"The Soldier's Wife" by Margaret Leroy
published 2011 by Hyperion

I wanted to like this book.
I did appreciate the story and enjoyed Leroy's wonderful descriptions of Guernsey, but the characters were poor. I never felt the anguish that they must of experienced being trapped on Guernsey under German rule while the war moved on around them. From her very first decision not to leave on the boat, I questioned the protagonist's motivations. She even enters into the romance without any credible prompt to do so. First she makes the sudden decision not to leave the island thereby risking her and her daughters safety, she enters into a forbidden relationship without sincere concern for the family's safety, she harbors a prisoner without thought for anyone's safety (including her lover), and at the end she seemly gives it all up for nothing. Her daughters, who should be rebelling or at least questioning seem content to eat turnip bread and go to school. Her lover seems oblivious to the ramifications of the affair, for himself, his wife or the protagonist and her family.

For a story ripe for conflict at every angle, the author seems to shy away from it... [spoiler alert!]

The boat she did not take doesn't go down. What would she have felt if it did?
The friends and family in London during the bombing don't die. We never even get a hint of them. What if letter would have gotten through?
The girls at the dance and dating German soldiers are never abused by their lovers or the townspeople. What if a girl was ostracized?
The boys who plan rebellion never seem to actually do much and when one is caught, he goes to prison and returns home safely. What if the boy had been killed?
The grandmother never says anything against the Germans directly. What if she confronted one of the soldiers living next door?
The protagonist carries on an illicit affair in her own bedroom and never gets caught!
The protagonist harbors a prisoner in her home which is searched by the Germans, which the prisoner runs from, but she is never accused!
Her husband cheats on her, she never confronts him.
Her lover cheats on his wife and she never confronts him. What if he reconciled with his wife when he returned home for a visit?
She sees prisoners being beaten but abides by her lovers request to not speak of it. What if she had a break down?
There is a food shortage but yet no one complains of hunger. What if the youngest child resorts to stealing?
The youngest girl's best friend is a trouble maker, yet they never get in trouble. What if he convinced her to steal from her German neighbors?
Winter comes and yet the author continues to harp about the beauty of Guernsey and mentions only some stormy seas and cold winds.
The protagonist regrets dumping her lover and then misses him at the airfield. What if she caught up with him, he still had to leave and THEN he dies?
And seriously, a baby? Who didn't see that coming? Her daughters, the townspeople, everyone, I guess - as we never learn about their reaction!

I still might recommend this book to some folks who want a simple romance but I can't promote it as a great piece of literature. I would suggest reading "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak and "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer instead.