★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Kate Eastham's wartime saga tale THE SEA NURSES.

This is the third book by Kate Eastham I've read and it was relatively enjoyable with the unique aspect of beginning on a cruise ship liner to becoming military hospital during the war. In the early 1910's, there were three sister ships built for the White Star Line for passage from London to New York primarily. They were Olympic, Britannic and the ill-fated Titanic. But even after Titanic's demise, the Olympic and Britannic continued to make the TransAtlantic voyage. THE SEA NURSES begins on one and continues on another.

It's 1914 and Iris Purefoy is a stewardess and nurse for the White Star Line on board the RMS Olympic to New York. There have been whispers of war amongst the passengers though many believe if it were to come it would be over in weeks anyway. Others are dismissing the idea of war as ludicrous. Beginning in second class, Iris soon made her way up to First Class and found herself as the occasional personal maid for Miss Amelia Duchamp, on passage from Paris to New York. The elderly woman has a feisty little Pekingnese called Marco whom she dotes on and who has nipped Iris more than once. Miss Duchamp is incredibly demanding with high expectations but Iris sees to her needs as her charge requires.

One night on deck, Iris sees a flash in the shadows and meets Jack Rosetti, a young American who lost his ticket in a car game but managed to stowaway on the liner. Iris took pity on him when he disclosed that his mother was dying and he wanted to reach her before it was too late. Against her better judgement, Iris chose to ignore his illegal passage and tried to ignore the young man each time she saw him. But there was something captivating about him. His smile, his eyes, his laughter. He asked to see her on shore before the ship made its way back to Britain, but news of the war changed any plans made and the RMS Olympic hastily made its return to become a troop ship.

Arriving back in England, Iris had decided to put her nurses training to good use and join a military hospital, following matron to Netley in Southampton.

Meanwhile, in Great Yarmouth Evie Munro was a fisher girl who travelled from her native Scotland each year to the Norfolk coast to work the herring season. This year she meets Jamie who captures her heart. But life as a fisherman is a hard one out on the roughs of the North Sea, and it is often fraught with tragedy. Life as a fisher girl is also a tough one, and Evie jumps into action to assist when one of them is injured, using her skills to suture and bandage and even nurse her charges back from the onset of sepsis. She is not a nurse but she has the skills of one. When the season is over, Evie travels home to Scotland with her friends with a heaviness she'd never felt before. And with the war approaching, she makes a decision. Leaving her past behind her, she travels to Southampton as a probationary nurse where she falls under the charge of Nurse Purefoy.

After almost a year at Netley, Iris and Evie along with some of the VADs, begin work on the former cruise liner Britannic, now a military hopsital ship that had been requisitioned for the war, collecting soldiers from the Front and bringing them back to England. Their job is to nurse the injured men and help keep them alive until they are then transferred to a hospital on shore. Life is far different for both women - from the luxurious state rooms Iris had worked as a stewardess or the fishing wounds Evie had once tended. Despite their's being a military hospital ship displaying a prominent red cross and signage to give them clear passage and prevent them from being fired upon but this is war and no one is safe. There was nothing stopping them hitting an underwater mine or a U-boat firing upon them, mistaking them for the enemy.

Life changes for both Iris and Evie in profound ways throughout the course of the war. Particularly when a new orderly is taken on Britannic and Iris is shocked to be looking into the smiling eyes of Jack Rosetti once again. Ever the professional, Iris keeps her distance particularly as fraternisation between male and female staff is not permitted and Sister frowns upon such a blatant disregard for the rules.

And then life changes in an instant off the Mediterranean coast and each must make a snap decision to save themselves before it's too late.

A heartrendering and emotional tale, THE SEA NURSES takes on a unique aspect of a wartime saga in that it is on board former cruise liner ships now decked out as floating military hospitals. I like how it began with Iris as a stewardess so we get a glimpse of life aboard those ships before the war and therefore becoming military hospitals or troop ships. There was a hint of glamour befor being thrust into the horrors of war and the promise of something to come when it was all over.

