The League of Lonely War Women by Andie Newton

Description from Goodreads:

"‘A woman can get more information about German supply lines and replacements than a man with a knife to a soldier’s throat…’ Germany, 1944

Best friends Vivien Allen and Junie Knight are part of the covert world of America’s Morale Operations branch. As members of The League of Lonely War Women, a dark propaganda campaign aimed to sow seeds of doubt in German soldiers’ minds, their first mission sends them deep into enemy territory.

But their mission isn’t exactly what was sold to them, and the tracking of a dangerous SS officer goes very wrong, their friendship is irreparably broken.

Now, ten years later, Viv is still paying the consequences, so when a chance at redemption lands in her lap she seizes it, determined to right past wrongs, reconcile with Junie, and complete her mission once and for all…"

📚📚📚📚📚📚

A different kind of war story

I’ve been a big fan of Andie Newton’s books for a while now. I really enjoyed A Child for the Reich and The Secret Pianist, so I was quite excited to dive into this one. It’s definitely a solid read and covers an interesting part of history, but if I’m being honest, it didn’t quite grab me in the same way her previous novels did.

The story itself is well put together and clearly well-researched, which is something I’ve come to expect from this author. There’s a lot to like here regarding the setting and the historical detail, but I struggled to fully connect with the main characters. At times I found them a bit grating or frustrating, which made it harder to stay as invested in their journey as I wanted to be. It’s not that the writing is poor at all, it just felt a little different from the emotional punch I got from her other books.

If you enjoy historical fiction set during this period you’ll probably find plenty to appreciate here. It’s still a good story and worth a look, even if it didn’t become a new favourite for me personally.

Many thanks to the author, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book.

📚📚📚📚📚📚

The Secret Pianist by Andie Newton

💥💥💥 Release date 12-January-2024 💥💥💥

Description from Goodreads:

"Sisters. Traitors. Spies.

When a British RAF Whitley comes under fire over the French coast and is forced to drop their cargo, a spy messenger pigeon finds its way into unlikely hands… 

The occupation has taken much from the Cotillard sisters, and as the Germans increase their forces in the seaside town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Gabriella, Martine and Simone can’t escape the feeling that the walls are closing in. 

Yet, just as they should be trying to stay under the radar, Martine’s discovery of a British messenger pigeon leads them down a new and dangerous path. Gaby would do anything to protect her sisters but when the pianist is forced to teach the step-daughter of a German Commandant, and the town accuses the Cotillards of becoming ‘Bad French’ and in allegiance with the enemy, she realises they have to take the opportunity to fight back that has been handed to them. 

Now, as the sisters’ secrets wing their way to an unknown contact in London, Gaby, Martine and Simone have to wonder – have they opened a lifeline, or sealed their fate?"

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I loved this book.  It has everything that makes it a winner for me.  Fantastic characters (based on real people), excellent story (based on real events), suspense, tension, love, loss and hope.

I don't think there's much more to say about this book except go and read it ... you won't be disappointed especially those of you who enjoy reading this genre.

Many thanks to the author, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this riveting and emotional book.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Connect with the author:

Website

Facebook

X

Instagram

👀👀👀👀👀👀

Read my review of A Child for the Reich also by Andie Newton

 

A Child for the Reich by Andie Newton

 

Description from Publisher:

"Rumours of the Nazis coming for Czech children swept through the villages like a breeze through the trees, and the story was always the same…

They wanted our children to raise as their own.

Since her husband, Josef, joined the Czech resistance three years ago, Anna Dankova has done everything possible to keep her daughter, Ema, safe. But when blonde haired, blue-eyed Ema is ripped from her mother’s arms in the local marketplace by the dreaded Brown Sisters, nurses who were dedicated to Hitler’s cause, Anna is forced to go to new extremes to take back what the Nazis have stolen from her.

Going undercover as a devoted German subject eager to prove her worth to the Reich, the former actress takes on a role of a lifetime to find and save her daughter. But getting close to Ema is one thing. Convincing her that the Germans are lying when they claim Anna stole her from her true parents is another…"

📚📚📚📚📚📚

Inspired by a true story, this book is absolutely gripping and full of tension, heartbreak and the story of one woman's quest to find and rescue her daughter from the Nazi's Lebensborn programme.

Anna Dankova and her family live in Nazi-occupied Prague.  Her husband and brother-in-law have joined the Czech Resistance leaving them to try and raise their children with the ever present danger of the Nazi soldiers, the Gestapo and the much feared Brown Sisters; female nurses who were dedicated to the Nazi cause. They worked for the Nazi Welfare Organization and searched through villages and towns for Aryan-looking children.

Anna and her sister's children are blonde-haired and blue-eyed and their fears are only too real but they are powerless against the might of the Nazi regime and one day, Anna's daughter, Ema is literally ripped from her arms in broad daylight leaving Anna, understandably, distraught and determined to get her back whatever the risks before she is lost forever.

Anna uses all her skills, courage and guile to find her daughter, infiltrate the children's home where she has been placed to be indoctrinated into the German way and to figure out a way to get her out of there whilst under the ever present threat of exposure and certain death.

This is a story full of tension and heartbreak and one mother's determination to find her daughter no matter what and it was absolutely gripping and I have no hesitation recommending it to those of you who 'enjoy' reading historical fiction based on true stories and events.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of A Child for the Reich.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Connect with the author:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Goodreads

Amazon