Wow! Such a tour de force and knowing there really was a Smith College Unit made it all the more impressive. This was my first time listening to an audiobook on NetGalley. The narrator, Julia Whelan, was amazing with keeping the voices consistent while using great inflection. I did miss out on opportunities to read those small treasures of juicy poetic passages over again so I must admit it will probably be my last audiobook. I think I would have been able to flesh out the characters with greater detail if I was able to reread to clarify any confusion. I so appreciated the inclusion of the letters and Lauren Willig’s information at the end of the story. I missed snuggling under my covers at night with my kindle for a few minutes of my current book before drifting off to sleep.
My husband grew up in South Hadley so we were very familiar with the beauty of both Amherst and Smith College. He was surprised when I shared the premise of this book with him as he was never made aware of the unit and his dad had never mentioned it. Loved the relationship between Kate and Emme - it was constantly changing and evolving. Emme was so easy to love while Kate was like a prickly cactus. Julia and others also were enjoyable but I honestly had a hard time keeping so many straight in my head due to the audiobook. Also enjoyed reading about the unit’s initiation to the actuality of their new post in France, chickens vs. roosters, learning to drive, dealing with the mud, their outreach to French civilians so heartbreakingly affected by the war, and doing without so much that they were previously accustomed to. The romances were also a refreshing touch. The devastation of the bombing took center stage though. The real Unit were such early heroic women who had such a positive impact on the lives of the French citizens trying to survive - especially the children. The women showed so much grit and determination in their quest to do what they could for others.
Many thanks to Lauren Willig, Julia Whelan, William Morrow, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to hear an arc of this historical gem, to be published on March 2nd.

A captivating audiobook. The narrator did a good job of capturing each of the characters, points of view and accents without repetition or overlap. The moods, expressions and experiences were conveyed perfectly. I honestly think some of the impact would have been lost if I had only read the book.
The women of Smith College find themselves in France during WWI and much closer to the front lines than they expected. They signed up to provide aide to women and children and saw, experienced, and endured far more than they ever expected or thought they were capable of. They each had varying reasons for being there and despite their differences, truly banded together to become a band of sisters.
I enjoyed hearing about real life experiences through actual letters at the start of each chapter. While a lot of the story focuses on what could have been, there is enough actual historical information to keep it experiential and thoroughly captivating. I laughed out loud, sniffled and pressed on with each of the women who shared their experiences.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

“To decency, the officer had said, and those who persist in practicing it. She would persist. She would.”

Wow, I adored this book! Even after 16 hours of listening to the audiobook, I didn’t want to say goodbye to these women! They were all so capable and strong and absolutely amazed me. The characters themselves may have been fictional, but were heavily based on real women. The author’s note at the end talking about the real Smith College Relief Unity cannot be missed; it made me appreciate this book even more. This gave such a unique perspective on WWI.

The audiobook is narrated by the amazing Julia Whelan and I strongly recommend reading the book in that format. This will likely be a reread for me in the future, I loved it.

Band of Sisters reminded me a bit of The Giver of Stars (and not just because they’re both narrated by Julia Whelan). The camaraderie among women and those women rising up in difficult circumstances is a theme found in both.

Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig is an extreme interesting book written about the Women of Smith College Refief Unit. Books written about wars are interesting , informative, and descriptive. The Band of Sisters is no exception. Sometimes the descriptions make you pause and want to research. While listening to this book one of my sons asked what is that book about. Was the part where you are describing the hospital. I told him.

A group of 18 Smith college alumni traverse to rural France during World War I to help the nearby small villages recover after the Germans have decimated their homes, their crops, and most of their lives.

I love Lauren Willig's stories, but Band of Sisters was not my favorite. Does it pass the Bechdel test? Yes, but it is a very, very slow story. I didn't really come to care about the characters until 70% of the way in.

The author's note at the end is very extensive and really explains how Willig came across her source material and how her fictionalized account differs from what really happens. I'm glad she told these courageous women's story, but I expect better, more, from her.

The audiobook narrator is the same voice actress who reads The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, and she does a great job.

I liked the entire book, but I really liked the last 30%. It took me a while to distinguish between the characters, especially Kate and Em...if I wasn’t fully focused on the audiobook, the characters blended together at times. However, the history of the a Smith girls is new to me and I found it truly fascinating. The historical facts at the end of the book were really helpful.

