Rhys Bowen has done it again. The Victory Garden relays the sacrifices undertaken by those left at home during wartime. Desperate to help, Emily Bryce leaves behind her privileged life to enlist in the Women’s Land Army, better known as The Land Girls. Despite the hardships, this is a feel good novel. Looking forward to the next masterpiece from Rhys Bowen.

This book, The Victory Garden, is just my cup of tea. Set in the era of World War I in the English countryside, a strong young woman fights against convention to overcome tragedy and find personal satisfaction. This is definitely a recipe for an engrossing story read with a cup of tea of your own,
Somewhere between the language of literary fiction and the cliches of much of women's fiction, Rhys Bowen writes a story where the text serves the story and flows without interruption.
The reader is introduced to the stifling conventions of upper class British society just as the forces of World War I begin to change everything. When Emily Bryce becomes 21, she defies her parents and volunteers to help the war effort, ending up working the farms which had been abandoned by men who had gone to war. In her capacity as a Land Girl, Emily meets women of other strata of society and gives her heart to an Australian who was convalescing at a nearby hospital. The inevitable outcome of a pregnancy out of wedlock is kept from being a cliche by the additional mystery surrounding the cottage where Emily takes refuge from her parents' disapproval.
Even as I predicted much of the satisfying outcome of this story, there was one surprise twist which raised my enjoyment even higher. In addition, there are unspoken possibilities that extend the story beyond its conclusion and leave the reader thinking about it after the final scene. Another hit for author Rhys Bowen.

Last year’s The Tuscan Child, was one of my favorite reads of the year. I loved it so much in fact, that it appeared on my Top Reads of 2018 part 1 list. The year before saw my introduction to Bowen’s novels with The Ghost of Christmas Past (which was also a Top Read of 2017 and kickstarted my love of Rhys Bowen. To say I’ve been dying for The Victory Garden is a bit of an understatement – I’ve practically been counting down the days until its release and was beside myself with joy when I scored an early copy.

Emily Bryce is bored. As the daughter of a judge, Emily lives a privileged life where the hardest moment for a young lady is deciding which dress to wear. Then the world went to war. Instead of officially making her debut into society (and claiming an eligible bachelor), Emily suffered the loss of her brother, killed shortly after being called to serve. Her best friend volunteered as a nurse in France and Emily longs to do her part – unfortunately, her parents can’t stand the thought of losing another child, no matter how safe she’ll be.

A young, wounded Australian pilot catches Emily’s eye and it isn’t long before she’s hopelessly in love. His injuries heal all too soon, however, and he’s called back to action – and Emily is determined to follow, ultimately volunteering as a land girl where she’ll work on caring for the grounds of a grand old estate in the country.

When Emily is dealt two devastating blows – her beloved Robbie has been killed and she learns she’s pregnant – she realizes she can’t go home. There’s no place in high society for unmarried, pregnant ladies and as Emily unearths old diary on the estate’s grounds, she discovers her life eerily parallels another woman’s.

All that excitement in the beginning of this review? Sadly it turned to confusion and apathy by the time I finished The Victory Garden. It felt very much like a first draft – one that was in dire need of a good edit and tightening up of storylines. It seemed that Bowen had too many things she wanted to accomplish within these pages, many of which ended up being completely abandoned (Emily swore to herself more than once that, when the baby was born, she’d write to Robbie’s parents, mail them a picture…then the baby was born and it was never brought up again).

I loved the land girls, especially the tight-knit group that Emily found herself a part of. If the story focused solely on them I would have been delighted. Lady Charlton was a fascinating character and I could have easily devoured an entire novel devoted to her (especially given that wink toward the end as to who she really was)! The village and all of its residents were wonderful and brought to mind Bowen’s cozy mysteries (small towns always have a full cast of characters – in real life AND in books).

What I really hoped for more of – and honestly expected, based on the blurb and, you know, title – was the herb garden and the diary. I was reading this on my Kindle and was shocked when I noticed that Emily didn’t find the diary until over 60% of the way through the book. Going in, I expected this to be the driving force behind the novel and instead it wasn’t introduced until over halfway through and then was only mentioned sporadically.

