Evelyn is studying to be a nurse to appease her parents who assume she will drop the program when they find her a suitable man to marry. It’s 1938 and Evelyn has no interest in men or nursing. Knowing her parents will not allow her to become the singer she wants to be, she heads to Singapore with a fellow entertainer, ready to begin her new life. While struggling to keep employed in the local nightclubs she meets Joan, an Australian doctor at a local hospital. It’s love at first sight. Their romance is cut short when the Japanese threaten to invade the city and the women become separated.

I loved this historical romance and found myself researching events portrayed in the novel to learn more about the brave women held in Japanese POW camps and subjected to brutal living conditions. Kadyan succeeds in building a strong romantic bond in the short time Evelyn and Joan are together, giving the reader hope against hope that they will find a way somehow to be together if they survive the war. Riveting read.

A copy of this book was received with thanks from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for review

3.5 star
This was a very sad story with a very short and sweet ending. The bulk of the story takes place in the Japanese run camps. Pretty tough stuff. Unfortunately it is a reminder of how unnecessarily cruel the Japanese were to their prisoners.
The cadence of the writing was uncomfortable for the first few chapters, but I became comfortable with it very quickly.
There is a surprise twist at the end that was unexpected and strange. I would have liked a little more time at the end with the 2 main characters and their new arrival to clear the darkness of the story that I felt.

I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning and end of the book are a little disjointed, from the way that the past is suddenly introduced via letters in Italics, that suddenly disappear, as we go back in time for the whole book. The ending with its fast forward to the future, is introduced just as suddenly, although it is a lovely welcome, gentle ending. The main body of the book, describing life in Singapore, through to the start of WW2 and subsequent internment in various locations, is a fascinating read. Lots of plot, which keeps the story moving very fast, and certainly keeps you reading. Some characters are frustratingly one dimensional and there is also a traumatic rape scene. The author has clearly done a lot of research and those parts are excellent.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very fast paced story, often skipping very matter-of-factly through months and even years which made it hard for me to get invested.

WOW, what a fast-paced read! As the story unfolds, I knew I was in for an emotional rollercoaster. WWII, Japan, Pearl Harbor, internment camps, forced/arranged marriages and so much more. Evelyn Baker, from England, talented singer looking for a sense of self away from a controlling family heads to Singapore. Dr. Joan Cliver, compassionate physician practicing in Singapore, from Australia. When the women meet it is likability from the start. They spend two wonderful years living together in committed love. Unfortunately, the women cannot control what is happening in the world and eventually they are separated and the fight for life and reconnecting consumes them.

This beautifully written story is told through letters written from Evelyn to her sister Dorothy. Thea in 2000 inherits a house from her great Aunt Dorothy (who she thought was her grandmother). Through the letters which takes the reader and Thea back to 1938 tell a totally different story. Although events happen fast, I continued to stay engaged and captivated.

The book shares the story of Evelyn Baker who is a nursing student in 1938 London. Her first love is singing and when given the opportunity to be a performer she takes off to Singapore. After working at an upscale hotel she ends up singing at a cabaret. There she meets Dr. Joan Cliver, an Australian working at a nearby hospital. They become friends and more enjoying their time together. But after the bombing of Pearl Harbor war is coming.

With the Japanese invasion the reader experiences life in a POW camps. A group of women and children bond together to try and survive the conditions. Evelyn’s nursing skills prove useful to those she is with. The heat, hunger and infections are described as are other brutalities. There are twists and turns and some very convenient moments. The book is compelling. I know a lot about Europe in WWII but less about the brutalities and conditions in Asia. Because everything is told from Evelyn’s POV, I did wonder what Joan was thinking especially when the two were separated. And my heart broke at the cause of some unhappiness after the war.

I love learning history with fictional books and I will remember these two characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

This was a historical and certainly dramatic novel, not for the faint of heart. It's not that I was excessively violent or nasty. But it hasn't been a bed of roses either. It is about two women who meet in the months before the start of the Second World War, in the area that Japan invaded. They meet in Singapore where they are for different reasons, Evelyn is a singer who performs in a place where Joan goes to hang out after her job as a doctor. Evelyn came from England and Joan is Australian.

Before the start of the war, they enter into a romantic relationship that surprises and excites them at the same time, to the point that they come to live together, in a society that of course is not at all open in that sense. And when the war breaks out, they must leave hastily, but not at the same time, setting an initial course for Australia, to live with Joan's family. And then begins the drama of the two of them being arrested by the Japanese army, taken to work camps, suffering and surviving and suffering a thousand and one humiliations.

The drama gradually increases, with several high points of a different nature, moments in which the worst is to be expected, sad, desperate. But never to the point of being unbearable. The environment and situations have been believable and have created a distressing atmosphere as expected.

I particularly liked it a lot, it has been something different from what I usually choose, but it has not been disappointing at all

This is a story about Evelyn who is studying to be a nurse in London in 1938. She dreams of being a professional singer. To escape her controlling parents she takes a job and moves to Singapore. While preforming there, she meets Joan a young doctor. They have an instant attraction to each other. The Japanese invade Singapore and Evelyn and Joan are forced into a concentration camp.

