I really enjoyed this one. I have immense respect for Genevieve Graham and all the research she does for her books. I love reading historical fiction from a Canadian perspective. There are so many stories here worth telling and I am so glad that Graham is one author who has made telling those stories her priority. As always, Bluebird was a lovely romance between two fascinating people, but it was also a compelling story of people doing what they have to do to survive. The only reason this doesn’t get 5 stars is because sometimes I forgot about Cassie and kind of would have liked more of her perspective.

What a wonderful story! As I’ve said before, if a historical novel sends me researching on the internet, then it must be worth it. And this book was definitely worth it!
This is my first novel by G. Graham, but it won’t be my last. This story takes place in Canada during the 1920,s and the today. The reader will travel from Ontario, Detroit, and to the war front in Belgium.
Cassie is in the present day. As a museum curator in Ontario, she comes across cases of whiskey hidden in the walls of her family’s old home. The story goes back and forth through time as she discovers where the bottles came from.
Adele is a 'bluebird’, a nurse in an army unit in Belgium. She meets Jerry, whose is a tunneller with the Canadian army. When they first meet, Jerry has severe injuries and Adele nurses him back to health. Yes, this historical fiction has some romance!
How these three characters play off of each other through the story will grab your heart. Along with Prohibition, rum runners driving across ice covered lakes, history, glamour and war, Graham has all that’s needed for the perfect story. The one question that I couldn’t find an answer to in my research was- Why were the whiskey runners in Canada called rum runners?
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this historical story. This is my second book by this author which I enjoyed just as much as the first one. This is a well written story by an author that has great writing skills and her attention to details make her stories realistic. This is a story that I was pulled into from the beginning. A story that is written with alot of heart and a secret that will bind a nurse and a soldier forever. I enjoyed the growth of the characters and the plot throughout. This is an engaging story that was easy and entertaining to read. The characters are connectable and had me coming back for more. I had to know what happened with these two characters. They had great chemistry and truly just made the story for me. This is a great story that is worth the pick up. I highly recommend this book.

✔️ part 1 took place in a field hospital in Belgium where nurse Adele meets injured soldier Jerry. An interesting look at the challenges faced by nurses and doctors during the war
✔️ I hadn’t read about the tunnellers during the wars - that was also quite interesting
✔️ part 2/3 takes place back in Windsor Ontario 🇨🇦- the prohibition and alcohol smuggling was insightful reading
🔘 all that was interesting yet the overall story was somewhat lacking . The present day story was almost an after thought and very short - I think it would have been better to focus more on Adele and Jerry’s story and give it more depth.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon&Schuster Canada for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my anticipated 2022 historical fiction novels and it didn't disappoint.

Bluebird is set in two separate timelines and told from the perspective of three different characters. Canadian nurse Adele Savard and Canadian soldier Jeremiah Bailey take us through lesser-known events during the First World War and the Prohibition era. In the present, we follow historian and museum curator Cassie as she tackles a mystery linked to her personal family roots. From the get-go, Graham transported me from my couch to the horrors of the front during the war and later to the speakeasies and the danger of rum-running in the Windsor-Detroit tunnel.

This novel has enough romance, action, history and mystery that I tried to pace myself and not gobble it down in one read. So, I just got up super early and finished it before work.🤣 The history of the two world wars tends to go into our history books missing the voices of many individual Canadians. The fact that one of the female protagonists(Adele) is a Canadian nurse at the front and we experience the challenges these women faced as they saw the horrors of war at the front and worked with the wounded and the dead. After the war, the nurses unlike many of their fellow citizens were more aware of what veterans returning with physical and mental wounds had faced. I liked that Graham uses that experience and knowledge to also explore what Adele's perspective on prohibition would have been. I was also very unaware that Canadian women who served as nurses received the same type of indifference as the men returning from war. This made me think of my grandfather's half-sister who served as an ambulance driver in France during that war. I wonder what her experiences were when she returned to Canada.

Another aspect of the story that had me fully engaged was the very challenging and extremely dangerous job that Jerry and his brother John had as tunnellers. I don't think that I have ever read about what these men endured and I really appreciated the author's note which further shed light on this little-known history.

