1942, France.

As the war in Europe rages on, Adèle Ambeh dreams of a France that is free from the clutches of the new regime. The date of her marriage to a ruthless man is drawing closer, and she only has one choice – she must run.

With the help of her mother, Adèle flees to Lyon, seeking refuge at the Sisters of Notre Dame de la Compassion. From the outside this is a simple nunnery, but the sisters are secretly aiding the French Resistance, hiding and supplying the fighters with weapons.

While it is not quite the escape Adèle imagined, she is drawn to the nuns and quickly finds herself part of the resistance. But her new role means she must return to Vichy, and those she left behind, no matter the cost.

Each day is filled with a different danger and as she begins to fall for another man, Adèle’s entire world could come crashing down around her.

Adèle must fight for her family, her own destiny, as well as her country.

No. of pages:- 402 pages

Date published:- August 13th 2020

Genre:- Historical Fiction

This is the second book I have read from Andie Newton, the first book, The Girl I Left Behind, was her debut book which is based on a German girl involved in the resistance movement against the Nazis. This book too, is based on the French girl, Adele, who flees to the nunnery to escape from her wedding to a man named Gerard who supports the Nazis and belongs to a notorious Vichy police force. While in the nunnery, she meets Marguerite, with whom she initially didn’t get along, and later on become friends as Adele become involved in the resistance movement and becomes actively involved, using her name “Catchfly”

Like her first book, the author has done tremendous research about the life of France during the Nazi occupation–Vichy, where the story is actually based on was not under Nazi occupation at the time but the police and the Vichy regime acted as puppets to the Nazi regime. We see there are two types of people–those who support the regime and those who don’t, like Adele and her mother. I was amazed at the bravery women like Adele faced to be involved in resistance against the Germans and risking their very lives. The story is well written, vivid descriptions of vineyards and French countryside that makes the reader feel like they are living during that time in the rural France.

Overall, it was a good, gripping and emotional book–worth five stars!

Andie Newton is the USA Today bestselling author of The Girl from Vichy (2020) and The Girl I Left Behind (2019). Andie holds a Bachelor degree in History and a Master in Teaching. She would love to say she spends her free time gardening and cooking, but she’s killed everything she’s ever planted and set off more fire alarms than she cares to admit. Andie does, however, love spending time with her family, trail running, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.

You can find book club discussion questions on andienewton.com.

Facebook: fb.me/newtonauthor
Twitter: @andienewton
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Rep’d by Kate Nash Literary Agency.