What started out as a most anticipated read of 2019 quickly spiraled into disappointment. I was counting down the days until The Victory Garden‘s release but, sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations. Instead of being the gripping, engaging historical I was looking forward to, I found myself thrown into several plots that went nowhere or were abandoned. The arcs that did remain seemed hastily written, as though there was a deadline that needed met and was approaching faster than Bowen first thought. The Victory Garden could have been a fantastic read and I hate to say I wasn’t in love with this one. I’m chalking it up to a fluke however, and will absolutely be looking forward to her next book.

I enjoyed this book that takes place during WWII in England. It emphasizes how women served their country - I wasn't familiar with the 'Land Girls' operation.

The characters are well-defined and interesting without being caricatures. The plot moves along well. Much of the story is very predictable but I don't mind that when it's an enjoyable read. Bowen had one surprise up her sleeve (at least to me) with a twist I hadn't seen coming that was revealed at the very end. It made me smile.

I love Rhys Bowen. Good historical fiction with a bit of mystery. Set during WWI, a young woman of privilege becomes a land girl and learns about farming and life. The end left the story wide open for a sequel.

The Victory Garden, a stand-alone novel by Rhys Bowen is a story that ranges from deep heartbreak to sublime happiness and back again. It is the story of a young woman on the cusp of adulthood wanting to help with the war effort but restrained by her parents, mostly out of love, partially out of fear of embarrassment. As always the setting of Bowen's books offers great amounts of historical information. In this case it focuses on the "farm girls," a government effort to replace farm workers that have gone off to war. As has been proven many times, women can indeed replace men in the work place.


The Victory Garden previews a love story between our "farm girl" and a pilot returning to the front. As with most love stories, there is there beauty of young love as well as the pain that often follows, and the resolution as well. Bowen does not hesitate to show both sides of life and there were many facets of just that in this village (and nation) during and after World War I. This is a well-researched, realistic view of one slice of life at this time. The characters are interesting and well rounded, the plot is based in reality, and the conclusion is hopeful. What more can a reader ask?

I received a free ARC of the Victory Garden in exchange for a fair and honest review. #netgalley #thevictorygarden

This novel turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable read, far exceeding my initial expectations. It’s a very feminist story about the contributions of women at home in England during the WWI years. I’ve heard it said before that WWI fractured the class distinctions historically prevalent throughout England, and while I’m sure it didn’t eradicate them entirely, I can see how the war enabled the breaking down of these barriers. WWI had such a devastating effect on the population of men, both during and after the war, and women were required to keep the home front ticking over. Within this novel, the role of land girls is examined, and how these women from all walks of life signed up to do their bit for the war effort, the majority of them having never farmed in any capacity at all prior to the war. The way in which this story really shines is in how it shows these women connecting over a common cause, becoming self-sufficient when they had always previously been forced into a position of reliance upon men, and discovering friendships with each other that would have normally been prevented due to class barriers.

‘For a while, they drove in silence, then he said, “You realize this is an act of pure selfishness on your part, and ingratitude after all we have done for you. We sacrificed to send you to a good school. We wanted the best for you. And now you have broken your mother’s heart.”’

Emily, our main character, is the daughter of a judge, and she’s rather stifled by the tight rein her mother – who is grieving from the loss of Emily’s brother early on in the war – is keeping on her. When she turns twenty-one, she heads to the city with the intention of volunteering to become a nurse, but an absence of skills and a greater need for land girls sees her path veering off into a new direction. Her parents are appalled, which just motivates Emily all the more. I quite liked Emily, she was made of strong stuff, despite her privileged upbringing. She works hard as a land girl and proves herself to the others as a person who won’t take advantage of her position within society. When she finds herself pregnant, with her fiancé dead, her anticipation of her parent’s disappointment leads her to take charge of her own destiny. I did find that while on the one hand the war allowed for the crossing of class barriers to certain extent, on the other, Emily very much benefited from her position within society, even in her scandalous state. Doors opened to her that would most definitely have been closed to a working girl and people forgave her situation more readily than they would if she had been a maid in her previous life as opposed to a judge’s daughter. In saying this though, Emily herself was determined to be independent as a means of readying herself for motherhood, so she refused many offers of material comfort that came her way, calling on an inner strength that she had previously not realised she possessed.

