More like 3.25 stars. This was an interesting story and I appreciated what the author was trying to do. In particular, I liked the concept of the sisters, raised very differently in the same family, trying to navigate their relationship as adults, and I appreciated the backdrop of the war and the armory. I think it’s a really important, nuanced topic - the way that families create narratives and how that can influence the kids as they grow up, and how adult siblings manage their own relationships. Unfortunately, I also felt like the author missed the mark when it came to fully capturing that nuance and all the associated shades of gray. The childhood issues between the sisters were very black and white, without the depth and complexity I would expect. The other characters, such as Lenny and the Peabodys, were also written with such a marked slant that they almost felt like caricatures. And the resolution and ending felt very abrupt and neat. The author had a great idea and a real opportunity to write a deep story about the contradictory complexity of people and their relationships, but unfortunately this didn’t quite get there for me.

This was a beautiful heart-warming story of the relationship between sisters. But it also about the relationship between a mother and her daughters and relationships among women. Each character was very well-developed and relatable. I felt these could be women I know.

Ruth has always resented the attention beautiful Millie received. So when Ruth marries she is happy to move from Brooklyn to the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, seeing it as an opportunity to finally step out of her sister’s shadow. But a few years later circumstances result in Millie and her little boy moving in with Ruth and her husband. This time Ruth has the upper hand. She is married to an Army officer, has two children, and lives comfortably while Millie has lost her husband and struggles financially to support little Michael.

Two other ladies, Lillian and Arietta, enter the lives of the sisters and provoke moments of tenderness, compassion, and strength. Lillian is the wife of the commanding officer at the Armory. Arietta, the cook at the Armory cafeteria also has an amazing voice and often provides entertainment during the workers’ lunches.

But these women bear their own secrets - secrets that could destroy lives – secrets they wish could stay hidden but, in any good story, must be revealed. A mysterious man from the past appears and jeopardizes the lives these women have. I thought the pacing for the revealing of the secrets was handled masterfully. No sudden reveal at the end (that frequently does not work well).

I loved the entire story, as it evoked emotions within me. I could easily relate to Ruth’s resentment even though it often was undeserved. I admired Millie’s ability handle the resentment directed at her throughout her life. The writing was beautiful and had me totally immersed in the story.


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

A complicated relationship between sisters. This story of the relationship of two sisters who are rivals and never really friends is set against the backdrop of WWII stateside. Told in alternating timelines, this story flows very nicely and we see where things went wrong and the journey to get to where they are today. As a sister, I could definitely relate to many parts of this story. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

This is my first book by this author, but it will not be my last. I loved how this book is told from several different perspectives. In my classroom, I’m teaching about point of view and perspective and how those two factors play a huge part in the Story were told. This is a great example of how perspectives can drastically influence information. The Wartime Sisters is historical fiction that draws you in to a time period with accuracy and stunning writing.


I received an advance copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

More women's fiction than historical fiction, The Wartime Sisters is the story of Millie and Ruth - two sisters who are estranged - mainly because Ruth is a jerk.

Ruth has been jealous of Millie since birth - Millie is the beauty while Ruth is the brains - and this is something that Ruth struggles with. Years pass - WWII happens and Millie ends up living with Ruth - after being estranged for several years.

This is mainly about sisters and the touchy relationship between two women. What I found was that I could have read this story in any decade - not so much during WWII.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Opposite in every way since childhood, sisters Ruth and Millie are trying to reconcile, but will they be able to let go of past disagreements? What happens when the secret each sister is harboring comes to light? Will the truth sever their tenuous bond?

Since I loved the author's debut, The Two-Family House, and rated it with 4 solid stars, I had high hopes for this one. While the writing was good, I had a hard time connecting with the sisters since they bickered so much. I did, however, like their friends, Lillian and Arietta, and wanted to know more about them and their tumultuous childhoods. I also liked the sneak peek of military life in the early 1940s and enjoyed learning a little bit about the women who worked at the armory making rifles. I would, however, classify this under women's fiction much more than historical fiction since the story was heavy on the relationship between the sisters rather than historical details.

Location: Brooklyn, New York and Springfield, Massachusetts

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Lynda Cohen Loigman’s The Wartime Sisters is an emotionally charged story about two sisters who have a very complicated relationship filled with resentment and secrets. Older sister Ruth is the smart one, brilliant even, but somehow ends up always taking a back seat to her younger sister, Millie, who with her auburn curls and bright blue eyes, is the apple of everyone’s eye. Ruth loves her sister but can’t wait to move out and be on her own and out of the shadows. She eventually marries a young man who is an officer in the Army and moves to Springfield, Massachusetts. Ruth is enjoying her new life immensely until she gets word that Millie’s own husband, a soldier, has been killed, and Millie has nowhere to go, especially since Millie and Ruth’s parents are since deceased. Reluctantly, Ruth extends the offer to Millie to come and live with her at the armory in Springfield.

