I received the audiobook version of this story. I enjoyed the narrator and would listen to her again.
This story had a strong emphasis on friendship and reconnecting with past friends while making new friends. The bond that was created between these women was nice to see. While it's obvious that war is tragic and awful, I did not feel gutted as I have from other books. It made this easier to listen to. I had never heard of the Smith Girls and learned something new which is always a good thing.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC of Band of Sisters: A Novel in exchange for my honest review.

Based on true events, Band of Sisters:: A Novel tells the story of 15 young graduates from Smith college who came together to form the Smith college Relief Unit during WWI. There were actually 18 members, but in the author's note, Lauren Willig said it would have been too difficult for the reader, as well as the author, to keep 18 story lines straight,

The women had varying degrees of preparedness from none to medical doctors. Some were there because they thought they would shop in Paris. Others came to prove something to themselves or others. Our main character, Kate Moran, was there at the request of her best friend from Smith, Emmie Van Alden, who is from a very wealthy family, After crossing the Atlantic with their naiveté intact, they found themselves very close to the front line in a house which was destroyed by the enemy It was here that they scrounged and and acquired the means to serve the surrounding villages by helping to feed the children, tend to the wounded and help rebuild their villages,

There is so much to delve into with this story that I cannot possibly with one summary begin to touch on all the incredible acts that they under took. But it is so much better for you, the reader to discover those for yourself. While these are fictionalized versions of the "Smithies", Lauren Willig used letters from the real women as well as newspaper articles among her source material. It is beautifully written, bringing the feeling and the danger to the reader as the women themselves go through each event,

I had not know to the Smith College Relief Unit, but I am so glad that I have had the chance to get to know the heroism and bravery of these women who served so well. DO NOT skip the author's notes at the end of the book, It is here that you find out more about the actions of the Smithies and role they played in historical events,

I have spent a lot of time in the last couple of years reading books about WWII and the effect it had on the people who were involved. It has changed the way that I view some things and it has definitely changed my to-be-read pile of books. When I saw this book, Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig, I didn't even realize it was WWI instead. I simply said to myself, "Yes, I want to read that!" and I am so glad that I did. The story, which I listened to on audio, follows the Smith College Relief Unit, which was a group of young women who had graduated from Smith College and wanted to do their bit for the war effort. I was immediately caught up in their world and in all of the unfolding events. These women left their homes and went to France to help French villagers who had been turned out of their homes by the Germans and then left to try and rebuild their lives with no assistance. The story follows the actual events that happened to the girls, including travel troubles and being so very close to the front lines. When the war moved into the village they were working in, they didn't stop. They just kept right on helping and doing their part. It is an astounding story of courage and love and heart that will resonate with me for some time. I highly recommend. The narration was also excellent. You should definitely check this one out!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity. All opinions are my own.

Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig tells the story of the Smith College Relief Unit in France in the last year of World War I. The Unit, founded by an eccentric female archeologist, Mrs. Rutherford, is task with lending aid to the villages in France devastated by the war. The unit is made up of Smith College graduates, included Kate Moran, Emmi van Alden and Dr. Julia Prine. The women, who aside from Kate, are from middle and upper class families are at times woefully unprepared for the basic necessities needed by the women and children of the villages in the care.

But over time, they overcome the hardships, the privations and the horrors surrounding them and get to the heart of caring for women like them, who are just trying to find a new way to live in a country that is on the front lines.

Willig, a historian by education, reveals details of truth in her fiction and, states in the author's note to having access to the first-hand accounts from women in the unit, through letters, articles and other materials. This shows in the story and brings life to the characters. This was a story I hadn't heard before and so glad I could learn more about these women and their efforts as well as some of the horrors the French people underwent at the hands of the German army.

If you are looking for a story of courage, sacrifice and friendship, then this is a perfect book for you.

Note: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

WIllig explains that this novel is based on the real life women and most of the events in the book were based on actual events. Her source material included amazingly detailed letters that chronicled their adventures and friendships. The characters are mostly fictional composites but the author’s extensive research really brings them to life. The character development and plot were the strengths of the book. I struggled a little with the sense of place and couldn’t really wrap my brain around the locations of the book. It’s quite long and dragged a little in the first third. I wonder if there should have been two books here: a shorter, more commercial version and a more comprehensive, non-fiction version. This sat somewhere in the middle. This audiobook was narrated by the excellent Julia Whelan, who handles the accents with ease. Historical fiction fans will delight in this book and these remarkable women.

Thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for an advanced audiobook copy of Band of Sisters.

