I like to give balanced reviews. I really do. I like to think that even when I am just writing about the things I love about a book I am able to be just a little bit objective. Nup. Not here. Not with this one. With this one I am going to fangirl HARD.

Sarah Sundin is one of my go to authors. I’ve written before about how I have had to ration myself on her books. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing when you write in similar genres! But I came to this book after watching The Dressmaker and Atonement back-to-back. Now they are both great movies (and wow! Kate Winslet’s Australian accent was flawless in The Dressmaker!) but they don’t exactly have HEA’s at the end. (Sorry about the spoilers, but the movies are a few years old now!). 

So I came to this book wanting high drama, espionage, a bit of swoon-worthy kissing and a satisfyingly romantic ending. Sarah Sundin delivered on all counts.

1) Impeccable Research

Sarah Sundin’s research ethic is, quite frankly, amazing! I had the honour of meeting her for a mentor appointment in 2021 as part of the ACFW VA Royal Writer’s Conference. We talked about researching the US Navy in WWII. We only had 10 mins (I could have gone on for hours but I restrained my fangirling quite successfully). She generously gave me insights into her bibliography for some of her earlier books. Just the fact that she had that information to hand (i.e. had it written down in some kind of database and didn’t have to spend hours chasing it through piles of notebooks…like yours truly would have to do) tells me she is super-serious about details. It shines through in this book, where I was almost as excited at getting to the author’s notes as I was to read the final chapter.

2) Green Leaf Books

I haven’t been to Paris for over 20 years, but for ages after I went I had a photo on my wall of a sign out the front of the Shakespeare and Company English-language bookshop, which was the store that inspired Green Leaf. I recognised it straight away and loved it. I was particularly intrigued by the mentions of the American Colony in Paris as I hadn’t known about this before.

3) Absolutely everything  else

Yes, I know it’s cheating to write a three things review and have this as my final thing…but really there wasn’t anything NOT to love in this book. There were plenty of twists, turns and reveals that I didn’t see coming. There were some wonderful swoon-worthy moments (oh my goodness: The reunion!). There was well-drawn romantic tension and high stakes escapes. After visiting Munich and Paris during WWII with Sundin as my guide, I can’t wait for her next book set in Copenhagen

Romance rating

Six out of five love hearts for sweet and swoony romance!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, but also bought the ebook and paperback. It’s that good. When you love a book this much, you want to share it with everyone – so I’m giving away my paperback copy to newsletter readers next week (February 2022).