FAVORITE THING ABOUT BOOK: It is wonderful to read a WWII historical fiction book that centers of the Philippines.

PROS/CONS OF WRITING: The writing is outstanding. The three characters stories are told simultaneously so that they are interwoven even though the characters may not be physically present in the same part of the Philippines for an extended period. The narration is perfect for the story. The listener finds themselves involved in the action and forgetting that they are listening to an audiobook.

WHO WOULD ENJOY THIS BOOK: Historical fiction lovers; People looking for WWII stories placed in other areas such as the Philippines.


I received an ARC from Harper Muse through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

A sweeping saga about WW2 nurses in the Philippines as told through the stories of three women. Penny, a US Army nurse, Eleanor, a US Navy nurse and Lita a Filipina nurse who works at the Army hospital. Set during some of the most fearsome fighting during the war, all three endure horrendous conditions working in the tunnels of Corregidor, the bombed out city of Manila, and as POW’s living under cruel and inhumane treatment by the Japanese. Despite the hardship and deprivation, all 3 women find strength and solidarity in each other and men they encounter. Heartbreaking and engrossing, WhenThey Had Wings opens up a little known chapter in history in a deeply personal and emotional manner. I loved this book but I was wrung out at the end.

This story sheds light on a piece of American history that is not in the history books. It’s important that these stories are told. The blend of the three main characters’ journeys gives a fantastic view into the various experiences of the Angels of Bataan.

Three stories by three authors woven into one book. This sounds like it would be confusing but the story flows so smoothly that it's difficult to tell where one author ends and the other begins. . Three women who are nurses in the military during World War II are all captured and held hostage after the invasion of the Manila Bay in the Philippines. When We Had Wings gives such an in-depth and startling realistic view of what women went through, not only as medical professionals, but as prisoners of war. It was the first time that women were held as prisoners and America wasn't sure how to react. There was very little preparation for these women. They survived on instinct and their desire to help others. They did not give up! I personally think this book would be a great required reading for a history class. Especially with women's rights being questioned right now. This book shows the strength and power of women in the most difficult of times. I highly recommend reading it and passing it to your daughters.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

A nice addition to the historical fiction world. Provides a different viewpoint of WWII that most may not have seen before. The characters are well developed NS the storylines work well together.

This book! I am a historical fiction lover at heart and with these three incredible authors it couldn’t have been any better! I listened on audio (highly recommend) and loved hearing the story come to life! As a nurse myself I love books with nurses as characters and the three nurses in this book were exceptional. A little known aspect of WWII, this is a must read for historical fiction lovers and really anyone who loves a good story with strong female characters. Phenomenal!

When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawton, Kristina McMorris, Susan Meissner was so enjoyable to read! I have been suggestion it to all my bookish friends who love historical fiction.

This was a different story then I had ever read before when it comes to WWII.

I always find it interesting reading about nurses in WWII. I guess that’s bc I am a nurse and I always wonder man would I be tough enough to do what they did? How they had such limited supplies and we cry when we don’t have saline readily available…

I have read books by McMorris before but not the other two authors. I’ll def be checking them out!

I got so emotional reading about the weak new mothers and their new babies.

The narrator Saskia Maarleveld is always a job to listen to!!

I’ve read plenty of World War 2 books, and I don’t think I’ve read anything about the war in the Philippines. I felt like I learned so much from When We Had Wings. There was so much death on these islands, and the brave women faced so many horrors as the Americans surrendered and the Japanese forces came in. ⁣
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It isn’t all grim though. There’s friendship, compassion, and romance. And the women never gave up hope, which is a recurrent theme throughout the book, or stopped trying to heal others.
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The authors voices blended seamlessly together and I forgot I was reading a book by three different authors. I read this on both audio and a physical book, and would recommend either format. ⁣I thought the middle did slow down a bit, which was when I was glad I had the audio version. But I read the last 70 pages because I wanted to savor them, and cried over basically every chapter from that point on (from sorrow and joy).

Thank you to Harper Muse and TLC Book Tours for my copy of the book!

"Here is the truth: General Douglas MacArthur allowed these women to be taken captive."

Let that sink in for a minute. Add that to the fact that almost no one knows about their sacrifices and you have a travesty.

