V Audio Nerd, Debbie, Skandia, Nichole, SnowTulip & K-Terror - The Nightingale

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Blurb:

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes her talented pen to the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime

[Nichole]

I'm really looking forward to this one. It sounds epic!

[K~Terror]

I'm really looking forward to this one too!

[Debbie (Doc)]

Me Three!

[PepperP0t]

I plan to read this as well

[Nichole]

It's a party! :)

[Skandia]

I'm a true KH fan, so I hope it will be good.
Never read historical by her, though.

[VNerdbooks]

yay party time whoop whoop !!

[K~Terror]

Skandia wrote: "I'm a true KH fan, so I hope it will be good.
Never read historical by her, though."

I'd read a couple of hers that I liked but didn't become a true fan until I read Night Road -- LOVED that book!!!

[VNerdbooks]

Checking in!!

I have Night road to read this month too !!

[PepperP0t]

I'm at chapter seven. I'm not yet excited by the read.

(view spoiler)[ now that the germans have invaded paris maybe it will get better for me. (hide spoiler)]

[K~Terror]

Uh oh.. I haven't started yet but am finishing up one today and can probably start this one next.

[Snowtulip]

Read my first book by this author a few days ago, Firefly Lane.

I think I need a few more days before I can jump into another emotional read ;)

[K~Terror]

OOOOH!!! How did you like Firefly Lane???

[Snowtulip]

Tully pissed me off regularly, but I loved it!

[VNerdbooks]

Did you need kleenex ST?

[K~Terror]

LOL! I can relate!! The second book enlightened me to a lot of what went on in book one.

[Snowtulip]

I did! I think if I had followed that book with watching the movie Beaches, hubby would have had to take me to the loony bin :D

That's why I'm not jumping into The Nightingale so fast...going for some fluffy ;)

[Snowtulip]

I have some residual pissed off at Tully, that I haven't wanted to start second book. (view spoiler)[I'm really hoping her and John don't start something up, if they do, I don't think I could handle it...you know grief brings people together...remember Here with Me (hide spoiler)].

I know...I need to get over it!

[K~Terror]

Oh yes!! Perfect example!! (Did you read the second one?)

I felt the same way about reading the next Firefly book. (view spoiler)[ Tully pissed me off soooo much in the first book. She was larger than life but had a lot of trouble understanding other people's feelings.. Grrrr....

I took a break between them but was glad I read it. (hide spoiler)]

[K~Terror]

PepperP0t wrote: "I'm at chapter seven. I'm not yet excited by the read.

[spoilers removed]"

Did it get better for you after that?

I'm about half way through Chapter 15 (of 39) and am starting to enjoy it more. The first few chapters seemed slow for me as well...

(view spoiler)[ Isabelle just arrived at her Father's half to his "warm welcoming".. (what is wrong with him?!)

Vianne is at home with the invading German captain who requisitioned her house...

I am able to understand Isabelle better than Vianne at this point... Although, I know having a daughter makes Vianne a little more conservative in her actions since she needs to make sure her daughter is protected and safe.

Reading about this time period is always so tough.. hard to believe these things really happened.
(hide spoiler)]

[PepperP0t]

I stopped at chapter 10 for something more to my liking thinking I'd go back after a couple of challenge books. I agree on your assessment of him. I haven't revisited her yet.

[Debbie (Doc)]

I started reading this but just can't get interested. I am going to read another book and then come back to this one.

[K~Terror]

Seems to be a trend.. Lol! I started getting interested at about 40% into the book and it has definitely picked up from there...

I'm at Ch31 of 39 now... We are getting ready to have people over for a cook out so I'm kind of bummed I'll have to put it down. :(

[K~Terror]

Done. Wow.

[Skandia]

Kristin ~ Experiment in Terror Junkie wrote: "Done. Wow."

Wow is good, I hope?

I'm going to start today. I must say that I'm a little hesitant because of the HF genre but we'll see.

[Nichole]

It looks like it will be the end of the month for me. Unless I use a precious credit. I've been on the waiting list since the beginning of last month! 1 person still ahead of me :(

Has anyone enjoyed this? The synopsis made me think of The Bronze Horseman. I loved that book so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

[K~Terror]

I'm not usually a fan of HF but I did love The Bronze Horseman... Which had the slow start but an epic love story. I ended up really enjoying this book too BUT if it weren't for others urging me to stick with it, I may have considered chucking it. First third is a bit slow but gets better & better from there.. IMO

[VNerdbooks]

I started it last night but fell asleep haha, i will try again.

[Nichole]

Okay, good to know. First bit do something that will not require my full attention on the book :P Got it! Thanks :)

[K~Terror]

V - you can listen to the first part in chipmunks. LOL!

It just gives you the lay of the land - politics, families, relationships...

[VNerdbooks]

i got to the part where (view spoiler)[ the old lady gets her trunk and sits to talk with her son, and then it goes back to tell her story (hide spoiler)] and then i was in snoozeland lol

[Skandia]

It's slow at the beginning, I agree. I haven't made much progress either.

[Skandia]

I'm at chapter 8.
Isabelle has fire. I don't think she'll stay with her sister.

I'm getting more into the story now and KH's writing is superb as always.

[Nichole]

My library book came through! I'll be starting this tomorrow morning.

[Skandia]

Chapter 18
I don't know what it is, but it feels so uncomfortable to read this story in some places. (view spoiler)[>Maybe the forced close coexistence of Vianne and Isabelle with the nazis and looming danger in it every moment makes me nervous. (hide spoiler)]

[VNerdbooks]

Gahh I need to catch up with this one

[K~Terror]

Skandia wrote: "Chapter 18
I don't know what it is, but it feels so uncomfortable to read this story in some places. [spoilers removed]"

Yes, I (view spoiler)[ felt the same way. What an odd situation.. Has the potential to go south in a moments notice. (hide spoiler)]

[Skandia]

I'm taking a break. It's weird, because I almost never do it, but I can't take the intensity right now and (view spoiler)[I'm afraid for Isabelle. I can feel that something bad is going to happen when she goes to help British pilots to escape France.
Also, it doesn't make sense to me that their father is connected with resistance. He's so not that type. Big surprise there. (hide spoiler)]

[Debbie (Doc)]

I have started reading this three times and only read a few chapters and have to stop. I am traveling tomorrow and need a cozy romance or PNR so I will start back on Tuesday.

[Nichole]

I'm up to Chapter 20-

(view spoiler)[ This makes me think about what kind of a person I am. How would I react to an invasion? I can't even really imagine it here in the US. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a big fat coward!! More like Vianne, just accepting the circumstances and trying to survive them. Does that make me a bad person? I just can't see myself as brave enough to do what Isabelle is doing, no matter how much I might want to. I would be living in potty pants!

I was totally caught off guard with her father being part of the resistance too. It seemed like it came from left field. And Gäetan, he knew about her and even recommended her... I felt for Isabelle with that. Of course, I wasn't expecting her to be in love with him. That was kind of weird too. At least at that point in the story.

She has just successfully helped those airmen get to Spain. Wow, that girl has guts!! (hide spoiler)]

[Nichole]

Well, I gobbled this up. It seems I am becoming a fan of HF because I really liked it. I might even bump my rating up to 5 stars before the day is out. I agree it had a slower start but the last half was...incredible.

[VNerdbooks]

I'm really struggling with this one, I've turned it on and off so many times, I think I'm only up to chapter 5 or 6

[Nichole]

It seems like Kristin and I are the only ones that liked it. Or even finished it, lol.

It wasn't the emotional wrecking ball that The Bronze Horseman was, nor was it the epic love story. However, I was pretty hooked after the first few chapters and I did cry! More than once! I think I might stretch my comfort zone and try some more HF. Who knows, it might become my new favorite genre. Nah, I needs some hot lovin or some paranormal, lol.

[K~Terror]

LOL! I agree... I will branch out into historical fiction every once in awhile but generally need a little more action than that too!

I did end up REALLY liking this story but it was a bit of a miserable start.. the back half was incredible and made it worth my while. I don't know that I rated it yet.. Was waffling between 4-5 stars but I think I'll end at 4 just because the first third was like watching paint dry.

V - Once you get around 30-40% you'll probably plow right through it! (Have you read her Night Road yet - was thinking you had it planned for this month.. ♡♡♡♡♡)

[Skandia]

I'm slowly moving on but reading this is a constant struggle for me. It's not that I don't like it but it's so painful to absorb all the details and suffering.
(view spoiler)[I just finished the part of saving the British airmen and it was so painful to read. I can't even understand how Isabelle survived this journey over the Pyrenees. (hide spoiler)]

[VNerdbooks]

I've really struggled with this one and given up!

I'll maybe try reading it as opposed to listening as I just couldn't get into it at all.

[Debbie (Doc)]

V Audio Nerd wrote: "I've really struggled with this one and given up!

I'll maybe try reading it as opposed to listening as I just couldn't get into it at all."

V, Unfortunately, I have done the same thing. I have tried both and just can't get into this book!

[VNerdbooks]

Lol glad I'm not the only one!

[PepperP0t]

I've tried twice. this book isn't for me.