I was excited to see a book that address some of the Pacific theater battles from WWII. When We Had Wings is based in the Philippines and three women nurses - one Filipina, one US Navy nurse, and one US Army nurse. All three spend time as prisoners of war and struggle to survive the Japanese invasion and atrocities. I found the individual stories to be compelling. However, there is a constant POV shift between the three nurses, and it could be confusing about where events were taking place. I couldn't have told you which author wrote which parts, so it wasn't a matter of authorial voice that was a problem. Instead, I think it was just the sheer volume of 4 years of captivity for three protagonists and all of the side characters involved in each one's captivity. The pace was also very slow at times.

I kept reading because I was invested in knowing what happened to each of the nurses, as the beginning hooked me in. However, while the friendship between the three is the hook initially, we really do not see them together through the rest of the book. At the end they have a chance to come together only to be instantly separated again. The epilogue felt forced after not seeing these three characters together for most of the book. As a result, the theme of the friendship between the three, ended up not working for me. There were other friendships that were more impactful and lasting, such as Lita and Reyna as one example. Even there, those friendships are in each main character's individual story.

This might work better if considered as an anthology of connected stories, with the early friendship being the thread between the three.

I was left more curious about Pacific theater battles in World War II, which for me is part of the draw of historical fiction. I do want to know something more than I did before I read the book. I hope the published book has some resources for those interested.

Overall, the individual stories were compelling. But it was hard to overcome the slow pacing, the constantly switching POV, and the friendship arc between the three main characters that wasn't really working.

As an aside just for the publisher, the formatting on the ARC was terrible. It was almost unreadable, and I expect many put this aside because of it. It is a significant reason for why this book took me far too long to read. You do a disservice to your authors when reviewers can't get through a poorly formatted book.

I’m a huge fan of these authors and together they put together an amazing novel of female bonds and determination during a dark period in history. I knew very little about what occurred in the war torn Philippine Islands and this book was enlightening. This is a story that needed to be told even though parts were incredibly difficult to read.

I’ve enjoyed these author’s individual novels, so to see them working together to tell the untold story of the Angels of Bataan and Corregidor, I was thrilled to have been chosen by HarperCollins to review this book.
This is a fascinating novel showing unsung heroes who found themselves in an unimaginable situation in WWII. In Author Notes, it states how they discovered these brave women. All the authors were surprised they’d never heard of these courageous nurses before.
One of the reasons nobody heard of this group was the fact that, ”the United States government forced these women to sign papers saying they would not discuss their experiences after the war.’ These authors were compelled to tell their story.
This novel is told from all three nurses POV, Eleanor Lindstrom, Penny Frank, and Lita Capel were good friends, all nurses and looked at their situation from a medical standpoint. Things needed to change, or they’d all be wiped out at the Internment camps in the Philippines.

The authors have themes of hope, survival, and explore the bonds of friendship. It’s an intriguing read and one that would work well for your book club. The authors have included fifteen discussion questions, allowing your discussion to go deeper.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I requested and received a copy of this book from the publisher.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! https://psalm516.blogspot.com/
The Book Club Network blog

A unique perspective of a heartbreaking WWII story.

We are all mostly familiar with the German atrocities and oppressions during WWII. But When We Had Wings chooses to bring the spotlight on three nurses who served in The Philippines, where the Imperial Japanese Army battled for control.

Thanks NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing me access to this ARC.

Synopsis –

Based on the true story of nurses known as “Angels of Bataan”, we follow US Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, US Army nurse Penny Franklin & Filipina nurse Lita Capel, who become friends in what they deem as their “Paradise” mission. But when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941, the paradise quickly turns to hell as they are forced to serve under combat conditions & as POWs.


Review -

As we keep switching between the POVs of the three nurses, their backgrounds, the circumstances that led them to take up a far-away assignment and the general attitudes towards the work they do are introduced. I could connect to all the three women and loved how quickly they bonded and forged wonderful friendships.

As tables are turned, it was so sad to see them getting separated, having to deal with the war on their own, amidst impossible living conditions. The longing they felt for knowing their friends’ well-being, the lack of communication and the way they got shifted around the island mercilessly was indeed miserable.

The kind of tyranny and brutality the Japanese inflicted over The Philippines is simply horrendous. Even innocent civilians aren’t spared, as they are herded into crowded internment camps.

The nurses lives are unimaginable - being short staffed, they have to deal with overflowing patients, food and medicine shortages, rampant diseases like dysentery, malaria all while working long hours and fighting these illnesses themselves. The only silver lining was their budding love lives, which gave them a reason to smile and keep going.

It was a bit hard to keep track of each of them over several locations and while the plot does not involve much of action I expect from HF, I came to appreciate the resilience and resourcefulness of these nurses.
The dedication towards their duties, hard-work and honesty in the face of war induced inhumanity are truly commendable.

The authors deserve credit for all the research and meticulous planning that has gone into this book, highlighting this lesser known part of WWII history.

This is a story that needs to be told and read by everyone who likes the genre.

I absolutely loved this book! It was my first time reading a historical fiction novel about Americans in Japanese concentration camps and I found it completely fascinating. I appreciated the strong female leads and felt all of their sadness, anger, frustrations, and anguish. Such a great read and I've already recommended it to all my fellow historical fiction lovers!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

There are a glut of WWII historical fiction stories, and I feel that market is oversaturated. I've read a ton of WWII fiction, and have reached a point where I get suspicious, because surely there are other historical fiction stories to tell. Still, I give props to the authors because they wrote a WWII story about the Japanese occupation of Manila, and that's not a story that's been told much. So good on them for that.

Sadly, that wasn't enough to really keep my interest in this book, which I felt had a lot of potential. I had two main complaints. One, the pacing. The beginning glosses over the friendship of the 3 nurses so quickly I had a hard time believing that they could be such close friends. There needed to be more time spent establishing their relationship. The ending also had a lot of pacing issues, they gloss over 6 years of these nurses rebuilding their lives after the war has ended, and again, it was all a bit of handwaving.

I felt that was done to focus mostly on the bulk of the book, when the nurses were prisoners of war. And this is where I had my biggest complaint about the book. I felt like every chapter was just another way to show us cruelty being done to the prisoners of war. To the point where frankly it just started to feel like torture porn, and I wanted to stop reading altogether.

I also at times had a hard time keeping the places separate in my mind.

I get that war is cruel, but I felt like at times the cruelty was the point, instead of it serving to move the story or develop the characters. I didn't enjoy reading at least half this book. By the time the nurses are rescued, there was still 10% of the book to go.

So pacing is probably my biggest complaint, it was all over, some of it too quick, some of it too slow. And so much cruelty. On and there is a scene near the end where Lita goes to a convent to save some children. I won't say more about this except I found that whole set up and scene completely unbelievable.

In the end I wish the authors had spent a little more time figuring out what kind of book this was meant to be, because I don't think I really figured it out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced copy of When We Had Wings. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When We Had Wings is based on the true experiences of nurses dubbed “the Angels of Bataan,” It is an interwoven tale about a trio of World War II nurses stationed in the South Pacific who wage their own battle for freedom and survival. I loved following the stories of these three women, through their heart wrenching years between the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the end of WWII.

I love historical fiction and enjoyed reading a different side of the war, this being based in the South Pacific. As with most WWII historical fiction, it was painful to spend time in these nurse's shoes. However, their stories and the pain, fear, and trauma they endured was beautifully captured. And although there are three authors of this book, it read seamlessly. I was so invested in these characters, I felt I was on the edge of my seat by the end of the book just to know if and how their stories would meet back up. I highly recommend this book to those who love historical fiction like I do!

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.

A heartbreaking story of war and suffering, When We Had Wings is the story of the first American military women prisoners of war. Set in the Philippines during WWI, this story is told through the eyes of US Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, US Army nurse Penny Franklin, and Filipina mestiza nurse Lita Capel. These three are extraordinary women, who suffer unspeakable hardship at the hands of their Japanese captors, their bravery shining out as each of them works to ease the suffering of those around them. As secondary character David tells Eleanor, “You nurses are like angels from heaven to all of us.”
While this story is gut wrenching and at times shocking, it is also gripping and inspiring. The romantic threads throughout help to lighten what would otherwise be a heartbreaking read. I also loved the strong friendship formed by these three amazing women and the way that it helped them all to keep on going. This is a beautifully written story and a must for my “to be reread” shelf.

Three authors writing together is not a new thing. In fact, I’ve read all of the “Team W” books by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White (The Forgotten Room, The Glass Ocean, and All the Ways We Said Goodbye). Now, I read their debut collaboration last, so I can tell you that the first collaborative work can have some growing pains. That said, I didn’t know any of the “Team W” authors before I read these three novels, which probably allowed me to not have expectations. I only later went on to read their solo works. To be totally honest, with “Team W” I found that Williams was the strongest of the three (her prose practically sparkles), closely followed by Willig (nicely balanced historical fiction without too much romance, with White being my least favorite (a bit too much romance for my taste). By their last work, it felt like they were in excellent sync with each other, and I’ll read more by them in the future.

