The power of sisterhood is depicted in Heather Morris' novel. Starting off as strangers, the prisoners became sisters, banding together to survive. While starving, music fed their souls and Norah's voice orchestra provided hope. .

Struggling to survive, the captives faced atrocities that should have broken them but they refused to let the guards win. Morris' historical novel pens a heartfelt story based on the the internment camp survivors. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of Sisters Under the Rising Sun in exchange for honest review.

I've been a fan of the author's work since her bestselling novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I've always had a fascination with WWII as the bravery displayed is empowering. While facing horrific circumstances, prisoners banned together to save others.

I was so excited to read another Heather Morris novel! I will say this one was just okay - but I did come to really enjoy the characters and their back stories. Covering WWII from the viewpoint of women as POWs at Japanese island camps, this was a unique aspect of history that isn’t as widely covered. MAlso, to fully appreciate this novel ensure you read the epilogue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of Heather Morris' other books, most famously "The Tattooist of Auschwitz". After I first was gifted this book, anything by Heather Morris is an automatic buy for me. So When I saw she was coming out with a new book, I knew I just had to get my hands on it! Just like her other novels "Sisters under the Rising Sun" is a novel based on an event during world war 2, but she chose to write about events that many do not tend to remember or may not be as widely known. the invasion of Singapore by the Japanese. Personally I had very little knowledge of this event in WW2 history. The two main characters are women who come together as they become POW after being captured and must be each other;s strenght to survive this ordeal. It is an oade to the strenght of women, hardship and survival, and a powerful tribute to the nurses of that time!

I really enjoyed this book! I think that Heather Morris' other WWII books were more emotional, but I really enjoyed learning about something I didn't know much about - the experiences of Allied nurses kept in a POW camp in Singapore. The descriptions were great and I was really cheering for the main characters to make it. I liked that there was an epilogue too to wrap up everything. I look forward to reading more books by this author! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel. Characters Norah (8 years old) and Nesta James a Austrialian nurse along with others are captured along with other women by the Japanese and placed in POW camps. Their bravery, friendships that formed, their strength makes this book an great read..

Heather Morris will never disappoint. Her retellings of historical events while incorporating characters you feel so drawn too is unmatched. Sisters Under the Rising Sun is the story of the women and children who evacuated Singapore during World War II only to be taken captive by the Japanese for 3 years and 7 months. With strong notes of sisterhood, friendship, sacrifice, and bravery; the story of the women who survive is truly one worth reading.

"I have not told this story so the women internees of the Japanese prisoner of war camps in Indonesia will be remembered. I have told this story so they will be known. How can you be remembered if you've never been heard of? Their stories should stand alongside those of all male prisoners of war, their suffering no less; their courage to care for their fellow sisters who perished and their own survival should be acknowledged and honored.

Know now of them.
Remember them."

I was so excited to be given this ARC because I loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz but I just could not get into this one. The dialogue felt so unnatural & choppy. I trudged my way to 13% & decided to DNF.

Thank you Net Galley & to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Heather Morris’s *Sisters Under the Rising Sun* is a gripping and heartfelt historical novel that dives into the bonds formed during World War II. The story focuses on a group of women who end up in a Japanese POW camp, each from different backgrounds but united by their strength and resilience. Morris’s storytelling really shines here, bringing these characters to life and making their struggles and triumphs feel incredibly real.

What really stands out in this book is how it captures the power of friendship and hope in tough times. The women’s courage and determination to support each other through the darkest moments is truly inspiring. The story keeps you hooked, and you’ll find yourself rooting for these incredible characters. *Sisters Under the Rising Sun* is a moving tribute to the human spirit and the unbreakable bonds that form even in the hardest circumstances. It’s a must-read for fans of historical fiction and stories of resilience.

Every time I read a Heather Morris book, I know I will come away from the reading experience with a wealth of knowledge that I didn't know before reading her novel. Sisters of the Rising Sun was no exception to this kind of experience. The dedication, two afterwards, and author's notes at the end of this book demonstrate that the historical aspects of this book were well researched and expertly interwoven into this historical fiction novel. I was amazed multiple times to discover that parts of the book that I thought were fictional actually happened in real life. For example, one of the most fascinating parts of this novel for me was learning about the voice orchestra that the women prisoners participated in during their captivity.

At first I was upset that there were so many characters to keep track of in this book. Later, after reflecting on the book as a whole, I realized that the author needed to include all of these women's voices to demonstate that it was a team effort that allowed so many women and children to survive 3 years and 7 months of brutal conditions in Japanese POW camps. These women's stories needed to be shared and celebrated as they serve to inspire future generations.

An ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Heather Morris has previously written well-received novels about World War II, but unlike her previous books this one is set on the Asia-Pacific front. Nurses were shipwrecked, many were killed. Those who lived ended up in a Japanese prisoner of war encampment. The women had to rely on each other to survive.