Their first meeting after so many years is filled with tension and awkwardness, and it feels as though it’s only a matter of time before Ruth finds herself in Millie’s shadow all over again. The tension continues to mount when it becomes clear that each sister is keeping something from the other. Will their relationship be able to withstand the strain when someone from their past unexpectedly reemerges threatening to spill their secrets and shatter their lives?

The Wartime Sisters is very much a character driven story, and as such, I was glad that I found both sisters to be characters that I was sympathetic to. It was easy to feel sympathetic towards Ruth because she spent so much of her life living in the shadow of her beautiful sister. Nothing Ruth ever did could compete with how everyone was so obsessed with Millie’s extraordinary good looks. Boys who came calling for Ruth found themselves attracted to Millie instead. In many ways, the girls’ mother was responsible for much of the ensuing resentment between Ruth and Millie. For example, when she was deciding who to give the good family heirloom jewelry to, in her mind, Millie, even though she was the youngest, was the obvious choice because of course she would marry into a rich family and have ample opportunities to wear and show off such jewelry. How can you not feel bad for Ruth when her own mother acts like that?

On the flip side though, it’s equally easy to feel sympathetic toward Millie. She’s a delightful girl and a devoted younger sister, and she can’t help how she looks or how people react to how she looks. She’s in a lose-lose situation because she’s constantly incurring Ruth’s wrath over these things she can’t control. And even though everyone around her treats her like she’s the golden child because of her looks, Millie feels that she can never measure up to Ruth because Ruth is just so smart and ambitious. Millie feels inadequate compared to her sister. I actually felt horrible for both sisters because they should have been there for each other, not driven apart by all of these unimportant things.

If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you know I love stories that feature dual timelines. The Wartime Sisters is split between two locations and two timelines. One is set in the 1930’s in Brooklyn, New York where the two sisters grew up together, while the other is set in early 1940’s in Springfield, Massachusetts at the armory where both sisters end up living and working.

I really liked this use of the dual timelines to show the origins of the resentment between the sisters and how those origins have continued to shape their lives and their interactions with one another over the years. When Millie first arrives at the armory in 1942, for example, Ruth realizes that because she has been avoiding her sister as much as possible over the years, she barely knows her own nephew, Millie’s young son, Michael. The author also very effectively uses the dual timeline to gradually reveal to the readers the secrets that both Millie and Ruth are hiding from one another.

While the dual timelines are an effective way to shed light on the lives of both sisters and how they’ve gotten to where they are, the author also presents the story in alternating viewpoints from each sister so that we are constantly getting both sides of the story and are allowed to make up our minds about each sister. I liked this presentation because I think if we had only gotten the perspective of one of the sisters, rather than both, it would have been easy to find one of them less sympathetic. The way the author chooses to present the story makes it easy to understand where each sister is coming from.

A final aspect of The Wartime Sisters I enjoyed was having the story actually set in the United States. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction in my day and I can count on one hand the number of WWII stories I’ve come across that focus on what WWII looked like from the U.S. I liked seeing it from this perspective and focusing a bit on the key roles that American women played in the war effort. Millie’s perspective offered so much insight into this as her job in the armory was to build trigger mechanisms as part of the rifle assembly line. Through Millie and her colleagues, we got to see firsthand the long hours and hard work women put in to get rifles into the hands of our soldiers.

Most of the time it felt like the historical aspect of the book took a backseat to the two sisters and their estranged relationship. I still thoroughly enjoyed the story but a little more balance between the history/war and the more personal drama would have made this a 5 star read for me.

If you’re looking for a poignant, emotionally engaging read about family and the complicated relationships they can have, and the dangers of keeping secrets, I would highly recommend The Wartime Sisters. The storyline is compelling, the characters are well drawn, and the historical setting is well researched. I think fans of historical fiction and/or domestic dramas would find this read to their liking.

A trip to the Springfield Armory during WWII alongside Loigman's well-developed characters. The complexity of these sisters and the harm of keeping secrets makes for a wonderfully conflicted story.

Expressive, thoughtful, and intriguing!

The Wartime Sisters is a captivating, sentimental story of two Jewish sisters, Ruth, the smart, dependable one, and Millie, the beautiful, irresponsible one, and their struggle to understand, accept, support, unite, and show compassion for each other in a time of personal and global instability and turmoil.

The writing is clear and precise. The characters are strong, hardworking, and determined. And the plot takes us back to the early 1940s, from Brooklyn, NY to Springfield, Massachusetts, and tells the story of two lives filled with loneliness, abuse, inequity, secrets, loss, rivalry, heartbreak, motherhood, friendship, and war.

