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Cambridge Fellows #8
All Lessons Learned
He’s at the end of his rope…until fate casts a lifeline.
Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 8
The Great War is over. Freed from a prisoner of war camp and back at St. Bride’s College, Orlando Coppersmith is discovering what those years have cost. All he holds dear—including his beloved Jonty Stewart, lost in combat.
A commission to investigate a young officer’s disappearance gives Orlando new direction…temporarily. The deceptively simple case becomes a maze of conflicting stories—is Daniel McNeil a deserter, or a hero?—taking Orlando into the world of the shell-shocked and broken. And his sense of Jonty’s absence becomes painfully acute. Especially when a brief spark of attraction for a Cambridge historian, instead of offering comfort, triggers overwhelming guilt.
As he hovers on the brink of despair, a chance encounter on the French seafront at Cabourg brings new hope and unexpected joy. But the crushing aftereffects of war could destroy his second chance, leaving him more lost and alone than ever�
Product WarningsContains sensual m/m lovemaking and is a three hankie story, two of which you’ll need for the happy ending.
Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 8
The Great War is over. Freed from a prisoner of war camp and back at St. Bride’s College, Orlando Coppersmith is discovering what those years have cost. All he holds dear—including his beloved Jonty Stewart, lost in combat.
A commission to investigate a young officer’s disappearance gives Orlando new direction…temporarily. The deceptively simple case becomes a maze of conflicting stories—is Daniel McNeil a deserter, or a hero?—taking Orlando into the world of the shell-shocked and broken. And his sense of Jonty’s absence becomes painfully acute. Especially when a brief spark of attraction for a Cambridge historian, instead of offering comfort, triggers overwhelming guilt.
As he hovers on the brink of despair, a chance encounter on the French seafront at Cabourg brings new hope and unexpected joy. But the crushing aftereffects of war could destroy his second chance, leaving him more lost and alone than ever�
Product WarningsContains sensual m/m lovemaking and is a three hankie story, two of which you’ll need for the happy ending.
157 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2011
13 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Cochrane
90books371followersBecause Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes. Her mystery novels include the Edwardian era Cambridge Fellows series, series, and the contemporary Best Corpse for the Job. Multi-published, she has titles with Carina, Samhain, Riptide and Bold Strokes, among others.
A member of the Romantic Novelists� Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie regularly appears at literary festivals and at reader and author conferences with The Deadly Dames.
A member of the Romantic Novelists� Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie regularly appears at literary festivals and at reader and author conferences with The Deadly Dames.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 28, 2019
The author warns that this is a three hankie book, but the reader will have something to make it worth while. And yes, that was a nearly accurate assessment. I used up two tissues and I ended up grinning from ear to ear at a few points.
This was an amazing look into the lives of the boys and men who came home and the part of them they left behind on those battlefields. It was a fine telling of post-WWI through the lives of those who decorated this series throughout. It's not easy and its not hearts and rainbows. I was very moved by this book. I don't see how anyone wouldn't be.
The mystery was more of a distant thing in this one and yet it is the very essence of the story in ways as Orlando tries to determine for a hurting mother whether her son died or lived. She knows the official report sugarcoated it and is aware that he might have lived as a coward running from the field of battle, but she just has to know for sure. Orlando is at loose ends and desperately needs something to keep him going after losing so much and not seeing a reason to go on so he accepts this one last commission. It takes him on a journey of discovery and truth that he wasn't expecting.
So all in all, it hit hard and cut deep and I loved it best of all for that.
This was an amazing look into the lives of the boys and men who came home and the part of them they left behind on those battlefields. It was a fine telling of post-WWI through the lives of those who decorated this series throughout. It's not easy and its not hearts and rainbows. I was very moved by this book. I don't see how anyone wouldn't be.
The mystery was more of a distant thing in this one and yet it is the very essence of the story in ways as Orlando tries to determine for a hurting mother whether her son died or lived. She knows the official report sugarcoated it and is aware that he might have lived as a coward running from the field of battle, but she just has to know for sure. Orlando is at loose ends and desperately needs something to keep him going after losing so much and not seeing a reason to go on so he accepts this one last commission. It takes him on a journey of discovery and truth that he wasn't expecting.
So all in all, it hit hard and cut deep and I loved it best of all for that.
March 8, 2020
I just finished #7 and this one is NOT next chronologically...I'm going to skip around to keep them in order. Well, unless those of you who've read them recommend going from #7 (where Orlando finds his origins) to this one...after WW1.
Using this space to mark the years as, thankfully, each book starts with the date. Also, yay for KU.