There’s this lovely symmetry between Emily’s circumstances and those of the women who have lived in the same cottage in the previous centuries. Emily finds a journal left from the previous resident who was there in the mid-1800s, and from this discovery, she finds a herbal recipe book belonging to the resident who lived there in the 1600s. It’s then that Emily realises that the overgrown garden surrounding her cottage is actually a centuries old herb garden. I really loved how Emily decided to rejuvenate what she saw as a calling for the women who resided in the cottage. She was such a resilient character, open to learning new things, despite her grief and isolation from all she had previously known.

‘She looked out of her window at the overgrown and tangled garden and wondered if somehow she was destined to come here. It was, after all, a garden that had brought Robbie and her together, and fate had trained her as a land girl. Had all the women who came to this cottage been fleeing to a place of sanctuary? Had they all taken on the role of herb wife? The wise woman? It was a little overwhelming, but a challenge, too. She felt a strong sense that this was something she was meant to do— a way to bring some kind of meaning to a life in chaos.’

This is quite a long novel and we travel a winding journey with Emily, but I have to say that I enjoyed every part of it. There is a whimsical old fashioned feel to this novel that really appealed to me. There is some romance early on, but the greater part of this story is devoted to developing other sorts of relationships, primarily female friendships. It’s a very empowering story in that context. The ending to the novel was rather abrupt, and while it was very obvious where the story was headed, I still felt a little bit cheated, mainly because I had been enjoying the novel so much and hadn’t wanted it to end yet! The Victory Garden is a quaint and absorbing read that will delight fans of historical war time fiction.

“What did you have— a boy or a girl?”
“A little girl.”
“That’s good, isn’t it? She won’t be called upon to fight.”
“Oh, Justin. This is the war to end all wars. Let’s hope nobody will be called upon to fight again.”
“I pray that you’re right.”


Thanks is extended to Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Victory Garden for review.

Well done. An interesting read that kept my attention throughout. I enjoyed the attention to detail. The characters were well done and there was a nice balance between the dialogue and description. Great read.

Unlike this author’s previous standalone books, The Victory Garden is set in 1918 as World War I is drawing to its close.

However, just as In Farleigh Field, this is a book about the homefront of the war and not about the ugliness of the war itself. Not that there isn’t plenty of ugly at home.

As the story begins our heroine is immured at home in Devon. Her upper-middle-class parents are determined that the ugliness of the war will completely pass her by – whether that’s what she wants or not. And not that it has not already touched her life. Her brother Freddie was killed in action in the opening battles of the war, and her parents are determined to keep her under their eye and locked away so that nothing can possibly happen to her. Of course life is never like that – even Rapunzel found a way out of her tower, after all.

Emily is the bird in the gilded cage, but with her 21st birthday on the horizon, she will be able to unlock the door of her cage herself – if she is willing to deal with the consequences of her actions.

She falls in love with a young man that her ultra-conservative, ultra-conventional mother considers to be completely unsuitable. Ironically, there’s nothing wrong with Flight Lieutenant Robbie Kerr except for his Australian cheek. His family is probably as well off as hers. The problem with Robbie is that his Aussie upbringing has led him to think that all of the mannered conventions of the English upper crust are patently ridiculous – which of course they are.

Meeting Robbie gives Emily a taste of life on the outside of her mother’s over-protective restrictions, and her 21st birthday gives her the opportunity to fly away. She wants to become a volunteer nurse, but in 1918 the need was for somebody, anybody, to harvest the crops of England with all the men gone. So Emily joins the Women’s Land Army. She finds herself in the midst of a surprising sisterhood – a sisterhood that becomes her salvation when Robbie is killed in action and she finds herself unwed and pregnant.

The story in The Victory Garden is the story of that sisterhood. Emily can’t go home to her disapproving parents, and many of her fellow “Land Girls” have no homes left to go to. Instead they band together, returning to a small village they worked during their Land Army tenure. A place where the men have all gone to war, and the women are left keeping life together by any means they can.

