When the World Stood Still

Trigger warnings: war, pandemic, returned soldiers mentally struggling

1918. Twenty-year-old Emily Burdon has been training as a nurse in London, learning on the job as she tends to patients from the crowded poorhouses that ring the hospital as well as wounded soldiers returning from the war. She pours her heart into her nursing while she waits for happier times – peace in Europe and the return of her childhood sweetheart Lewis from the Western Front.

But when the deadly Spanish Flu arrives in London on the heels of the war, Emily’s faith and courage are put to the test.

Welcome to my first blog tour! I have partnered with British publisher Bookouture to bring you a review of this novel, now available for purchase on Amazon.

Emily Burdon is a nurse-in-training in London during the end of World War I. She is tending to soldiers and finishing nursing school in 1918 when people begin to die due to the Spanish flu. Her best friend is fellow nurse Lucy, and a new American nurse named Alma is a new potential friend for Emily. The dialogue between the nurses is conversational and feels more real than grammatically structured dialogue.

All the nurses are charmed by the Canadian Dr. James Cantor, who works closely with Emily in a few dire cases. There is a huge will-they-or-won't-they vibe in Emily and James' story, but their potential relationship isn't the main focus of the novel.

When Emily's fiancé returns from the front, he shocks her with the changes in his personality and the secrets he's keeping from her. Emily must face her issues head-on and decide if her feelings for the man have changed.

While Emily has a career as a nurse, she longs to have a family. She knows that marriage will end her career, as nurses at her religious hospital are single women. When a child at the hospital loses its mother, Emily must make her choice -- family or career?

Recommended for fans of World War I historical fiction and those looking for a pandemic novel.

A change in circumstance meant Kate Eastham made the shift from a career in nursing to being a carer for her partner. Determined to make the most of this new role ‘working from home’ and inspired by an in-depth study of the origins of nursing, she wrote her first novel at the kitchen table. Miss Nightingale’s Nurses was published by Penguin in 2018, closely followed by three more in the series. With her passion for history, Kate aims to make visible the lives of ordinary yet extraordinary women from the past. Her current historical fiction is set during the World Wars and will be published by Bookouture.

Publisher: Bookouture

Length: 232 pages

Release Date: February 22, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I volunteered to participate in a blog tour with the publisher. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.