As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong twenty-one-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage.
When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a "land girl," tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It's here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden. The journals inspire Emily, and in the wake of devastating news, they are her saving grace. Emily's lover has not only died a hero but has left her terrified-and with child. Since no one knows that Emily was never married, she adopts the charade of a war widow.
As Emily learns more about the volatile power of healing with herbs, the found journals will bring her to the brink of disaster, but may open a path to her destiny.
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The rhythmic clickety-clack of a lawnmower made Emily Bryce cease her writing and glance out the window. CHAPTER ONE
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(Lake Union Publishing, 12 February 2019, ebook, 347 pages, bought from @AmazonKindle)
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I've read other work by the author but never a full length novel so was looking forward to reading this. I've become a huge fan of historical fiction over the years, but haven't read much set during WWI so was looking forward to reading something a bit different. I thought this was a fantastic read. I loved Emily, so feisty and determined to do something important with her life, despite her position of privilege. Her wealthy parents would rather she stay at home, bake cakes and marry a nice man but when she turns 21 she decides she's having none of it. She's a great character. The Victory Garden is typical of historical fiction that deals with similar themes. I was engrossed from start to finish.