I liked this book and found the story really interesting but just felt like it was a little slow for me. There are many characters to keep track of but what these women did during WWI was amazing.

Absolutely marvelous, story based in France during WWl . A group of young woman from Smith College, and their stay in France as a Relief Unit. It’s a bit of a slower paced novel. But I found it built more world and character building that way.
I really enjoy historical fiction, a lot of what I read is based during WWll. It was very nice to change that up and read about WWl. A lot of the events in the book happened, as the author pulled the events from real letters of woman from the unit. Which just added so much to the story, by being based in some truth. I look forward to checking out more of Lauren Willig’s work in the future.
***I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***.

First, I need to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy of the audiobook of Band of Sisters written by Lauren Willig and read by Julia Whelan.
The book will be published on 3/2/2021.

Wow! I loved this book!

The story is based on a series of letters that Lauren Willig found. The characters are loosely based on what she read, and some are complete fiction. Willig explains her inspiration at the end of the book, so don’t skip that part. It is really interesting.

The story is about a group of American women from Smith College who go to France during World War I to help in the French countryside that had been brutally decimated by the Germans early in the war. These women did not always know what they were doing there, but they worked together and found their way as they helped the villagers of France. (I had an audiobook, so I don’t know how to spell any of the town names.)

Many of the women, especially Emmie, Kate, and Julia, truly became sisters, and this book is as much about their relationships as it is about the war. There was even a bit of a love story between one of the girls and a soldier, but that was not the focus. Instead, the story revolved around the women and how they grew into strong, capable helpers who became indispensable to the French citizens they helped.

Finally, Julia Whelan’s narration was spot-on. She did a variety of voices, and she was so good, that I could easily tell which character she was voicing at any time. I didn’t realize how many books Whelan had narrated, and I will definitely be listening to more audiobooks with her as narrator!

I loved this book. I typically don't read historical fiction based in WWI, so it was a great introduction. The intertwined letters were a great glimpse into the difference between how the women would have relayed the events and what may have actually happened. This look at the important work of women in WWI - when many didn't even get to attend school - was enlightening and the story was engaging.

Band of Sisters is based on the real-life Smith College Relief Unit, a group of Smith College alumnae who volunteered to go to France and do relief work in 1917. The story about these women and the relationship between them was interesting and how they unknowingly placed themselves right near the front line volunteering to give aid to women and children during the war..

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and going into this I had very high hopes for this book! I really wanted to like this novel more than I did. I never became invested enough with any of the many characters in the story. It was long and drawn out and I found myself waiting for something to happen.

What did finally connect me to the women portrayed in this story were the author’s notes at the end of the book about these real-life women. The notes from the author left me wanting more and wishing that the scenes in the novel had been better developed. These women went through a lot. I wanted to feel more for them. I wanted to see the pain that surrounded them every day. I wanted to hear the terrifying sounds of the war that echoed in their ears. I did not get that.

This novel had huge potential for a great read but it just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t get the feels with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC of Band of Sisters in exchange for my honest review.

This story tells a courageous tale of a group of American women who go to France to help the women and children there during WWII. It reminded me a lot of the movie Pearl Harbor. There were many points in this book that made me laugh and a ton more that reminded me that women can do anything that men can.

Generally, and especially the past year I have really enjoyed historical fiction set in WWII. This wasn’t one of my particular favorites, but it was definitely entertaining if somewhat corny.

The female characters seemed to be thinly constructed almost to the point you could “see through” them. I simply don’t like weak-kneed women in my books.

The premise, plot and setting we all ripe for picking an outstanding fruit of a story. For me it spoiled on the vine.

Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an excellent narrator if a weak story.

I loved the idea of this book but I found the characters lacking. I did like the story and wanted to see it through to the end but I just found them one dimensional and not relatable at all. Overall I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook and e-book.

More Like 3.5 Stars!

I enjoyed this one.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Harper Audio for my advanced copy of this wonderful book.

What I Enjoyed-

*The Audio- I love Julia Whelan! She has narrated some of my favorite books. Most recently- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. Julia is spectacular and if you're an audiobook lover you will probably recognize her voice.

