The Ship of Brides

I just finished the most fantastic book. 'The Ship of Brides" by Jojo Moyes.

The year is 1946 and all over the world young women are crossing the seas in their thousands en route to the men they married in wartime, and an unknown future. In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other brides on an extraordinary voyage to England - aboard the Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers and men.

Rules of honour, duty and separation are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier's captain down to the lowliest young stoker. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined in ways the Navy could never have imagined.

And Frances Mackenzie - the enigmatic young bride whose past comes back to haunt her thousands of miles from home - will find that sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.

Based on the true voyage undertaken by HMS Victorious, The Ship of Brides is a novel about love, blind faith, and an age when the collision between duty and love could leave you with more than a broken heart. 

It was just wonderful. Such a gripping story that I had to force myself to put it down and then I would pick it up every chance I got. The characters are so engaging and intriguing that it just made me want to read and read until I knew more. This book is based on true events where war brides were transported  across the seas and by having that element of reality to it just made the story more vivid. I want to write more about the story but I am afraid of giving away too much.

Jojo Moyes is a wonderful writer and storyteller. She paints such wonderful characters and the story moves so beautifully between years and decades, past and present, yet has a flow that keeps you engaged and wanting more.
I have read other Jojo Moyes books, in particular "Foreign Fruit" which has a similar style of intertwining present and past. It too is a wonderful read with wonderfully rich characters and story. She is a truly gifted writer.