The Wartime Sisters is truly a delightful blend of compelling fiction, historical facts, and heartfelt emotion. It’s an engaging, nostalgic tale that reminds us of the complex relationship that can exist between sisters and highlights Loigman's remarkable knowledge and research into a time and place often unknown, forgotten or overlooked.

I enjoyed reading The Wartime Sisters. This story about sisters Ruth and Millie was a bit heartbreaking because of the turmoil between the sisters. I have/had three sisters now two as one has passed away, so I could relate to some of things they were feeling. The story shifts between NY and Massachusetts and shifts between the 1930's and 1940's during World War ll. I enjoyed peeking into the lives of the Military wives and the woman who worked on the assembly line during World War ll.

I give The Wartime Sisters 4 stars for its Historical read.
I would recommend this book to Historical Fiction Fans.

Two sisters, one pretty, one smart, compete for attention growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s. Needless to say, the pretty, easy-going daughter gets all the attention and the smart, reliable daughter gets all the work. If it sounds like the beginning of most fairy tales, I agree, it does. Then the parents die and the sisters fight some more. There was more that could have happened with this plot and it’s historic period, but too often the writer succumbed to temptation and reverted to age-old stories. I wish there had been more about the setting in the armory and the secondary characters had been given larger roles. Two siblings that fight, one serious and one fun, is a plot as old as storytelling. I had hoped for a new twist. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

3.5ish stars, rounded. The strength of this story is in the relationship between Ruth and Millie, and the context of their background against the backdrop of an armory in early World War II. Sisters, in the best of times, can have a complicated relationship, and these sisters have let years of resentment and secrets simmer between them, and readers will sense early on that it's only a matter of time until things boil over.
Readers looking for detailed historical information in their fiction will find this book a little light in that area, though the armory setting is something unusual, and the relationship between Ruth (and Millie) and the others living and working together in this small, close community was interesting. Seek this one out instead for a period family story with an interesting backdrop.

I can be a real suck when it comes to books and movies. Crank up the emotions, and the tears start flowing. The Wartime Sisters had that impact on me. The writing isn’t special and the plot is a bit predictable, but the story and the characters got to me and had me all choked up. The story is set in the 1930s and 40s, focusing on sisters Ruth and Millie. Ruth is older and jealous of her younger sister’s good looks and more endearing personality. It turns out that being the younger good looking sister is no walk in the park for Millie. Part of the story takes place in Brooklyn in the 1930s when the girls are in their late teens living with their parents. The other part takes place several years later when Ruth and Millie live in Summerfield, Massachusetts, working at the armoury during the war. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, because there are a number of buried secrets that are revealed as the story progresses. This wasn’t a literary masterpiece, but it had me fully engaged and the way the author deals with her characters’ emotions is not trifling or simplistic. People can be horribly cruel, spiteful and self centered, and people can be generous and gain strength through friendship and empathy. This book runs the gamut of those emotions and behaviours. The tears are welling again... Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

I thought this book would have enough great elements to make it one I would love: Jewish sisters, New York, WWII, However, there just wasn't enough of any of these things. I was hoping the relationship between the sisters could grow and blossom, but overall they were petty and couldn't move on from childhood. I was hoping a big moment would occur to bring them back together but the marked was missed there.

This book's biggest downfall was the lack of historical elements. We saw New York and Massachusetts pre and during WWII but, most of the time, it could have been anywhere and anytime. I love historical fiction and I wanted to feel immersed in that time period.

Don't get me wrong, it was an interesting story and there were moments that I really enjoyed but if you're looking for WWII historical fiction, this might not be the best choice.

I’m such a sucker for a book about sisters and this had the added bonus of being set during World War Two which is rapidly becoming my favorite era in Historical Fiction! While the time period definitely plays a big role in the story, at its core this is really about the complicated relationship between siblings.

This is told in alternating timelines and also flips back and forth between Ruth and Millie. You also hear a little from some other women that are important in the women’s lives as well and I absolutely loved this structure, everything just flowed together so smoothly, there wasn’t any of that disjointed feeling that sometimes happens when a book bounces around. Loigman’s style was incredibly easy to get lost in and I could easily picture the scenes she brought to life.

There were several layers to this one, much more than meets the eye as both Ruth and Millie were trying to keep secrets from one another. It’s abundantly clear that they have issues and are harboring resentments against each other and as the book progresses you slowly find out where things went wrong between them. A really solid family drama set in an era sure to captivate, especially if you like women’s fiction as well as HF.

The Wartime Sisters in three words: Fluid, Insightful and Alluring.

This book was about the complex bond between two sisters who think they are nothing alike, but ultimately realize how much they have in common. I enjoyed the historical detail, and the characters were authentic and interesting. The war is more of a backdrop to the novel instead of integral to the plot and I thought that made a nice change from all of the recent flood of WWII fiction. It’s well-written and a great exploration of family bonds and the complex dynamics within families. And Arrietta was a fantastic minor character!! I loved her chapters.