As for this book, I’ve been a huge fan of Ariel Lawhon’s novels since her debut work, “The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress” which was the main reason I asked for this ARC, and why I had such high hopes for this book. Until now, I haven’t read anything by either McMorris or Meissner, so I was just hoping that Lawhon chose her co-authors wisely. While I’m sure they did all they could to try to make this novel feel like one cohesive hand, I found it less than convincing. In particular, I found that one of the characters seemed far too interested in trying to find romance for my taste, at least at the beginning of the book. Mind you, one can’t really think about stealing kisses all that much, when you’re trying to keep yourself and everyone around you alive. Sure, a possible romantic relationship can help give hope to someone in such trying times, but there were times when one character took this a touch too far for me. Also, I wasn’t sure I understood why one of the characters had such a horrible relationship with her parents back home, since their anger with her seemed totally unfounded – from what I could see, she didn’t do anything wrong.

I should mention that a few other reviewers have noted some anachronisms here which jarred me early on in the novel. These felt a bit lazy, since simple Google searches would have kept them out of the book. Thankfully, by the time I was just over half way through the book, these fizzled into the background and as conditions for these three women got increasingly difficult, I could concentrate on these stories instead of the petty mistakes. That said, I’m truly hoping that all of the capitalization mistakes in this book were fixed in the final version. Obviously, while these too were slightly annoying, I can’t lower my rating because of them (we are warned that our ARCs aren’t the final versions).

I think that this trio (should we call them LMM?) might have a good thing here, if they can pull back on the romance a touch, and double check their historical facts. Also, I think they’ve got a good handle on getting three separate characters into one cohesive story, and the fact that these three were separated so much during the war, did allow them to develop as individuals. That said, while their friendship seemed deep, their attachments to each other felt rushed, particularly since they were such different personalities, and especially because they split up so soon after getting to know each other. For all of this, I think that I can still recommend this book, because this is a very good first outing for these three. That’s why I’m giving it four out of five stars.

The following review is my own thoughts in response to reading the free copy from Net Galley.

I love the genre historical fiction and find myself gravitating to many books from the World War II era. Hence the reason for requesting this book. The story of three friends facing different assignments and life circumstances is always where I am drawn. This book was no different.

Three ladies, Lita, Eleanor, and Penny meet as they embark on a nursing assignment in the Philippines during the beginning of World War II. Each woman has a different reason for joining the cause and each faces a different fate. Perseverance, bravery, friendship, and fortitude give them strength as they fight to stay alive.

Having never read a World War II story set in the Philippines, nor knowing what took place in that area, I found myself drawn to the setting that was vividly described. This was a book with a sweet story and I would recommend.

Eleanor was aware of her fear; she would not be able to keep her solemn promise, not because she would die—the hospital had provided her with a calming haven. She had signed an oath promising not only to defend the United States but also to uphold her country’s true faith and allegiance. She would have rather not broken that commitment with her entire being. From a distance, Eleanor could hear anti-aircraft guns firing and her heart beating. She hoped that there would only be one brief, intense, dizzying moment of pain before she entered heaven.
She would once more see Grandma Lindstrom. She had missed her so much. The bomb that would kill them all waited for Eleanor and her corpsmen. They stood in line for an hour. The booming did, however, stop.
The aircraft’s drone vanished. Eleanor and her fellow nurses crawled out from under their shelter when the all-clear sounded to see what remained of Cavite. The Cavite Naval Yard had been nearly destroyed. Manila resembled little else across the bay on fire and torched.
Civilians, including young and old, men, women, children, and even infants, flooded the hospital’s triage area because the nearby medical dispensary had been bombed and there was no electricity or elevator to transport the most seriously injured to surgery. In Eleanor, too much pain, too many horrific injuries, and too much sadness were observed in her. A corpsman brought a box of morgue tags to one of the nurses because they had no way to record the care they were providing. The grim cards meant for the deceased were attached to the injured living.
The nurses who are Filipino are forced to endure additional hardships.
I honestly enjoyed the characters in this book and learning about what those heroic nurses endured.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book

When bestselling authors Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner combined their outstanding talents to write a novel, I knew the result would be powerful and feature an important subject. This is definitely true of When We Had Wings.

This World War II novel based in the South Pacific was inspired by the true experiences of a group of nurses known as "the Angels of Bataan." The story is told through three character with very different pasts: Eleanor, a US Navy nurse; Penny, a US Army nurse; and Lita, a Flilpina nurse. They become friends while serving at a military base in Manila, but are sent to different internment camps when the war intensifies with Japan's attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines.

These military and civilian nurses became the first female prisoners of war of WWII, and were forced to endure horrible living conditions, including malnourishment, yet continued to provide medical care to their fellow internees with very limited resources. Several scenes depicting the horrors of war were difficult to read, but the personal relationships between the main characters and the people in their lives kept me connected to the plot. The novel is ultimately hopeful and is a tribute to the enduring power of the human spirit.

