Official Review: An Undesirable Marriage by Meriel Brooke

[MrsCatInTheHat]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "An Undesirable Marriage" by Meriel Brooke.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Meriel Brooke’s An Undesirable Marriage takes the reader on an adventure through Malaya, England, and a bit of Australia. The story begins with World War I having just ended and ends shortly after the end of World War II. Love, betrayal, and the highs and lows of life are interwoven throughout the story.

An Undesirable Marriage starts off with Sam, who has left his love, Mary, behind as he embarks on a great adventure to work in the Malayan rubber industry, shortly after World War I. Mary plans to join him after he settles in; wedding bells are on the horizon. Sam meets Ruth and several other life-loving folks on the ship from England to Malaya. Life is fun and full of interesting people as Sam settles in, romanced by his new surroundings. Ruth takes center stage in his new life. Nevertheless, can Sam truly ever forget Mary?

The story frequently flashes back to England during World War I, with Sam, Mary, Richard, and Sam’s family. We see Sam and Richard off to fight the war, as well as their time at home with loved ones. The author uses a detailed table of contents to help us keep track of when and where we are in the story.

Sam and Ruth build a life together, fraught with challenges and unknown betrayals. John and Katie are good friends, working at times at the same plantation. Sam and Ruth’s daughter, Stephanie, is born. Stephanie spends much of her life in English boarding schools and with grandparents in England. John and Katie’s son, Matthew, spends much of his time in the same places as Stephanie. World War II begins, with a huge impact on Malaya as the Japanese overtake it. Some are captured by the Japanese; others make it to Australia to wait out the end of the war. Stephanie has become a nurse in England and met a beau of her own. Her beau, Andrew, has very interesting links to Sam’s past. Eventually, the war ends, finding Sam and Ruth back in England, reuniting with Stephanie, Sam’s family, and meeting Andrew. Can there be a happily ever after once they are all together? Betrayals are revealed that rocks everyone’s world.

Brooke leaves the reader constantly wondering who the real betrayer is and who has been betrayed. There are times when the reader thinks they know impact of the betrayals but are wrong. Additionally, the author does an excellent job demonstrating the impact of war not only on those fighting, but also on the families and other civilians.

An Undesirable Marriage was difficult to put down; therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is often hard to find a story that does all aspects so well. Character development is excellent, especially as we watch Sam and Ruth grow as people. Historical detail is exceptional, including much about the Japanese and Malayan conflict that is often overlooked when discussing World War II. The author includes an excellent reference list should the reader desire to know more.

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An Undesirable Marriage
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[bookowlie]

Great review! I am not a big fan of books with war as the backdrop. Still, the characters seem interesting and I like that you mentioned the reader is kept guessing. I am going to take a second look at this one.

[Clifora]

As someone who has read about World War 2 and the Japanese Occupation, it sounds like quite an interesting book. Thank you for the great review!

[lane_vespertine]

Thanks for the review!
Pretty curious about your description of betrayals everywhere. Usually in books about war, the war itself is the bad guy. But it sounds like in this book there are actual people doing horrible things to each other (outside of being directly involved with war, I mean). That about right?

[MrsCatInTheHat]

As someone who has read about World War 2 and the Japanese Occupation, it sounds like quite an interesting book. Thank you for the great review!

I have just recently become interested in Japan's involvement, primarily from reading this and one other fictional account. If you're interested in the role of Japan in Hawaii, this is another book I did a review on that might interest you. Here is the link to the review: http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewto ... 63&t=38391

[SpiderDreamer1]

An interesting review. Do you think the book may have been better if it hadn't focused on the romance as much as the historical situations? That's always tricky in my mind.

[MrsCatInTheHat]

Thanks for the review!
Pretty curious about your description of betrayals everywhere. Usually in books about war, the war itself is the bad guy. But it sounds like in this book there are actual people doing horrible things to each other (outside of being directly involved with war, I mean). That about right?

War was really the background, rather than the main theme. Yet it was integral to the story, intertwined with this story. I hope that makes sense.

-- 06 Oct 2016, 07:36 --

An interesting review. Do you think the book may have been better if it hadn't focused on the romance as much as the historical situations? That's always tricky in my mind.

Romance and betrayal are what make this story. The historical background adds depth and understanding to the time period. Sometimes as an explanation for betrayal. I do no think it would have been better to have more history and less romance in this story.

[TrishaAnn92]

Wonderful review! History has always been a topic of great interest for me, and this seems like a great book to check out!

[MrsCatInTheHat]

Wonderful review! History has always been a topic of great interest for me, and this seems like a great book to check out!

Based on your comments on other reviews and book discussions, I think you would probably like this one. Come back and comment again if you do read it. I'd love to hear what others think about it.

[TrishaAnn92]

Bought me a copy so I will let you know!

[Kdonegan91]

Great Review! This book sounds like a winner. Thank you!

[MrsCatInTheHat]

Bought me a copy so I will let you know!

Have you read it yet? What do you think?

[AA1495]

I like books that have strong characters! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. Thank You for the great review!

[Janetleighgreen]

Thanks for the review. I downloaded the book;, I usually don't like this genre, but I got a copy based off your review, so well see. ?

[Sarah_Khan]

Great job on the review! I found the blurb of this book kind of lacking in detail so I appreciate the fact that your review gives a lot more information