Title: The Liberty
Scarf
Author: Aimie K. Runyan, J’nell Ciesielski, and
Rachel McMillian
Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Gary Furlong, Caroline
Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld
Publisher: Harper Muse
Length:
Approximately 9 hours and 58 minutes
Source: Review Copy from NetGalley and Harper Muse as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank you!
Do you like to wear scarves? Do you have a favorite one? I liked the wearing scarves trend of last
decade, but now I only wear a scarf when it’s cold with my jacket. I have a soft red one that is my favorite.
The Liberty Scarf is three wonderful stories set
during WWI that are all tied together by a scarf. The first story is set in London. Iris works for Liberty Scarfs and dreams of
being able to design scarves of her own.
Captain Rex Conrad is a wounded soldier back in London to raise funds
for the war effort. His friends bet him
to ask out the first women who enters the door and that woman is Iris. They start a relationship, but when Rex is called
back to serve on the front, they make plans to meet again. When he is wounded again, will they be able
to reunite?
The second story is of Genevieve Tremblay. She is dating the wealthy Peter, but his
family does not approve of her as she is from the wrong side of town as a Canadian
immigrant living in Lewiston, Maine. She
is a telegraph operator and she enlists in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. On her way to France, she has a brief
stopover in London and meets a dashing French captain named Maxime. Maxime and Genevieve start to correspond, and
he sends her a scarf that Iris designed.
But with Peter still in the background, will Genevieve and Maxime’s
friendship be able to turn to romance?
Clara Janssens is a nurse in Brussels where she meets
violinist Roman. They bond over their
shared love of music and continue to write to each other when Roman returns to
the front. His letters take a turn and
Clara wonders, will their love still be the same when the war is over?
My thoughts on this novel:
· This novel is made up of three separate novellas and one epilogue.
· Many parts of these stories take place during the Christmas season. I loved reading this leading up to Christmas in real time.
· The audiobook was wonderful. I enjoyed the different narrators for the different parts of the story. For example, the first story was narrated alternatively by Rex or Iris, or by two different voice actors.
· I liked the comparison of two designers in the first story. Iris wanted to design scarfs while Rex was an architect who wanted to design buildings.
· I enjoyed how the Liberty scarf was woven throughout all three stories. "Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul."
· I really loved the strength of the characters in each of the stories and how they are trying to make it through the long and bloody war. Their romance stories were also delightful.
· I greatly enjoyed the epilogue which not only tied up all the ends of these stories, but also linked them even more together.
· I learned a lot of new things in this novel about WWI, for example about General Pershing’s Hello Girls.
· Many parts of the story were told through the letters passed between the main characters.
· The authors' notes at the end were fantastic and each author described the inspirations for her story.
· There are also discussion questions at the end of the novel as well. I think this would be a great book club selection to discuss, particularly around the Christmas and winter seasons.
Overall, The Liberty Scarf is a beautiful story of
three different women and their journey through WWI. The connection via one special scarf,
characters, and plots were all very interesting. I highly recommend this novel to any
historical fiction lover.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
From acclaimed authors Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan comes an evocative, three-part novel about a thread of connection during World War I--a single scarf that links three extraordinary women, each battling societal expectations, enduring the devastations of war, and striving for personal growth amidst the chaos. The Liberty Scarf is a testament to the resilience of women and the enduring power of hope and unity in the harshest of times.
In the midst of a seemingly endless war, a scarf connects three women in the cold winter of 1917 . . .
London: As an ambitious scarf maker, Iris Braxton spends her days surrounded by color and luxury not often seen during the dark days of war that were promised to be over by Christmas. That promise has come and gone for three years with still no end in sight, and her days continue in a monotony of rations and threads while she spins a dream of becoming Liberty's first female pattern designer. She hasn't the time or interest in rakish soldiers, but the temporarily-on-leave Captain Rex Conrad is persistent--and before long his charm wins her over. But war is cruel, and, all too soon, Conrad leaves once more for the Front, but not before vowing to meet again in Strasbourg, France, the most magical of Christmas cities. Iris begins stitching small messages into each of the scarves she makes in hopes that one will find a way into Rex's hands to let him know she's thinking of him. And when she receives word that he's wounded in Strasbourg, she rushes to his side. Along the way, she passes a woman wearing one of her scarves . . .
Maine: Geneviève Tremblay, a French-Canadian immigrant, is a telephone operator living in Lewiston, Maine. Her beau is a member of a prominent family who has helped to Americanize her in a community often unfriendly to Canadians. As part of this effort, she enlists in the US Army Signal Corps to serve as a bi-lingual operator. Along the way, she meets a French officer who makes her question whether losing her identity is too heavy a price for acceptance.
Belgium: Clara Janssens, a Flemish Nurse, and Roman Allaire, an Alsatian violinist, connect in a Brussels palace-turned-hospital far beyond their routine provincial and countryside lives--and the expectations in those towns. Their love of music creates a spark between them, but the destruction of battle and the transient nature of their relationship threatens the bond they have built. Still, the appearance of a kind stranger and the unexpected gift of a treasured scarf bind them long beyond their stolen moments and offer them a future brighter than they could have even hoped.
The Liberty Scarf is more than a piece of fabric--it's a symbol of hope, resilience, and unity in the face of war, binding these three women together in an indelible bond. Experience their stories of love, sacrifice, and survival in this captivating novel from Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan.
AUTHOR BIOS
Bestselling author J’nell Ciesielski has a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories while weaving fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. She is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers and lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle. Learn more at www.jnellciesielski.com.
Rachel McMillan is the author of The London Restoration, The Mozart Code, the Herringford and Watts mysteries, the Van Buren and DeLuca mysteries, and the Three Quarter Time series of contemporary Viennese romances. She is also the author of Dream, Plan, Go: A Travel Guide to Inspire Independent Adventure. Rachel lives in Toronto, Canada. Visit her online at rachelmcmillan.net.
Internationally bestselling author Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate unsung heroines. She has written six historical novels (and counting!) and is delving into the exciting world of contemporary women's fiction. She has been a finalist for the Colorado Book Award three times, a nominee for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' 'Writer of the Year,' and a Historical Novel Society's Editors' Choice selection. Aimie is active as a speaker and educator in the writing community in Colorado and beyond. She lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her wonderful husband, two adorable (usually) children, two very sweet cats, and a pet dragon. Visit her online at aimiekrunyan.com.