Suspicious Minds 1909
Idle Tongues 1910
Deadly Code Jan 1911
Murderous Tune Summer 1911
All Lessons Learned Nov 1918
Surviors Sept 1919
Sleeping Dogs 1921
Wild Goose 1922
Murderous Neighbor 1922
Using this space to mark the years as, thankfully, each book starts with the date. Also, yay for KU.
Suspicious Minds 1909
Idle Tongues 1910
Deadly Code Jan 1911
Murderous Tune Summer 1911
All Lessons Learned Nov 1918
Surviors Sept 1919
Sleeping Dogs 1921
Wild Goose 1922
Murderous Neighbor 1922
August 23, 2014
Wonderful! Worth the wait. For me, the first half of the book is stronger than the second half, but both are excellent. I could have done without the Epilogue, though I understand why the author inserted it. The parallels of the plotline through the first half were intriguing and ultimately had me thinking the author was very clever indeed. Eventually, there were some confusions for me along the way, due perhaps to an excess of cleverness...or perhaps because I read the book in two sittings when I was tired.
All Lessons Learned is without a doubt the best book of 2011 so far (I've read several), and I don't hesitate to give it a five star rating. However, it still lacks that certain something that I am constantly looking for in my gay romance reading: the sweeping sense of romanticism, the hopeless longing, the passion and the need. The author did a magnificent job of conveying grief, as I honestly sobbed out loud several times in the first 50 pages or so. But as for the romance...she is constrained by the times she is writing about, by the men who are her main characters, I do understand that. However, I remain convinced that there is some way of conveying love as authentically as grief.
I'm asking a lot of a book that has already delivered a great deal. I'm greedy that way. It's the only thing that would have made the whole series perfect.
Cochrane has tackled several difficult subjects throughout the Cambridge Fellows series, but her depiction of the ravages of World War I hit home the most for me. I really honor her courage for all she touches on; halfway through the book I asked my husband if he liked authors who took readers where they really didn't want to go! Really good authors can take me on journeys like that. At one point I really did think Cochrane was going to ask Orlando to forgive Jonty of the greatest sin, far worse than dying, and there's still something in me that wishes the resolution of Jonty's situation hadn't been quite so tidy. That would have indeed elevated the novel to the ranks of the great. As it is, this examination of WWI as well as the actions of men on the battlefield, and how they judged themselves once the battle is done, enlarged my spirit and my understanding, and that's a great thing to say about a book.
I really did enjoy All Lessons Learned a great deal. Excellent, excellent book. I recommend it to anybody who's read several of the preceding Cambridge Fellows Mysteries.
Long live Jonty and Orlando!
All Lessons Learned is without a doubt the best book of 2011 so far (I've read several), and I don't hesitate to give it a five star rating. However, it still lacks that certain something that I am constantly looking for in my gay romance reading: the sweeping sense of romanticism, the hopeless longing, the passion and the need. The author did a magnificent job of conveying grief, as I honestly sobbed out loud several times in the first 50 pages or so. But as for the romance...she is constrained by the times she is writing about, by the men who are her main characters, I do understand that. However, I remain convinced that there is some way of conveying love as authentically as grief.
I'm asking a lot of a book that has already delivered a great deal. I'm greedy that way. It's the only thing that would have made the whole series perfect.
Cochrane has tackled several difficult subjects throughout the Cambridge Fellows series, but her depiction of the ravages of World War I hit home the most for me. I really honor her courage for all she touches on; halfway through the book I asked my husband if he liked authors who took readers where they really didn't want to go! Really good authors can take me on journeys like that. At one point I really did think Cochrane was going to ask Orlando to forgive Jonty of the greatest sin, far worse than dying, and there's still something in me that wishes the resolution of Jonty's situation hadn't been quite so tidy. That would have indeed elevated the novel to the ranks of the great. As it is, this examination of WWI as well as the actions of men on the battlefield, and how they judged themselves once the battle is done, enlarged my spirit and my understanding, and that's a great thing to say about a book.
I really did enjoy All Lessons Learned a great deal. Excellent, excellent book. I recommend it to anybody who's read several of the preceding Cambridge Fellows Mysteries.
Long live Jonty and Orlando!
January 5, 2013
This book was so heartbreaking! Usually I cry at the end of a book (I admit ... I am a wimp) but in this case I cried for the first 10-15% of the book at every other page. Ms. Cochrane did such a wonderful job in portraying the post WW1 life: the loss of the loved ones, the copping with what soldiers did, saw or in some cases they didn't do in combat, the struggle to live again, to put back together the broken pieces. This book wasn't at all about mystery (even if I have to admit that I had no clue where the story took me), rather about the power of life, forgiveness, and love. I think that this is by far the best book in series, and Ms. Cochrane has now a very tough job: to make the books to come on a par with .
