A well written, very interesting look at the women of the female ambulance crops of WWI. I was not aware the service these women offered and enjoyed learning more about their service. ( )

Historical fiction, accurately depicting America and Europe during the First World War. The American Women's Hospital raised funds, hired the crew and paid passage to the war zone to aid with civilian casualties. This was not a government entity. Keep in mind also at that point in American History, women still couldn't vote. I appreciated the accuracy and sensitivity of the author because she had to tread a fine line between gory detail and whitewashing the whole business. The awful truth is that war is ugly and mean and it does involve the civilians in whatever country is being fought over. I especially liked the recommended reading annex which looked like a scholarly bibliography. ( )

Arlene and her family are left destitute, by a fire, and the death of her father. While her heart lies with horses, and her families stud breading business, Arlene must finds ways to finance a new house and a new stallion. After joining the American Women's Hospital she is sent to France during WWI to drive ambulances.

This book had a bit of a slow start. Once Arlene was sent to France, the book picked up dramatically. I loved reading about women in WWI and the unique American Women's Hospital group. Overall 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

Arlene Favier lives in Paris, Kentucky with her parents and brother. After a fire destroys their home and their father dies in the fire, the family finds that they have no money. Arlene realizes that she has to get a job and after looking all over town with no luck, she decides to try a larger town. When she answers a help wanted ad for a French speaking female, she finds out that the job is for an ambulance driver in France. World War I is going on and the job is very dangerous but with the hopes of helping out her family, she decides to accept it. Arlene becomes part of the American Women’s Hospital in war-torn France during World War I. Serving as doctors, nurses, aides, and ambulance drivers, the women struggle to be respected in a traditionally male environment. After extensive training, the women ambulance drivers are put to work and find that their training couldn't prepare them to face all of the destruction, all of the dead bodies and all of the injured people - both military and civilians. It's very difficult but Arlene is an extremely tough woman and is able to survive. When Arlene runs into an old friend from home, she finds some peace as her feelings for Jimmy grow but even though they are both ambulance drivers, they are in different parts of France so they rarely see each other. When a scandal occurs. Arlene has to decide whether she will remain quiet and keep her secrets buried or take the blame and possibly lose her job.

This was a well written book. I really enjoyed the main character of Arlene and was impressed with her strength and dedication to her job and her friends. The parts of the novel about the battlefields in France are horrific but despite all of the carnage, there is a romance for Arlene and fantastic female friendships. It's apparent that the author did a lot of research into the war but her strong female characters is what makes this book so special.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.v ( )

Mercy Road was a good historical fiction novel highlighting the American Women's Hospital and the women who worked to care for the wounded in France in World War I. Arlene's story starts with the tragic loss of her home and father in a fire and her need to support her family. She takes a job as an ambulance driver in the war to earn some money and see the homeland of her French father. While there she must fend of a creepy Army officer and also runs into an enlisted man who is also a friend from home.

I enjoyed this story about women working in the war effort in World War I as a change of pace from all of the World War II books out on the market now. I thought the author's voice was good, the story had a good pace and the characters were people we cared about hearing their story (except for the creepy officer). I thought the story had a little bit of everything: some suspense, history, family drama, dealing with hard issues, and a little bit of romance.

I got this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )