Member Reviews

The historical fiction genre is a favorite of mine and this is among my list of favorite books ever. Newton describes the scene in a way that makes you feel as if you are in the midst of the action. I loved it.

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A fast paced story that is unlike any I read before. It is inspired by the nurses who were part of the front line during World War ll. Action packed, full of drama and enthralling; it kept me wanting to read on and I didn’t want to put it down.

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I absolutely love historical fiction books but unfortunately I really did not enjoy this book. I found the plot weak and couldn’t engage with any of the characters.

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Beautifully written and deeply emotional, an absolute must-read!!
I have been a fan of Andie Newton's books for a while now, each one I have read of her has been breathtaking and this is no different.
This a wild, action-packed, riveting and at times haunting story set on the D-Day beaches, but the difference here is that we see the landings through the eyes of women, which gives a greater insight into what happened and what they went through during the war. It's powerful and inspiring and full of courage and friendship and off-curse love.
A solid and captivating read I wouldn't have respected anything less from this author.

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A unique story full of bravery and endurance set towards It is set on the French beaches in 1944 towards the end of WW2. Four nurses, Kit, Roxy, Red and Gail are requested to go on a top secret mission across enemy lines.
The characters were wonderfully written and I found myself invested in their story and their mission.
I recommend this book if you are looking for historical fiction that is a little different.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

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This novel by Andie Newton went way beyond my expectations which based on previous reviews were pretty high. Definitely an A+ book. It engages you from the beginning page and treats you to strong women who do the impossible. Recommended by me to all historical fiction readers! Cannot wait to read another book by this author.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

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Was a good story!

Description
'We'd heard stories about the nurses in tent seven. A secret mission, stolen money, and spies...'

In 1944, four American nurses disappeared for five days. No one knew what happened to them. Until now.
When Kit and Red set foot on French soil during the Normandy landings, they know they have to rely on each other. As they head for the battlefield, their aim is simple: save lives. But when they're called away on a top-secret mission to patch up a few men behind enemy lines, everything changes.

Alongside fellow nurses, Roxy and Gail, they're told to prepare for the worst, trading in their nurses' fatigues for civilian clothes and hiding medical supplies under their skirts. But it's a lie. Their real mission tasks them with the impossible – to infiltrate the Reich and steal something the Nazis desperately need to win their losing war.

In an ultimate test of courage and comradeship, each woman must decide what she is prepared to risk and what she has to live for.

This is an uncorrected proof copy.

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Event driven WWII plot and would have liked a little more historical context. Looked up Werewolves --they were real thing at the end of the war, but I only found reference to one woman member, who hadn't finished training when this event took place. There was a 53rd that landed on Utah beach. There was also a 53rd that landed on Omaha beach. Some of them had been in North Africa. This blurred the identification of the unit. Along the way I learned the difference between the clearing stations, evacuation hospitals, surgical hospitals, and general hospitals. Did not feel the characters were well drawn --Kit just didn't act like someone who was always causing trouble. I finished it but felt it could have been much stronger. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

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This story really opened my eyes about those who served during the Normandy landings. Especially the American nurses who served. These nurses were called upon to go behind enemy lines on a top-secret mission. I really enjoyed reading this story of nurses on a secret mission, the danger they encountered behind enemy lines, stolen money and spies! I requested a copy through NetGalley, no review was required. My opinion and review are voluntary.

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Wow. This book was intense.

Mainly in the last during the war, following four nurses; with chapters in modern day as the story unfolds. Kit, Red, Roxy, and Gail The Bullet were the nurses sent on a mission to save wounded soldiers in Nazi occupied France. When they reach a river, they find out they weren’t told the entire truth. Slowly as more of the plot unfolds you find out they are on a secret mission to thwart the Nazis behind enemy lines in Germany.

This was a WWII story but unlike any other I have ever read. When you read about the bombing on the beach, you are on the edge of your seat not knowing who makes it and how they avoid the missiles, bullets, and escaping the ocean. It was insane and breathtaking.

Now for the bad, and there wasn’t a lot. The only thing that irked me a bit was that there flashbacks in a flashback. While the flashbacks were interesting, I just wanted to know what happened to the nurses and if they survived!

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This is another great WWII historical fiction novel you need to add to your list! I have not read many with women from the US who were over there helping to fight in the front line. This story follows four women nurses who were on the front lines of battle, and also has a dual storyline of one of the women later in life.

They were in the midst of the seeing it all – and working fourteen plus hour shifts when needed. Kit, Red, Roxy and Gail are asked to go on a mission. This is a life or death mission and there will be no turning back. But there is a need for them to do this, they need to go and help nurse back some of our own men that were hurt. They need to go into enemy lines to complete this, and if all goes well, they would be back later that night with no one the wiser that they had left camp.

They get taken by vehicle and dropped off in the woods, where they have to cross a river and a few miles in they will find a town and need to find the correct building within the square. That is where the men will be for them to give aid. But thing do not go as planned, and quickly the women are on their own in carrying out the mission. Knowing their lives are on the line, they find the correct building. But upon getting there, they are then told the real reason they were requested, the real mission that still lies ahead, that only women could accomplish.

Evelyn gets an unexpected visitor at her door. She has done all she can to put that past behind her, and tries to live everyday not remembering the horrors of war. A familiar face is persistent and wanting to speak to her, and then he hands her a photo and wants to know what happened when they disappeared for five days, and no one had any idea what happened or where they went. It is still a mystery today. What really happened during that mission, and what exactly did they have to do?

Thank you to the author and Aria for the free ebook! I think I might have to buy this one when it releases to add to my WWII historical fiction collection. It was very interesting to read about what these women did, and how brave they were to risk their own lives to save others.

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Thank you to both Netgalley and Aries and Aria Publishers for the opportunity to review this novel.