January 23, 2019
this book made me realise how much I love this series (and Jonty)
April 1, 2011
I was expecting to have my heart put through the wringer with this book, and I wasn’t wrong. Charlie Cochrane warns, without too many spoilers that it’s a “three hanky read� and she’s not wrong. So if you aren’t a fan of angst, then stay away! There are hints in the blurb about the outcome, so don’t despair.
It is a brave thing that Cochrane does to build up characters and relationships over seven books only to tear it all down in the eighth–but it’s entirely right to do so because of the setting and the events that happened from 1914-1919. The book is set after the end of the Great War–the other great lie, that it was the “War to End All War”–and it’s all the shattered Britain can hang onto, because that’s the only thing that helps them make sense of what seems four years of senseless slaughter. To make things worse, many people who escaped being killed on the battlefield, including wives, husbands and children were wiped out in the influenza epidemic of 1919, further reducing an already battered population.
So we know from the outset—and from the blurb, that loved ones have been lost, although it’s more than the blurb hints at, so steel yourself for sadness.
Orlando’s reaction is entirely right. The Orlando from books 1 to about 3 would probably have retreated entirely within his mind and never come out again, but Jonty’s influence remains strong with him, and he’s able to cope on a day-to-day level as long as he doesn’t allow himself to think too deeply—and that’s something a gentleman wouldn’t let himself do in public. His initial interview with his—and Jonty’s—old friend Matthew Ainslie is perfectly pitched. What they can talk about and what they can’t, the feeling of unbearable, but gentlemanly repression. The way Ainslie has kept obituaries from the paper “in case you wanted to see them� and the way that Orlando takes them without reading them in public. This skill of writing shows a writer who completely understands, not only her characters, but the mindset of middleclass and upperclass England of 1919.
I’d definitely say to prospective readers of the series–don’t start with this one. That probably sounds unnecessary to say, but some readers will start at the end or in the middle of a series, but to get the full flavour out of this, you will need to get some of the backstory under your belt, because the impact won’t be anything like as powerful otherwise, and you’ll need to know who’s who–it might leave you feeling a little confused otherwise.
Here’s one part which had me sobbing like a baby:
Their eventual parting had been so painful, preceded as it was by snatched nights of shared passion and tender longeurs—giving and receiving each other’s bodies, lying in one another’s arms without speaking, reacquainting themselves with every inch of each other, lest they be parted. Lest they might then forget. The last meeting, on a crowded railway station, had been almost wordless, from both necessity of discretion and aching in their hearts. They had shaken hands, exchanged notes and gone off into the smoky night. And each note had been almost identical.
I love you. Do not forget me. Love again if I don’t return.
I think we all know (without spoiling, because Cochrane has advertised widely for her readers to “Just TRUST her�) that the story must end well, and we also know that Cochrane wouldn’t do that to her readers—it would probably be romance suicide to do it, but even so the pathos of this story hits hard. The bequest to honey-buzzards will resonate with readers only who have read the earlier books, and the tender way Jonty is discussed and remembered will make even the hardest hearted of us well up with emotion.
I’ve already spoken about the characterisation being pitch-perfect, and you never need to worry about Cochrane’s historical detail. She makes me laugh, actually, as from time to time something jars with me and I gleefully trot to the etymology dictionary only to discover that she’s spot on—one example was “foxhole”—i had thought this was a later term, but no, I should have known better, it was coined in WW1. The thing with a book like this is that you actually forget that you are reading something written in the 21st century. It’s so immersive, you just lose yourself within it, whether you are strolling along the seafront of Caborg or having a pint in the Holloway Road.
There was a little too much cosy chat too for me which lost my concentration at times, but I know that this will be the main draw for lovers of previous books.
I also felt that Orlando’s “sleuthing� was a little too easy in spots—coincidence plays a part and he only has to say something out loud for one of the porters to say “oh I know where you can find that out, guv’nor.� And he not only finds the man he needs in a neighbouring college but the details of one man in all of the war. Coincidence plays a large part in the remaining plot, and I’d complain more strongly about that had Cochrane not made this a feature in the previous books. I can live with it in a cozy novella, it’s almost part of the genre.
I wouldn’t say that this is the strongest in the series because it’s not as strong on sleuthing as the others—and I would have liked a little more mystery to balance the Jonty—Orlando plotline, but it breaks the mould in good ways. The whole arching story—whether or not this book will be the last Cambridge Fellows book or not—is compelling and sweet, although nicely toned in light and shade. This last book shows us that Cochrane is more than capable of stepping well outside the cosy mystery and dealing with the most disturbing of subjects, war, shellshock, duty and death—and of doing it every bit as well as writers such as Pat Barker or Susan Field. Bring hankies with you when you read it, but read it. It will touch you in many good ways.
