Kristin Hannah ● The Nightingale

 Date Started : 1st March 2026

Date Finished : 16th March 2026

Star Rating : ✨✨✨✨✨✨ 6/10 😭😭😭😭 4/5

Well I decided that this month my first physical read was going to be one of my recent special edition purchases that I did after I had my surgery, this book I had heard a lot about on TikTok throughout last year and when I seen the special edition in at Kmart I new that I had to purchase it. 

Wow I am lost without words, this is the first time that I have come across a book which is set in the Great War and world war 11 which is from a women's perspective. I could be wrong and there could be others, but this is the first time that I am reading it this way.

It is different reading a war story from a woman's perspective, with what they went through and how they were treated. This is something that you don't normally get the chance to read (I haven't found any others in this perspective). 

The way that this story is written makes me never want to finish it, even though the end was coming. I knew that I had to take my time reading it, and because of my medications that gave me the chance to take my time. 

We follow the lives of sisters Isabelle & Vianne, who are two very strong characters who go through so much in their lives. Vianne was just a young girl when she was with her father when the Great War had happened and she got to see it through her own eyes. Now later on as the girls are older they are together as they go through World War 11 together, with Isabelle wanting to join the war and fight for her country.

The plot, characters and the story line are so well put together. This reminds me growing up listening to the war stories from my Great Grandfather. And even to this day my Uncle will sometimes tell me his experiences growing up with the war atone him, this is something that has always been big in my family as I had members who were in the war and who seen what happened. My Mum, Dad & Uncle also served in the Navy when they were young.

Give me a war story any day, I have a huge soft spot for them, always have and always will. From the stories heard as a child growing up from Great Grandparents, to the stories being repeated from other family members to the current day of the memories from my Uncle who was alive during the war and his experiences and memories of what happened.

The way that Kristen wrote this book makes you stop and think, it's one od those books where you can't put it down but you also want to take in all the information. I think that is what makes everything more surreal as I was writing my notes for my review. 

And something else that this book puts everything into perspective and makes it surreal is with what is currently happening overseas at the moment with war, a lot of people are wondering if it will turn into WW3 or not. But a lot is happening at the moment and I sit there thinking about the book and the current situation.

This was my first time reading a book written by Kristin Hannah, and I am sure that it won't be the last. I really did enjoy this book, it has taken me time but that was to be expected. Cannot wait to read another book by her that is for sure! Hopefully I can get some more as special editions!