Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford, the protagonist of Jennifer Robson's Somewhere in France, longs to make a difference in the world. She dreams of earning a university degree, traveling abroad and working at a useful job. But her place in London society, under the thumb of her aristocratic mother, has always limited her independence.
When World War I breaks out and her brother joins the British army, Lilly defies her parents' strictures, learning to drive, working to earn her living and joining the newly formed Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. After months of training, Lilly is posted to France, where her brother's best friend, the handsome Scottish surgeon Robbie Fraser, is working at a field hospital. Determined to prove her worth and distance herself from her coddled upbringing, Lilly takes on the toughest jobs. Robbie finds himself admiring Lilly, even falling in love with her--but he is determined to protect her from the horrors of war, even if it means ending their relationship.
Robson's debut novel moves deftly between the grimy tents of field hospitals and the luxury of Paris, providing a gritty look at the realities of the Great War. Despite the blood-soaked medical scenes, Robson also captures the tenderness of Lilly and Robbie's fledgling love and the quiet but deep bonds of friendship formed between the soldiers, WAAC drivers and medical staff.
With a compelling setting, a thrilling love story and a brave, sympathetic hero and heroine, Somewhere in France will appeal to fans of Downton Abbey and other period sagas of love and war. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams