The Soldier's Wife, Joanna Trollope (4.5 stars)

The Soldier's Wife Book Summary

What happens when love and duty collide?

Dan Riley is a major in the British Army. After a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, he is coming home to the wife and young daughters he adores. He’s up for promotion and his ex-Army grandfather and father couldn’t be prouder. The Rileys are united in support of Dan’s passion for his career.

But are they really? His wife, Alexa, has been offered a good teaching job she can’t take because the Army may move the family at any time. Her daughter Isabel hates her boarding school—the only good educational option for Army families—and starts running away. And Dan spends all his time on the base, unable to break the strong bonds forged with his friends in battle. Soon everyone who knows the Rileys is trying to help them save their marriage, but it’s up to Alexa to decide if she can sacrifice her needs and those of her family to support Dan’s commitment to his work.

With her trademark intelligence and grace, Joanna Trollope illuminates the complexities of modern life in this story of a family striving to balance duty and ambition.

For more information, please check out the book on GoodReads.

Review

From the first page, I wanted the Rileys to make it through as a unit. Dan Riley knows all about protecting the unit as part of his British army training and experience, so why can't he keep his family unit together and happy? Alexa Riley has lost one husband already and can't bear to lose another one.

It's amazing how two people so in love can stop talking, stop listening. But that's exactly what happens to them. Thanks to wonderful friends and family, help is never far away. But in the end, it's up to them.

Good books are all about the characters for me. And this book is loaded with memorable ones. Each one adds to the story and impacts Alex and Dan in some way. From Alex's daughter with her first husband, Isabel, to other military wives, each character is a stone on the pathway for Alex and Dan.

The only character I yearned to know in more detail was Alex's best friend, Jack. Selfishly, I'd love to see the author tell his tale separately. He was so devoted to Alex, yet I knew little about him and how he felt.

I loved Dan's father and grandfather. They never gave up on Dan or Alex, but they also treated them with respect and surrounded them with loving honesty.

For readers who crave a relationship saga full of emotions and memorable characters, you can't go wrong with The Soldier's Wife. It is an engrossing read from start to finish. I felt like I was sitting down while a person close to the situation was telling me the story.

So grab a cup of coffee (or preferred beverage), find a comfy spot, and welcome yourself into the world of a family. A family you will come to cherish.

Note: I moved multiple times during my childhood, although not because of the military, and I was drawn to the honest way constant moving was portrayed, and the importance of family and sticking together.

Rating: 4.5 stars

 

Joanna Trollope's Bio:

Joanna Trollope has been writing fiction for more than 30 years. She is the author of seventeen highly acclaimed bestselling novels including Daughters-in-Law, The Other Family, The Rector’s Wife, A Village Affair, Other People’s Children, The Choir, and Marrying the Mistress. She was awarded the OBE in the 1996 Queen’s Birthday Honors List for services to literature, and is the current chair of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2012. She lives in England.

For more information on the author, please visit her website and on Facebook and GoodReads.

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Note: I received a complimentary copy from Tribute Books for review purposes. No other compensation was received. A positive review was not guaranteed or requested; the views expressed are my own.

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