I have read every single one of Genevieve Graham's books and I must admit that it is quite possible that Bluebird has tied with Tides of Honour as my absolute favourite.


Genevieve Graham is definitely Canada's Queen of Historical Fiction!

Expected Publication 05/04/22
Goodreads review 27/03/22

Genevieve Graham did it again with her latest novel set during the first world war. I thoroughly enjoyed two of her previous historical novels, and this one was just as good.
Told as two different interwoven timelines, one in 1918 near Windsor, Canada (and on the battlefields of Belgium), and the other in present day Windsor,

In 1918, Jeremiah and John Bailey are tunnelers under the trenches of Belgium, while Adele Sauvard is a nurse from Windsor who is serving in a field hospital in Belgium. The nurses, in their blkue uniforms, are nicknamed 'bluebirds'. When Jeremiah is injured, it is Adele who nurses back him back to health. Once the war is over, both return to their home towns, now dealing with the aftermath of the Spanish Flu, and also in the throws of prohibition. Jerry and John decide to go into business creating illegal whiskey, while Adele returns to nursing. Both Jerry and Adele are still wondering if they will ever meet again.

In present day, Cassie meets a guy who is restoring her old family home, and he finds a stash of old bottles of Bailey Brothers Best whiskey, with a bluebird on the label, hidden in the walls. Cassie, a museum curator, helps him unearth the history of his find.

This was a lovely book, filled with excellent characters, and a whole lot of social history of the early 1920's. I learned so much about t he tunnelers, and prohibition in Canada.

I can't wait to read more by this author.

A nurse meets a patient during WW1 and they are from the same area in Canada. When the war is over, they find each other again.

The idea for the novel is intriguing, but I think Graham bit of more than she can chew. If the story was focused primarily on Adele and Jerry, and really developed their experiences and lives, she'd have the beginning of an engaging and fascinating series. Instead, a paragraph describing the death of two sons in WWII minimized the intergenerational trauma and impact, and next thing you know, Cassie is absolved of the guilt she felt regarding her mother's death because the developer held her hand. This had so much potential but it was too much crammed in to one book. Adele and Jerry were great characters, Cassie was whiny, and everyone else was a throwaway. Even the antagonist Ernie was really evil! And then disappeared while everyone was falling in love only to return with a vengeance to murder?

Graham is a successful Canadian author of many historical fiction novels, including "Letters Across the Sea" and "The Forgotten Home Child". This new release is another in that genre. It is set in WWI in a war hospital in Belgium and then in the Windsor area in the prohibition years after the war, with a small amount set in present day. We meet Adele who was one of the Canadian nurses referred to as Bluebirds due to the color of their uniforms. She meets Jerry when he is injured and forms a deep connection with him. The story follows that connection as they make their way through the war and then in the years after. The author has once again illuminated another bit of Canadian history in this fascinating story. I really enjoyed it.

*I received a free ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

HECK. YES. I was so thrilled to see Genevieve Graham was coming out with a new book, I adore her writing. She does historical fiction SO well, and Bluebird did not disappoint.

The story follows nursing sister Adele Savard and tunneler Jerry Bailey. They meet in a field hospital when Adele nurses Jerry back to health, and they form a friendship as they get to know each other. Eventually Jerry has to go back to the front, and the two part. The both survive the war and go back to their hometowns (near Windsor, Ontario), and while they hope to run into each other again it's several years before they are reunited. By that time, Adele is nursing in Windsor and Jerry and his brother are deep in the world of bootlegging. The story is aided along by that of Cassie, a modern-day museum curator with links to Bailey Brother's Best Whiskey.

I loved that this book brought two underrepresented types of war service to the forefront, and didn't gloss over the trauma that these two would have from their experiences. Learning more about bootlegging in Ontario was also so cool, it gave a grittier feel to the story and provided just enough action to keep the momentum of the book.

My only real critique is that I would have loved to get more from Cassie. That aspect of the book definitely felt under done to me, but as a museum curator I'm sure my personal life affects that feeling quite a bit!

Overall this was once again an excellent book from an excellent Canadian author. I marched straight into my local bookstore and told them to put some copies on order!