*The History- Historical Fiction is my absolute favorite genre. I love learning about people and events that I would have otherwise overlooked. I had no idea that the alumni of Smith College went to France to do relief work. The women in this book are fictional but inspiration was drawn by the actual women who served there.

*The Characters- I really enjoyed the women in this book. I loved that Kate was from a different sort of background than the average Smith woman. The friendships / relationships between the women kept me entertained.

Why This Book Lost Stars-

I hate this part. There were parts of this book where I was absolutely bored and started losing my focus. It made me question how long I was zoned out for. Am I the only one this happens to?

This was a longgggg book. It just went on and on and I'd peer down at my phone to find it was far from over. I feel like a horrible person for saying these negative things but it is how I feel and this has to be an honest review.

Overall- I still recommend this book. I may even try another by this author.

During World War 1, a Smith unit of women embark on a journey to France to work in wore torn rural areas close to the front. Through the eyes of a group of educated women, who have one thing in common, the desire to serve, you will fall in love with the true grit and determination they have for the people who lost the most. This book gives you a glimpse into what might have been and what conditions would have been like during World War 1 in Europe. Great story with great narration. A must read for historical fiction readers.

📕 4.5 / 5 stars

🎁Thank you, NetGalley, for the gifted audiobook.

Historical fiction at its best! Alumnae women from Smith College form a relief unit in 1917 then set off to help with reconstruction in rural France as World War I continues to rage on. In an era when college-educated women were still a novelty and their participation in war efforts limited, these women stopped at nothing to help desolate French citizens who lived near the front. They were ready to bring supplies, medical aid, and most importantly, hope to the families that had nothing after the German occupation of their towns. An amazing mix of strong female personalities who made me laugh, cry and cheer for them all along. Lauren Willig’s intensive historical research is consistent in all her books. This is the sixth book I read by this author. Band of Sisters has become my favorite Willig novel!

It's 1917 and a group of women recently graduated from Smith, Smith College Relief Unit, along with two female doctors set sail for France to assist French civilians who are suffering from the destruction of the Germans in WWI. Kate Moran was a scholarship student who thought she fit in with this group, but her reason for going is very different from some of the others. It is not the welcome they expected when they arrive. They have money, supplies, and good intentions—but that does not play out as they had hoped. The chateau that was to be their headquarters is a half-burnt ruin. The villagers they meet are in desperate straits: women and children huddling in damp cellars, their crops destroyed and their wells poisoned. The war rages on and the Germans continue to shell the area and the British Army wants them out. Not only that, but they are fighting amongst each other as to what they should be doing. Can they survive all that they are up against? Can they truly become a Band of Sisters?

I always like when a book is based on real events or people. I liked that there actually was a Smith College Relief Unit and did a bit of research on my own about them. This story followed the history of this unit quite well, although the women from the unit were all of different ages recruited from different years of graduating classes. These were very brave women who had to learn new skills (i.e. driving and repairing large vehicles), sacrifice their own personal well-being and health at times and caring for seriously ill and injured people. There was some romance in this story that added a bit of humanity and interest in a character (Kate) who could be hard to get close to. I enjoyed this story a lot, but there were some downfalls. First, there is a large cast of characters in this book. We really don’t get to know them with the exception of Kate and Emmeline. I often had to double check a characters background to make sure I could keep them all straight. Kate, the main character seemed to really have a chip on her shoulders. There was times that I wanted to give her a shake. What these women endured was remarkable. They also did a lot to help the French people in these villages that were completely destroyed, several time. I recommend this story to those who enjoy historical fiction based on real people and/or events.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan. She has narrated some very well known books from Gone Girl to The Great Alone and I understand why. She has a great range in her voice and is able to do accents, voices from different classes and both male/female and make them real. I enjoyed her narration very much and she will go on my list of narrators that I watch for.

Lauren Willig is an established author, but she is new to me. Band of Sisters, her newest release, has made me a fan. I read it free and early, and my thanks go to Net Galley, William Morrow, and Harper Audio for the review copies. It will be available to the public March 2, 2021.

A group of Smith College alumni sail to France on a mission to help civilians suffering extreme deprivation during World War I. “They carry money, supplies, and good intentions—all of which immediately go astray,” says the promotional blurb, and that’s what happens. It’s hard to make plans when you don’t know which way the battle may turn or where bombs may fall, but these are plucky women, two doctors among them, and several of them are members of wealthy, influential American families as well. The story is based on actual women and events, and the teacher in me wishes I were still in the classroom and able to order sets of this excellent novel to share with honors students, girls especially, who need to see more of themselves in the study of American history.

