Jeanie's Reviews > Spies & Sweethearts

This is an excellent novel of World War II!. The faith demonstrated by one of the protagonists is amazing, and her faith and the man she is on a mission with in Occupied France are blessed in incredible ways. The characters are defined as well as needed for their roles, and the settings in the mysterious training grounds and in Europe sounded appealing. I had a hard time putting this down once I started it!

Emily is the youngest of three sisters; she teaches French in high school. The expectations of her mother for propriety and for marrying a guy from the right family were not her priorities. No, Emily wanted to live, to contribute to the world and the Allies. She took tests to join the war effort, thinking that being bilingual and having firsthand knowledge of France and its culture would be beneficial and was accepted. Her family was very unhappy that she was leaving home and would not even be able to have contact by mail with family at least until her training was complete.

They met on the plane to Washington, D.C. Gerard Lucas had made himself disreputable in the air force. Not on purpose, but because it was the kind of guy he was. Because of his penchant for not showing suitable respect for higher-ranking officers and “swimming against the tide”, he was being transferred to intelligence. He sat next to her on the plane, and neither were terribly impressed with the other. Then Emily went to her first class in the most demanding five weeks of her training that included physical fitness, survival, and evading capture. For one of the top students in this training class, this was the hardest part, but Gerard finally found himself helping her learn enough to be fit for duty.

Gerard and Emily were sent on a mission together to Occupied France. Their cover story would be that of a husband and wife, newlyweds. While it started well, they began to imagine what it would be like to be really be married to the other. Then their cover was blown, and they had to go on the run while being chased by the SS. What they learn about God, each other, and themselves while trying to survive long enough to get out of the country was far beyond their expectations.

I was surprised to see how in-depth the training was for a radio operator with a short life expectancy in the field! The author brought home the point that even the non-military women who went to Europe to serve in the war did not know if they would be returning. Emily feels that she already trusts in God and learns a new level of following God’s direction. I was stunned at the miracles taking place every place they went. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from start to finish, and highly recommend it to those who appreciate well-written Christian WWII stories for women with challenges of faith, and extreme, high-energy survival tactics.

From a thankful heart: I received an eARC of this from Celebrate Lit, and this is my honest review.