What do you think?
Rate this book
A Century of American Romance/Dreams
Sentimental Journey
At train depots everywhere women say "I'll Be Seeing You" to their husbands and lovers. Off to join the Allied cause are Catherine Wilson's father and fiance.
To Catherine, Johnny Danza is yet another GI headed overseas, a stranger she met and danced with at the Stage Door Canteen.
But when her fiance is killed, Johnny's V mail letters become a welcome respite from life on the home front. Managing her father's plant, Catherine's every waking moment is devoted to the hardest work of her life.
Then, on Christmas Eve, she finds Johnny on her doorstep. For him the war is over, but for Catherine it has only just begun.
To Catherine, Johnny Danza is yet another GI headed overseas, a stranger she met and danced with at the Stage Door Canteen.
But when her fiance is killed, Johnny's V mail letters become a welcome respite from life on the home front. Managing her father's plant, Catherine's every waking moment is devoted to the hardest work of her life.
Then, on Christmas Eve, she finds Johnny on her doorstep. For him the war is over, but for Catherine it has only just begun.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1990
128 people are currently reading
433 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Bretton
130 books598 followersBarbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 40 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries.
Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette,among others, and has been interviewed by Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.
Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.
Barbara loves to spend as much time as possible in Maine with her husband, walking the rocky beaches and dreaming up plots for upcoming books.
Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette,among others, and has been interviewed by Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.
Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.
Barbara loves to spend as much time as possible in Maine with her husband, walking the rocky beaches and dreaming up plots for upcoming books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 29, 2017
Enjoyable romance set during World War II...
Twenty-one-year-old Catherine Wilson goes out one night with her family (dad, mom, sister) to the Stage Door Canteen. Her sister, Nancy, is a big film buff and she hopes to see some movie stars there. When they get to the canteen Catherine meets a young soldier (Johnny Danza, 25) who is friends with her father and is in his squadron. They dance and talk for some of the night. Johnny finds out Catherine’s fiancé, Douglas, is currently fighting in the war. Catherine’s family is sad because their father has enlisted in the war and he will be leaving tomorrow along with Johnny, so this will be their last night together for a while. Later that night, when Catherine goes home she finds out her fiancé Douglas has been killed at war.
As time goes by, while Johnny and her father are overseas, Catherine begins to correspond/write to her friend (Johnny) she met from the canteen. They begin to know each other through their letters. Then, one day, Johnny arrives on her doorstep with injuries. He was sent home to recuperate but, unknown to Catherine, due to his injuries Johnny can no longer fight/serve in the army and he is getting an honorable discharge. Catherine has been working in her father’s manufacturing factory while her dad is at war and Johnny eventually begins to work there and help her out.
This was a really charming read. It was told from many POV (points of view). It showed how the women of that era dealt with their husbands, fathers, and boyfriends being away at war.
I liked Catherine, she was a strong, classy heroine. I thought she did a great job running her father’s factory, even while the men sometimes opposed her (they didn’t like taking orders from a girl/the boss’s daughter.) I also liked Johnny. He was abandoned as a child and went from orphanage to orphanage. But he learned a lot through jobs, working with his hands, experience in the army… Catherine’s family was likable, I enjoyed the New York City setting.
This was a sweet 1940’s romance.
Entertaining and helping the troops.
Twenty-one-year-old Catherine Wilson goes out one night with her family (dad, mom, sister) to the Stage Door Canteen. Her sister, Nancy, is a big film buff and she hopes to see some movie stars there. When they get to the canteen Catherine meets a young soldier (Johnny Danza, 25) who is friends with her father and is in his squadron. They dance and talk for some of the night. Johnny finds out Catherine’s fiancé, Douglas, is currently fighting in the war. Catherine’s family is sad because their father has enlisted in the war and he will be leaving tomorrow along with Johnny, so this will be their last night together for a while. Later that night, when Catherine goes home she finds out her fiancé Douglas has been killed at war.
As time goes by, while Johnny and her father are overseas, Catherine begins to correspond/write to her friend (Johnny) she met from the canteen. They begin to know each other through their letters. Then, one day, Johnny arrives on her doorstep with injuries. He was sent home to recuperate but, unknown to Catherine, due to his injuries Johnny can no longer fight/serve in the army and he is getting an honorable discharge. Catherine has been working in her father’s manufacturing factory while her dad is at war and Johnny eventually begins to work there and help her out.