I've been a Lauren Willig fan since her Carnation days and love all of the historical details and research that she does in her books. I was very excited to read Band of Sisters and getting an audiobook of it narrated by Julia Whelan is even better. Julia is my favorite narrator out there and in a 16 hour book, you need a narrator you love.

Based on letters from the Smith College Relief Unit, this is a historical fiction about the Smith College alumna who go to France in 1917 to help with the villagers in rural France recover after being destroyed by the Germans. This group of women arrive with money, supplies and absolutely no idea of what they've gotten themselves into.

Through the novel and with each chapter having an introduction from an actual letter we see as this group comes together to help the villagers, soldiers and find themselves a little closer to the Battle of the Somme than the Army wants them. The main theme in this book is friendship, sisterhood and how to take care of the chickens!

If you're a historical fiction fan, check out this book, you won't be disappointed. And now I'm off to learn more about the Smith College Relief Unit!

Lauren Willig did an amazing job with this Historical Fiction. She stumbled on some letters from the members of the Smith College Relief Progam while researching a project and wrote this book based on the letters. She did mention that the events really happened according to the notes and the characters are fictional but based on real people.

Emmeline Van Alden attended a rally by Miss Betsy Rutherford. Miss Betsy was recruiting Smith College Women to join what she calls the Smith College Relief Unit. The unit traveled to Paris, France to help the villagers in the area recover World War I. Emmeline, or Emmy, was immediately hooked but was afraid to go alone so asked her friend Kate Moran to join. 18 women joined.

I loved this book! I felt like I was right there with the women helping the villagers and soldiers. I couldn't imagine what they witnessed or had to go through. From the beginning when their hotel that they were supposed to stay at didn't have enough room for them, things escalated. The bravery, endurance and perseverance of these women are amazing. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Julia Whelan, does a great job. Definitely recommend!

Loved this book in print and audible. I want to learn everything about the real life smith women! Great story. And great characters

Band of Sisters: A Novel

by Lauren Willig

Alright Lauren Willig I'll give you four historical birds out of five for Band of Sisters. I received this one as an audio book - advanced copy from Netgalley for free in exchange for my honest review. This had a similar feel to The Giver of Stars. If you liked that one, you would enjoy this one. One of the major themes in this book is friendship- the longitivtiy of it through the highs and the lows. To be honest... I've never really read anything about World War I so this was kind of new territory for me. There were times the many characters got confusing and it was long.... Maybe too long. But OVERALL I enjoyed it and think my history loving friends would love it the most. I'd put it on your to-read list! It comes out on March 2nd, 20201!


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This story satisfied everything that I was craving - well-written historical fiction about friendships amid the awfulness of war, romance, and medicine! I love all things Lauren Willig and her latest is definitely one to enjoy and share! I heartily recommend it and will get my own paper copy as soon as it is released! (Which can't come too soon!)

A story of privileged women who volunteer to join the war effort to provide services to survivors in small villages in France. Many learn new skills and to depend upon each other.

I really loved this book. The only reason that I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars is because it took me a little while to really get invested in the characters. By the end though, I was rooting for them and audibly gasped a few different times. The narrator was wonderful and really gave a voice to each individual character.

I found this to be a lovely book of sisterhood and it made me very interested to look into other books about the aid work that was done by civilian women in both WWI and WWII.

I received a copy of this e-audiobook in exchange for an honest review
I think this would have made a great book to listen to but I couldn't get comfortable with the narrator.

I loved this book about the “Smith Girls” - the Smith College Relief Unit that brought relief efforts to France during and after World War I.

There was a little bit of everything in this book including history, friendship, and love. The writing was beautiful - rich and descriptive. A treat to read for historical fiction lovers!

Band of Sisters follows a group of Smith graduates who embark to the countryside of France as a war relief unit in the late summer of 1917. Their journey is fraught in many ways and yet they continually prevail in their work to assist the people in their worn torn region. The beauty of all this - it is based on a true story!

I absolutely loved this book. The women, their relationships to each other and their work made for such interesting reading. I couldn’t get enough of seeing how the women navigated difficult circumstances and got things accomplished in not only a designated war zone but also during a time women were most certainly not thought to be able to do this.

I appreciated the information shared regarding the origin of this tale and the letters that helped create it. It did send me down a bit of a rabbit hole searching more about this!

I was fortunate to listen to an advance listening copy from William Morrow books. I can’t share enough how well done the narration is. I had anticipated it would be good but Julia Whelan knocked it out of the park and made this book come alive to me. I would highly recommend picking up it up when it comes out and if you are audiobook fan - you must get it as it is a fantastic listening experience! Thank you William Morrow and Netgalley for my ALC.