The book is based on the true story of two women, Norah Chambers, an English woman and Sister Nesta James, an Australian nurse. While fleeing the Japanese forces entering Singapore, these women were among those captured when their ship was attacked and sunk.

The book was well paced and the characters were well-rounded and developed over the course of the book. This book is a great read for those who enjoyed her previous books as well as fans of history. I would wager the average reader knows less about what the war was like in this part of the world than they do its impact in Europe.

I received this Advanced Reader Copy of Sisters Under the Rising Sun from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely loved her Tattooist of Auschwitz series but this one fell flat for me. I struggled to get through it and didn't really get into it until 70%. It then picked up and I enjoyed the end. That is the only reason I gave it 4 stars, otherwise it would have been a 3. I would not recommend this and I know that I wouldn't read it again.

In the middle of WW2, many Australians and British are living in Singapore. When Japan enters the war, they are frantic to leave. English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, with her sister while she stays behind to care for her husband, John and elderly parents. Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops, but as Singapore falls, she joins many terrified evacuees aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Two days later, they are bombed and eventually make it to a Banka Island a remote island, where the Japanese are waiting for them. They are taken to a POW camp where many other women are being held including a contingent of Australian nurses and a group of nuns. The camps are terrible places with starvation, brutality and disease where the Geneva Convention rules of war mean nothing. Nesta and Nora work together with others to help whoever they can and comfort those in need.

I have read other books about the Japanese POW camps throughout Indonesia, and am always in awe of the resilience, strength and bravery of the women held there. With the women and children separated from the men, they are left to fend for themselves. It would be easy to give up, but Nora uses her musical talents to form a choir that helps with their morale. Even the Japanese enjoy their performances, but when they are told they must learn Japanese songs, they stop singing. Being tortured, won't even get Nora to give in. There are various POVs in the story and they are based on real women, including nurses Nesta James, Vivian Bullwinkle and Betty Jeffery, civilians Norah Chambers, Ena Murray, Margaret Dryburgh, Audrey Owen, Mrs. Hinch and Dutch nun sister Catherina. Themes of resilience, strength, friendship, faith, family and more are apparent in this book. The afterward has interviews with descendents of some of the women and they stressed that this story was one they wanted to tell. They wanted the world to know that it wasn't just men who were POWs, but also women and children who had to survive the atrocities of the Japanese army.

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I enjoyed reading this book. Unlike most WWII historical fiction, this was set in the pacific, which is lesser known. The author did a great job at capturing this harrowing time period while at the same time showing a message of hope and courage.

One thing that gets to me when I read a Heather Morris book is how realistic they are. I love the fact that they are based on real people and situations and that I learn so much from them.


Her book, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is my absolute favorite historical fiction book of all time. It’s just an incredible book.
Sisters Under The rising Sun is an unputdownable book. It’s heartbreaking, yet full of courageous moments and actions.

The women displayed such bravery in the face of adversity time after time. This was a very well researched book, and I enjoyed the author’s notes in the back of the book. We learn more about the characters and their life after the events at the end of the book.


Brave women are struggling to survive in Japanese POW camps in WWII. Their lives were a living hell, faced with starvation, abuse, deprivation of the most basic needs. A novel of sisterhood, bound together by chance and the need to survive the dark circumstances that their life has become. Let us remember these women and the many sacrifices they have given.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I really tried to like this, but I think I was an outlier in that I didn't love The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and then liked each of Morris' next books a bit less, leading to this one not liking it at all unfortunately. I DNF'd this, but will try again another time when I'm in a different headspace!

As the Japenese are invading Singapore. People are trying to escape. However while on the ships they are being bombed. THis is the story of how a bunch of nurses and other women work together to survive captivity,

THis was a great book. Seeing other parts of the world during the war is saddening, but this book was well written. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

"Sisters Under the Rising Sun" is beautiful, sad, powerful and ultimately uplifting story about sisterhood, friendship and the power of women. This story, set in World War II, is about the 3.5 years Australian nurses and civilian British women spent in a Japanese prison camp. They endured unimaginably hardships, but these strangers rallied together and became family. The role of music in this store was very interesting. This is a sad, tough read, but it is very good and very important.

Thank you to St. Martin's press and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest review.

I am sorry to say I did not enjoy this novel. It took me a long time to finish this as I could not get over the writing style which I would describe as unrealistic with sanguine dialogue and overly cheerful writing during horrifying moments. Most people seem to like this so I am indeed in the minority so I would suggest giving this a chance and forming your own opinion. I did enjoy the ending but I would still rate this 2.5/5.

Heather morris is excellent at making the reader 'feel' as they read her books. The Tattoist was so good and I enjoyed this one almost as much too. Love when a book/author is able to convey messages, educate and make one think as well as just enjoy a good read . Thak you #netgalley for the ARC