While You Were Mine was a sweet historical romance with a bit of a dark edge.

The characters were all so strong in some ways and yet so naïve and weak in others. They made mistakes and bad decisions -- some of them monumentally bad. Two characters suffered from severe mental illness. Overall, however, it was an uplifting story about a young nurse doing her best to handle a tough situation: her roommate, Alice, disappears and leaves her six-week-old baby behind in the apartment.

Over the course of the story, we see Gwen ride an emotional roller coaster, but she always returns to a level-headed center. She is supposed to be the woman in the famous “V-J Day in Times Square” photo, and at one point she explains that while she was happy to have been in Life magazine, she was also glad to have appeared anonymously. She had no desire to take credit for her appearance in the photo or to capitalize on it. Alice, on the other hand, was grasping for fame and always had to be the center of attention. Gwen’s rational acceptance of random happenings in her life, whether it was a sailor grabbing her on the street and inadvertently making her famous, or a baby being abandoned in her lap, underscored her pragmatism and, I thought, explained why she handled certain events in the story as calmly she did.

I liked that John’s POV was inserted in a few places, just enough to give us a little insight into his thoughts. It might seem strange and unexpected in a book that is otherwise written in first person, but I like strange and unexpected. Keeps things interesting :). I’ll read more by Creel in the future. ( )

I love reading books set in thisv time period and this one does not disappoint! I like how it gives the point of view of John for some important events but it's mostly Gwen. The book covers many issues that people deal with during war and handles them nicely. ( )

The story starts with a nurse getting off her shift and walking through Times Square on VJ day and hearing President Truman saying “Japan has surrendered.” A sailor grabs, dips her backward and kisses her. When she returns to her apartment, her story begins. She has an abandoned baby from her previous roommate who left believing that her soldier husband was killed in action. The POW returns for his wife and baby and the story begins. ( )

Yeah, no. She should have punched him in the throat and kicked him down at least two flights of stairs. Better person than I am, I guess.

Before I get flagged because some would think that this is not a review, let me say a bit more. Unrealistic. Absurd circumstances. No character depth. Exploitative.

Ta-da. ( )

I selected this book for the historical fiction which I love and as the book started I wasn't disappointed and quickly got sucked in. New York City at the tail end of WWII, overhead rails, the old stores, the smells on the streets, housing, women working and holding down the country, etc. But after maybe 50 pages Ms Creel forgot all that and turned the book into a simple, very predictable but unrealistic love story. I mean how does anyone go from caring for a baby for 18 months (on your own) to meeting a guy for 3 months and suddenly where the story line was "I can't lose this child" to "I can't lose this man and oh yes the child too". I guess that was the unpredictable part.

The rest was so easily predictable, and the characters so unrealistic. Example, John loves Gwen more than any woman he's known, but not only takes back his ex-wife (ok, because of the baby) but runs the whole new romance right in front of his true love and leaves her with his kid while he tries to reignite the flame. All the while knowing he is tearing her heart apart because she only is acting as mother until Christmas so he and his Ex can get reacquainted. Would any human do that? Would anyone who supposedly love someone so much do that? And of course in the end it turns out so beautiful with absolutely no surprises.

I only finished it because I vowed to finish every book I start. I seriously need to rethink that vow. ( )