversary of Armistice, a time, when the poppy fields of northern France will, once again, take on special meaning. The significance of the symbol of scarlet poppies blowing gently in the breeze is a constant reminder of those who died too young.... and far too soon.

Such a beautiful story, and a timely reminder of the suffering of the first world war.

Gemma is a trauma nurse in today's NHS; affected by her work, she has taken a sabbatical to renovate a french farmhouse which needs extensive work. While there, she discovers a hidden box of letters from 100 years ago from a young VAD nurse stationed nearby. As the story progresses, there are similarities between life then and now.

Both heartwarming and heartwrenching, this is a delightful read. A timely reminder of how easy life is in the 21st century and how much we all take for granted. I couldn't pick one tale over the other as they are both equally intriguing and meld together seamlessly. Both timelines are fascinating. I warmed to the characters almost immediately; it's a hard novel to put down as each chapter spurred me on. The author has done an excellent job of catching the reader's attention and keeping it 'til the very last page. A very satisfying read, and not one I shall forget in a hurry. Totally recommended, and five full glowing stars.

A tragic love story of World War I is uncovered 100 years later. We are pulled into the story by the poppy fields that continue to influence the life of another young woman. It is a well-written story that captures many emotions.

Ehh, I was very excited to read this book. I love historical fiction and the premise of finding 100-year-old WWI letters hidden in an old home was promising. Sadly, the writing was slightly wooden. The pace of the book both dragged and was forced at the same time. I was not able to connect with the characters. I found myself skimming over dialogue and through pages. This book just wasn't for me.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of this book is just gorgeous! An amazing read this takes place in modern times and through letters Gemma discovers in a distant relatives home she is fixing up. The letters take us back to WW I. Two sets of main characters really pull on our heartstrings. Epic historical romance has us pulling for nurse Alice who sees it all in her line of nursing duty. The human spirit is strong it may be crushed for a time but as humans we recover,have resilience and move on. We have to to survive! This amazing book is only the author's second book but she wrote it as if she has been writing for many years! I will definitely be reading this author's other book! Highly recommended historical.
Movingly beautiful historical fiction commemorates the 100 year anniversary of WW1.
Pub Date 12 Oct 2018
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from HarperCollins through NetGalley. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own.

Told over two time lines, 1916/1918 and 2018, The Poppy Field is an engaging and well told story of the horrors of the first world war, and is a particularly poignant read in this, the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1.

In 2018 Gemma, an NHS trauma nurse, has taken leave from her job following a traumatic and distressing experience. She comes to Doullens in Northern France to renovate an old farmhouse on behalf of her father who has inherited the building. Gemma is at a crossroads in her life, she’s not sure that she wants to return to nursing or even what she could do if she didn’t but her first job is get the house habitable and ready for sale. With this she has the help of local handyman Tom, a very (handsome) considerate and kind man but with his own traumas to deal with.

Hidden under the floorboards, Gemma finds a box of letters, written by an Alice Le Breton to a Captain Edgar Woodhall. Gemma is fascinated by Alice’s story and becomes a little bit obsessed with them.

In 1916 we meet Alice Le Breton, a VAD (volunteer nurse) stationed at a casualty clearing station near Doullens, near the Somme. Its from Alice that we hear about the horrific casualties that that the endless stream of ambulances bring in. The difficult working and living conditions – the wards being hit by the nearby shelling, the strain on the nursing staff and doctors trying to save lives and ease the men’s suffering with limited equipment – all were vividly and sympathetically described. Against this backdrop, there is a lovely romantic thread which I was eagerly following and hoping for a perfect outcome.

There were several parallels between Gemma and Alice. Both were nurses, both had left home to try and make a new start, and both had mothers who seemed callous and cold. There was one time when I was wishing all sorts of curses on Alice’s mother! At first the link between them seemed tenuous but as the story goes on, the house and the surrounding poppy fields have more relevance.

As much as I liked Gemma and was keen to know how her story would end, it was Alice who engaged me the most, she was compassionate, brave and wasn’t afraid to speak up where necessary. I would have loved to have seen more of the content of the letters – for me this would have enhanced the romance element. I knew that soldier’s letters were censored before being sent to friends and loved ones but I hadn’t realised that a similar same thing applied to the nurses. Their incoming mail was opened by Matron and scrutinised. Any kind of relationship between nurse and patient was strictly forbidden and could result in the nurse being sent home.

I really enjoyed this captivating and emotional story. The level of research and detail shows through and the sense of place and drama were superbly done. I definitely recommend it for readers who favour this genre.