The Postmistress

AUTHOR: SARAH BLAKE
PAGES: 318
WEBSITE: http://www.sarahblakebooks.com/
AVAILABLE: FEB. 2010
AQUIRED: ARC recieved by Barnes&Noble Free

SUMMARY: It is a time of war. World War II is going on and Frankie is reporting it back over the air waves through the radio into the homes of Americans.
In Franklin, Massachusetts, a small town on Cape Cod, Emma, the new bride of the town doctor, listens to Frankie deliver her message, "we must do something."

Frankie Bard, an American radio gal, is reporting from the Blitz in London. She feels there is a deeper story to be told, the story of the Jews. She is determined to capture their voices, their stories and shed some truth on what this is really going on in this war.

Iris James is the new postmistress of Franklin. She brings with her a sense of order. She takes her job very seriously. She understands how important her role is in keeping the mail delivered to those who are desperate for any type of word from loved ones, and how important it is for a simple letter to be delivered on time.

When Emma's husband, Will, decides to "do something," which means volunteering his services abroad, Emma feels herself slipping away. She had always felt alone, until she met Will, and now her world was being turned upside down. Everyday she wrote Will a letter. And everyday Iris watched Emma open her mailbox to find a letter from Will that she had just placed inside.

Iris finds herself breaking the rules by steaming open someone else letter, reading it and then making the decision not to deliver it.
While a war is going on, the three women find themselves together in a thread of a story that intertwines them. In the end no matter how you try to change an ending what will be will be. Everything matters, everything adds up, its all there is.

OPINION: This is an ARC, so it might have changes that would effect my opinion on it when it is completely polished and ready for stores. With that said, I found the beginning of the book had no rhythm and was patchy. I really couldn't get myself to keep reading it for any period of time. That was until I reached chapter 6, about half way through that chapter the book turned around for me. I was finally able to understand the characters and care about the story.
I'm not big on war stories, so I can't say I loved this book. World War II plays a huge role in this book, so if you enjoy reading about that time in history you might enjoy this book.
I really didn't care for Frankie and as I kept reading nothing every got me to want to know her. The last few chapters I could relate to her a little. But I really wish their was more to the story of Iris and Emma instead of so much focus on Frankie.
In the end I'm glad I read it. I think we should all read something that isn't what we would normally read. I learned some things I didn't know about that time in history.