Tides of Honour by Genevieve Graham

Author: Genevieve Graham

Narrator:  Fajer Al-Kaisi

Title: Tides of Honour

Format: Unabridged 

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publication: 2017

Publisher: Audible

Source: Author

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From best-selling author Genevieve Graham comes a novel of love, loss, and honor amid the horrors of war and its aftermath.

In the summer of 1916, Private Daniel Baker marches into battle with the boys of Nova Scotia's 25th Battalion. Out of brutal necessity, Danny has steeled himself against the trials and horrors of war, but he is completely unprepared to meet the love of his life in war-torn France.

Audrey Poulin has the soul of an artist. She lives alone with her grandmother in the quiet French countryside, where her only joy is in her brush and palette. When by chance she encounters Danny, the handsome young soldier captures her heart and inspires her painting. The young lovers believe that only together can they face the hardships the war brings.

But love is just the beginning. Mere months later Danny is gravely wounded at the Battle of the Somme, and his future is thrown into uncertainty. Soon he and Audrey find themselves struggling to build a new life in Halifax, a city grieving its lost men. As the gray winter of 1917 sets in, Danny's lack of purpose and Audrey's isolation continue to mount, pulling the two apart just as a new catastrophe threatens their existence.

Heartrending and enthralling, Tides of Honour is a novel of love and second chances set against Halifax's most devastating moment of the First World War.

Review 

A broken down wagon, war-weary soldiers and romance set in the back drop of war in 1916. Daniel and Audrey connect instantly and communicate with one another through letters while he is off fighting in the war in France. They fall in love and he asks her to marry him. The two are hopeful until Daniel's injured and loses his leg. He doesn't think Audrey will want him anymore but she assures him that she loves him no matter what. Audrey's a brave young woman, naïve but refreshing. She moves overseas to marry a man she hardly knows other than through letters. 

" You always make the pretty things ugly"

It's all fine in the beginning while they live with his parents but things begin turn when they move to Halifax for Daniel to find work. He's more withdrawn and becomes bitter because he feels he should be able to provide for Audrey as a man. She's determined not to give up on him. He resents her in a way because she's able to make money with her artwork and it eventually comes to a head in an argument that will change them both forever. 

"How would he survive without the hope of her love flickering at the end of his tunnel."

It's sad that it took something explosive for Daniel to come out of himself and realize what he's done. He was mean, self-absorbed and jealous of Audrey's success but he is on point about a particular patron of hers. He's having regrets because he's afraid that moment will be the last one she will remember of him. Audrey is kind but she is gullible. She sees the good in people and that's wonderful but some people will take advantage of that. I had to remind myself that she was only 20 years old and though that doesn't excuse some things that happened to her and that she allowed to happen because she saw the red flags but mistook them for kindness. Pierre is a cold-calculating character that has had his eyes on Audrey from the beginning, he sees her as something to be possessed and she just doesn't see it. 

Overall, this story broke my heart, mending it and made me feel so much for these two characters. I wish some things didn't happen the way they did but the world that Graham has built was so visually crafted it was like I could touch each moment. It gives a very detailed perspective on the aftermath of the war. This is a captivating historical romance set with the backdrop of war and told from the alternation viewpoints of Audrey and Daniel. It's about loss, love and hope but also it's about peace and redemption. I think anyone that likes romance with a historical aspect will enjoy this book. 


Narration: Fajer Al-Kaisi does a great job of bringing Danny and Audrey to life. He pulled me into this world the moment he began to speak. His voice came through clear and clean with no distractions. He was able to give varied distinctions between the characters. I would listen to him narrate other books as well.