This was a really charming read. It was told from many POV (points of view). It showed how the women of that era dealt with their husbands, fathers, and boyfriends being away at war.
I liked Catherine, she was a strong, classy heroine. I thought she did a great job running her father’s factory, even while the men sometimes opposed her (they didn’t like taking orders from a girl/the boss’s daughter.) I also liked Johnny. He was abandoned as a child and went from orphanage to orphanage. But he learned a lot through jobs, working with his hands, experience in the army… Catherine’s family was likable, I enjoyed the New York City setting.
This was a sweet 1940’s romance.
Entertaining and helping the troops.
December 7, 2019
It's 1943 and America is embroiled in WWII. Twenty-year-old Catherine Wilson already has a fiancé overseas. Now she is accompanying her family to the Stage Door Canteen to green the soldiers and send her father off to war. There she meets Johnny Danza, a soldier who is in her father's unit. When Catherine's fiancé is killed, Johnny learns about it and starts writing to her. His letters keep Catherine moving forward with her life while processing her grief. After months of not hearing from Johnny or her father, Catherine opens the door to find Johnny on her doorstep.
This category romance set during the war was well written. Much of the story is told through the letters from Catherine, Johnny, Catherine's sister, and her pen-pal Gerry. The rest is what happens when someone comes home from war and everything has changed. The changes to the women who were left to take care of everything made the biggest impact on me. Catherine ran her father's plant while he was overseas. The men at the plant wouldn't take orders from a woman. She had to find a man to act as a go-between. They thought she should be home cooking and cleaning. Ugh! They made me so mad. Johnny's attitude also made me mad at times. A worker at the plant keeps appealing to the draft board, hoping they'll send him to war. Instead, because of some back problems, he is deemed 4F. Johnny and many of the men at the plant hold it against him. I don't understand their attitude at all. It's not like he was dodging the draft.
Anyway, I thought the story was very compelling. Anyone looking for a WWII romance may like this one. My rating: 4 Stars.
This category romance set during the war was well written. Much of the story is told through the letters from Catherine, Johnny, Catherine's sister, and her pen-pal Gerry. The rest is what happens when someone comes home from war and everything has changed. The changes to the women who were left to take care of everything made the biggest impact on me. Catherine ran her father's plant while he was overseas. The men at the plant wouldn't take orders from a woman. She had to find a man to act as a go-between. They thought she should be home cooking and cleaning. Ugh! They made me so mad. Johnny's attitude also made me mad at times. A worker at the plant keeps appealing to the draft board, hoping they'll send him to war. Instead, because of some back problems, he is deemed 4F. Johnny and many of the men at the plant hold it against him. I don't understand their attitude at all. It's not like he was dodging the draft.
Anyway, I thought the story was very compelling. Anyone looking for a WWII romance may like this one. My rating: 4 Stars.
April 27, 2018
3.5 stars
This was a very different book, very quiet in tone and is set during WWII and shows how the women cope when the men are gone fighting while they hold down the fort. There are loads of letters exchanged in the book between the the heroine's parents, her sister & a soldier & her and Johnny, a solider in her dad's unit. We see the heroine lose her fiancee and how she copes and makes her dad's business flourish, how she faces crap from men because she is a woman. Then Johnny comes home and she nurses him to health and we see deeper feelings develop between them. We also see how despite holding down the fort when the men were gone, the heroine's work isn't appreciated. I liked how the heroine stood up for her rights. All in all a different book, it was not a 100% romance per say.
This was a very different book, very quiet in tone and is set during WWII and shows how the women cope when the men are gone fighting while they hold down the fort. There are loads of letters exchanged in the book between the the heroine's parents, her sister & a soldier & her and Johnny, a solider in her dad's unit. We see the heroine lose her fiancee and how she copes and makes her dad's business flourish, how she faces crap from men because she is a woman. Then Johnny comes home and she nurses him to health and we see deeper feelings develop between them. We also see how despite holding down the fort when the men were gone, the heroine's work isn't appreciated. I liked how the heroine stood up for her rights. All in all a different book, it was not a 100% romance per say.
March 12, 2010
This was a really good read about a family during the pivotal wartime years of 1944-1945. The main focus is on the romance between Catherine and her father's GI buddy Johnny. There's also a side romance between her sister Nancy and a sailor she writes to overseas, and Catherine's mother who misses her husband while he serves with Johnny in Europe.