I enjoyed this book very much, it’s fast paced and very entertaining. Both mcs are well developed and likable. The story is told from Evelyn’s point of view and I would have liked to have know more of Joan’s thoughts. Both women were very resourceful and courageous throughout the three years of imprisonment. The side character women were good friends and supportive.

The book could have been better with more development of Evelyn and Joan’s emotional state of mind both with their love for each other and the terrible years of imprisonment.

Overall if you are looking for a historical fiction/romance with some good action, this is the book for you.

Arc received from NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

Evelyn and Joan’s story of love during World War II in Singapore was deeply unique.

We have to strong women who fight tooth and nail to establish themselves in a world where women are deemed unworthy without the aid of men.

I was deeply enveloped in their love story but couldn’t help but think of the background place behind it. Kadyan does touch on the colonialism of Southeast Asia but it did feel somewhat inauthentic to hear about it through the blue eyed blonde haired protagonist’s voice.

Kayden does do a lovely job of crafting a brutal narrative of what life entails in the prison camps. I soaked this knowledge up quickly and sped through the pages, anxiously awaiting for the year of 1945.

Evelyn’s character was so well flushed out I was left to wish there could’ve been more insight on her partner Joan.

Thank you to Bold Strokes and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A skillful writer, Kadyan packs a lot of story in the pages of this book plus the cover is beautiful. We begin in 2000 with Thea and an inheritance from her great aunt Dorothy (she thought she was her grandmother) and the search for familial truth. Via letters and photographs, we travel back to 1938 when Evelyn Baker arrives in Singapore to begin a new life as a nightclub singer. All is well until 1940 when she is forced to find work in a cabaret. It is there the singer and Dr. Joan Cliver meet, sparks fly and two years of bliss follow. Life is good until it isn't! The Japanese invasion and conditions in POW camps in WW2 are covered and one particular scene handled with finesse. Evelyn and Joan's tale and the actions taken to survive come alive through these letters to Dorothy (Evelyn's sister) and we eventually come full circle back to 2000 with the realization the lovers are still alive and well in Singapore. There are twists, lies and subterfuge but a happy end.
There is no doubt that Kadyan did her research however, I wished for a slower read with a bit more fleshing out of characters such as Barbara's mindset as an adult and Joan and Evelyn as they grew older. I look forward to more of the author's work.
Nevil Shute's "A Town Like Alice" came to mind when reading about the POW camps.

4 stars - personal connection for me

When I started reading this book, I was taking a lot of notes. I confess that I was being a bit nitpicky about certain things and I was not sure how I would end up feeling about this story.

However, I kept going and the book really took off when Evelyn is captured as a prisoner of war by the Japanese during World War II. The reason why this resonates with me so much is that both my parents were captured by the Japanese as prisoners of war, and held in Santo Tomas internment camp in the Philippines from 1942 until they were liberated by MacArthur in 1945. My mom was there with her parents and sister. My dad was on his own. My parents didn’t know each other when they entered the camp, but they met and fell in love while interned. Reading the author's descriptions of what life in a Japanese internment camp rang so true when compared to the stories my own parents had told me. I was absolutely riveted by that portion of the book which took up a big part of it.

(and yes, my parents’ story could totally be a movie. It’s quite the tale).

I don’t know if my personal connection to the subject matter enhanced my enjoyment of this story beyond what an average reader would feel about it but I definitely give this two thumbs up. The author did her research and it shows.

I found the ending very satisfactory as well.

This was a very fast-paced story that went over many years of plot inside its pages at a quick rate.

That's where I struggled, I get not wanting to get too bogged down in the minutiae of things, to get the plot going and moved along - but often we would skip over months and even years of time in single paragraphs, with no details or emotion, present. I really struggled to get to know the characters because of this.

Everything happens so fast, there's no real "getting to know you" time, and it's all swept over rather boldly and quick, meaning I wasn't invested as much as I should have.

It very much reads more like an outline of plot points strung together, than a "story" being created for us to care about, if that makes any sense. It's all treated very matter-of-factly, and that narrative continued for me throughout, causing a disconnect.

It also had too many elements of "everything working out" even when bad things happened, I never really felt it, the emotion and cause/effect wasn't there.

Others rated it higher than me and enjoyed it far more, so I think this is just another 'me issue' thing. So as always, try it for yourself! It is technically well written, it just felt very "telling" not showing, in my opinion, with a noticeable lack of depth.

A story I didn’t know I needed but knew I wanted!

Evelyn dreams of being a singer and finds herself in Singapore where she meets Joan and they strike up a friendship that quickly develops into a special relationship. When the war arrives, Japanese invading, Joan won’t leave her patients but encourages Evelyn to evacuation to Australia until they can meet again after the war.