Bluebird is a dual timeline story...WWI and present day. In between we meet up with the "Roaring Twenties" when booze was illegal and rumrunners were rampant and running! The story is amazing and there was quite a bit to learn. It's always interesting to open a book, especially one that's historical and learn something you never knew about. Set in Canada as an American I surely knew nothing of their history. The detail was on point and impeccable, I loved the writing. Never having read anything before from this author, I know I will be looking for more of her work...amazing! My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bluebird is a dual timeline book. Most of the book takes place during or right after WWI. The other part takes place in current time. I enjoyed that most of the story was told in the past. WWI is a time that I am working to learn more about and Bluebird shared so much that I did not know. Prohibition is something I think everyone knows something about but I like that I was reading about Prohibition in Canada. The risks, the money, the gangs, the travelling, there is so much more to Prohibition than just making the alcohol and selling it illegally.
The current storyline tells of finding a stash of the Bailey Brothers Whiskey bottles and the story they have to tell. I enjoyed the connection that Cassie, the curator, has to the house that the bottles were found in. She jumps into the mystery of the bottles and does not let it go until it all is solved.
I enjoyed seeing the present time come together with the past. The storylines came together perfectly.
**Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Bluebird is a wonderful story that begins with the story of Cassie, an orphaned historian, who was brought a bottle of Bailey Brothers liquor that was found in the walls of an old house being renovated in her small town on the Canadian border. Flashback to near the end of WWI where Adele is a Canadian nurse working overseas helping injured soldiers near the front lines. It is during this time that Jeremiah and John Bailey arrive at the field hospital, brothers who had been injured while tunneling underground for the Canadian army. The story continues to tell the story of Adele and the Bailey brothers, their return to Canada, and their role in bootlegging during prohibition and ultimately their connection to Cassie, A story of love and loss, loyalty and survival, Bluebird was a real page turner. The characters were well developed and the story was so incredibly human. I would recommend this book if you love historical fiction and stories about family.

‘Bluebird’ is a brilliant and high-flying novel depicting a lesser-known chapter in history. Perfect for historical fiction fans, Genevieve Graham transports readers from the World War I's battlefields to the Prohibition era.

While describing the heroic acts on the battlefields, Graham personalizes the bravery nurses, nicknamed 'Bluebirds' displayed. Not trained in battle, the courageous women risked their lives to save others. Running towards danger instead of seeking shelter, they exemplified what it means to be brave.

A unexpected friendship forms between Adele and Jerry. Growing up near each other, circumstances kept them apart. While recovering from his injuries, Adele and Jerry's budding romance is short lived when he's required to return to the front line.

A dual-linear timeline introduces Cassie and Matthew as they band together to solve the mystery of the Bailey Brothers' bottles hidden in the house he's remodeling. As a museum historian Cassie is intrigued by the artifacts but she hiding a secret about her past that connects her to the house.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of 'Bluebird' in exchange for an honest review. I was captivated by the emotional story as well as uncorking a chapter of Prohibition that I didn't know existed. I rarely give five-starred reviews but this heartwarming novel warranted that distinction.

Excerpt from the novel:

"As nurses, they would be in the war in the dual capacities of medical workers and caring women. They would be the first to greet wounded men coming off the trucks and trains from the Front, and their duties would include everything from cleaning and dressing wounds, dispensing medicine, delivering tetanus vaccines, and assisting in surgery and post-op care, to the often overlooked necessity of simply listening and comforting their patients. It wasn’t long before the soldiers came to affectionately call the nurses “Bluebirds” whenever they caught sight of their cheery blue uniforms.

Despite all her training, nothing could have prepared Adele for the front lines of war. It wasn’t just the horrible wounds from bullets, shrapnel, or fire. Men came in all conditions: delirious with trench fever they’d caught from hoards of lice, gasping for breath through pneumatic lungs, weak from dysentery, crippled by numb, gangrenous feet from living in fetid water with rats, and so much more. Adele had never imagined the horrors she would see, the gore she would handle, or the grief that would tear through her when another man died. "

I wish there were more than 5 stars as Bluebird would have earned every one of them.