With Evie it was a little different. I felt that she was more of a secondary character to Iris' main one. I also felt that the friendship between the two women wasn't at the forefront of the story as much as the premise alluded to. I felt the women didn't really connect as friends throughout the story...not until almost the end after Evie's shocking find beneath the pier. I found Evie connected more with her fisher friends - Rita and Minnie - and even her brother and sister in law, more than Iris. To me, Iris felt more of her superior than a friend and any connection between the two women was lost. Their meetings up on deck in the evenings wasn't enough to make a close friendship as the narrative spoke or Iris in one context or Evie in another. The women were hardly ever together, forming a bond of friendship, not on page at least.

I liked both women but I didn't feel there was enough there to make them such close friends. They were too separate and never seemed to really connect. I found Iris closer to Miss Duchamp and she hadn't seen her since that final voyage at the beginning of the war, though the women remained in constant contact via letter.

I enjoyed THE SEA NURSES but not near so much as "When the World Stood Still" which I absolutely loved. I would have liked the ending to have gone a little further than another sea voyage, with a final glimpse of New York.

An entertaining read, THE SEA NURSES is an interesting and engaging historical wartime saga complete with drama and suspense of life, love, friendships and loss. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries and Diney Costeloe.

I would like to thank #KateEastham, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheSeaNurses in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Kate Eastham for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book - sadly I have had chance to read more than usual whilst sat at my Father's hospital bed - but this book kept my attention even when I had to keep putting it down.

It was a fascinating read - I had no idea that luxury liners had been acquisitioned as early as WW1 and used as hospital ships though I did know they were used like this in later conflicts.

The book was well researched and well written - of course as with many books of this genre there was love interest and loss but this proves part of the storyline.
The descriptive parts of the sheet horror of WW1 and the injuries inflicted was well written as well as the demise of HMS Britannic

I have to admit having read the 'blurb' from the back of the book I did find the initial storyline hard to follow and thought at one point I had confused this book with another - but Evie does appear eventually and does play a vital role within the story - as does Iris

Thank you again to all for the chance to read this excellent novel

This title doesn't do justice to the book! I was hooked from the 1st page and this carried on right up until the last one!
A really good, well written book with loads of history woven into the story line. The 2 main characters were totally believable and I enjoyed the way their lives were interwoven very well. I could almost smell the operating rooms and the descriptions of the wounded soldiers were very, very realistic. Kate Eastham also caught the anger, fear and dismay of the characters so well that one could almost feel like reaching out to them!!
A very good, easy read, well thought out characters and historical moments brought the book together.

The Sea Nurses by Kate Eastham has Iris and Evie joining the war effort in England by becoming nurses on hospital ships. The two women come from diverse backgrounds, but they share a love of nursing. They work together on the HMHS Britannic which was requisitioned and outfitted as a hospital ship. With a red cross on the ship, it is supposed to have safe passage in the ocean. It is no guarantee that an enemy U-boat will not decide to fire upon them. These women will be put to the ultimate test. I thought The Sea Nurses was well-written with realistic, developed characters. I like Iris and Evie who are both gifted nurses. I am glad that the author gave us a unique book on World War I. We get to follow women who have become nurses on a floating hospital. They bring back wounded from the front. The HMHS Britannic was a beautiful ocean liner until war broke out in Europe. We learn how a hospital functions on a ship. I found it fascinating. I could tell the author did her research for this book. We also get to see what life was like on the luxury liners before the war. Thanks to the authors vivid descriptions, I could picture myself standing on the deck as the RMS Olympic sailed into New York harbor with the Statue of Liberty in the distance. In contrast, Evie worked fileting herring on the docks. I cannot imagine the long days spent getting the fish ready for market (plus the smell). Injuries were common as they had to work quickly. There are some heartbreaking scenes in The Sea Nurses (have your tissues nearby). I enjoyed reading this engaging historical novel. The Sea Nurses is a story about war, friendships, love, loss, and coming together to work toward a common goal. It is an emotional, dramatic story that will linger with you long after you finish it. The Sea Nurses is a memorable tale with luxury liners, fileting fish, lost loved ones, suffering soldiers, incessant war, and hazardous waters.

