This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/

Thank you to The Write Reads team for organizing and providing me with the material for this blog tour. Thank you to Neem Tree Press for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
 

The Red Tunic is a unique coming-of-age story set during World War One. Featuring a pair of twins with an incredibly strong bond, willing to make sacrifices for each other.

It was nice reading a book set during World War One because it seems like a lot of the popular historical fiction is set during World War Two. I thought the author did a good job showing the horrors of life in the trenches and gave a good glimpse at what soldiers were going through on the Front. There were some gruesome and disturbing moments, but that’s to be expected when part of the book is set on the Front.

I liked that The Red Tunic explored some of the issues going on in England at the time. There was a side character who was involved in the suffragette movement and people in the community were outraged by her behaviour. The Red Tunic also explores gender roles at the time and what society thought the role of a man and a woman should be and society’s views on same-sex relationships. It was neat to get a glimpse of what the viewpoints were during this time period.

I liked the bond between the two main characters, Nina and Alfie. Nina and Alfie are twins and they don’t fit into the roles that society thinks they should fit into. Alfie is gentle and caring and Nina is brash and headstrong. They make sacrifices for each other while also proving to themselves that the rigid gender roles of the time were wrong. It was very clear that they loved each other and that they supported each other, they had a very strong sibling bond. It was very easy to root for Nina and Alfie. I wanted them to succeed and to be happy. The bond between Nina and Alfie shone through the pages of The Red Tunic and made this a memorable story.

While there are some romantic elements in The Red Tunic, The Red Tunic is not a romance. That being said, I did enjoy the romantic storylines and I thought they added to the overall story and the journey that Nina and Alfie were on.

Overall, The Red Tunic was an enjoyable read. There were a few moments that I found a bit predictable, but the story itself was unique. It had some memorable characters and I think it’s a great book for a book club that reads a lot of historical fiction because it could lead to some great discussions.