Title is an ebook only at the moment but will be moving to paperback in a few months.
It is a brave thing that Cochrane does to build up characters and relationships over seven books only to tear it all down in the eighth–but it’s entirely right to do so because of the setting and the events that happened from 1914-1919. The book is set after the end of the Great War–the other great lie, that it was the “War to End All War”–and it’s all the shattered Britain can hang onto, because that’s the only thing that helps them make sense of what seems four years of senseless slaughter. To make things worse, many people who escaped being killed on the battlefield, including wives, husbands and children were wiped out in the influenza epidemic of 1919, further reducing an already battered population.
So we know from the outset—and from the blurb, that loved ones have been lost, although it’s more than the blurb hints at, so steel yourself for sadness.
Orlando’s reaction is entirely right. The Orlando from books 1 to about 3 would probably have retreated entirely within his mind and never come out again, but Jonty’s influence remains strong with him, and he’s able to cope on a day-to-day level as long as he doesn’t allow himself to think too deeply—and that’s something a gentleman wouldn’t let himself do in public. His initial interview with his—and Jonty’s—old friend Matthew Ainslie is perfectly pitched. What they can talk about and what they can’t, the feeling of unbearable, but gentlemanly repression. The way Ainslie has kept obituaries from the paper “in case you wanted to see them� and the way that Orlando takes them without reading them in public. This skill of writing shows a writer who completely understands, not only her characters, but the mindset of middleclass and upperclass England of 1919.
I’d definitely say to prospective readers of the series–don’t start with this one. That probably sounds unnecessary to say, but some readers will start at the end or in the middle of a series, but to get the full flavour out of this, you will need to get some of the backstory under your belt, because the impact won’t be anything like as powerful otherwise, and you’ll need to know who’s who–it might leave you feeling a little confused otherwise.
Here’s one part which had me sobbing like a baby:
Their eventual parting had been so painful, preceded as it was by snatched nights of shared passion and tender longeurs—giving and receiving each other’s bodies, lying in one another’s arms without speaking, reacquainting themselves with every inch of each other, lest they be parted. Lest they might then forget. The last meeting, on a crowded railway station, had been almost wordless, from both necessity of discretion and aching in their hearts. They had shaken hands, exchanged notes and gone off into the smoky night. And each note had been almost identical.
I love you. Do not forget me. Love again if I don’t return.
I think we all know (without spoiling, because Cochrane has advertised widely for her readers to “Just TRUST her�) that the story must end well, and we also know that Cochrane wouldn’t do that to her readers—it would probably be romance suicide to do it, but even so the pathos of this story hits hard. The bequest to honey-buzzards will resonate with readers only who have read the earlier books, and the tender way Jonty is discussed and remembered will make even the hardest hearted of us well up with emotion.
I’ve already spoken about the characterisation being pitch-perfect, and you never need to worry about Cochrane’s historical detail. She makes me laugh, actually, as from time to time something jars with me and I gleefully trot to the etymology dictionary only to discover that she’s spot on—one example was “foxhole”—i had thought this was a later term, but no, I should have known better, it was coined in WW1. The thing with a book like this is that you actually forget that you are reading something written in the 21st century. It’s so immersive, you just lose yourself within it, whether you are strolling along the seafront of Caborg or having a pint in the Holloway Road.
There was a little too much cosy chat too for me which lost my concentration at times, but I know that this will be the main draw for lovers of previous books.
I also felt that Orlando’s “sleuthing� was a little too easy in spots—coincidence plays a part and he only has to say something out loud for one of the porters to say “oh I know where you can find that out, guv’nor.� And he not only finds the man he needs in a neighbouring college but the details of one man in all of the war. Coincidence plays a large part in the remaining plot, and I’d complain more strongly about that had Cochrane not made this a feature in the previous books. I can live with it in a cozy novella, it’s almost part of the genre.
I wouldn’t say that this is the strongest in the series because it’s not as strong on sleuthing as the others—and I would have liked a little more mystery to balance the Jonty—Orlando plotline, but it breaks the mould in good ways. The whole arching story—whether or not this book will be the last Cambridge Fellows book or not—is compelling and sweet, although nicely toned in light and shade. This last book shows us that Cochrane is more than capable of stepping well outside the cosy mystery and dealing with the most disturbing of subjects, war, shellshock, duty and death—and of doing it every bit as well as writers such as Pat Barker or Susan Field. Bring hankies with you when you read it, but read it. It will touch you in many good ways.
Title is an ebook only at the moment but will be moving to paperback in a few months.
April 13, 2021
The Great War has ended as we start this book and some things have changed.
Orlando is left by himself with those close to him gone. Mr & Mrs Stewert have passed due to the Spanish Flu.
