Somewhere in France

Lady Elizabeth Ashford wants to know what it feels like to fall in love. Tired of all the boring and stuffy suitors her mother finds suitable for her, she withdraws into the comfort of her brother's Edwards childhood friend, Robert Fraser. On the night of the ball she finds that after seven years of being away from one another and the games they spend time playing, they have both grown up quite a bit. She finds Robert charming and handsome but knows that her aristocratic parents will never let her marry a surgeon. They want her to marry and have children, but Lilly wants more out of life. She wants to travel and marry for love and not for money. She thinks Robert might just be the person she could fall in love with, if only her mother didn't intervene.

She learns after an unexpected quick departure that her mother had told Robert to forget setting his sights on Lilly. She was engaged to be married and they were only stalling on the announcement while waiting for the celebration of her brother Edward's wedding to die down. Her only ally is her brother Edward who truly wants to very best for his sister. However soon the war rears its ugly head and the men are thrust into battle in France during the Great War. Believing it will be over sooner than later, Edward takes up corresponding with his sister encouraging her to join in the effort to help. Knowing the campaigning for supplies to ship out is something more suited to her mother, she finds solace in learning to drive cars from one of the men in her families employ.

Yet once again Lilly is called out for her inappropriate behavior, first in corresponding with Edward and later Robert but in also taking up driving a car. Not the type of behavior for any lady. So Lilly does the unthinkable and moves out of her families home and influence and moves in with Charlotte Brown, a women who has tutored her as a young woman and now serves in the war helping out. She encourages Lilly to find something admirable to do. She moves to London and takes a newly formed position as an ambulance driver for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps or WAAC's since they need more men on the frontlines and she does know how to drive.

Soon love grows between her and Robert as they continue to correspond during the war and they find that just the simple letters are enough for them to get to know one another. Robert continues as a surgeon in the war now and tries as best as he can to reassure Lilly that the war will be over soon and even that her brother Edward faces no harm considering his deployment status as a Lord. However soon the war continues longer than expected and Lilly wants to know if there is hope with Robert and gets assigned as an Ambulance driver for the 51st, the same division that Robert works as a surgeon in. But all is not fair in love and war and it will take a miracle for Lilly and Robert to survive.

I received Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. The love story and historical background are amazing and so beautifully put together. It reminded me of Downton Abbey a bit when the war entered the series and the youngest daughter left to be a nurse and learned to drive a car. In both instances the family believed the influence of the driver was at fault and had them dismissed. There are a few instances of profanity as Lilly encounters the military leaders who aren't used to having a female in the war but that is to be expected. There is the portion of the novel when Lilly and Robert meet at a hotel and end up making love with neither of them married. It may offend some readers and that is why I feel I should caution readers about the content. It was something that happened quite a bit during the war when people who fell in love didn't expect to see one another again. With that being said, I easily give this one a 4 out of 5 stars and can't wait to read more from Jennifer Robson in the future. This is Jennifer Robson's debut novel but definitely not her last. Historical romance fans will definitely LOVE this one.

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Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson

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• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (December 31, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062273450
• ISBN-13: 978-0062273451
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches