Voyage of the Heart

Voyage of the Heart is a stand-alone historical fiction work by Soraya M. Lane which depicts the lives of four English war brides as they make their way to New York to start anew with their American husbands.

Our FMCs Betty, Madeline, Alice, and June all met their husbands who were deployed in England during World War II, instantly falling in love and promising to spend the rest of their days with the men they love, despite the circumstances. In 1945, they decided to embark on an overseas journey to New York to be with their husbands.

I don't usually pick up books that are set in and around World Wars, but I decided to give Voyage of the Heart a chance for a change, and I'm glad I did as I really enjoyed it. I usually struggle with books that deal with different POVs as I find it difficult to follow the story when the narrative voice is constantly changing, however, because each FMC is so unique and tells such different stories, I didn't have a problem differentiating who I was following, which probably contributed to my rating of this book.

It was interesting to see the FMCs face the reality of coming to America and how different their experiences are. I'll not delve into specifics as to avoid spoilers, but seeing the war brides deal with the consequences of love and loss was done really well. All of our main characters are extremely well-written, and you want the best for all of them, even during the highs and lows of the plot.

The male characters in the novel are very hit-or-miss, you will love some and hate some and this really adds to the drive of the plot. At the end of the day, the friendship between the war brides prevails.

I would definitely recommend this book.