Orlando does take a commission to find a man missing after the War and that leads him to a discovery.
I liked this book and had I not been reading it 9 years after it was first published I would probably have been crying through most of it.
I do wonder though if this was meant to be the last book in the series as I found the epilogue to be most odd.
Orlando is left by himself with those close to him gone. Mr & Mrs Stewert have passed due to the Spanish Flu.
Orlando does take a commission to find a man missing after the War and that leads him to a discovery.
I liked this book and had I not been reading it 9 years after it was first published I would probably have been crying through most of it.
I do wonder though if this was meant to be the last book in the series as I found the epilogue to be most odd.
December 29, 2014
My word, but I feel like I've been through the wringer! For me, this is the best book of the series, even though the mystery aspect is not as pervasive as in previous books. (I must qualify that statement by saying that there is a 9th book pending, which may alter that.)
I love these characters so much! Watching them grow and mature has been sheer pleasure. Through all of their changes, Jonty and Orlando remain absolutely true and recognizable.
The first half of this book is gut-wrenching and, I feel, is the stronger half. The second half becomes almost too rife with coincidence/divine intervention (an Orlando/Jonty debate) but does not ultimately detract from the book as a whole.
An extremely emotional book that requires tissues at hand!
I love these characters so much! Watching them grow and mature has been sheer pleasure. Through all of their changes, Jonty and Orlando remain absolutely true and recognizable.
The first half of this book is gut-wrenching and, I feel, is the stronger half. The second half becomes almost too rife with coincidence/divine intervention (an Orlando/Jonty debate) but does not ultimately detract from the book as a whole.
An extremely emotional book that requires tissues at hand!
September 6, 2022
I didn't hate it. But I certainly didn't like it either. My issues:
Its set a good 10 years after the last book. That's a HUGE gap and I was a bit bewildered as to why so long.
Jonty "dies". This is not a spoiler. The book blurb clearly states Orlando is clearly morning the loss of his lover but there are several more books in the series, so you kinda know this isn't permanent.
Now this is a spoiler...the author literally killed off several main characters...off page. Both Jonty's parents. And the headmaster of the McBride's. I loved those characters, especially the Stewarts. It felt like such an injustice to just discard them.
And I had significant problems with the plot, which is mostly Orlando and Jonty reuniting with a minor side mystery. Jonty never bothered to confirm his lovers death? Orlando went to France and had a random body dug up and reburied in England just because he thought maybe it might be his lover and Jonty couldn't even check to make sure Orlando was actually dead?
The entire book felt like an ending to the series. There was even an epilogue set 40 years later. I'll keep reading the series but I must say this book kinda had me scratching my head. If it wasn't for the love of the characters I would have stopped reading.
Its set a good 10 years after the last book. That's a HUGE gap and I was a bit bewildered as to why so long.
Jonty "dies". This is not a spoiler. The book blurb clearly states Orlando is clearly morning the loss of his lover but there are several more books in the series, so you kinda know this isn't permanent.
Now this is a spoiler...the author literally killed off several main characters...off page. Both Jonty's parents. And the headmaster of the McBride's. I loved those characters, especially the Stewarts. It felt like such an injustice to just discard them.
And I had significant problems with the plot, which is mostly Orlando and Jonty reuniting with a minor side mystery. Jonty never bothered to confirm his lovers death? Orlando went to France and had a random body dug up and reburied in England just because he thought maybe it might be his lover and Jonty couldn't even check to make sure Orlando was actually dead?
The entire book felt like an ending to the series. There was even an epilogue set 40 years later. I'll keep reading the series but I must say this book kinda had me scratching my head. If it wasn't for the love of the characters I would have stopped reading.
February 20, 2023
5- Stars
Charlie Cochrane’s extraordinary novel, All Lessons Learned is an emotional gut punch, a heart wrenching story, and an absolute MUST READ for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
BUT
please be aware of the actual chronological listing the author has provided for the books in her Cambridge Fellows Mysteries series -
/series/3173...
All Lessons Learned can be read as a stand alone, but it will have even more meaning when read in its proper sequence.
Charlie Cochrane’s extraordinary novel, All Lessons Learned is an emotional gut punch, a heart wrenching story, and an absolute MUST READ for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
BUT
please be aware of the actual chronological listing the author has provided for the books in her Cambridge Fellows Mysteries series -
/series/3173...
All Lessons Learned can be read as a stand alone, but it will have even more meaning when read in its proper sequence.
May 20, 2023
A soulful m/m romance
WWI has ended but things are never going to be "normal" in society or in the separate lives of Jonty and Orlando. Each believes the other died in the war and tries to carry on in their misery in Cambridge and in France. Orlando vows to end his life Normandy but instead finds Jonty and they fight their way back to a healing but uncertain future. This is a wonderful but tearful book and I for one cried but was very happy with the ending. This has been a terrific series.
