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kath61's review against another edition
3.0
It said on the cover, 'Friends of Call the Midwife' will enjoy this, which is possible but for me it lacked the depth that Jennifer Worth's books portray and I felt the characters were one dimensional. The story was very predictable but it was all right for a Christmas 'feel good' read.
novellenovels's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
samstillreading's review against another edition
4.0
Nightingales Under the Mistletoe is the latest book in the Nightingale series, about the nurses of the Nightingale hospital from the late 1930s. This book starts in Christmas 1941 and is a bit of a departure from the previous six books as it’s not set at the Nightingale Hospital. Confused? Well, at the start of the war the Nightingale moved a lot of patients and staff to its sister hospital in the countryside. This is the story of the country hospital, which just happens to be very close the estate of series favourite, Millie. We also catch up with young nurses Jess and Effie who starred in previous books. Jess is a devoted nurse, while surely Effie can’t make as much trouble in the country…
I was delighted to see the return of Millie. Unfortunately she’s now a widow and the RAF are about to take over her house. This brings back into her life Dr William Tremayne (brother of Helen) – I’d always wondered why their earlier romance went nowhere. With the changing times, Millie wonders if she can make herself useful at the hospital again…
Jess works hard to cover a secret, but she’s not a favourite of the hospital’s matron and gets stuck with the worst shifts. This makes Jess speak her mind a little too often but it does get her patients noticed by the medical staff when they need it most. Meanwhile, Effie escapes Ireland to return to nursing life, but it’s not long before she has a new boyfriend. Kit is a little bit more dangerous than the others, but that’s what makes it exciting…right? But then childhood friend Connor comes to take Effie home and life gets very messy.
We also meet some of the locals in this story, such as Grace and Daisy. Their stories are interesting, but I was really interested in seeing what my old favourites were up to! It was odd not having the setting as the Nightingale (although after the previous book there’s not too much of it left). I felt the story was not quite as exciting – maybe because of the change in setting. A country hospital will never match the bustle of a city one in terms of specialties and excitement! Having less characters too meant it was tightly focused on the five girls above. Will this be the end of the Nightingales series? I really hope not, because I’d like to see how the hospital recovers after the war. On the other hand, all my favourite characters are going to be off doing other things! Still, it would be exciting to read about the rebuild and the beginnings of the NHS.
While delightful, I don’t think this was my favourite book in the series. It lacked the sense of urgency and drama of the previous story. However, this would be the easiest book to read as a standalone novel. It’s still a great read though and Nightingales fans will rejoice in meeting some of their favourite characters again.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
I was delighted to see the return of Millie. Unfortunately she’s now a widow and the RAF are about to take over her house. This brings back into her life Dr William Tremayne (brother of Helen) – I’d always wondered why their earlier romance went nowhere. With the changing times, Millie wonders if she can make herself useful at the hospital again…
Jess works hard to cover a secret, but she’s not a favourite of the hospital’s matron and gets stuck with the worst shifts. This makes Jess speak her mind a little too often but it does get her patients noticed by the medical staff when they need it most. Meanwhile, Effie escapes Ireland to return to nursing life, but it’s not long before she has a new boyfriend. Kit is a little bit more dangerous than the others, but that’s what makes it exciting…right? But then childhood friend Connor comes to take Effie home and life gets very messy.
We also meet some of the locals in this story, such as Grace and Daisy. Their stories are interesting, but I was really interested in seeing what my old favourites were up to! It was odd not having the setting as the Nightingale (although after the previous book there’s not too much of it left). I felt the story was not quite as exciting – maybe because of the change in setting. A country hospital will never match the bustle of a city one in terms of specialties and excitement! Having less characters too meant it was tightly focused on the five girls above. Will this be the end of the Nightingales series? I really hope not, because I’d like to see how the hospital recovers after the war. On the other hand, all my favourite characters are going to be off doing other things! Still, it would be exciting to read about the rebuild and the beginnings of the NHS.
While delightful, I don’t think this was my favourite book in the series. It lacked the sense of urgency and drama of the previous story. However, this would be the easiest book to read as a standalone novel. It’s still a great read though and Nightingales fans will rejoice in meeting some of their favourite characters again.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
kathrine_jeppesen's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
leighannsherwin's review against another edition
5.0
Mille is back! Now my dream of a reunion of the original three characters might happen. Anyway back to the story. This book picks up after the Nightingale was evacuated in the previous book. While neither Helen nor Dora appears we do get Millie and a few other favourites like Jess and Effie. We also meet sisters Daisy and Grace. Daisy is spoiled and has been indulged her whole life, while Grace works as a housemaid for Millie and her grandmother and has devoted herself to her siblings after the death of her mother. Millie is dealing with the famiky estate being taken over by the RAF, her nagging and annoyed grandmother and her broken heart following the loss of her husband who was killed when his plane was shot down. With the requisition of the house, it brings William Tremayne Helen's brother back into her life and shakes things up. Meanwhile Daisy and Effie and Jess meet up with some RAF and RCAF pilots and crew and get swept away by their charms. I love these stories, the shorter chapters, the many different characters and stories, where one chapter ends it keeps you turning the pages to see what will happen next. While it has a Christmassy title, it actually has hardly any sort of Christmas storyline in it. It's a wonderful story of love and loss, the power of friendship and family. So many facets to this story made it difficult to put down and I loved it as I have loved all the Nightingale books so far and hope the trend will continue.
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