And together, they find a way to move forward – even as the worst history of the village repeats itself with nearly disastrous consequences for Emily – and for them all.

Escape Rating A-: You may not be able to go home again, but that doesn’t stop you from making a new home someplace else, with people of your own choosing. You just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other until you find that place and those people.

In the end (also in the beginning and the middle!) this is a story about sisterhood. In what amounts to a lovely bit of role reversal, the few men in this story exist to push the women’s story forward. It makes for a terrific story – and it also makes sense.

England lost an entire generation of young men in World War I. (It has been posited that this is the reason that so many of the Commonwealth countries did so much of the fighting for Britain in WW2 – either because Britain didn’t have that generation of men to lose, and/or because the powers that be were determined not to sacrifice a second generation so soon after the last one.)

Whatever the truth about WW2,by this point in WW1 there just weren’t any able-bodied young or even young-ish men left on the homefront. And it was clear by 1918 that society was going to have to change after the war was over because there was a resulting generation of young women that had no men to marry. So when some of the characters talk about the world being different after the war, and women filling many of the jobs that men used to do, it feels right.

Things were not going back to the pre-war “normal” because the conditions that allowed that situation to be “normal” no longer existed.

So what we see in this story is a whole generation of women stepping up to take care of each other, because no one is going to do it for them. Even the women whose husbands do come home face a life where they will be the primary breadwinners because their husbands are suffering from permanent, life-altering wounds, PTSD (known as ‘shell shock’) or both.

Emily is the focal point of the story because she is the one who makes the biggest changes. This story is her journey to self-sufficiency – with more than a little help from her friends. We like her because we understand her determination to stand on her own two feet – in spite of everything that life and war has thrown in her way.

And while she begins the story as a pampered little miss, it’s a role that she rejects the moment she is able – while still attempting to not cause her parents more worry than she possibly can. And we feel for that tightrope she is walking. She wants to live her own life. She needs to do her bit. And its the making of her. And the story.

I received this book as a digital ARC from the publisher through Net Galley in return for an honest review.

This is the story of Emily Bryce, a twenty-one-year-old young lady, who tries to collaborate in the war effort in order to gain her own identity against her family. She then becomes a "land girl". While living in Devonshire state, she discovers a forgotten diary on herbal garden.

There are some parallel and secondary plots linked to the main one which makes the reader to anticipate the final development of the history. In the end, this book is quite disappointed since in overall it doesn't bring anything new in a World War fiction as covered by other excellent books on this subject.

Emily is frustrated that she is not allowed to do anything to help in the war effort, her mother will only allow her to visit injured soldiers in the nursing home next door, but here she falls in love with a cheeky Australian airman and she escapes to join the land army much to the horror of her parents. When she discovers that she is pregnant and her lover is killed her parents disown her and she moves to a cottage on an estate where she finds a diary of a medicine woman and starts following the recipes..... but what happened to the owner of the diary did she die as witch as local legend seems to think or did she have a happy ending?

A lovely book with a good twist at the end, I really liked all of the characters and how the landgirls all stuck together and supported each other. Definitely worth reading.

If you read me, you know I LOVE Rhys Bowen’s books — Molly Murphy Mysteries, Royal Spyness mysteries, Tuscan Child, In Farleigh Field, etc. etc. This novel is a stand alone, historical fiction piece, that reminded me a bit of In Farleigh Field, as it was a war story. I loved Emily’s character and found the historical piece so interesting — young women volunteering to work on farms in the British countryside as “land girls’. She is quite resourceful and plucky, though when she becomes pregnant she certainly has to make some decisions as to where her future will lie. There is a bit of mystery, too, as to the history of the cottage where she lives and its former inhabitant. All in all it was a great read and I hope Ms. Bowen continues to writes historical stand alones!
Thank you for my review e-copy!

Sweet, easy and enjoyable read. Likable characters. A little predictable, but pleasant nonetheless...

