The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

Over the past few weeks I have spent time reading Jojo Moyes book, The Ship of Brides.  If you like historical fiction, you may be interested in this book.

Summary from Goodreads:

The year is 1946, and all over the world, young women are crossing the seas in the 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 HMS Victoria, which also carries not just arms and aircraft but 1,000 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.

This is the fifth book I have read by her and while not my favorite one by her, she always seems to keep me pushing through and wanting to read more.  The story starts off in present day with a granddaughter traveling in India with her grandmother.  On a visit to a shipbreaker's yard they come across a ship, the ship where the real story takes place.

I gave The Ship of Brides 3.5 stars.  The story was well-written, but I found there were so many characters between the naval officers and the brides on the ship that I got confused and had a hard time keeping the different storylines separated.  If it wasn't a Jo Jo Moyes book, I probably would have put this one down and picked up something else.  I did end up skimming through several parts and wished I could get to know the young women much better.  In the end, I am glad I stuck with it and was able to see how the story all unfolds.