Review and Giveaway: Band of Angels by Julia Gregson

Catherine Carreg grew up in Wales, racing horses down the beach with her neighbor, Deio Jones. Though her father, a gentleman farmer, considered their family far above the Jones family in social status, her mother's frail health created the opportunity for Catherine to spend quite a lot of time with them. The Jones family was a haven for Catherine and she developed a deep love for Deio.

As they grew older, the talk began. A young woman should not be spending time alone with a young man, especially one below her in society. So, Catherine's father forbid her to see or spend time with Deio. Her life became a boring round of domestic duties that she absolutely hated. The only saving grace was time spent with her slightly eccentric mother.

And then tragedy struck. Catherine's mother, pregnant in her forties, went into early labor. Curtly ordered by her father to take care of the situation, Catherine found herself with absolutely no idea of what to do. When the inevitable happened and her mother died, Catherine felt responsible, as if she should have been able to save her.

Julia Gregson

She bravely forms a plan. With Deio's help Catherine disguises herself as a boy on a cattle drive in order to get to London. Once there, she secures a position with Florence Nightingale to learn how to nurse. This means giving up Deio, her family and all that is safe and familiar to her. But she is driven to find a way to a life that contains more meaning than the one she left behind.

Julia Gregson brings to life the difficult struggle that was the infancy of the nursing profession. Before Florence Nightingale, most nurses were considered little better than prostitutes and treated accordingly. Many were alcoholics and most came from the lowest levels of society. This was an interesting, absorbing novel with vivid characters and a sense of realism that made it hard to put down.

Band of Angels is published by Touchstone, ISBN 978-1-4391-0113-1. Visit Julia's website here.

Thanks to the very generous publisher (thank you, Kelly!), I have four copies to give away! Winners will be drawn at random and must have a US or Canada mailing address. For one entry, just leave me a comment here. If you would like extra entries there are instructions below. Giveaway open through midnight eastern time on June 1.

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