WWI has ended but things are never going to be "normal" in society or in the separate lives of Jonty and Orlando. Each believes the other died in the war and tries to carry on in their misery in Cambridge and in France. Orlando vows to end his life Normandy but instead finds Jonty and they fight their way back to a healing but uncertain future. This is a wonderful but tearful book and I for one cried but was very happy with the ending. This has been a terrific series.
December 17, 2022
Although I've thoroughly enjoyed the pre-war novellas, it was wonderful to return to the main thread of the novels in this series with this deeply moving story. Without giving away any spoilers for the carefully plotted tale, no reader could fail to be emotionally engaged with this story. Bravo Charlie Cochrane!
August 17, 2019
Even being confident in a HEA, I actually sobbed. So poignant!
July 21, 2020
A well researched historical romantic mystery. Set in the early 20th century this series is well written with likable characters.
December 6, 2022
TLDR: I was not going to be in the mood for this any time soon, so I scanned most of the earlier chapters with the heavy grief.
September 15, 2024
1919 Dr Coppersmith is contacted by Mrs McNeil. She needs to know what really happened to her son, Lt Daniel McNeil, in Belgium during the war. As Coppersmith mourns the death of Jonty.
An entertining historical mystery.
An entertining historical mystery.
November 1, 2017
3.5 stars
December 3, 2021
3.5/5 stars. I read books 1-4 in this series, didn't have the patience for the mystery-heavy plots described in the blurbs for books 5-7, and skipped to book 8 because it focused more heavily on the relationship. Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed by this book because the premise has the potential to be emotional and angsty, but I felt very little connection to the characters. Not enough time is spent exploring their experiences in the war, resulting trauma, or pain at being parted.
If you've read other books in the series this one serves as an adequate "conclusion" to the romance (though I understand it continues in later books), but nothing exceptional. I also still hate all the weird sex euphemisms.
If you've read other books in the series this one serves as an adequate "conclusion" to the romance (though I understand it continues in later books), but nothing exceptional. I also still hate all the weird sex euphemisms.
Read
November 18, 2012I was dreading to read this chapter in the Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, because it was the one I was expecting and at the same time I didn’t want to happen. For the last few books I was counting the years, 1906, 1907, 1908� it was like an ominous dripping towards those dreadful 1914 and the IWW. From the like Orlando and Jonty, it was obvious they wouldn’t step back, and the IWW was such a bloodbath, more like men sent to the slaughter than a noble war, and these fellows can only play with honor.
So when I read the blurb of this book, 1918, end of the war, and Jonty lost in war, I thought that is, the worst happened, and how I can find the heart to read this novel? Sure the author told me not to worry, that she had everything planned for both of them, but still� it was not until I didn’t see there was a book 9 that I found the courage to consider book 8. Hands up, I’m a coward, yes, I am.
But I didn’t come out unscathed from the experience of reading this book, since, well, the losses are more than what I was expecting: Jonty’s parents, those wonderful parents who not only supported their own son, but welcomed Orlando too, are lost as well; I felt these losses as much as I felt that of Jonty, so much they were part of this series. It’s really sad to think I will continue to read this series knowing they will not be there, with their love and welcoming embrace; they are probably one of the main reasons why Orlando even considered to share a life with Jonty, knowing they were not scandalized by the love between them; if good people could look at them and have love in their heart, then Orlando could look as well to what he had with Jonty and not being afraid.
All in all the novel was less tragic then what I was thinking, meaning that, it basically skipped all the gory details of the war, to plunge you directly in the aftermath, when hope was blossoming again; actually it was almost warm, comfort-like, the light at the end of the dark tunnel that was the war.
So when I read the blurb of this book, 1918, end of the war, and Jonty lost in war, I thought that is, the worst happened, and how I can find the heart to read this novel? Sure the author told me not to worry, that she had everything planned for both of them, but still� it was not until I didn’t see there was a book 9 that I found the courage to consider book 8. Hands up, I’m a coward, yes, I am.
But I didn’t come out unscathed from the experience of reading this book, since, well, the losses are more than what I was expecting: Jonty’s parents, those wonderful parents who not only supported their own son, but welcomed Orlando too, are lost as well; I felt these losses as much as I felt that of Jonty, so much they were part of this series. It’s really sad to think I will continue to read this series knowing they will not be there, with their love and welcoming embrace; they are probably one of the main reasons why Orlando even considered to share a life with Jonty, knowing they were not scandalized by the love between them; if good people could look at them and have love in their heart, then Orlando could look as well to what he had with Jonty and not being afraid.