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I liked reading about the Land Girls, and I found Emily to be a likable character overall.. There was an anachronism in the book that took me out of the story early on, but frankly, I don't consider Bowen to be the strongest historical writer that I follow, so I wasn't as disappointed in the flub as I would have been in, say, a Charles Todd book. Bowen is, for me, a second tier favorite. I do always read her books, but I don't usually jump on them with glee and devour them immediately; and while I do almost always like her books, I very rarely ADORE them. That's my feeling about this book in a nutshell, I guess.

I’ve read and enjoyed a few Rhys Bowen books, which left me eager to dive into The Victory Garden. I was eager for another read that was addictive in the ways of In Farleigh Field and The Tuscan Child, and happily devoured this one.

Although The Victory Garden was an addictive read, one I was able to complete in no time at all due to my addiction, I found I did not enjoy it to the same degree as my other Rhys Bowen books. It was enjoyable, it kept me hooked, but I wasn’t quite sucked into it in the way I had hoped.

I think my issue is that I never felt the emotional connection I had expected to. There were plenty of elements throughout this story that could have left me feeling a range of emotions, yet I never felt them. I appreciated the story, but it did not pack the punch I had imagined it would.

It had great characters, an interesting storyline, and the usual addictive Rhys Bowen writing, but it wasn’t quite to the level I had hoped. It is certainly worth a read, but I cannot label this one my favourite Rhys Bowen book.

The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen is an enjoyable read. Historical fiction with romance, mystery and adventure of various sorts. A young girl matures very quickly during World War I due to a variety of experiences in her life. Emily is a strong woman who perseveres through great hardships and succeeds despite everything. There is never a dull moment in Emily’s life or in this book. If I have a complaint, it is only that the book ended. I hope there will be another book to give us another glimpse into Emily‘s exciting life. I think there may be more to her story. If possible, it is my goal to read every book Rhys Bowen has written. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book.

Emily Bryce is about to turn twenty-one, and she is ready to start doing something to help with the war effort. Her parents have kept her at home with her mom hoping to find someone from the aristocracy to marry her off to, but Emily is determined to find her own path. Then Emily meets Robbie, an Australian pilot recovering from an injury at a hospital in the area. Even though her parents forbid it, she keeps seeing him behind their back. She also soon joins up with the Women’s Land Army, helping to keep the farms in England running to provide food for everyone. Will her parents ever accept her choices?

I’ve been a fan of Rhys’s mysteries for years, so I decided to give this book a try. As I suspected going in, this is not a mystery, but more of a coming of age story set in the England of 100 years ago. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was the target audience since I had trouble getting into it. There is a lot happening, and that was part of the problem. The story takes place over a year, and to get the entire time frame and the all Emily goes through into the story, at times I think we were cheated out of watching Emily deal with everything happening. That resulted in some things we were told about and not shown. On the other hand, Emily is a wonderful main character, and I was definitely rooting for her to succeed. I did tear up a time or two. And I felt we got a clear picture of what life was like in 1918 England for those who didn’t fight during the war – something that is often overlooked when we think about the cost of a war.

Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

This is the second Rhys Bowen standalone book that I have read. This was a well-crafted work of historical fiction with romantic overtones. It’s set in Britain during and after WWI. Emily Bryce is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She knows she wants more than the narrow, staid, utterly upper-middle class path her mother is trying to force her onto. At the start of the book Emily is almost twenty-one. She and her parents are still reeling from the loss of her older brother earlier in the war.

As part of their charity work, Emily and her mother take desserts over weekly to the house next door which has been converted into a convalescent center for officers injured in the war. While Emily’s mother is busy with the house Matron, Emily chances upon a room that contains a brash Australian pilot, Robbie, who is recovering from a crash landing in France. This and the subsequent conversations, and surreptitious backyard garden meetings with Robbie, set Emily’s emotions roiling as their hidden romance blooms.

Emily wants to contribute something to the war effort. Shortly after turning twenty-one and against her parent’s wishes, she joins the ‘Land Girls’ brigade. These are teams of women volunteers who are trained to work on farms and dairies. They do the farm work of the men sent off to fight at the front. The Land Girls are expected to help feed the nation. There are two appealing reasons for Emily to join the Land Girls. One is that she will be out of her parent’s house, and secondly she will be stationed close to the new rehabilitation hospital that Robbie has been sent to.

