Teresa Messineo

The Fire by Night is a book that really shows the dark side of WW2. The book as two POV, first we have Jo McMahon who is stuck tending six seriously wounded soldiers in a makeshift medical unit. She had to do this all alone after bombs destroyed the hospital convoy she would have traveled with and to make it all worse is the unit close to the Germans. Her friend Kay is trapped in a Japanese POW camp in Manila. Both of them have gone through so much and in flashbacks, we get to see what happened to them, both during the nurse training as well events before the predicaments they are in now. It's a story about heartache and of losses, but it's also a story about friendship.

I found The Fire by Night to be an engaging and strong book. The characters are well-developed and it's hard not to feel for them and all they have gone through in life and all they have to go through before the war is over. There is a moment in the beginning of the book when Jo realizes that the American soldiers are not as they appear in the movies, they are not always a charming Cary Grant type, they can be quite unpleasant and rude and that felt so good to read. Well, not that they can be assholes, but that not everything is black and white. It doesn't feel like a glamorized WW2 novel with no depth and flat characters. This book feels real and everything they go through feels real.

I'm deeply impressed with this book and I hope that Teresa Messineo writes more books like this.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!… (más)

This book follows two nurses on the front lines in WWII. Jo is on the European front in a field hospital. During evacuation, Jo is left behind with a single doctor and six patients. Soon, a stern, officer arrives to tell her that everyone else was killed during evacuation and they are trapped behind enemy lines. With few supplies and wounded men, Jo is desperate to keep everyone alive. In the Pacific front, Kay is captured by the Japanese and interned in a civilian POW camp. Facing starvation, disease, and hopeless circumstances, Kay must decide if she wants to live or die.

This was a painful, heartbreaking novel. The characters were extremely realistic, and their stories were crushingly brutal. I don't think I would be able to re-read this one, but it was particularly moving. I felt like I was on the front lines with these women. Overall, 5 out of 5 stars.… (más)