Absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking story, so moving.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publishers. Not sure whether I liked this book or not, in places I did and in others just dragged on. I shall leave it to others to decide.

4.5 stars
I feel pretty ashamed to say that I’d never given much thought to the WW2 prisoner of war camps run by the Japanese or who might be living in them.

In this novel, Heather Morris gives voice to the Australian, British, Dutch and American women who lived in the Japanese camps. Their story is astounding and the verification at the end that the characters were, in fact, real people and not created by Morris is humbling.

I don’t want to paint this as a tragic read; it is, but the prevailing theme is one of hope in the most hopeless of places and the resilience of women. A beautiful novel.

Thank you Netgalley and Bonnier Nooks for my eArc.

Sisters Under The Rising Sun by Heather Morris
I give this book 4.5 stars.

1942. Singapore is falling to the Japanese Army. As the island burns, Australian nurse Nesta James joins English musician Norah Chambers and the terrified cargo of people, crammed aboard the HMS Vyner Brooke. After only two days at sea, the ship is bombarded and sunk.
Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of Indonesia only to be captured and held in a Japanese POW camp.The friendships they build with the dozens of other women in the camps will give them the hope, strength and camaraderie they need in order to stay alive.

“Know now of them. Remember them.”
A deeply moving account based on real people and events this novel had me totally absorbed while reading.A powerful insight into the horrifying atrocities and the resilience and bravery of the innocent women,children,nurses caught up in it. A story told by the narrative of two women, detailing the indurance,survival and friendships,make this a heart wrenching book that will stay with me.Especially after reading the authors note which includes names,details and afterwords from family members.With thanks to Netgalley,Heather Morris and Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre for my chance to read and review this book.

Sisters Under The Rising Sun is the stories of British civilians and Australian nurses who after surviving the sinking of their evacuation ship were interred in Japanese POW camps.
These are harrowing accounts of brave, resilient and determined women suffering cruelty, starvation and tropical diseases through blazing sun, monsoons and storms. Bleak and heart wrenching, the friendships of the women are what got those that survived through this shocking period of history as this is based on real accounts.
Despite the sheer horror people can be treated as such, this is a novel of hope within humankind.

I enjoyed reading this book although I did find myself constantly picturing the television programme Tenko. I was intrigued to learn that the story was based on real people and their experiences.

A poignant account of women held as prisoners by the Japanese in the Second World War after trying to flee from Singapore. It charts two specific groups - Australian nurses and a pair of musical sisters.

This book is not an easy read for several reasons. The story is based on facts and the real-life events which took part during World War II in the Japanese Prisoner of War camps. Heather Morris throws the reader straight into the fall of Singapore and the capture of residents. What these women have to endure at the hands of their captors is horrific and their ability to keep fighting to stay alive despite all the horrors forced up on them was amazing.

The characters in the story are all real and their history is well documented. The story is told by Nesta James, an Australian nurse and Norah Chambers a British mother and musician. These are all amazing women, they are resilient, determined and resourceful and I couldn't help but admire them. Unfortunately, the writing style stopped me from really connecting with them. I felt like I was an onlooker rather than being part of their story which was a shame. These characters should have been easy to empathise with, what they suffered is unbelievable and should never be forgotten.

The historical facts are fascinating and I did further research after reading the book. However, for me, the writing was not emotional, the short paragraphs made the story choppy and it didn't fully engage me. It is a story that should have made me emotional but it didn't till the end, when they were being rescued.

Overall, this is a fascinating story and one which should be read, but it didn't have the same feel as the author's previous books.

What a book! Thank you to Heather Morris who tells us about an important part of history, but tells us in such a readable way.
It’s inspiring, emotional and uplifting. How these women managed to survive captivity in the jungle for 3 years and 7 months is a testament to how they worked as a team, as a family and how they supported and encouraged one another.
Thank you Netgalley, I appreciate being able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a harrowing story about two women, alongside many others who were captured and held as prisoners by the Japanese through the war. Torn away from their families, friends and colleagues, expected to survive in squalor.

