You can’t judge a book by its cover...except when you can. The Postmistress has a most beautiful cover, but it is the story inside that makes this book so irresistible. As the story opens, World War 2 is raging in Europe but has not yet reached the shores of America. Frankie Bard is a young journalist reporting from London where she is an apprentice to the famed Edward R. Murrow. Frankie is trying desperately to bring home to Americans the reality of the war and the true evil behind the endless deportation of Jews. On the other side of the ocean, in Franklin, Massachusetts, two women find their lives increasingly swept up in the events that will eventually bring America into the fray. The first is Iris James, the new postmistress in town. She knows it is only a matter of time before Americans will be called. Her job is to deliver and keep people’s secrets, passing along the news that letters carry. A single woman, regarded with some suspicion by most of the town ladies, she is more surprised than anyone when romance comes her way. Emma Fitch is married to Will, the town doctor. Both are escaping fragile childhoods and Will in particular is determined to erase the stain left behind by his father. Their love, so deep and joyful, seems almost too good to be true. But an unexpected event with a patient unnerves Will so badly he feels compelled to leave Franklin for a time and so gets drawn to serve the dying and wounded in London. Emma must now be content with the daily letters which arrive at the post office. We are with each of these characters as events unfold – events they don’t control but which change their lives forever. As war did then and continues to do today. The Postmistress is at once both unsentimental and deeply moving. It is one of those books that stays with you long after you have read it. Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, notes on the back jacket, “...you miss this book all day until you finally get to crawl back inside the pages...when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it”. I couldn’t agree more.

I found that I could not fully get involved with this book. Found myself skimming through sentences just to get through it. Some parts were good. However, I didn't feel that there was enough character development. I couldn't really feel for the characters and what was happening to them.

This book is not for the faint at heart. Be prepared to dive into a world of heartbreak and hope, both aspects intertwined into a world of chaos. The writing is excellent and the characters are in depth. A must-read for anyone who has any interest in history and the truth about the chaos and devestation of WWII.

This is the story of three women, each of whom is directly affected by the war overseas. Each women will need to be strong in order to survive the atrocities of war and each will face difficult decisions. Iris is the town's postmistress, a job which she takes extremely serious. Emma is the young, quite and naive wife of Dr. Will Fitch who goes to England to help the wounded. Frankie is a war time reporter who is reporting literally from the front lines with bomb exploding overhead who is attempting to get the people back home to pay attention to what is going on overseas. Great book, ending was a little disappointing. For my full review please visit my blog: http://bookwormchronicles14.blogspot.com/

This book was picked for my bookclub and I thought it would be good as Heather's picks usually are. However, this book kind of plodded along, slow in areas. However, even though it wasn't my favorite read, there are some really beautiful passages and imagery that sits with you afterwards. And I was interested enough to finish the book. So if you enjoy wartime stories about the people it affects in different ways, then this book is for you.

It is rare for me to put a book down after I've started it, but this one just isn't going anywhere for me. As a book club selection, there is no way I could finish it on time, as I can only read about 20 pages before I'm up looking for something else to do - you know it's bad when you'd rather get the laundry caught up- I can't say with 100% certainty that I won't try and finish it, but it'll take some convincing from my fellow clubbers and a guarantee that the story starts to flow for it to happen.

I found this book a little slow to get into at the beginning, I kept wondering when it was going to pick up. Before I knew it I didn't want to put it down because I was wondering what the next thing to happen was. Great character development for some of the main characters, others you finish the book without really getting to know them at all and you wished you did.

I wished I had got this one from the library, it was a total waste of money, I found myself skipping lines and sometimes pages to find out what I was missing. I don't think I missed anything it was totally boring. I wasted my money on this one.

When purchasing a new read with great reviews from Chapters I expect more than potential, which is what I feel is this book's only redeeeming quality. It just didn't do it for me. It lacked in character development and flow and nothing about it grabbed me or spoke to me in a way that made me want to continue reading. This one will get shelved unfinished, I don't have the dedication for it.

I received this book as a gift with great anticipation. So much had been written about it 'unlocking secrets' and 'un-put downable". I have to say I was very disappointed with it. Was it an ok read? yes, did it draw me in and not want me to put it down? NO. I found that it didn't really go anywhere and where "The postmistress" in the book fits in is still a mystery--maybe it got lost in the post? I would recommend that if you really want to read this, borrow it from the library first.

I too must say I never seem to go wrong with Heather's picks but this one and one other (Let the Great World Spin) really disappointed me. I so wanted to love this book since my favourite genre is historical fiction. Getting your money back seems silly to me, I wouldn't have the nerve to walk in and ask for it.