I have always been fascinated by WWII and the surrounding time period. Davis is coming home at the end of the war having survived when so many of his friends didn't. Patrick, Davis' best friend and neighbor, didn't survive and his younger sister Faith, blames Davis for Patrick enlisting. Davis has a long road back to 'normalacy' . The war has changed him.
Faith has also changed since the war. She has had to grow up fast with the responsibility of running the family business after her father died of a heart attack a week after receiving notice that Patrick had died during his service. Her Mom, Marcia, is a huge help and support. She is navigating the changes that war has brought into her life.
I love how this book is a snapshot of how wars affect not only those who serve but those left behind. It affects the whole town in some way.
I would highly recommend this book.

This is a beautiful book that takes place in the 20th century and features a solider coming home from war returning to civilian life. The two main characters are having to pick up the pieces after the war has ended and figuring out how to return to living life while dealing with tragedy and great loss. Great character development and a semi-emotional read.

a good read and enjoyed this story. really liked it alot and the love between this couple. i will read more of her books.

This isn’t as much a WWII novel as it is a *post* WWII novel.

It isn’t as heavy as a lot of war novels are, and that’s nice.

Davis has just returned from war and his next door neighbor, Faith, has her own losses from the war that she’s dealing with.

This was a sweet romance story about two people that are struggling that find healing in each other.

The Sergeant and the Girl Next Door
by Laura Rupper was a WW11 novel about after the war. It effected every one and they were living with the fallout. I loved the story and the main characters. It was a clean romance and I didn’t want to stop reading. I got my HEA. This isn’t a heavy reading about the war, it was light, heartfelt and enjoyable! And as a side note, I loved the Irish proverbs!
I definitely recommend it.
Thanks Covenant Communications via NetGalley.

WWII has ended. Next door neighbors Faith and Davis have both greatly changed by their experiences. Davis’ efforts to get on with his life after fighting in Europe rang true. Faith’s brother and father died; she’s managing the family brick business and dancing. She didn’t really appeal to me. Despite her hostility toward Davis, he didn’t give up on her. Nice look at the war’s aftermath in the US.

This book was beautiful written .
It was different from the story and the written.

It shows how difficult it was for soldiers to return home to them they love.
The plot really got me , I was shocked.
I also cried .

It’s nice to see a historical romance that’s set in the 20th century.

Faith has been forced to grow up fast, as her father died shortly after learning of the death of her brother in WWII, leaving Faith and her mother with a business to run. Faith had to sacrifice her dream of college in order to support her mother. She has also had to deal with people who believe she isn’t capable of running a business—she’s a woman, and a young one at that. The one indulgence she has is her dance dates with Freddy. She knows he’s not perfect, and doesn’t think of the relationship as serious, but it’s comfortable.

Davis returns home to his attorney father’s expectation that he’ll go to law school. But Davis would much rather work with his hands. His experiences during the war have left him with a couple of problems—smoking, and nightmares. He’d like to make up with Faith for an argument they had the night before he and her brother left to join the Army, but she’s not having it. She blames him for her brother’s death, saying that her brother, a promising musician, would never have joined up if it hadn’t been for Davis.

The author does a good job of presenting post-war life and the struggles faced both by those who stayed behind and those who went and served. I really didn’t like Freddy, but I don’t think I was meant to.

What I did like is the way the relationship between Davis and Faith develops. Once they decide they like each other—independently, after annoying the heck out of each other and some really awesome scheming on Faith’s part—the road doesn’t suddenly become easy. They both have baggage to deal with, and it’s that journey that makes things particularly satisfying.

Of course, being the swing dancer that I am, I also loved the references to the great old standards of the time!

Possible Objectionable Material:
Drinking, smoking, possible domestic violence, divorce. Mention of war and its effects on those who served.

Who Might Like This Book:
Those who like the WWII era. If you like watching someone figure out who they are and what they want, this is a good choice.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2023/02/romances-from-past.html

3.5⭐️

WW2 is over & America’s boys are coming home.

I really loved the plot concept of this story. There are lots of books on WW2 but fewer dealing with returning soldiers trying to reintegrate into civilian life. This story handled it well.

As for the characters, I loved most of them. Davis, our returning sergeant, is both sweet & serious, along with struggling with PTSD. His relationship with Faith’s mum is my favourite. Faith, the girl next door, is a contradiction—being both immature & yet super responsible at times. I’m torn about how I feel about her, as I think she was too hard on Davis & insensitive about certain things. That aside, there were a whole passel of wonderful side characters that rounded out the cast beautifully—Frank, Juan, Faith’s mum, and Robert being my favourites!

When it comes to what I wasn’t crazy about, it’s merely personal preference. There are love triangles & miscommunications / jumping to conclusions & a bunch of petty back-and-forth “payback.” There were a few parts of the story where I wished there was a bit more detail, particularly with the fundraising event because I really loved Davis & Robert’s dynamic.

The romance itself was very sweet once everything got sorted out & characters actually talked instead of holding grudges. And that epilogue was beautiful!


*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

I absoultly loved this story! A clean quick read was just my style. Two strong characters. A little romance. Lots of laughs. You won't want to put it down!

WWII has ended. Next door neighbors Faith and Davis have both greatly changed by their experiences. Davis’ efforts to get on with his life after fighting in Europe rang true. Faith’s brother and father died; she’s managing the family brick business and dancing. She didn’t really appeal to me. Despite her hostility toward Davis, he didn’t give up on her. Nice look at the war’s aftermath in the US.