Despite the rancid conditions the women were kept in they maintained compassion, love, generosity and above all else hope. They became resilient and lifted others even when they barely had the energy to get through the day. I took away from the story that even when the going gets tough we should still get up show up and give life our all.

Considering it was horrific reading about the circumstances these people went through the book was absolutely beautiful albeit heartbreaking all at the same time. Heather Morris has done an amazing job at putting the true facts into this story. I highly recommend to everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Gorgeous, emotional, powerful. I have loved every single one of Heather’s previous books and this one is no different! Such a beautiful story and told really well.

This is such a moving book, I was in tears when reading about the treatment of the women and children, the conditions they endured and how resilient they were. I’ve read quite a lot of books about WWII but this is the first one that was about what happened when families were trying to leave Singapore and were captured by the Japanese. Obviously well researched, I hadn’t realised it was based on real people’s experiences. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The basis of this book is a true account of a harrowing experience. However I just found it to be a bit disconnected in places and hard to follow.

A fantastic book by Heather Morris although a harrowing book at another level. Based on true accounts of a group of Australian Nurses and women who were captured and interned in Japan during WW2. Thank you so much for writing this book with so many stories to be told. An easy 5⭐️.
Thanks to Heather and her publisher. Thanks also to NetGalley.

I have read these authors, previous book, the tattooist of Auschwitz, but found that I liked this book far more . The Story tells of a group of women who end up imprisoned by the Japanese after the World War II takeover of Singapore. Some of the women were nurses who were shipwrecked after the shit that they were attempting to flee Singapore and was bombed. The women are a mixture of Australian nurses and some British people.
The majority of the characters in the novel were real people, and this is very strongly felt as you read the story. The individuals feel very real and their situation is very horrific. It’s always difficult telling historical story not to include everything that happened and the author does on occasion fall into this trap, mostly, however, I felt that the dramatise story read smoothly and made a good novel.
I found the actual stories of the women who were dramatised, in the story to be very moving. The author includes these at the end of the novel.

I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK the book is published in the UK on the 28th of September 2023, by Bonnier books, UK
This review will appear on NetGalley, UK, good reads, and my book book, bionicsarahsbooks.wordpress.com Location. The review will also appear on Amazon, UK.

Wow what a story. Based on true facts about two women who at the fall of Malaya to the Japanese in WW2, find themselves incarcerated in the jungles of Indonesia. They are moved a number of times in the 3years 7months of captivity each time with harsher conditions. Many didn't survive but how these two did under such deplorable conditions is testament to their spirit and determination. Norah is a musician and Nesta a nurse with the Australian army. Quite a tear jerker towards the end. I loved that the author gave a brief resume of all the main characters lives at the end.

Singapore attacked by the Japanese and the flight and capture of nurses and civilian women told from the memories of the people involved. This is an emotional story which depicts the sense of support between the prisoners when brutality and starvation are their daily lot. The impact of the description is visceral and focuses the mind as to how de-humanising war can be on both perpetrators and victims.

A very moving account based on research and oral testimony of the women who were captured in the Far East during the second World War and their experiences in Japanese prison camps focussing on two sisters as well as Australian nursing sisters, presumably hence the title. It includes the well known story of Vivian Bullwinkel, who was the sole surviving nurse of the Bangka Island Massacre, when the Japanese killed 21 of her fellow nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island, in the Dutch East Indies on 16 February 1942.

The story is pacy and moves through their time in various camps, and is both horrific and very sad, with some very uplifting moments, such as the choir of voices.

The only thing I did not like was the writing style - it is written in the present tense, which just did not work for an historical piece like this and instead of making it feel 'immediate' it jolted the reader periodically and spoiled the flow.

Overall a very readable story of experiences in that dreadful period. Thank you to NetGalley, Bonnier Books UK and Zaffre for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I sadly don’t know much about this side of the war I’m ashamed to say. Whilst this was an enlightening and tragic story, I felt it wasn’t as engaging as other books by this author. I struggled with the various pov’s as there were a few. Still a harrowing account and an important story to be told!

This book was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had an echo of the BBC TV series Tenko. What's more amazing is that it's based on a true story. Brilliant writing that brings the characters to life.