Lawhon, McMorris, and Meissner have given readers a gift with this collaboration. This book brings awareness to the oft overlooked and forgotten sacrifices and heroism of the women (and men) who served in the South Pacific during WWII. While the authors chose to use fictional characters to portray the struggles of the nurses stationed in the Philippines, their experiences were based on real women.

Nurses chose to serve in the Navy for various reasons. They were from all walks of life. This story gives us three women who were looking to find answers on how to move forward. Each had suffered a heartbreak. Upon meeting they discovered how powerful friends could be in times of difficulty. When war came to their door, the need for friends became all that more important as they struggled to find hope and courage to beat the odds.

This book was both heartbreaking and inspiring. It was surreal learning the extent of what happened to those nurses. Despite MacArthur's choices and the depravity each was forced to endure EVERY SINGLE NURSE survived the war and made it home.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

WOW. I did not want this book to end. I listened to the Audiobook and it was so well done.

I did not know anything about the Angels of Bataan. This book tells the story of 3 of the women. It is based on a true story. I love that it has so much history in it on the Philippines in WWII that I did not know about.

It's heartbreaking, inspiring, rewarding and so much more. These women went though so much, gave so much and forged a lifetime of friendships.

I do not want to spoil any of it for anyone, but I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Harper Muse and NetGalley for providing a free audio ARC to listen to and review!

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 audiobook.

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.

The audio worked so great for me to visualise the story. Saskia Maarleveld's narration is lined with all the emotional spectrum with perfect pacing.

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.

A different WWII story. It's the story of the three women and their struggles during the war. They are all nurses stationed in the Phillippines and over the course of several years they are separated and reunited and face all of the atrocities of the Japanese who have captured them.

I loved each of the women's stories and I loved the friendship and protection that they all afford each other. I have been a fan of all three author's book separately and this collaboration is excellent.

I listened to audio version of this book and really enjoyed the narration. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced copy of this book. I highly highly recommend this story!!!

Set in the Philippines in 1941, three nurses, Eleanor, Penny, and Lita become fast friends. Eleanor and Penny were both US military nurses, while Lita was a Philipino nurse working in the hospital. On the weekends, they gathered for drinks and marveled at the paradise around them. All three women came to Manila to forget their pasts…a broken heart and a lost husband and child. Then Pearl Harbor is hit by the Japanese and their lives are suddenly and unexpectedly surrounded by war.

Collaborative novels seem to be much more common lately, the third one I have read this year. So, when three well-respected authors come together to write a book, you shouldn’t miss it. Longtime friends already, the three authors were approached by the publisher to write a WWII novel, with the subject matter to be decided by them. They wanted to write something that hadn’t been written about much and knew it must feature women. During their research, Susan Meissner found a documentary on the “Angels of Bataan”. They had their topic.

After Pearl Harbor was hit, many of the people on bases in Manila were taken as POWs including the nurses. Some were sent to remote hospitals in horrible conditions and others were forced to serve under combat conditions with little to no supplies, food, and in horrible living arrangements. These were the first women POWs. Even though there was the Geneva Convention, the Japanese forces had no concerns regarding their violations and the treatment of their prisoners. They also viewed Philippinos as traitors since they were working on the US military bases.

Eleanor, Penny, and Lita were separated into different camps, each struggling with the conditions while also having to continue their duties as nurses. They were confronted with horrible losses and brutality, starvation, and watching some of their closest friends be killed on the spot. All without any connection to the outside world. Did the US even know this was happening to them? Was anyone coming to save them?

“Sometimes love can break your heart”, Maud said.
Penny looked at her friend and tried to smile but couldn’t. “In my experience, it’s the only thing that does.”

I listened to this book on audio and enjoyed the narration. Since the chapters mostly alternated between the three women, I expected three different narrators, but there was only one. Saskia did a wonderful job with the character’s voices and made the listening experience easy to follow.

"Hope was what kept you putting one foot in front of the other. Hope was what kept you laying down your head at night and rising from your cot the next morning. Hope was what kept you mopping fevered brows and changing dressings and administering aspirin when you could get it. Hope was what made you pick at husks of rice until your fingers bled. Hope was what sent you out into a forbidden village to get food for starving children."

