The Nightingale’s Back-of-book Description:

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 a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

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 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. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

My Thoughts

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah was recommended to me by a friend; she loved it and thought I would too. It was a little slow to start but I suppose there was a lot of ‘setting the scene’ that needed to be done. It was a good story and the characters were likable and easy to relate to.

The writing was pretty good, but some of the dialogue and character interaction could’ve been better (or maybe I’m just getting bitter about love stories that try too hard to invent a reason that they can’t be together?). But I did enjoy the family dynamics that were present in addition to the main romantic relationship.

It’s an enjoyable WW11 fiction love story with some really nice details that make it an engaging, emotional book worth the read. I definitely got teary-eyed near the end and, to me, that’s a sure sign of a good book.

Favorite Quotes From The Nightingale:

“But we are cautious about too much these days, and why add love to the list?”

 

“She realized that the landscape of a woman’s soul could change as quickly as a world at war.” 

 

“Don’t think about who they are. Think about who you are and what sacrifices you can live with and what will break you.”  

In Conclusion

Overall I’d give The Nightingale 3.5 stars.  I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a good romance, but is looking for a new twist (the historical part being the new twist) or those of you who like historical fictions and don’t mind some romance thrown in.

Read it – you wont be disappointed.

Be sure to check out the pretty Pin-able quotes below!