All in all the novel was less tragic then what I was thinking, meaning that, it basically skipped all the gory details of the war, to plunge you directly in the aftermath, when hope was blossoming again; actually it was almost warm, comfort-like, the light at the end of the dark tunnel that was the war.
March 23, 2011
An amazing book. If I could have, I would have given it even higher rating.
Oh, I agree that the mystery was riddled with coincidences. However, having heard numerous stories from another great war from my grandfather, I know things like these and much more unbelievable have happened in the world ravaged by the war. The mystery was not the focus of the story, anyway, but people broken by the war, unlike any previous in the history, as well as influenza epidemic that followed, broken dreams, families and minds, duties abandoned and consciences and confidences bruised or forgotten.
Jonty's letters and sonnets to Orlando as well as their parting have broken my heart and I'm not ashamed to say - I cried like a baby. Orlando's loss was handled masterfully. Ms. Cochrane was also successful in showing the difference between Jonty's and Daniel's actions. I expected, however, that at least someone challenges Jonty, having in mind terrible, heartbreaking episode described early in the book, about the soldier in civvies who receives the white feather (symbol of cowardice) from a woman who doesn't understand that he is on leave and who has never been even close to the front. I know Ms. Cochrane is planning another book set in 1919 so it is possible that Jonty and Orlando have more to face in that regard.
Heartbreaking as it is, the story is not without the humor and I was thoroughly entertained by all the euphemisms Orlando and Jonty use to describe their lovemaking and male genitalia. I was really happy with the ending too - the brief glimpse in their future. Jonty and Orlando remain one of my favorite couples in gay romance. I can't recommend this book strong enough.
Oh, I agree that the mystery was riddled with coincidences. However, having heard numerous stories from another great war from my grandfather, I know things like these and much more unbelievable have happened in the world ravaged by the war. The mystery was not the focus of the story, anyway, but people broken by the war, unlike any previous in the history, as well as influenza epidemic that followed, broken dreams, families and minds, duties abandoned and consciences and confidences bruised or forgotten.
Jonty's letters and sonnets to Orlando as well as their parting have broken my heart and I'm not ashamed to say - I cried like a baby. Orlando's loss was handled masterfully. Ms. Cochrane was also successful in showing the difference between Jonty's and Daniel's actions. I expected, however, that at least someone challenges Jonty, having in mind terrible, heartbreaking episode described early in the book, about the soldier in civvies who receives the white feather (symbol of cowardice) from a woman who doesn't understand that he is on leave and who has never been even close to the front. I know Ms. Cochrane is planning another book set in 1919 so it is possible that Jonty and Orlando have more to face in that regard.
Heartbreaking as it is, the story is not without the humor and I was thoroughly entertained by all the euphemisms Orlando and Jonty use to describe their lovemaking and male genitalia. I was really happy with the ending too - the brief glimpse in their future. Jonty and Orlando remain one of my favorite couples in gay romance. I can't recommend this book strong enough.
February 12, 2013
Must not reveal plot.....must not spoiler plot....must restrain self.....
I may have to go back and change my rating on the first book in this series from 4 stars to 5, in order to honor the quality of the series as a whole. The books are sentimental and sometimes sappy, with mystery plots that sometimes fall prey to either unbelievable coincidences or logic failures. I don't care. I once said about an Amy Lane book that some books make you want to pick apart every flaw you find, while other books make you want to ignore those very same flaws -- and this entire series is made up of books that make me ignore flaws just as hard as I can. No, my attachment isn't entirely rational, but fortunately it doesn't have to be. The truth is, I love these books warts and all. They hit my warm-fuzzy buttons just right, even when they are making me suffer the way this one did. And be warned, this installment of the series WILL make you suffer! And that's all I'll say about the plot.
5 stars, but only if you read it in order with the other books. You won't feel nearly as strongly about it if you haven't read the preceding books before this one.
I may have to go back and change my rating on the first book in this series from 4 stars to 5, in order to honor the quality of the series as a whole. The books are sentimental and sometimes sappy, with mystery plots that sometimes fall prey to either unbelievable coincidences or logic failures. I don't care. I once said about an Amy Lane book that some books make you want to pick apart every flaw you find, while other books make you want to ignore those very same flaws -- and this entire series is made up of books that make me ignore flaws just as hard as I can. No, my attachment isn't entirely rational, but fortunately it doesn't have to be. The truth is, I love these books warts and all. They hit my warm-fuzzy buttons just right, even when they are making me suffer the way this one did. And be warned, this installment of the series WILL make you suffer! And that's all I'll say about the plot.
5 stars, but only if you read it in order with the other books. You won't feel nearly as strongly about it if you haven't read the preceding books before this one.