Catherine first meets Johnny at a sendoff dance in NYC for GI's heading overseas, including her father. She sparks a friendship with Johnny and promises to write to him so he won't be so lonely. (He's an orphan with no family) After the death of her fiance in France, Johnny's letters become a lifeline to Catherine and slowly help her to heal and to deal with being stateside and the difficulties her family faces with her father gone. Soon the letters blossom into more than friendship and when Johnny returns unexpectedly Stateside, the romance slowly unfolds.
Parts of the book are told in letters between the 3 sets of lovers. I especially enjoyed reading these, as sometimes a person will say in a letter what they fear to say face to face.
The HEA is well done and not contrived at all. I could easily see the drama unfold after their return stateside and women who have been in charge of families and businesses for years are suddenly thrust back into the role of homemaker.
Catherine first meets Johnny at a sendoff dance in NYC for GI's heading overseas, including her father. She sparks a friendship with Johnny and promises to write to him so he won't be so lonely. (He's an orphan with no family) After the death of her fiance in France, Johnny's letters become a lifeline to Catherine and slowly help her to heal and to deal with being stateside and the difficulties her family faces with her father gone. Soon the letters blossom into more than friendship and when Johnny returns unexpectedly Stateside, the romance slowly unfolds.
Parts of the book are told in letters between the 3 sets of lovers. I especially enjoyed reading these, as sometimes a person will say in a letter what they fear to say face to face.
The HEA is well done and not contrived at all. I could easily see the drama unfold after their return stateside and women who have been in charge of families and businesses for years are suddenly thrust back into the role of homemaker.
October 27, 2015
I do not understand how so many people loved this book. I thought it glib and superficial. The characters truly lacked depth. Whenever the author wanted to conjure up the era she dropped a product name into the story. I was horrified that the author (editor shame on you) got important dates wrong. In the early pages the heroine repeatedly sees the movie White Christmas a movie made in 1954! Come on any true movie fan knows that the song White Christmas was introduced in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn. And then another time date error concerns the timing of V-E Day. The novel says that V-E Day was proclaimed the day after Hitler's suicide which would be May 1. The author does no service to the Greatest Generation who fought that war and the children they raised to remember and respect what May 8 (or May 9 in Russia) stood for. This was a defining moment in the war, and getting it wrong would be like saying I know Pearl Harbor was in early December. And who cares what that date of infamy really was. I will not be finishing this series! How sad that this novel is described as historical.
August 21, 2015
I'd read this several years ago, back when it was part of the Century of American Romance from Harlequin. Revisiting it now shows me it hasn't lost it's appeal. It really brought home some of the struggles on the home front and the romance aspect focused on three separate couples. It was interesting to see how the war affected each romance. This is actually a decent read!
November 9, 2014
Favorite Quotes:
“Nancy had been beside herself. It seemed to Catherine that her little sister had been baptized with stardust and blessed by Max Factor. Nancy pored over her stacks of Photoplay and Modern Screen as if they held the secret of life. Nancy believed in love at first sight, that Clark Gable was the most handsome man in the whole world, and that if she only had Betty Grable’s legs, Rita Hayworth’s hair and Lana Turner’s smile, her happiness would be assured.”
“The war made you feel so powerless. Reports about cities with names that lay strange upon your tongue were made by voices on the radio that had become as familiar as that of your local butcher. It took something like this, the simple act of caring for another human being, to remind you that there was still goodness in a world gone mad.”
“Are you telling me that I’m good enough to run a company when there’s a war on, but once peace is declared, I’m just a helpless woman?”
My Review:
I had previously read a few of Barbara Bretton's romances, and have always enjoyed her work. This book is so much more than a romance, and while the period of the tale would have been during my mother’s childhood and well before my time, I fully related to the story and loved each character as if I had known them all my life. The writing is insightful, thoughtful, and of high quality. Ms. Bretton made me think and feel, and I savored each sentence.
“Nancy had been beside herself. It seemed to Catherine that her little sister had been baptized with stardust and blessed by Max Factor. Nancy pored over her stacks of Photoplay and Modern Screen as if they held the secret of life. Nancy believed in love at first sight, that Clark Gable was the most handsome man in the whole world, and that if she only had Betty Grable’s legs, Rita Hayworth’s hair and Lana Turner’s smile, her happiness would be assured.”