Our two protagonists are Kate and Emmie, best friends and roommates a decade ago, united in this adventure. Kate is the only woman among the “Smithies” that doesn’t come from money and that doesn’t pay her own way; she is led to believe no one else paid their own way, either, but it isn’t true. And this is a chewy, inviting historical truth that we don’t see often in fiction. Though social class divisions are every bit as present and sharp today, assumptions made by most Americans have become more generous. During the early years of the twentieth century, there was a widely held belief that rich people were better in other ways as well, whether they had earned their fortunes or inherited them. They considered themselves to be God’s own chosen ones, and their wealth was one more sign that the Almighty loved them a bit more than others. Poverty was considered shameful, a thing to be concealed; there were no government funds of any kind to help the poor, and if there had been, women like Kate would have just about died before accepting them. Taking charitable contributions was a sign of personal failure and possibly dishonesty to most people back then. And the truth is, Kate isn’t impoverished, and she surely hasn’t failed at anything, but she has to work to earn her living, a thing most Caucasian women in the U.S. didn’t do in 1917. She is horrified when, midway through our narrative, she learns the truth about her travel expenses, and this creates one of the crises within the story.
Willig is a fine novelist. The pace never flags, and there’s never a moment of revisionism that makes me blink. She is true to the time period and the characters. Emmie’s character is a harder sell, to my way of thinking, because she comes from tremendous wealth, but her family has made her feel unworthy because of her physical appearance, and by the end of the book, I love Emmie as much as I do Kate.

I’ve plucked a sample for you, a scene in which Kate and Emmie are evacuating an area which is being overrun by the Germans:


[Kate] wanted Mrs. Barrett; she wanted Dr. Stringfellow; she wanted anyone who could tell them what to do and where to go. Grecourt looked different already, the anemones churned up by the tread of two hundred soldiers, tents dotted around the lawn, Maybe, if she closed her eyes and wished hard enough, she could make it a week ago; the ground bright with flowers; slipping into story time and holding Zelie on her lap while Nell read to the basse-cour children in French about little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, joking with the unit around the supper table about their amazing ability differentiate between types of guns.
But it wasn’t a week ago. The Big Bad Wolf was here, he was on the march, with his big, big teeth and big, big guns, and maybe she wasn’t the best the Unit could have, but she was what they had right now.


By the time we reach this part of the story, I could not stop reading if I wanted to. It would have been impossible.

The hardest characters for many writers are the children, and although we have no child protagonists, there are numerous scenes in which children play a part. How does a child act when he is traumatized by war? Willig is in perfect form here as well.

I received both the digital review copy and the audio, and I used them both. At the beginning there are so many women introduced to us at once that I felt lost with just the audio, and so I listened and read along to keep track. The narrator, Julia Whelan, does a superb job with a challenging manuscript, changing her tone and point of view to let us know which woman’s point of view we are hearing. My only concern regarding the audio version—which is much easier to follow once you have learned the most important characters—is that the story begins with a lengthy list of the women that participated, and it’s not great to listen to. I recommend you fast forward the audio to somewhere between five and seven percent, and then dive in.

I requested this galley because a number of Goodreads friends whose opinions I respect recommended it to me, and all of them were absolutely right. This book is a gem, and I highly recommend it.

What a joy this was to listen to. Wow! I haven’t read a lot about WW1 but this was a very different look at it. I had no idea American college women went to France to help. I just wanted to hug this book when I finished it. I loved it.
Julia Whelan was the narrator and she was awesome. She always does a spectacular job and she didn’t disappoint this time either.
I loved seeing these mismatch, sometimes insecure, vulnerable women come together. I saw how God used these brave women. And they were brave even if they didn’t know it at the time. At 86% I realized I was holding my breath and I don’t think I started breathing again until I got to the end!
The characters leap off the page with their human strengths, weaknesses, and foibles. I highly recommend this book and thinks it’s one of the best things I’ve listened to this year!

Thank you Harper Audio for this wonderful audiobook via Netgalley. I’ve voluntarily given my honest review.