SOURCE: A Readers Group Read.
1942 and the world is at war. It is a war that has already shattered families and devastated countries. But for some, it will also mean the greatest of adventures.
In a Sussex hospital, a beautiful young singer performs to a ward full of injured soldiers. Saba is captivating and one pilot, Dom, shudders as her gaze turns his way. He can't bear her to see his scars but resolves to write to her once they have healed.
Saba's journey as a singer takes her to the fading glamour of Alexandria and the heat and decadence of Turkey where she rubs shoulders with double agents and diplomats, movie stars and smugglers. Some want her voice, some her friendship, and some the secrets she is perfectly placed to discover...
...... Outer back cover
FIRST SENTENCE {Chapter 1: Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, 1942}: It was only a song.
MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 390}: His flying boots he transformed into black shoes by ripping off the detachable sheepskin on the calf - grateful now for the clever bods at the MOD who'd come up with this idea of inconspicuous shoes for men on the run.
MY THOUGHTS: Daring, devilishly handsome World War II fighter pilot has near miss and ends up in a burns hospital where he falls in love with an exotic beauty. OK, so said exotic beauty isn't a nurse or indeed the fiancee/wife of one of his fellow patients as they usually are in these novels but in almost every other way Jasmine Nights is fairly typical of the whole 'wartime romance' genre.
A slow, extremely slow, starter it wasn't until some one hundred or so pages from the end of this 422 page long novel that something of consequence finally happened and even then it wasn't the momentous event that the author seemed to be leading up to.
Not that it was an altogether unenjoyable read. In its favour the descriptions, though at other times a bit long winded and repetitive, were sublime when it came down to the authors portrayal of Cairo leaving me wondering just how this compared to my grandfather's war time experience here.
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12 comments:
You read a lot of long books!! I'm not sure I'd have the patience to get through some of these.
Tracy, thanks for honest review of this book. I'm glad you enjoyed the descriptive writing about Cairo.
Hm... not sure if this one is for me. However, I'm glad that it did finally pick up for you.
I hadn't heard of this one before. No sure how it is one for me, but I appreciated your honest review. I do like the cover. :)
Hi Tracy,
I have shelves full of these 'wartime romances', as my mother-in-law is a prolific reader of the genre and passes all of her books to me after she has done with them.
I always used to read them just as avidly, but like to think that blogging about and reviewing, such a diverse range of titles and genres, has expanded my horizons way beyond that narrow spectrum.
Don't get me wrong, there is still a time and place for this kind of easy reading, when that's what I'm in the mood for, so I won't be parting with them anytime soon!
I have never read any of Julia's books, although I have just found 'East Of The Sun' on my shelves.
I do hope that you find the book with that WOW! factor very soon.
Have a great weekend,
Yvonne
I had loved the first line but 400+ pages is really long for a slow moving story. A great review as always, Tracy, I am glad you enjoyed at least some parts of the book.
What a pretty cover!
It sounds like a good book, but it's a shame it's so slow in pace.
Thanks for the review and have a great weekend, Tracy!
If it's a slow starter, I think I'll pass. I've had too many of those lately.
In theory, a slow pace would not bother me. However, there would need top be very good writing and something else very worthwhile in the book for me not to care about the pace. It sounds as if this one falls a bit short on those factors.
I'm not sure this is something I would be able to stick with. I really can't wait 300 pages for something to start happening. I am glad you found things within the book to admire. I'd hate to spend all that time to read something that wasn't worth the time spent reading it.
But now I know one more book to stay away from.
I don't like slow reads since I have a short attention span. The cover of Jasmine Nights is very pretty though.
Alas poor York...well, okay not York but alas, I've read one too many uber slow starters. They can make the reading VERY rough. Glad you found some solace in the story overall but I do believe I'll be skipping this one. Thanks for the share!
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