“The war made you feel so powerless. Reports about cities with names that lay strange upon your tongue were made by voices on the radio that had become as familiar as that of your local butcher. It took something like this, the simple act of caring for another human being, to remind you that there was still goodness in a world gone mad.”
“Are you telling me that I’m good enough to run a company when there’s a war on, but once peace is declared, I’m just a helpless woman?”
My Review:
I had previously read a few of Barbara Bretton's romances, and have always enjoyed her work. This book is so much more than a romance, and while the period of the tale would have been during my mother’s childhood and well before my time, I fully related to the story and loved each character as if I had known them all my life. The writing is insightful, thoughtful, and of high quality. Ms. Bretton made me think and feel, and I savored each sentence.
September 24, 2017
A wonderful read. This story made me feel as if I was living Cathy's story, experiencing her emotions, and had been taken back to New York in the mid 1940's, during wartime. Can't wait to read others by Ms. Bretton.
September 22, 2019
Fascinating romance with compelling characters and an intriguing plot. I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish. The writing is emotional and kept me engaged to the point that I had trouble stopping when life intervened. Great narration. Happy reading/listening!
November 24, 2016
First half of the book was really good. The second half was SO predictable.
November 18, 2016
Reading about war especially World War II triggers something inside me that I can't quite pinpoint to. This is a fictional work about a family from World War II that find their father and fiancee of the daughter on the war front. The author has written about the helplessness of families with such sensitivity that I could not stop myself from getting deeply involved in their stories. Although it's fiction, I feel the letters between the characters and the entire atmosphere of rationing shortages and women working in factories after the men left for war convict such a tragic sense of loss and belonging for humanity from the era. The entire gamut lies in the deep intertwined bonds of wait and living on hope for the war to end between the characters.
I loved Catherine and her strength of mind in supporting her family and running her Dad's factory, being in charge of it while he's away at the war. Women like her represent the true capable people that we are underneath all the soft and feminine masquerade we have been associated with since ages. She is trying hard to forget her fiancee's death in the war, writing encouraging letters to her father assuring him of the well being on the home front as well as running his factory and still dealing with the emotions these war years have made her to grow into the person she has become. I could resonate with her resolve to not break down when her mother and younger sister are so easily affected emotionally. I know there were a lot of women who dealt strongly and impassively when they took control of their families during the war. So Cathy is one of my favourite persons from the book. Johnny, the orphan soldier who befriends her father and promises to look after him and ends up wounded while protecting him also is written about sensitively. His recovery and his mental state as being one who's seen as a saviour and therefore indebted to gratitude by Catherine's family and his own state of dilemma at having to return back to a place where he has no home or family waiting for him pierced my heart. It's very rare when we can climb into characters' skin and feel the emotions so personally. Eddie Martin, the guy who couldn't enlist himself for war service because of a physical handicap made me realise the social standing between men and women. Parts of this book is so brilliant and so emotionally gripping that at times I forgot this is a work of fiction which obviously draws a lot from the reality. There's also something about the mental state of veterans who return from war back to their homes as completely changed people. I wish this were given some precedence too in the story. But is it only true that the young recover quickly from signs of distress than the elderly is something I'll never know. It must have been terrifying to find our beloved as changed individuals and I really empathise with the Dad in the story. We can never know what the bad of the war affected them in what ways because we have never experienced it our self. I liked the sensitive representation of people in the book. It indeed was a sentimental journey for me to embark upon because I got so involved with all of them. Also, this is my first Barbara Bretton book. Even though it's a Kindle freebie, I am hoping I find further good works from her to read.