What a beautiful book. Both Faith and Davis have to pick up the pieces and figure out how to live life after the war all while dealing with tragedy and loss. Their friendship from before the war is on the brinks of collapse and they don’t equally find it worth fighting for. Laura Rupper does a fantastic job building the characters and tugging at the heartstrings!

“The Sergeant and the Girl Next Door” is a historical fiction book by Laura Rupper. This book is a bit predictable, but it was a sweet story. There’s a bit of faith pronouncements (church, Sunday school, G-d, a bible verse) in the book, but as this was historical after WWII in the US Midwest, it wasn’t that out of place for the most part. I did like how Ms. Rupper addressed loss due to the war and touched upon some of the difficulties of PTSD. The two main characters balanced each other out - Faith was a bit too immature at times and Davis too serious - but together they made a pretty good couple to read about. Overall, if you enjoy clean, sweet romance books that take place right after WWII, but explores some of the horrors of war (without going into graphic details), this book may be up your alley.

This was a sweet book but I did have a harder time getting into it. However, it was fun to read. The Sergeant and the Girl Next Door is written by Laura Rupper and it is a sweet historical romance set after World War II.
I have to admit that Faith got on my nerves a bit. She was stubborn and felt a bit wishy-washy but she was also growing. Faith had lost her brother to the war and her father during the war so she had a lot to overcome. It was fun to read about Faith growing and see her learning from her mistakes, letting the past go. I loved Faith’s relationship with her mother though, it was sweet and reminded me of my own relationship with my mom.
Davis was lovely. I really like Davis. He was coming back from the war and he had a lot to overcome. Davis was steadfast, he was also stubborn but he was kind. Davis had to figure out what it meant to live again and how to interact with Faith. He cared for her but the war and things in the past had created a wedge between them. Davis was trying his best to find his place and win Faith’s friendship at least.
Davis and Faith had a lot to work through, but it was interesting to read about them overcoming their differences. I think that Rupper wrote relatable characters, they had grown through a lot and they were trying to find their footing. I was interested in the story by the end of it, and the ending was wonderful.
The Sergeant and the Girl Next Door is a fun read. I would recommend it to those who enjoy historical clean romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

Wow! I enjoyed this story so much! I didn't think it would but I was sure because this takes place after WWII.
I feel that we got to see what life might have been like after the war.
This book made have all sorts of emotions.
Grief may never go away and it's hard to just live your life. All this takes time and letting God heal you.
Easier said than done right? That's how Davis felt. I admired him so much! At times I wanted to give him a hug and tell him that it would be ok. I couldn't imagine going through what our soldiers did after they came home.
This was just a victory story in my opinion. I loved every minute of it!
There us Hope at the end of the long journey and these characters are proof of that!
I will have to say Faith was my favorite character in all of her orneriness towards Davis. She did make me giggle at times though and I cried along with her too.
I highly recommend this book! 5 stars for a job well done!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review.
All opinions

This is a super cute book. I love anything with military romance. It’s very well written, this is the first book I’ve read by this author and I will definitely go out of my way to read another.

I give it 4.75 stars. It’s a must read if you love military romance.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

The plot may sound routine but the story felt refreshing. The aftermaths of the war were shown clearly and even felt by the readers. The characterisation and the pace was good.

I just reviewed The Sergeant and the Girl Next Door by Laura Rupper. #TheSergeantandtheGirlNextDoor #NetGalley

I liked this book, it dove into ptsd and how to go on with life after death. Loved the story!

I really enjoyed this book. A lot of times when we read books about WWII, usually they are based during the war or leading up to it. I enjoyed seeing this one start when the soldier returns home and is trying to figure out life. Because there's no way that he is the same person and unaffected like he was before serving in the war. He has seen and experienced so many horrors and losses. He has had to grow in ways he never would have imagined before leaving. So coming home to family and friends and neighbors who's lives were affected but not in the same way, not witnessing friends die day in and day out, trench life, endless battles, PTSD and so much more.

I thought this was well done to show Davis's coming back home and trying to find his way in life again. Especially when his best friend didn't come home. Faith is trying to navigate her new life as well. She's Davis's neighbor, her brother Patrick didn't return home, her father has passed away and all of her planned dreams have been set aside to just live and survive and keep the family business going with her mom.

I loved how the author explored how lives were affected and how people have choices to make in moving forward. Not hiding the pain or pushing it aside but living and feeling and working through it. Well done.

I loved the sweet romance in this one. It's not all heavy and hard. But there is joy. Just like through the struggles there can be light and hope and joy. It was very satisfying throughout the whole book, but especially the ending. And there is fun along the way with these two main characters. Faith is a witty character and I loved the joke she plays on Davis. It started out as a joke and turns into so much more, for the better! Loved it! I loved the whole community and how they gathered around each other. Such a great theme in the book. Friendship, community togetherness, love, forgiveness, hope and truly living life!!!

Content: Clean. Memories of war, some talk of PTSD, a character smokes for a small part of the book. Some kisses but nothing further.

I received a copy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

I'd not heard of this author before reading this, and I think it might be her debut novel.

It is one of my favourite, although predictable, tropes of the girl and her brother's best friend.

The plot was all too familiar...the returned soldier...the brother who never came home...the girl he left is all grown up now.

Although I have read a dozen just like this, I will likely read a dozen more, because the plot and trope work, and I love them!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this in return for my honest review.