The Ship of Brides is another reissue of an older book by Jojo Moyes. It tells the story of 650 Australian war brides who travel to England to be with their new husbands on a British naval aircraft carrier at the end of WW2.
WW2 stories don't generally hold too much appeal for me and TBH if this hadn't been written by Jojo Moyes I wouldn't have picked this up. However I must say that I found it it be an enjoyable, easy read, that was the perfect distraction whilst waiting for a delayed flight.
Based on a true story - war brides were transported to England on such a ship - the story focuses on four of the brides, all diverse characters from different backgrounds who find themselves sharing a spartan cabin on board. The characters are very well drawn and I think it was great that just four stories were detailed as you found yourself becoming really involved with each character and her story. Of the four featured brides I found Frances and her story to be the most interesting and well thought out.
As well as telling the story of the four brides the book tells tales of the seamen and life at sea and in particular the story of the Captain of the vessel who is making his final sea trip before both his retirement and the decommissioning of the ship.
I did find that the story had a bit of a slow start but once it got going it was a gripping and compelling read with quite a few twists and turns to the tale to keep it interesting. The end of the book really stepped up the pace and I kept on reading to find out what would happen next!
I found this to be a well written, compelling tale that I would recommend to lovers of romantic period fiction, although it is more than just a romantic novel with it's well researched background and attention to historical detail.
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