I appreciated reading this audiobook skillfully narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the review copies of this memorable novel.

Loved this book, so good in describing the scenes. The characters were different but joined in well with the narrative. Heart wrenching times for them all, it was also an educational script.

Thank you @netgalley
Three authors write a historical fiction book about three nurses in the Philippines during WWII. Two of the nurses are from the US, one is from the Philippines. They meet and become friends, but everything changes when Pearl Harbor is bombed. The Japanese take over the area, and the women struggle to survive. It's a part of WWII that I didn't know much about, so I learned a lot. Good story, lots of awful things happen but shows how strong people can be as well. #whenwehadwings #ariellawhon #kristinamcmorris #susanmeissner #threeauthors #bookstagram #historicalfiction #philippines #nurses #booklover #readersofinstagram #reader #lovetoread #booksbooksbooks #readallday #readallthebooks #netgalley

I love these authors and I enjoyed this book. I always find it very interesting to learn things about WWII that I didn’t know, like the story of American nurses in POW camps in the Philippines. At first it was hard to keep the characters straight but I really liked the plot and character development. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes historical fiction and strong female characters. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner have written a book that you would not imagine was written by three different individuals. When I saw that they had teamed up to write this book, I was expecting each chapter to be about the three individual nurses with little interaction. This book flows seamlessly.

Set in the Philippines in 1941, Filipina nurse Lita Capel, US Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, and US Army nurse Penny Franklin met and a true friendship was formed. These three believed they were living out a cush assignment in paradise. But with the bombing of Pearl Harbor all things changed in an instant.

These women endured more than most of us can even begin to imagine and survived. I did appreciate that the authors did not end their characters' stories all nice and neat with a bow on top. Despite the fact that I my heart wanted these three women to all come out unscathed, we unfortunately know that is not realistic in life.

I hope we see these three historical fiction superstars unite for more projects in the future.


I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

WHEN WE HAD WINGS
BY
ARIEL LAWHON, KRISTNA MC MORRIS, SUSAN MEISSNER






Three authors, three special women created by these authors, and their deepening friendships under extreme circumstances! This is the first of many World War Two novels I have read that takes place in the Pacific theater and it is a doozy! The flow of the story is wonderfully meshed by each author to tell each nurses story, all unique, and still maintain the growing friendships though separated by many miles. Of particular interest to me was the well researched and described atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese captors. The strength and stamina written into the lives of each of the three nurses is something to behold.


I have received a free copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

4 Stars


Spencer Birt

"Hope is te this with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all."
-E D

I never read about this topic at before. I have read many books about WWII but never about the Pacific War, in the Philippines. United Stated and Japan on war and all after Pearl Harbor, all the horrible things Japan did to US nurses was the main subject in the book but you can also get drops of much more during the book. I really enjoyed this one as it was something new for me, but the book is actually a hard heavy read. I needed to stop often and not for the topic but because it felt like a heavy read. The book is long and at times I'll admit felt messy. I got lost often. But still I couldn't out it down. You'll know about "The Angels of Bataan", which I loved!!!! I felt for each of them and their fight. Everything in this felt like you needed to close your eyes and remember this happened even if it seems too horrible to be truth. I know this is one of the reasons many avoid HF books but, personally, this is why I read it, because we need reminders of this gross things. Specially with everything happening now in the world, we need reminders of how war is for the ones living it.

Do I recommend this book? Definitely yes. And specially because many complain that they don't read HF because it's explicit and this one didn't feel that way. Yes, what the Japanese did to POWs was bad but ita way more relaxed than reading about Auschwitz. So if you'd like to read historical fiction and don't end up with nightmares this one might be for you.

When We Had Wings is gripping, heart-tugging WWII novel is an emotional book that tells the story of three nurses stationed in Manila at the beginning of the war, and the harrowing, life-changing years to follow. There are very few novels told about the war in the Pacific. Each of their stories were filled with terror, heartache, and pain, but also of their bravery, their resilience, and their strength. Stories of WWII both in Europe and the Pacific are stories that tell of the emotions and courage of those people who served and answered the "call to arms." Yet this novel was different, set on a different stage that is hardly written about. These brave and courageous nurses who were at times called "The Angels of Bataan" set an example for women in the armed forces everywhere. The book was an amazing read as I would have expected from these three authors. This was a powerful story, highly recommended.

Harrowing story of three military nurses who meet in the Philippines just prior to the Japanese takeover of the Philippines during WWII. It follows the nurses through prisons, prison camps, internment camps and jungle camps as they try to survive. Their friendship keeps their hopes alive as they face starvation, punishment, nursing wounds and sometimes love.