First Friends is the way Those Who Share came to my attention. Marcia has a wonderful grasp of human nature. Cass & Kate’s loyalty and support of each other is endearing. Cass’s nature as a risk taker catches up with her, However, her generosity of spirit is a redeeming virtue in her help to Kate when possible and any others the cross her path. I have a soft spot for Cass and dearly wish I had a friend like Kate in my early years. Now being part of a military family I can also appreciate the triumphs and struggles those left home face on a daily basis.
I love all of Marcia’s books. Every one touches a memory of something during my childhood.
This one reminds me of the ‘feel’ of my childhood in the sixties. How my parents and their friends used to be. It wasn’t a safe feeling. But reading this book I manage to understand them more and how things used to be.
The first time I read the book, I felt a bit uncomfortable. Why didn’t Cass fully realise what she was doing to her children!
I started this book (with “First Friends” as the title) this morning. I am looking forward to getting to know Kate’s earlier years. Kate is one of my favorite characters in the books.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has a ring of authenticity to it which reflects the author’s knowledge of the Navy and her experiences as a Service wife, but it will also appeal to others not familiar with the lifestyle. I normally avoid anything that looks like a ‘romantic’ novel, but this is so much more than that. Lots of interesting, believable characters (of both sexes) and a well developed plot that kept me guessing. I bought the next novel (Thea’s Parrot) as soon as I finished this one!
Thank you for your comment, Jennifer. As you can imagine, Marcia and I have often discussed what is meant by “a romantic novel’. None of Marcia’s books have as a main theme a story centred on two people who are going to fall in love (and, either following or not great traumas, marry) but it happens. It would be unrealistic to believe it could be otherwise and Marcia’s books are, I think, always realistic.
Marcia hates it when her books are described as romantic. She describes them as an exploration into how a group of the (often oddball) characters who present themselves to her react to the circumstances in which they find themselves.
A Companion to the novels by Marcia Willett 
First Friends is the way Those Who Share came to my attention. Marcia has a wonderful grasp of human nature. Cass & Kate’s loyalty and support of each other is endearing. Cass’s nature as a risk taker catches up with her, However, her generosity of spirit is a redeeming virtue in her help to Kate when possible and any others the cross her path. I have a soft spot for Cass and dearly wish I had a friend like Kate in my early years. Now being part of a military family I can also appreciate the triumphs and struggles those left home face on a daily basis.
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Correction… s/b Those Who Serve… apologies
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I love all of Marcia’s books. Every one touches a memory of something during my childhood.
This one reminds me of the ‘feel’ of my childhood in the sixties. How my parents and their friends used to be. It wasn’t a safe feeling. But reading this book I manage to understand them more and how things used to be.
The first time I read the book, I felt a bit uncomfortable. Why didn’t Cass fully realise what she was doing to her children!
LikeLike
I started this book (with “First Friends” as the title) this morning. I am looking forward to getting to know Kate’s earlier years. Kate is one of my favorite characters in the books.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has a ring of authenticity to it which reflects the author’s knowledge of the Navy and her experiences as a Service wife, but it will also appeal to others not familiar with the lifestyle. I normally avoid anything that looks like a ‘romantic’ novel, but this is so much more than that. Lots of interesting, believable characters (of both sexes) and a well developed plot that kept me guessing. I bought the next novel (Thea’s Parrot) as soon as I finished this one!
LikeLike
Thank you for your comment, Jennifer. As you can imagine, Marcia and I have often discussed what is meant by “a romantic novel’. None of Marcia’s books have as a main theme a story centred on two people who are going to fall in love (and, either following or not great traumas, marry) but it happens. It would be unrealistic to believe it could be otherwise and Marcia’s books are, I think, always realistic.
Marcia hates it when her books are described as romantic. She describes them as an exploration into how a group of the (often oddball) characters who present themselves to her react to the circumstances in which they find themselves.
Is that a fair description?
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