Facing the French bureaucracy, the Germans invading and the British who believed them a nuisance, the Smith College Relief Unit persisted, bringing much needed aide to the French countryside ravaged by war.

Told from the perspective of Kate Moran, we learn the she is actually not quite as “Smithie” as her counterparts, coming from a blue-collar background and enrolled on scholarship. In college she was taken under her roommate Emmeline (Emmie) Van Alden’s wing, and as she was as blue-blooded royalty as America gets, the rest of her classmates were forced to accept her presence. Fast forward six years after graduation, Kate is having to earn a living by teaching French at an all-girls school in Boston and is decidedly unhappy. Emmie convinces her to take the place of a last-minute drop out in the Smith College Relief Unit.

These city women quickly learn a bit of humility when they arrive in a warn-torn region decimated by German shelling and billeted officers who burned their way out of town. The peasants in these small French villages have been left homeless and hungry with the enemy ruining their homes and livelihood. The Smithies quickly get to work, bringing along two female doctors, setting up a school and library, helping to gather seeds for planting, finding livestock to sustain the population, as well as many other things. These roles are new to these college women and we begin to see fractures within the unit as they face many challenges and setbacks along the way.

Based on the real women of Smith College Relief Unit, Willig includes letters written by these women at the beginning of each chapter. Between the actually letters and Willig’s writing you begin to get a feel for each of these women and find yourself rooting for one or another as the story progresses. I myself was a big fan of Emmie for her servant heart and great empathy for everyone around her.

Band of Sisters was a quick and enjoyable read about the power of sisterhood. Thank you to Lauren Willig, Netgalley and Harper Audio for the advanced audio book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Audio for the advance digital copy. Both the author and the narrator did an amazing job with this story. A well researched historical fiction story. A very emotional story, a love story, a story of resilience and a story of friendships during WW1. The characters and the settings felt so real. The narrator is one of my favorites and gave each character their own voice.

Note:. This partial review is for audio, only 34 percent read.

This is the story of Kate Moran and her class mates from Smith College whom headed over to Europe to assist in the war effort. Im usually a fan of WW2 fiction and enjoyed the values of the friendships and caring for the needy but it was not wowing me or drawing me in. There where too many characters to focus on that were one dimensional. Then the audio digressed for letters that classmates wrote to each other and home that broke the continuity of the listening for me when it digressed. Bit of a struggle and a 15 hour listen.

Absolutely loved this book! Didn’t want it to end.

The character development between the three main protagonists (Kate, Emma and Julia) is nothing short of perfect. I’ve read/listened to approximately 130 books this year and I was really impressed.

This book is based on true events. I’ve ordered Ladies of Grecourt to read about the history (vs historical fiction) of these amazing women; women who helped families in WWI so close(miles) to the front line! They even helped direct traffic of the evacuation when the Germans over ran the lines.

This book will be a best seller! Love, love, loved it!

Every time the women referred to Emma's British sweetheart, I smiled at the nickname!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/Lauren Willig for an advance read copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read so many great WWII books this past year so it was wonderful to “read” one set during WWI.

Lauren Willig is a must read for me and I thought the narrator did a splendid job on all the voices. I will be looking for more audio books narrated by Julia Whelan.

Band of Sisters is the engrossing story of Kate, Emmie and the other girls from Smith College Relief Unit who travel to France during World War 1 to bring aid to the villagers. Their lives will change as soon as they start the voyage over the Atlantic to war-time France.

If you’ve enjoyed any of Lauren Willig’s books in the past, I think you’ll enjoy Band of Sisters too.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio book.