Thank you Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this one.

I am not sure was it second or third chapter that I was reading when I first thought - this may be my very first 2019 five star book. And as usual, I was right. I loved everything about this book, a great set of characters, phenomenal plot, and a great twist towards the end.

The book first introduces us to two sisters: Ruth, the smart and serious one, and Millie, the pretty one. As girls grow older we notice how their relationship start to change. And there were multiple reasons for it, starting with girls' mother, who always seem to prefer her pretty daughter to a serious one. Ruth's potential boyfriends preferred carefree and beautiful Millie to a nerdy Ruth. Friends and family enjoyed tender and sweet Millie to a "cold fish" Ruth. Therefore, after the passing of their parents, Ruth puts a very large distance (physically and morally) between herself and her sister. Years later, when Ruth learns of Millie's misfortune, she finally lowers her guard down which results in sisters' reunion.

There are secondary characters that are also very important and play a huge role in both Ruth and Millie's lives. We have Lillian - firm and honorable wife of a commanding officer; Arietta - cheerful and companionable singing armory cook; Lenny - a sketchy delivery boy, turned husband, turned dangerous individual; and finally Arthur - loving, understanding and nerdy husband.

The story takes place in the early 30s thru mid-40s. One of my favorite parts of the book is a specific location an author decides to place the story - the Springfield Armory. I've first heard of this place when I read about the American Revolutionary War. And thanks to the author, I had a chance to learn a bit more about it, it's function and workers lives there during the WWII.

Thank you NetGalley and my favorite publisher St. Martin's Press for a free copy of this wonderful novel, and another huge thank you to an amazing Lynda Cohen Loigman for a thrilling and fascinating story!

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This story is set during World War II, which I am a big fan of. However this is not your typical WWII book. Instead it is a story of two sisters and the feelings they have toward each other. There are jealousies on both sides and a lot of misunderstandings. A lot of the sisters problems could have been avoided just like many problems in life. A good story that's definitely worth the read.

I read the, debut novel of Lynda Cohen Loigman, The Two Family House, and loved it. So, it was a no brainer, that I would be thrilled to read her second one., The Wartime Sisters. I was not disappointed, and loved it as well.
This story is one of a fractured relationship between sisters, Millie and Ruth, raised in Brooklyn. Their mother, obviously favoring the beautiful Millie over studious, plainer Ruth, unwittingly creates an atmosphere of jealousy and angst between the sisters. The timeline alternates between childhood and teen years, to the adults they become.
This is a story of sibling discord, destructive favoritism and the remnants of a mother’s mistakes. We experience the war effort of women, doing their part to fight an unseen enemy, while reveling in the wonderful music of that era and the comfort it provided, during unsettling times.
If you like historical fiction, this will satisfy your craving. I thank NetGalley, St Martins Press and Lynda Cohen Loigman for this ARC for my honest review.

The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a wonderful story that demonstrates how our parents treat us – especially a mother who perhaps hasn’t seen her own dreams fully realized – can affect our lives, as children and forever. How our parents treat us shapes our world view, it’s how we assume others see us, and it then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – that’s what we’ve been told we are so that’s what we become. In the time period of the book maybe there wasn’t much emphasis on being careful about what was said to a child, it wasn’t thought to have a lasting effect. But it does. Things said, looks made, conversations overheard, never leave us.

Ruth is smart and sensitive and inquisitive. But she is not pretty. We initially see things through Ruth’s eyes and we firmly put ourselves in her camp: she thinks Millie is silly and thoughtless and selfish. And Millie is all those things. But even when she tries to be otherwise, her mother runs roughshod over her in the wait for Prince Charming. And all of this because Millie is pretty and Ruth is not. How sad.

In order to cope Ruth becomes hard and cold and selfish herself. So we move out of her camp into Millie’s. Millie seems to have had the harder life. All those compliments about her beauty and all her mother’s dreams haven’t amounted to much. And Ruth is still distant and judgmental.

The Wartime Sisters is full of well-researched, fascinating history, and a believable look at a relationship between two sisters. The story moves back and forth in time and place – Brooklyn, New York in the 1930’s and Springfield, Massachusetts in the WWII 1940’s. Both are full of details that help us to understand why the sisters are who they are and why their relationship may never change. The Armory in Springfield is especially interesting, with a view into an environment, a town centered around the war effort with all its drama and hierarchy, that I never realized existed. The supporting characters are well-developed and there is just enough danger and intrigue to keep things moving at a good pace.

The Wartime Sisters was a very enjoyable read, tugging at my heart at times and at others making me angry at both Ruth and Millie, and especially their mother. It brought back memories of my mother always referring to her sister as that baby who always got her way and made me wonder how that sister relationship came about.

I received an advance copy of The Wartime Sisters from the publisher St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I heartily recommend it.