Band of Sisters is a great historical fiction novel about the Smith College Relief Unit who went to France to assist with the recovery process during World War I. I encourage everyone to listen or read the historical note at the end of the novel. Willig deftly mixes the stories of the real relief unit with the fictionalized drama of her main characters. The characters themselves because they are based in reality are compelling and complex. The horrors they face are often times hard to imagine, but give a sense of what people gave for their country during WWI. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job giving each character a distinct voice and capturing their complexities.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Band of Sisters was a such a fun book to dive into. Without knowing, I got to dive into a story that ended up being true. I also got to meet some pretty wonderful characters that lived in France during the World War I.

In it, you will meet Kate Moran. She is from Brooklyn, NY and went to Smith College on a full scholarship. Then you will meet Emmie, who became her true friend in college. Although after they graduate, they tried to write to one another whenever they could.

Not long after, they are reunited. From that moment, Kate's life has changed forever. So much happens along this journey that I had to stop and think about it all. Some of it was sad and I almost drop a tear or two. Others were pretty interesting to hear about since I wasn't alive back then and I don't remember much from my history classes in high school or college.

These girls showed so much bravery throughout the book. Even if they knew something was beyond dangerous, they still went into it without hesitation. It was amazing to read about and I am so happy that I got the chance to dive into this book.

Now I feel like I need to dive into more historical fictions books when it comes to NetGalley.

The Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig was such an amazing story. It centers around a group of women called Smith College Relief Unit – that were sent to Northern France during WWI to assist the villagers there whose town was nearly destroyed. These women were professors, social workers, physicians, and archaeologists but while in France were simply volunteers.

This Band of American Women traveled to France to assist in the recovering war effort in the small town of Grecourt. The main characters are Kate, Emmie, Alice and Julia. After arriving, they witnessed the Chateau they were supposed to stay in had half burned down from the bombings, but the girls wanted so badly to stay together, they agreed to set up house in the attic.

Told they would be helping the local villagers and their assignments were planting gardens, building shelters and schools, and driving supplies where needed. They had to learn all of these things including how to administer First Aid. Most of this was all new to them including purchasing chickens and when there were no eggs, later realizing they needed a rooster too… “our hens are not great layers...we can’t think why?” and then later, something even funnier… which shall not be revealed here! I really enjoyed the humor in this story. But the book does reveal true incidences, the real devastation that occurred and the difficulties the women had to endure to help these poor villagers after the egregious retreating German army plundered and destroyed everything in their path. The author does an amazing job weaving the stories of these courageous women and what they did to contribute to the war effort and help villagers and refugees.

The children of the villages were a part of the story as well. The women taught them games, how to sew and even offered them carpentry classes. They had cows, pigs, goats, and one special goat that thought he was a dog!

I really appreciated the author’s use of letters before each chapter begins. These are letters relating to the real heroes, these women. That was such a special touch to make their story come alive to me. I will be recommending this book to all my historical fiction reading friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was the perfect escape. It was lovely and fun. It was my first book by this author and I will definitely be on the look out for more!!

Band Of Sisters by Lauren Willig
Narrated by Julia Whelan
Genre - Historical Fiction
Format Audiobook
Release Date March 02, 2021
I rate the book a 5 of 5 stars
I also rate the Narration 5 of 5 stars

This book was amazing. It has a little bit of everything. War, Friendship, and even a little bit of Romance. I absolutely loved it. It is actually based on true stories of the Smith College Relief Unit going to France to help with the war effort.

The narrator was perfect for this book. She did the voices perfectly and drew you further into the story. She also very upbeat and kept you wanting to listen. Not like some narrators that put you to sleep 5 minutes in.

There are somethings that have been changed in the book but it is kept true to the story as possible as the author used correspondence from the real ladies who did these incredible things. Although it was a fictional work.

I was a little disappointed that the Spanish Flu pandemic was not mentioned in the book. Although it may not of made it’s way to France. I will have to look that up to get the facts on it.

This is an expert off of Wikipedia about the actual group. They have more information if you want to research more for yourself.

The Smith College Relief Unit (SCRU) was a group of Smith College alumnae who aided in humanitarian relief work in France during and after the First World War. Funded by the Smith College Alumnae Association, the SCRU worked throughout the war serving under both the American Fund for French Wounded (AFFW) and later under the American Red Cross. The Unit was founded in 1917 by Harriet Boyd Hawes (1871-1945) who acted as the Unit's first director.