Frontline by Dr Hilary Jones

 

Grace is the daughter of landed gentry, volunteering as a nurse on the Western Front.

Will is the son of a dockworker, driven to enlist by patriotism and the thrill of adventure.

When their lives collide in a field hospital in France, an instant connection is forged admist the chaos and blood of the battlefront.

But as rumours of an armistice begin to circulate, so does a mysterious virus, carrying with it an unimaginable death toll across the globe...

When I read the synopsis for Frontline it really appealed to me, I do not often read books set during the war and yet every one I have read have all left a lasting impression on me so I was looking forward to reading the first book in Dr Hilary Jones new historical series.

The storyline is set during the World War I where Grace and Will have both volunteered and yet their lives couldn’t be further apart they both share the determination and drive to help those who have fought for their country putting themselves in harms way to try to save as many lives as possible.

When Grace and Will meet in a field hospital in France there is an instant spark between them but can love blossom in such treacherous conditions and after news of their friends and loved ones losing their life is there any hope of a life after the war?

This is the first book I have read that is set during the War but is told from the medical volunteers’ points of view, it captured the harrowing moments when they would put their lives in danger to remove those injured on the frontline, describes the vast amount of different injuries that were witnessed and treated reminding us all of what our ancestors went through for their country.

I did worry in the beginning if the explanations of wounds and treatments were going to be a little bit to heavy in this book as they were extremely well detailed and went over my head a little bit but I can understand why with the authors career meaning that his knowledge was going to be poured into this novel but as the book progressed the details became less indepth and was more in keeping with the storyline rather than feeling like a medical journal. It was eyeopening to see the kind of wounds and ailments that our troops were affected by and how much pressure was put on the medics with the limited capabilities they had to contend with.

This book was a good read but I do think it could have been a great read if the storyline had just been a little tighter and stripped back and focused more on just Will and Grace, at times it felt like the book was being written as a tv series in mind where it kept jumping around so many different less significant characters and I do not feel that we needed more characters introduced so late on in the book. Will and Grace’s storyline was strong enough to be the focus of this book, I found my attention wavering each time we veered off from our two main characters and I was desperate to get back to them and the situations they were dealing with and the relationship blossoming between them in such turbulent conditions. Will and Grace were both admirable characters with such caring natures and traditional values who everyone’s hearts will warm to reading this book.

I would be interested to read the next book in the series to see where Will and Graces journey takes them next.

 

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