I loved Catherine and her strength of mind in supporting her family and running her Dad's factory, being in charge of it while he's away at the war. Women like her represent the true capable people that we are underneath all the soft and feminine masquerade we have been associated with since ages. She is trying hard to forget her fiancee's death in the war, writing encouraging letters to her father assuring him of the well being on the home front as well as running his factory and still dealing with the emotions these war years have made her to grow into the person she has become. I could resonate with her resolve to not break down when her mother and younger sister are so easily affected emotionally. I know there were a lot of women who dealt strongly and impassively when they took control of their families during the war. So Cathy is one of my favourite persons from the book. Johnny, the orphan soldier who befriends her father and promises to look after him and ends up wounded while protecting him also is written about sensitively. His recovery and his mental state as being one who's seen as a saviour and therefore indebted to gratitude by Catherine's family and his own state of dilemma at having to return back to a place where he has no home or family waiting for him pierced my heart. It's very rare when we can climb into characters' skin and feel the emotions so personally. Eddie Martin, the guy who couldn't enlist himself for war service because of a physical handicap made me realise the social standing between men and women. Parts of this book is so brilliant and so emotionally gripping that at times I forgot this is a work of fiction which obviously draws a lot from the reality. There's also something about the mental state of veterans who return from war back to their homes as completely changed people. I wish this were given some precedence too in the story. But is it only true that the young recover quickly from signs of distress than the elderly is something I'll never know. It must have been terrifying to find our beloved as changed individuals and I really empathise with the Dad in the story. We can never know what the bad of the war affected them in what ways because we have never experienced it our self. I liked the sensitive representation of people in the book. It indeed was a sentimental journey for me to embark upon because I got so involved with all of them. Also, this is my first Barbara Bretton book. Even though it's a Kindle freebie, I am hoping I find further good works from her to read.
February 25, 2017
A Heartwarming Rollercoaster
This story brings to life the trials and changes brought a bout by the war. Fans of Elizabeth Berg will enjoy Barbara Bretton's novel.
This story brings to life the trials and changes brought a bout by the war. Fans of Elizabeth Berg will enjoy Barbara Bretton's novel.
November 27, 2016
Excellent! A Must Read
What a wonderful story by Barbara Bretton, one of the best! This book will pull you into the lives of the characters. There is Dot and Tom, parents of Catherine and Nancy. Catherine is going to marry Douglas when he returns from war. The war is going on between United States, Germany and Japan. Tom is going to leave the family and enlist even though Dot does not want him to leave her or the girls. The family goes to a banquet the day before Tom leaves and they meet Johnny who will be leaving with Tom. Catherine does ask Johnny to protect her father while they are away. The next day news comes that Douglas died at war, Catherine is heart broken and Tom hates leaving his daughter after the news yet he has to go. Catherine is taking over the plant that her father owns and writes letters to her father and Johnny. Nancy is writing to a guy named Gerry who is fighting the Vietnamese. Of course Dot is sending letters to her husband Tom. There are months when they do not receive any mail and all they can do is pray for their safe return and the war to be over. Then on Christmas eve Catherine is awakened by a knock on the door, when she opens the door she sees Johnny who is unconscious, she gets him inside and calls the Doctor. Johnny has shrapnel in his chest, infection in his arm and a high fever. The doctor gives directions to Catherine on how to tend to Johnny. When Dot and Nancy come back home they are shocked to see Johnny and they go about trending to him. They locate a letter in Johnny's pocket, it is from Tom and they are elated to find out that he is alive and Johnny saved his life. This is such as great read, you will have to read the book to find out if Tom returns back home, will Johnny pull through, will Nancy meet her pen pal, Gerry, that she has been writing for 2 years, will Catherine find love after losing Douglas? This is A Must read!
What a wonderful story by Barbara Bretton, one of the best! This book will pull you into the lives of the characters. There is Dot and Tom, parents of Catherine and Nancy. Catherine is going to marry Douglas when he returns from war. The war is going on between United States, Germany and Japan. Tom is going to leave the family and enlist even though Dot does not want him to leave her or the girls. The family goes to a banquet the day before Tom leaves and they meet Johnny who will be leaving with Tom. Catherine does ask Johnny to protect her father while they are away. The next day news comes that Douglas died at war, Catherine is heart broken and Tom hates leaving his daughter after the news yet he has to go. Catherine is taking over the plant that her father owns and writes letters to her father and Johnny. Nancy is writing to a guy named Gerry who is fighting the Vietnamese. Of course Dot is sending letters to her husband Tom. There are months when they do not receive any mail and all they can do is pray for their safe return and the war to be over. Then on Christmas eve Catherine is awakened by a knock on the door, when she opens the door she sees Johnny who is unconscious, she gets him inside and calls the Doctor. Johnny has shrapnel in his chest, infection in his arm and a high fever. The doctor gives directions to Catherine on how to tend to Johnny. When Dot and Nancy come back home they are shocked to see Johnny and they go about trending to him. They locate a letter in Johnny's pocket, it is from Tom and they are elated to find out that he is alive and Johnny saved his life. This is such as great read, you will have to read the book to find out if Tom returns back home, will Johnny pull through, will Nancy meet her pen pal, Gerry, that she has been writing for 2 years, will Catherine find love after losing Douglas? This is A Must read!