This story moved me like a novel hadn’t in a while. I’m not sure if it was because of the friendships between the women, the horrible conditions they endured, that it was based on actual events, or all of the above. But, I was quite emotional listening to this story. No war story is happy and there is much sadness in this one, but all three leaned on the hope that they would see each other again. They prayed the suffering of the people in their care would end and the US would end the war. They hoped each day that their closest friends would make it through another day. Sadly, not all of those wishes came true, but once they were liberated, they did find ways to move on…just not necessarily on the path they expected.

These nurses were brave, fierce, and committed to their duties. I knew very little about the people in the Philipines during WWII and my eyes were opened regarding the tragedies there. On your next free weekend, pick up this book and immerse yourself in the lives of these three women. The story is seamless and you would never know it was a collaborative novel. It will definitely be a favorite of 2022 for me.

It is funny how the textbooks report history. You never hear about the role women played in the wars that men started. Reading historical fiction has really opened my eyes to the sacrifices the women of the world made during these awful times.
This book follows a group of three friends who meet in the Philippines just before the Japanese takeover in WWII. Each had their reasons to join up with the nurse brigade and each is affected by their history, That said, while I enjoy a happy ending (we all know how WWII ended up), why oh why does every single one of these women rely on a man to make their endings happy? You've got three strong ladies who trudge through everything they're put through and SURVIVE...and you end up with happy-dappy smooshy endings.

I listened to this book through the Netgalley app. I'm not crazy about the breathy whispery voice narrating the story. It makes it tricky to hear in all situations that I happen to be listening. You could definitely tell the difference in the voices for each character, though.

A well-written story about the Angels of Bataan, nurses who were in Manila on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. Over the next four years, they experienced the worst of what mankind does to each other, yet continued to offer hope and inspiration to the people under their care.

While I have read many historical novels set during World War II, this is the first I've seen of one that focuses on the Angels of Bataan, and I was happy to see some recognition for them.

The book uses the friendship of three of the nurses as the framework for sharing their stories, but given that most of the time they weren't in the same place, each of the nurse's stories had a cast of characters that went with them. So there were a lot of names to keep straight. As a reader, it did feel a little overwhelming at times. Yet, it makes sense that there would be so many people involved, given that each of the prison camps they were in had hundreds to thousands of internees.

Overall, I truly enjoyed the story. Thank you to Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, Susan Meissner, Harper Muse and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

I loved how this book was written by three authors. It was very well done. I loved the story. Lots of heartbreak and seems as if research was done to get this book written. My only complaint is that it felt like it was drug on. It was slow at some parts and I got lost.

A collaborative effort by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner, this work of historical fiction is based on the "Angels of Bataan," military nurses who were working in Manila on December 7, 1941..

With the Japanese ignoring conventions of prisoner treatment, the women spent the war in different, wretched POW camps while trying to care for other sick and injured prisoners with little food and few supplies. The three main characters of the book met by chance and supported one another before and during the war, though they saw one another seldom. Each had their own burdens at the outset. Each of the women persevered and were profoundly changed by their nightmarish experiences.

A must read for those who enjoy historical fiction, WWII fiction, or even stories of solid friendships.

Wow! Just wow! A nail biter with gut-wrenching details of war terrors. The hope captives kept carried them through it all. Beautifully written, in an intense fast pace that I just could not put down! So many twists and turns. One minute the smell of freedom the next its snatched away. Brave men and women that had me weeping, cheering, and reflecting. If you love historical fiction, you won't want to miss this beautiful novel of friendship, love, and survival.

It's the story of 3 women who find themselves caught up between the Japanese and the American forces during the Second World War. The story is set in the Philippines and takes you through the trials and tribulations of these three women who find each other just to be thrown in different directions during the war. It is the story of grit and determination to survive while also trying to ensure the survival of those near you. It is the story of not giving up despite the horrible conditions. Like all world war stories, this is one of resilience. A good attempt, all in all.

I wanted to listen to this audio book about a very important part of WWII. The story is very good. I’m not sure I loved the narrator, but part of it could be I couldn’t control the speed of the narrator.
I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the South Pacific during WWII.