Bluebird is historical fiction at its very best.

Bluebird has a dual time line that takes place during WW1 and Prohibition in Windsor Ontario and present day's story is cleverly weaved throughout the book

Prohibition was an interesting time with raids by police, bribes, murder, evil characters to hiss at and those we cheer on.

It was the Peaky Blinders of Canada and the United States.

Being Canadian and from Ontario I found the setting and the history fascinating but more than that the story hooked me from page one to the final page .

I hated this book to end.

This is a book I could read twice and I seldom do that.

Please take time to read the author's notes which were so informative and interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada, Simon and Schuster for a great and captivating read

Bluebird was so interesting to me. Of course, I have read historical fiction novels based during wars, but never from a Canadian perspective and the Bluebirds were something unknown to me.

Adele Savard was a Canadian nurse in WWI and they were nicknamed the Bluebirds based on the the color of their uniforms. Adele sees tragedy every day and knows that she has to stay a bit distant to the wounded so as not to get too attached as they will leave one way or another. Then Jerry Bailey is brought to their hospital and they each feel a connection.

Jerry is eventually sent back to the front, but he vows to look for her when or if they both return home after finding out that they grew up just two towns away from one another.

They are each lucky to make it back to Canada after the end of the war and eventually do find one another. By then Jerry and his brother, Johnathon, have become quite successful in the rum running business as we are knee deep in the prohibition era.

The book does flash forward to the present a few times so that we know why were are learning the story of Adele and Jerry, but the book is primarily in the past. I almost did not think it was necessary to have the present story told except that I did enjoy the ancestral line included in the book.

Also, do not skip the author's notes at the end. She includes some additional great information especially in regards to how she came to have a story to tell about this era. It was an awesome book that I will be recommending to others and already have.

This dual timeline historical fiction novel covers the Great War and post war prohibition in Canada. It was very well researched and the events were sprinkled through the story of captivating characters in such fluid way as to not bog you down with dates and events. There's a bit of a mystery and a little romance thrown in.

In present day, Cassie, who works for a museum is brought a bottle of whiskey discovered by a man who is working on an old house. The names of two brothers on the bottle gives the researchers a place to start and the past of Adele, Jerry and John begins to unravel.

Adele was a Canadian nurse that went over to serve during the war. One of her patients is Jerry, who is brought in by his brother, John. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll stop here. I found the middle to drag a little, therefore, I'd give it 4 1/2 stars.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Canadian nurse, Adele, serves during WWI in Belgium and falls in love with soldier,Jerry. Bluebird is the name given to the nurses because of their blue uniform. They reconnect after the war. In the roaring twenties. Jerry is a bootlegger and Adele is still a nurse. Good romance.

Story is told from Cassie, current day museum worker and from Adele in 1920s. The current day storyline is not as good as the historical story. Really wish the current story line had been left out.

Author provides great details of the war, Canada, tunneling, roaring twenties, etc

I really enjoyed this split-time novel about Canadian Prohibition and patriotism. I think it’s fascinating that the same loyalty and bravery that made Canada’s soldiers (and nurses!) so effective in WWI also made some of them adventurous risk-takers once they returned home…i.e., rumrunners. Author Genevieve Graham did an excellent job of conveying history, or as her character museum curator Cassie put it, “It's about bringing old things back to life and finding their stories along the way." And she really made my heart race doing it!

For me, Adele and Jerry had a real three-dimensional quality that Cassie and Matthew almost (but never quite) attained. Maybe a few more chapters developing their friendship before their lunch at the Dominion House Tavern could have done that. But I love how the generational stories came together, and the way each character deals with loss and guilt and forgiveness. Despite the uncomfortable violence and occasional coarse language (which were par for the times), I was totally captivated by this historical romance. I learned so much, and will certainly keep an eye out for more titles from Graham. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and was not required to post a review.

World War I • Tunneling • Canada • Bluebirds • Rumrunners • Prohibition • Brothers • Love • Revenge • Sisters • Whiskey

Historical fiction at its finest! Wonderfully developed characters in a well-written story. I highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy. I was under no obligation to provide a review.