October 16, 2014
I was sent this book for an honest review. I was a little weary about this book at first, you see I am going outside of my box and trying to review different genres, and this book makes me so glad that I did. I loved how the author wrote this book, between the letters, to the actually whats happening and conversations, to the newsletters being released. I also loved how it made me feel like I was sitting down with my Grandpa and he was telling me about his time in World War II. It made me smile, and break my heart at the same time. When I first started reading I knew Douglas was going to die, it was a given (the about me part of the book even says so) but it still broke my heart even with knowing it was coming. Catherine is heart broken and the way it not only affects her but her mother and sister is just as sad. Johnny I loved, well until the end when he went “I’m man hear me roar” and decided that the place for Catherine was barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, and NOT working. To me that is who Catherine is now, she ran her father’s business while he was away and improved it, and for her father and fiancé to make it seem like she was good enough to run it while they were away at war and not while they are home pissed me off. So while Catherine was pissed at Johnny so was I. and then there is younger sister, Nancy who falls in love with her soldier pen pal. I love her care free attitude. She brought a lightness to the story when it needed it the most. I can’t to read her story!
February 4, 2016
I've been on a WWII-set romance kick since last winter. I blazed through all of Sarah Sundin's novels that are set in WWII and then started looking for more. Bretton's first book in the "Home Front" series opens in 1943 and follows the Wilson family: patriarch Tom Wilson is off to war, leaving his wife and two daughters, Cathy and Nancy, behind. But a year later, Johnny Danza, a soldier in Tom's platoon, shows up injured and nearly unconscious on the Wilson's doorstep. As Cathy nurses Johnny back to health, they grow closer each day.
I thought "Sentimental Journey" started off strong, but came to a rushed and unsatisfying conclusion. For much of this book, there is no conflict between the main characters (Cathy and Johnny). When the inevitable conflict does come, it's at the very end of the book and is solved in half a chapter. Additionally, I just didn't care for Johnny that much. He is a man of his era who wants a wife who "lives for her husband" (yep, actual quote from the book). Sure, he comes around to appreciate Cathy's work ethic and personhood in the end, but it happens so quickly it rings false. Perhaps Bretton's follow-up, 'Stranger in Paradise", is better since it has a slightly older hero and heroine, not the naive, doe-eyed early 20-somethings of "Sentimental Journey".
I thought "Sentimental Journey" started off strong, but came to a rushed and unsatisfying conclusion. For much of this book, there is no conflict between the main characters (Cathy and Johnny). When the inevitable conflict does come, it's at the very end of the book and is solved in half a chapter. Additionally, I just didn't care for Johnny that much. He is a man of his era who wants a wife who "lives for her husband" (yep, actual quote from the book). Sure, he comes around to appreciate Cathy's work ethic and personhood in the end, but it happens so quickly it rings false. Perhaps Bretton's follow-up, 'Stranger in Paradise", is better since it has a slightly older hero and heroine, not the naive, doe-eyed early 20-somethings of "Sentimental Journey".
February 16, 2017
Lots of historical facts thrown into this romance but maybe there was too much it was a slow read.
November 25, 2016
Catherine's fiance is killed in the war. This is a story about her coming to terms with this, her father going to the war, and her little sister writing to a soldier. I liked the time frame. It was a simpler time in some ways, but they difficulties they had to endure, with loved ones going to war, I can't imagine. A soldier that Catherine's father was serving with shows up, wounded, at their door on Christmas eve. There were good descriptions about what would happen after the war. All the women that had been working were expected to now get married and stay home raising kids. Catherine has been running her father's factory in his absence. I felt that the ending was tied up a little too quickly. Also, there was so much in this book about Catherine's sister and her pen pal, if the second book is about them, I don't think I'll even bother reading it.
October 29, 2015
Barbara Bretton is one of my newest favorite authors. This is the 3rd book I've read of her's and each one has been unique but filled with well-developed characters. She has a way of taking you to the time and place with descriptions that make you want to book the next flight out. This story is mainly a romance but is set during the second world war, so there is also drama and the feeling that some of the characters may not return from the war. As a woman, I felt the emotions of what it must have been like to correspond with someone overseas during the war, hoping and praying that person would return. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves "period romances" as well as a darned good story.
