Review: In Times of Rain and War by Camron Wright

In Times of Rain and War

by Camron Wright

Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  During World War II, an American soldier encounters a German woman living a secret life in bomb-blighted London.

In September of 1940, the Blitz had begun. Like other British civilians, Audrey Stocking is determined to survive, except she isn’t from England. She is a German—a young Jewish woman with a fake passport and a nearly-perfect British accent, trying her best to blend into the city. Her days are kept busy working for the Woman’s Voluntary Services to evacuate British children into the countryside, saving them from nightly bombings over London. But she also writes secret letters addressed to her father’s factory back home. Audrey longs to be reunited with her father and younger brothers in Germany, but she isn’t holding out much hope. If the bombs don’t get her, British Military Intelligence will. And then there’s the paralyzing nightmares and flashbacks—something from her past she can’t quite remember. When an air raid leaves an unexploded bomb wedged in the floor of Audrey’s flat, an American soldier training with Bomb Disposal Company 5 is a welcome sight.

Lieutenant Wesley Bowers arrived in England the day the Blitz began. He knows the average life expectancy of soldiers disarming bombs is ten weeks, and not all of the men in his unit will survive. Wes struggles with the idea of losing men who are starting to feel like family. Although he’s committed to being a soldier, he grapples with the thought of death. Meeting Audrey, an attractive, intelligent, and caring British girl has been the one bright spot during the war’s unending bleakness. Wes has a girl waiting for him back home, but he’s never met anyone like Audrey. There’s an immediate connection between them, and they open up to each other, sharing their innermost feelings. Will he still feel the same if he discovers the truth about her identity? Even Audrey doesn’t know the whole truth. Not yet.

Kritters Thoughts: Another World War II novel, but this one felt unique and unlike the others.  The novel follows two main characters - Audrey who is an active member of the WVS as she is helping get kids to safety while the war ravages the country.  The other main character is Wes, an American who is on the "Bomb Disposal Company 5" and is disarming bombs that Germans are dropping in hopes of saving lives before they detonate and cause more damage.

While I knew more about Audrey and the things that she did for the war effort, I appreciated her storyline in this book to show different efforts made in the war for the communities impacted by war.  But Wes' storyline felt more new and different and with all the things I was learning, I was more captivated by his work and the team that he was surrounded by - they were entertaining!

For me, I enjoyed the characters and they are the reason I kept reading, but the writing just didn't capture my attention.  I also kept reading because my favorite thing about historical fiction is when I am learning something and Wes' storyline and the details about the bombs that were dropped was all new information to me.  In other books, bombs are dropped and there isn't much more detail than that, so to read about the teams that dispose of them, but also the scientists that are trying to learn things about the bombs, kept me going in this book.

This was my second Camron Wright read and while I didn't enjoy this as much as the first, I am still intrigued by his backlist and hope to get to them soon.  

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 35 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Shadow Mountain Publishing.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.