Set in France and German in the waning days of WWII, this novel focuses on 4 battle nurses, Kit, Red, Roxy and Gail, who are deceived by superiors to cross enemy lines into Germany on a mission ostensibly to 'fix' up their wounded boys languishing in enemy territory, only to get to Germany and find out that the mission is actually to steal 'the giant'. Others have covered the storyline well so I will focus on my thoughts regarding this novel.

Set in partial flashback mode, from 1944 France to 1989 Washington State, the reader is absorbed into the protagonist Kit's world. Calling herself Evelyn in 1989, she is starkly confronted by her past when a reporter turns up out of the blue, wanting her story and not taking no for an answer. Evelyn, suffering from what is now known as PTSD, has kept her trauma locked away for 40 years.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel, although I had to wonder, did young women in the 1940's call each other doll and toots all the time? The storyline flowed reasonably well, although I did falter slightly trying to understand how stealing 'the giant' was going to keep the American POWs safe.

A gritty look at battle nursing in WWII - bravo to the author for a compelling story focusing on a subject that has not really been examined much.

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Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Enjoyable, different take on the WW2 books that are everywhere at the moment!! Kit, Roxy, Red and Gail are battle nurses sent on a mission that impacts the rest of their lives. Loved the duel time line aspect of Kit and Evelyn!

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Unfortunately, I had a hard time with the book and had to not finish. I will give it another try at some point.

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Dual timeline historical fiction about 4 battle field nurses who disappear for 5 days during the war. Kit, Red, Roxy, and Gail are 4 very different women with nursing in common. Mending up their boys in France right near enemy lines until they are asked to make a secret mission behind enemy lines to patch up some boys stuck there. When they find out this was a lie and they are being asked to steal from the Nazis they will be forever changed. What happens during those 5 days is a devastatingly raw experience of strength, love, and pure determination.
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This story demonstrates the absolute power of women. These 4 women were brave but terrified, thrown into a savage time where murder and lies is a means to survive. Their story was lost to time until a reporter starts digging for the truth...
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I honestly loved this book. I didn't want it to end but I also needed it to end, I needed to know what happened and what became of them. A truly heartbreaking read that touches on so many important themes! Also the battlefield nurse perspective was not one I had read before and it was eye opening.

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DNF: I made it to about 45% in this book, but I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters.
Obviously, this is historical fiction but some elements were truly beyond belief. Some of the characters just didn’t work. For example Roxy’s reactions and dialogue didn’t match the situations she’d been placed in.
The writing itself I can’t fault and is part of what got me to the 45% mark.
The idea of the book was good, but sadly the execution fell flat. However, I seem to be one of the very few negative reviews so it may appeal to more people.

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Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a WWII historical fiction novel about nurses on the front lines in Europe told in two time lines. I enjoyed the characters of Red, Roxy, Bullet, and Kit. The writing and research were well done and the plot (rescue mission) plausible. I didn't like the twist at the end about one of the characters as I felt like that was implausible. I read this in a day and would recommend!

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Wow! What a read! This story kept me on the edge of my seat throughout- and I could not put the book down until I knew the outcome! A group of American battle nurses come together as they follow their forces into France in the wake of D-Day. Landing on the beaches shortly after the troops they are immediately under fire as they struggle through the waves and onto the beach. And life does not get easier from there, as they follow the Army through France, treating the severely injured soldiers left in the wake of ongoing battles. Then they are asked to carry out a special assignment that will lead them into Germany itself.....
A truly thrilling story, full of twists and turns, you will find yourself desperately hoping these girls come through the immense challenge facing them. Such a good story! Highly recommended!

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I enjoy reading historical fiction set during WWII. It could get redundant but most authors give a view of the war from a different perspective. The Girls on The Beach is about nurses who landed on the beach 5 days after the D Day invasion. I never realized that nurses arrived so soon after the troops and this book shows the bravery and strength of the nurses who were an important of the invasion in France.

Kit and Red didn't know each other but when they landed on the beach during D day, they became fast friends. While they were working in a field hospital, they share tent seven with Roxy and Gail. Their work is grueling and heartbreaking and they all depended on their friendship to get through the rough days. When the OSS finds out that two of them can speak German fluenty, the four nurses are asked to go on a secret mission behind enemy lines to infiltrate the Reich and steal something the Nazis desperately need to win their losing war. Their mission was very dangerous and even though they knew it would be, they were aware that they had to do whatever they could to defeat Germany. They were gone from their hospital for 5 days and they didn't all come back. The section of the story when they are behind enemy lines is tense nonstop action as I was hoping that their mission would be successful. Despite the fact that they were all scared their mission was heroic.

This is a book about the brave nurses who went above and beyond their duties to help the Allies win the war. It's about strength, love and friendship and the danger the nurses faced. This is my first book by this author but definitely not my last. I've just ordered her two earlier books.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review.

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The Girls from the Beach is a powerful story of friendship, endurance and bravery. It is also quite probably the most action-packed Second World War adventure I have read and I really think this story would make an incredible movie!

The author has clearly well-researched the historical facts surrounding the roles of battle nurses, the locations and conditions they worked in. Her writing is wonderfully descriptive - I felt like I could picture everything in my mind as I was reading - the sights, the sounds and the smells.

The four main characters, the battle nurses are portrayed brilliantly as heroines. They are strong, independent, brave and the reader really warms to them. Their friendship and the bond they share is powerfully strengthened by the dangerous journey they go through together - it is a bond they will share forever, as seen in the final chapter. I really liked the ending of the story - it brought a real sense of closure for the reader.

This is the first novel by Andie Newton that I have read and I would happily read more of her work. I highly recommend The Girls from the Beach.

I am grateful to the publisher, Aria & Aries, for a digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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