September 2, 2016
4.5*
There is about a 10 year jump from the previous book and there has been lots of personnel changes. The Great War has been and gone
So many teary eyes in these first chapters. Orlando's despair is palpable and heart wrenching.
But then he gets a commissionto to get his teeth into - memories are still evoked but he soldiers on, meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends.
But there is also the mystery of Cesario and Lamboley - who are they, what are their stories.
The search for MacNeil does serve to bring back the horrors of the war and that things are not always black and white.
There is about a 10 year jump from the previous book and there has been lots of personnel changes. The Great War has been and gone
So many teary eyes in these first chapters. Orlando's despair is palpable and heart wrenching.
But then he gets a commissionto to get his teeth into - memories are still evoked but he soldiers on, meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends.
But there is also the mystery of Cesario and Lamboley - who are they, what are their stories.
The search for MacNeil does serve to bring back the horrors of the war and that things are not always black and white.
February 10, 2021
This was definitely the most emotional entry in the series so far. Recovering from the war, dealing with loss, trying to return to "normal" life, and a mystery that seems to embody all those elements as well. Definitely a multi-hankie read. Not much I can say about this one other than it plays havoc on your heart, even pretty much knowing what the outcome will be from the very beginning. A true example of how the greatness of a story isn't always in where it ends but the getting there. I'm eager to read number 9 & 10 but as I didn't look into it ahead of time, I have to wait for the paperbacks to arrive as they aren't yet available in ebook form, at least that I've discovered. Once they arrive I will be digging in immediately.
December 7, 2011
And so another wonderful series ends... The beginning is very upsetting - we knew Jonty's gone, but Mrs. Stewart? No way. She's immortal! I'm glad at least Ariadne Peters (I mean, Sheridan) is still there.
Yes, there are too many concidences. It makes you want to stop paying attention to the case Orlando is on and focus solely on his storyline.
Other than that? No dislikes. Charlie Cochrane did a wonderful job in taking us to the post-war times, when most things had changed. And yet, Orlando's and Jonty's love is still forbidden - and people make small talk because it would be inappropriate to talk murder before lunch.
I'm going to miss this world - and both Cambridge fellows too.
Yes, there are too many concidences. It makes you want to stop paying attention to the case Orlando is on and focus solely on his storyline.
Other than that? No dislikes. Charlie Cochrane did a wonderful job in taking us to the post-war times, when most things had changed. And yet, Orlando's and Jonty's love is still forbidden - and people make small talk because it would be inappropriate to talk murder before lunch.
I'm going to miss this world - and both Cambridge fellows too.
September 30, 2013
I cried a lot during the begining.
It was a beautiful book and I probably won't read it again. I couldn't face Orlando's pain again.
It was a beautiful book and I probably won't read it again. I couldn't face Orlando's pain again.
January 26, 2016
Devastating!! I'm actually surprised that Orlando lasted as long as he did. I thought he'd have gone over the edge after such horrendous losses.
I love Jonty but he should have just remembered one thing... check the facts, get the proof BEFORE jumping to the wrong conclusions.
I also found the lose of so many of the characters very hard to deal with as they were such an integral part of many of the stories. Let's see how things move forward :)
Recommended.
===================================
1st read - Mar 11, 2015
2nd read - Jan 22, 2016
I love Jonty but he should have just remembered one thing... check the facts, get the proof BEFORE jumping to the wrong conclusions.
I also found the lose of so many of the characters very hard to deal with as they were such an integral part of many of the stories. Let's see how things move forward :)
Recommended.
===================================
1st read - Mar 11, 2015
2nd read - Jan 22, 2016
March 2, 2013
Rating: 5 stars
Intense, heartrending and moving. WWI comes to the Cambridge Fellows and nothing will ever be the same. The best book in a series of remarkable stories. Tissues required!
Read my full review here review to be posted March 2, 2013.
One of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best Series.
visit my website for more reviews of books from this author and the rest of the series.
August 8, 2011
These are a very sweet but angsty read. Cochrane really does give the reader the idea that her two main characters love one another but have to keep things a bit hidden because of the time they live in. I really enjoyed these books. Not as much sex in them. Graphic sex I should say but still, the sex scenes were believable and nice.
September 17, 2011
A amginificently craafted novel of pain and redemption.. anyone who has followed jonty and orlando through all eight books will be terrified to read this book.. with good reason. It captures the cataclysm of the war to end all wars in the microcosm of two beloved charaacters' lives. Just beautifully done.
March 7, 2011
Excellent historical m/m mystery/romance that takes place ten years after the seventh book, after the Great War. I cried quite a bit during this one, which I'm pretty sure is the last book. But rest assured that there's a happy ending, copious tears notwithstanding.
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