December 19, 2016
I have several memories my parents shared about those times that match with Barbara Bretton. Moma shared her experience with the ration on gas, flour and sugar. Growing up in the 1940's in Oak Ridge, TN, I can remember the billboard signs (loose lips sink ships, etc). The three love stories are each different. One is steady and deep, one is long distance via letters (similar to internet hookups), one that builds from friendship into a deep love. This book provides a sensitive look at women on the home front.
November 29, 2016
Wonderful story
This was such a wonderful world war 2 love story. From the very beginning you get swept up into the story of the main characters of the Wilson family. Not only were the characters very relatable, but you could just imagine what life was like for people living through the war both on the front and back home helping the war efforts back home. Bretton did a great job bringing to life what was going on in 1940's
This was such a wonderful world war 2 love story. From the very beginning you get swept up into the story of the main characters of the Wilson family. Not only were the characters very relatable, but you could just imagine what life was like for people living through the war both on the front and back home helping the war efforts back home. Bretton did a great job bringing to life what was going on in 1940's
December 6, 2016
Catherine and Douglass are engaged and their life is on hold until he gets back from fighting World War II. On the night they are celebrating her family's last night before Catherine's father is shipped out and they are meet the boys that are shipping out with her Dad, Catherine learns that her fiancé was killed in action. After her dad leaves Catherine becomes the person in charge of her Dad's plant.
October 25, 2015
Knocked backwards
This book was fun to read because teasing mother's youth timeline. So many things she told me about and this book brought it alive. My mother read this book and loaned it tome because she was backed up to age 14. Delightfully written and well edited. I will read more books by this author.
This book was fun to read because teasing mother's youth timeline. So many things she told me about and this book brought it alive. My mother read this book and loaned it tome because she was backed up to age 14. Delightfully written and well edited. I will read more books by this author.
November 20, 2016
Although I reckon it was a great story that had some realistic elements I feel let down because something was missing. I was trying to put my finger on what. I think at some point we stop being shown the story and begin being just told the story.
Also I must point out the end of the ebook says Stranger in Paradise is Nancy and Gerry's story but it's decription elsewhere says its Mac Weaver's
Also I must point out the end of the ebook says Stranger in Paradise is Nancy and Gerry's story but it's decription elsewhere says its Mac Weaver's
April 26, 2015
3.5 Stars
A very sweet, clean WWII era romance. It follows the Wilson ladies and their men fighting overseas. An interesting glimpse into the 1940's and life during the war. I would have loved an epilogue a little further into the future with updates on these couples!
A very sweet, clean WWII era romance. It follows the Wilson ladies and their men fighting overseas. An interesting glimpse into the 1940's and life during the war. I would have loved an epilogue a little further into the future with updates on these couples!
December 27, 2014
Wonderful
Another edge of you seat, smack those dumb lovers, hope it all works out book. I loved it as all of Ms. Bretton books. Didn't think I'd like a wartime story but I did. I hope your books never end.
Another edge of you seat, smack those dumb lovers, hope it all works out book. I loved it as all of Ms. Bretton books. Didn't think I'd like a wartime story but I did. I hope your books never end.
December 11, 2016
Well written family story
I appreciated the variety of character perspectives and especially the correspondence between them. This was my first book of Barbara Bretton's. I just purchased book 2 in this series.
I appreciated the variety of character perspectives and especially the correspondence between them. This was my first book of Barbara Bretton's. I just purchased book 2 in this series.
April 30, 2015
Easy read
A peek into a wartime family and the struggles of loss and emptiness. Touches on the struggles of women when the men came home to their jobs.
A peek into a wartime family and the struggles of loss and emptiness. Touches on the struggles of women when the men came home to their jobs.
Want to read
April 30, 2015Free 04-30-15 (Historic Romance: World War-II)
http://www.amazon.com/Sentimental-Jou...
http://www.amazon.com/Sentimental-Jou...
May 16, 2015
Beautiful Love Story and true picture of the changes war creates.
Couldn't put it down. Up most of the night. True depiction of the era and how lifestyles changed due to the war.
Couldn't put it down. Up most of the night. True depiction of the era and how lifestyles changed due to the war.
May 24, 2015
Sappy
Story line was predictable, lacking in any real substance. Not my kind of novel. From reviews I had read I had higher expectations.
Story line was predictable, lacking in any real substance. Not my kind of novel. From reviews I had read I had higher expectations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews