I liked this book. The characters, while frustrating at times, were generally likable. When I first started this book, I wasn't entirely interested in it. The cover and description were intriguing, but the first several chapters didn't catch my attention right away. After a few chapters, however, things started to pick up. Soon, it became impossible to put down, and I finished over half of the book within one night. There were times where I couldn't stand John, but once the reasoning for his anger and foul moods was explained, I understood it and even began to like him. Although the ending was cute and quite enjoyable, I do wish it hadn't ended the way it did. I was hoping that when there were only a few pages left and things seemed as if the ending wouldn't be switched around suddenly so that all characters had a happily ever after, that would be the way it would end. It wasn't, though, which was slightly disappointing. It was an amazingly written ending, in fact, it may be one of the best I've ever read, so the disappointment was more of a personal preference. ( )

The book was well-written but I'll be honest, I found myself wanting to fall asleep while I read it. I simply could not get into the story line. Maybe part of it was that I typically read at night, but I found myself struggling to read more than a few pages at a time. This is disconcerting to me as normally I am a voracious reader and struggle to put books down!
Maisie simply was not relatable to me. While I emphasized with her journey, I wanted to skip pages so that I would get to more exciting parts. With that being said, I am very happy with the ending. ( )

Have you ever spent an entire book wishing that it was told from a side character's perspective instead of the main character's? Because I just did that with this book.

I don't have anything against Maisie at all, although her romance with John became tedious (more on that later). But the story I WANTED to read here was Dot's story. Although Dot hints at the abuse suffered at her father's and brothers' hands, it's mostly left off page, even though it's clear that it affects her deeply. Also, there is NO WAY IN HELL that Dot and Nancy weren't a kickass lesbian couple, even though the author doesn't come out and directly say it. That subtext though - with Maisie remarking more than once that Nancy was holding Dot like Maisie wanted John (her love interest, I should remind you) to hold her? Umm yeah. And Nancy and Dot ended up buying the old camp together after the war ended and lived together there. TOTAL KICKASS LESBIAN COUPLE AND NO ONE CAN SAY ANYTHING THAT WILL EVER CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE. And I wanted a story about them SO BADLY that I could taste it on nearly every page.

But, instead, we were stuck with Maisie and John's story. Okay, I could work with it. Except I never felt an overwhelming connection to either of those characters. I think a lot of it had to do with the writer's style; there was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, and I felt like some of the chapters could have been shortened a great deal or edited out completely with little loss (particularly the one where they go swimming - it only serves to establish that my precious cinnamon roll Dot has had a rough life and there is a lot going on for her. Unfortunately, Maisie is rather self-centered and never discusses what Dot reveals to her again. Sadness. MOAR DOT PLZ.).

I never really bought the relationship between John and Maisie. John criticizes Maisie for going into caretaking mode on him more than a few times, and I really saw that. Ultimately, it was mostly about Maisie needing to get to John's secrets and then help heal him. I didn't really like it. Although John struggles with PTSD (something that I am intimately acquainted with myself), it felt to me like he got away with a lot of bad behaviour that should have been curbed. I had an uneasy feeling, even though the epilogue goes on to assure us that this isn't the case, that i was watching an abusive relationship develop right before my eyes, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

The historical setting tends to take a backseat to the romance. I enjoy romance, but as I commented above under the spoiler, I wasn't really on the "John and Maisie" train.

The book would have been infinitely better if it had featured Dot instead and her amazing partner, Nancy. ( )