So starts Emily’s adventure. She is a bit of a fish out-of-water as she enters the dorm room filled with bunk beds, and women from all walks of life. I loved meeting all the women in Emily’s Land Girls class. They came from such varied backgrounds, but each brought an individuality to the story and added depth and illustrations as to the lengths that the war affected British women, and how it would soon break down class barriers in the post-war era.

Robbie and Emily are in love, and get engaged the day before he returns to the front. Their one moment of intimate passion leaves Emily pregnant. The news that Robbie has died a hero by steering his plane away from a village in France instead of abandoning it and parachuting to safety is small comfort for the confused and shattered young woman.

We watch Emily’s small band of Land Girls as they go to an out of the way village to help clean up an estate that has gone to a bit of ruin with the absence of all the menfolk. There Emily acts as a go-between with the more rustic, and less educated women in her detail and the aloof elderly female owner of the estate, Suzanne. Emily is intrigued by stories of former witches (herbalists and healers) who lived in the little cottage their team was staying in while working on the estate.

There are more twist and turns as the war ends. How will plucky Emily craft a future for herself and her child? How will the other women from her Land Girls group get on with life after the returning soldiers are back in the picture; or how as widows will they carve out a new way to survive without a traditional bread winner in the family? I liked the quiet pace of the book. It moved steadily forward and kept me entertained throughout.

I enjoyed learning about the Land Girls, and their impact on Britain’s ability to carry on towards the end of the war. I enjoyed the unexpected ending which hinted at a possible sequel. Please, please Ms. Bowen? I’m rating this 3.5 stars --- rounded up to 4 stars for a good solid outing about the home front during WWI.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Lake Union Publishing; and the author, Rhys Bowen; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Victory Garden is a tale of courage and the importance of friendship. It takes place at the end of World War I and I learned quite a bit about that period in history. I found it interesting that the women worked as "land girls" to help farmers. All the men were at war and the woman did the work of plowing, planting and harvesting the crops.

I liked the main character, Emily, who was a strong person throughout all that life had thrown at her. She was a true survivor. The women all supported and helped care for one another. Especially when they would receive word of a soldier that had been killed.

When Emily lived in the cottage and found the herbal journal, I was thrilled. I love reading about various herbal remedies and their purposes. A fun addition to the book.

The well worded descriptions that the author wrote really brought the setting and the people in the story to life. This is not a book that will be easily forgotten, neither will the characters. Definitely recommend to those that love historical fiction!

* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.

A beautiful and compelling story of hope, determination, and the importance of friendship all set against the backdrop of the harsh reality of WWI for those that are left behind.

Emily Bryce lives in a gilded cage with overprotective parents who fear for her ever since the death of her brother who was a soldier. But when she turns eighteen she braves her parent's wrath and becomes a land girl and the handsome, injured soldier that she had struck up a friendship with soon becomes her fiancé. But when tragedy strikes, Emily finds herself alone and adrift with more than just herself to look after and as Emily works on a large Devonshire estate, she becomes friendly with the aloof lady of the manor, and soon can see a future in this sleepy, friendly village with her fellow land girls. When she discovers a herb book in the old cottage where she is staying, Emily starts to experiment and begins to help the locals as much as she can. But not everyone is happy with Emily's arrival and sometimes the mistakes of the past can happen again.

The characters in THE VICTORY GARDEN by Rhys Bowen are wonderfully in-depth and while Emily was a little naive at times, she is the product of her time and class in life, and I felt so protective towards her and her fellow land girls who have all dealt with harsh lives yet still find the strength to give something back to the war effort and make a difference. The setting is perfectly painted on each page and really comes alive at times throughout this book. The tragic and devastating consequences of war on both the soldiers and their families is expertly handled and I know it made me really stop and think about all those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

THE VICTORY GARDEN is a stunning emotional story that will touch your heart in so many ways and I highly recommend it to historical fiction and war fiction fans alike.