WOW! I fell so in love with story. Not only did it have that elegance that so well compliments historic based romances, it had trauma, real life experiences and tragedies that we all know are more than fictional. Real people lived through these times and there is likely truth in this story for people who endured such heartbreak. What I loved most was the constant thread of hope that ran through all the events. Evelyn’s life with Joan was fascinating, and the way their story was being discovered was unique.

That connection between Evelyn and Joan was strong, and somehow I knew they would find one another again I just feared where. The horrific time Evelyn was struggling through in a Japanese prison camp, all she was put through and how she coped made her most admirable. Love stories like this are a depiction of what real true love is like. To be in a relationship back in war times when it was frowned up and not widely accepted made both her and Joan the bravest.

My review really won’t do this story justice. It was moving, deep and meaningful, focusing on love and relationships from a most unique angle, while dealing with heavy and dark themes that will leave you emotional. I can’t wait to read this again and again. It real had a feel good and strong vibe about the endurance of two very special women.

It’s the 1930s and parents marry you off to a man of their pick. It would have been highly probable a fate except when you are Evelyn Baker, a feminist who is full of life, daring and simply no pushover.

In the pursuit of her dreams, Evelyn crossed oceans while performing on a passenger liner and landed in a foreign country, Singapore. While performing one night, she met Joan Cliver and the rest of her life began. Their love, while as tender, passionate and sweet, had to withstand the greatest test of all, the horror and brutality of WWII.

This is a book that will keep you on a continuous surge of hope against hope. To Meet Again has a captivating plot, is rich in history and characterisations. It spoke of strength, character and enduring love being a beacon of light when everything is breaking. I enjoyed the main as well as all the side characters and the ending was lovely.

I just reviewed To Meet Again by Kaydan. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Evelyn dreams of a life of singer that doesn’t conclude being married and having children she flees when an arranged marriage is set. While in Singapore she perform with a pianist she met at an audition there’s she meets Dr. Joan who instantly becomes smitten with her as they grow closer life throws them when Japanese army invade. Joan refuses to leave her patients but tells Evelyn to find safety but she finds herself in a POW camp. Evelyn and Joan struggles as they see the tragedies that’s taken a toll on people as they try to find each other in the mix of this war. The author does a great job taking us on this journey and showing the horror that war does the author also handle one scenes with care.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this book.

In 1938, London Evelyn dreams of becoming a singer. She flees to Singapore to escape an arranged marriage. There she meets a doctor, Joan. They are quickly drawn to each other and build a life together.

However, everything changes when the Japanese army invade. Joan refuses to leave her patients, but tells Evelyn to flee to Australia. Things don't go according to plan however and she finds herself in a POW camp.

This is a story of survival and love against all the odds.

I loved the setting. It's not a part of the world seen much in WWII historical fiction.

My only critique is that some plots and characters weren't developed further, or simply abandoned all together.

I received an advanced copy of 'To Meet Again from Bold' Strokes Books through NetGalley. In exchange for a fair and honest review.

To Meet Again has to be the best read of 2023 to date. It's a historical lesbian romance set against the back drop of Singapore during WW 2

I was hooked from the first page, in fact it was so good I not stop reading and finished it in just two sittings.

Evelyn Baker flees her home in England to escape marriage and having children. She heads off to perform in Singapore with a pianist she meet at an audition. Dr. Joan Cliver works in a hospital in Singapore and meets Evelyn she is singing at a nightclub one night. It's love at first sight. However heartbreaking is just round the corner when Japanese army invades Singapore. Evelyn is focused to flee but Joan refuses to leave her patients. From prison camps to the deep jungle, through encounters and tragedies the reader follow the lovers though the horror of life as a POW as struggle to survive and to find each other again.

The writer has written a beautiful and heartbreaking story and I for one would love to more from Kaydan.

Highly recommended

A sweet story of love and war and the choices we make in life. This book will appeal to anyone looking for an unconventional love story.

Please excuse my gushing as I have fallen deeply in wonder and amazement of novelist Kadyan and her newest novel, To Meet Again. For the last couple of days I have lived in Singapore, survived internment in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, tramped through the Malaysian jungles and returned to my beloved Singapore. I have been every bit of Evelyn Baker from the beginning to the very end of this story. This is what exceptional writing is all about. Transposing the reader into the full embodiment of the characters and story.

Chanteuse Evelyn Baker flees her home in England to escape the scenario of marriage and children as prescribed by her father. She heads off to perform in Singapore with a pianist she meets at an audition. Dr. Joan Cliver works in a hospital in Singapore and discovers Evelyn singing at a nightclub one night. She is smitten at first sight.

Kadyan takes you on a journey which begins in 1938, through the Second World War to the year 2000. The cast of characters are a diverse group with a few women based on historical figures who accomplished extraordinary feats while being interned.

On a cautionary note:
This romance does not hide the horror of life as a POW. There is a rape scene handled with the briefest of descriptions.

To Meet Again is my best read of 2023. I will suggest you do not pass it by as I believe it will be an award winner by the end of this year.

I received an advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.