I normally like books by Kate Eastham but for some reason I couldn’t get into this one. I may go back and try it again another time.

Wartime exposes nurses to the most horrific injuries, and Iris and Evie must contend with the worst. Part 1 is mostly about Evie’s prewar life as a fish gutter in Norfolk. In Part 2, she goes aboard the requisitioned Brittanic turned hospital ship and meets Iris, who was born in India (think The Secret Garden). Part 3 is the aftermath of Brittanic’s sinking, when they’re reunited in a Southampton military hospital. Touches are romance follow them.

The first time reading about the sea nurses and wasn't disappointed. Wonderful storyline and lovely characters all written beautifully

What a heartbreaking story this is. Evie and Iris are young women who want to help British soldiers wounded in WWI. They find themselves on the ill fated HMS Britannica, which tragically went down in the Aegean Sea. The characters are realistic and sympathetic- you'll root not only for the women but also for their patients. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. A good emotional read.

The Sea Nurses follows Iris and Evie through WWI as nurses. They see some unimaginable sights
and go through some heartbreaking times as so many families did during that period. The author has created some wonderful characters who I felt I could be friends with. I particularly loved the relationship between Iris and Evie as well as Iris and Miss Duchamp. Would recommend you ensure you have time to read this in one sitting unlike me!

This book has everything. It makes you laugh, has you holding your breath and makes you cry. You won’t be disappointed!
Follows the lifestyle onboard luxury ships, who knew how hard they worked. Also the fisher lassies on the harbour who use laughter and song to see them through the hard work and long hours. Then war is declared and combines the two.

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this ARC

What an emotional book highs and lows if you love world war family saga,nursing you will love this book

A story that will pull your at your heart strings from the very frist page, it's a story that brings to life the British war nurses of WW 1 and who risked their lives to take care of their patients while abroad the ship hospitals at sea. Of their losses and fears, as well as hardships, of their bravery and strength. As well as brings to life the story of the ill-fated HMHS Britannic, sister ship to the infamous RMS Titanic, and the author respectfully portraits the horrors and traumas of her demise on Nov 21st 1916 in the Aegean Sea.She does it in away that she honors the brave men and women who was on that ship. And reminds us never to forget them or the others who fight and never came back from that war as well as remember the ones who did.

Get those tissues ready you're going to need them if you read the Sea Nurses.

Set during world war 1 the story follows Iris and Evil, two nurses from very different backgrounds who come together during the war working aboard the medical ships. They both suffer a lot of liss and hardship.

This was extremely well researched giving a good insight into another view of the war years seldom mentioned. I found this fascinating.

It is heart-rending at times, as the story is so well written, and the characters feel so well that I found myself sobbing on many occasions

A fascinating, well-written, and engaging account of the British war nurses who served on hospital ships during the First World War. Eastham does justice to the story of the ill-fated HMHS Britannic, sister ship to the infamous RMS Titanic, respectfully portraying the horrors and traumas of her demise on Nov 21st 1916 in the Aegean Sea.

The sea nurses is very much a heartbreaking wartime saga – guaranteed to have you grabbing for the tissues. What an absolute mind spinning, beautiful story this was! when i read a book i like a book to keep me gripped from the beginning and this book certainly does that
I had a really hard time putting my Kindle down to do my Adult responsibilities.
This book is perfection.

The Sea Nurses by Kate Eastham is a great WWI-era historical fiction saga that is the first book in what I expect will be an exciting new series.

This is such a unique, exciting, and entertaining novel. Set amongst the backdrop of WWI, we get to follow along the comings and goings, the ins and outs, and the fascinating nuts and bolts of the naval aspect of the ocean liners that were transformed into hospitals and transports during the first war.

The author gives us insights and experiences like never before upon the beautiful ships before they were requisitioned and changed for war purposes, and afterwards. I don’t think I have read anything quite like this before. It was fascinating to see how nursing, transport, and medical/hospital protocols were taking place during the early 20th century, especially upon ocean vessels.

Then throw in an interesting and engaging historical fiction narrative with suspense, drama, and invigorating characters, and one has got themselves the start of a great series.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Bookouture for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 6/6/22.