The Liberty Scarf + Giveaway

In the midst of a seemingly endless war, a scarf connects three women in the cold winter of 1917 . . .

As an ambitious scarf maker, Iris Braxton spends her days surrounded by color and luxury not often seen during the dark days of war that promised to be over by Christmas. That promise has come and gone for three years with still no end in sight and her days continue in a monotony of rations and threads while she spins a dream of becoming Liberty’s first female pattern designer. She hasn’t the time or interest in rakish soldiers, but the temporarily-on-leave Captain Conrad Jones is persistent–and before long his charm wins her over. But war is cruel and all too soon Conrad leaves once more for the Front, but not before vowing to meet again in Strasbourg, France, the most magical of Christmas cities. Iris begins stitching small messages into each of the scarves she makes in hopes that one will find a way into Conrad’s hands to let him know she’s thinking of him. And when she receives word that he’s wounded in Strasbourg, she rushes to his side. Along the way, she passes a woman wearing one of her scarves . . .

Geneviève Tremblay, a French-Canadian immigrant, is a telephone operator living in Lewiston, Maine. Her beau is a member of a prominent family who has helped to Americanize her in a community often unfriendly to Canadians. As part of this effort, she enlists in the US Army Signal Corps to serve as a bi-lingual operator. Along the way, she meets a French officer who makes her question whether losing her identity is too heavy a price for acceptance.

The Clara Janssens, a Flemish Nurse, and Roman Allaire, an Alsatian violinist, are chosen to play for an orchestra providing morale on the front lines. This is a world they’ve never known, far beyond their routine provincial and countryside lives–and the expectations in those towns. Their love of music creates a spark between them, but the destruction of battle and the fulfillment of a promise threaten their romance. Still, the appearance of a kind stranger and the unexpected gift of a treasured scarf bind them long beyond their stolen moments and offer them a future beyond what they could have even hoped.

My Review:

Gobsmackingly good! Exceptional storytelling. And what a surprise to discover that this is one continuous story written by three authors. I went into this read assuming it was a collection of novellas set in different eras, instead, the authors cover the same timeline from different characters’ perspectives which makes a stunning impact.

Each author’s story flows seamlessly into the next one — but oh the cliffhanger endings in the first two! They have distinctive styles in both plot and characterization but the stories mesh beautifully into a cohesive whole by the end which made ‘The Liberty Scarf‘ such a rich, emotional read.

Love the diverse settings (US, England and Europe) and the historical insights each brings to the story. There’s even a French-Canadian heroine! (says this Canadian reader proudly.) I love learning about history in my fiction and these authors captured elements of WWI that I wasn’t aware of which made the read that much more interesting.

Oh — and there’s a bit of the epistolary novel within these stories as well which I absolutely loved. While mostly told in ‘real time’ there are letter writing components too and those glimpses into the characters’ inner most thoughts were priceless. Such a great way to enhance the story!

I listened to the audio edition of this book and really enjoyed the multi narrator performances. Anne Marie Gideon, Gary Furlong, Caroline Hewitt and Saskia Maarleveld did an incredible job. Such a rich, rewarding listening experience.

My thanks to Harper Muse Audio and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of this novel.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of the The Liberty Scarf, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday November 16 2024.

39 thoughts on “The Liberty Scarf + Giveaway”

  4. This is an intriguing way to write a novel! Three different authors writing a continuous story from different viewpoints. I loved the cover but didn’t know much about the storyline, so your review was really helpful. I’ve also never heard of an audio with so many narrators! You’ve got my attention!

    perrianne (DOT) askew (AT) me (DOT) com

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    1. Yes, it’s kinda like a novella collection only it’s not in that each author has their own distinct story to tell about different characters during the same timeframe. And I loved the way it wrapped up in the end. Good luck, Perrianne!

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  6. Well, I’m gobsmacked just reading your review. I’ve never read of heard of a book written with this type of format. It sounds AMAZING and one I would LOVE the opportunity to dive in reading. Takes three wonderful authors to do this and make it work as seamlessly as you have described. Oh, and I love the cover too!

    Thank you for the fabulous chance to win a copy!

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  9. Can you just imagine the logistics involved with three people writing a continuous story? That in itself is pretty amazing. Like everyone else, I had just assumed it was a typical novella collection with an overall unifying theme.

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    1. It’s quite brilliant the way the authors have worked together. The story is told in three parts, each one written by one of the authors and featuring a different set of hero/heroine and the story progresses through the last year of the war. The way they tie in the Liberty scarf theme is phenomenal. So well done. Good luck, CC!

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  17. Ok you had me at ‘Gobsmack’, Kav! Whenever you say this, I know we’re in for an awesome book goodie! I didn’t know this collection was one continuous story by three different authors! Now I’m even more intrigued! Thanks for your great review and the chance to win a copy of this book!!
    Alison Boss nj(dot)bossman(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. I would love to win a* PRINT* copy of a novel that’s Gobsmackingly good! *Loved your review of *The Liberty Scarf! Connie Saunders

    Thank you & Blessings!

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