Wedding Bells for Nurse Connie by Jean FullertonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - on and off for 3 days
Pages - 432
Publisher - Orion
Blurb from Goodreads
East End saga queen Jean Fullerton returns with a delightful new novel in the Nurse Connie series
It's 1948 and the nurses of the East End of London are making the most of life post-war. For Connie in particular, things are looking rosy as she looks forward to planning a future with her sweetheart, Malcolm. But, as many a young bride-to-be has proved, the course of true love never did run smooth and Connie finds herself having to grapple with interfering mothers and Malcolm's reluctance to set the date.
But while there are many obstacles to overcome before walking down the aisle, at least Connie can relax in the knowledge that she'll soon be married to the man of her dreams, can't she?
Life at work isn't all smooth sailing either. The newly-formed NHS is keeping the nurses of Fry House extremely busy and as ever in the life of a nurse heartbreak lurks at every turn. But there are some new faces to keep things interesting. And one in particular might be the answer to all of Connie's problems...
My review
Nurse Connie has a lot going on, it is 1948 and the newly-formed National Health Service (NHS) is coming into effect, Connie is a senior nurse and having to deal with this, staffing levels, patients and planning her future with Malcolm. The new reform brings new issues, a new fresh doctor arrives and stirs up patients and staff alike.
There are other books before this one, I have read the one featuring Connie (Fetch Nurse Connie) so I knew a good bit of her background with Malcolm. They have been dating for a while and his over bearing mother is ever present and demanding. The arrival of doctor Hari MacLauchlan stirs up racist attitudes, misconceptions and negative feelings for some. In a time where racial terminology was accepted as the norm, ignorance, poverty and over crowding was in abundance, Connie struggles to do her job & remain within social accepted behaviour.
It really makes you think how much has changed in terms of health, societies attitudes towards woman and their bodies, religion, racism & how much is still the same in some parts of the world. I really enjoy these type of books and didn't realise there was so another few so will be buying them, 4/5 for me this time. Thanks so much to Karen from My Reading Corner for sending me this in exchange for an honest review.
Excellent review, Lainy! This sounds like a very engrossing book.
ReplyDeleteI love this kind of book for all the reasons you list in your closing paragraph. Great review, thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat commentary on this book.
ReplyDeleteYou raise very worthy points about how things have changed so much since the time that this book was set in. It is interesting that postwar society was also a time of great change.
So pleased you enjoyed this one Lainy, thank you for reviewing. Karen x
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