Hetty's Secret War by Rosie Clarke
Published: 19th March 2019
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 336
Available on Kindle
Rating: 5/5
Blurb
In 1939, with the world on the
brink of war, one women faces a future more uncertain than she had ever
imagined...
Living in Paris, with the
threat of war becoming all the more imminent, Hetty knows if she wants to stay
safe, she must make her way home immediately. So she makes her way to the
ports, hoping to secure one of the last places on the boats headed for England.
But on her way she finds newly orphaned little girl who needs her help, and
care.
And so Hetty, with little
Kristina, finds herself sheltering at Chateau de Faubourg, where they are both
welcomed by Countess de Faubourg and her dashing son Pierre... But the gilded
walls of the Chateau hide secret war work of the most dangerous kind - but
Hetty knows she owes it to the gami Beth - orphaned as a child, Beth is coming
of age and determined to do her bit for the war effort.
Caught up in a whirlwind
romance, she marries only to become a war widow....and one expecting a baby who
will never know his brave father. Can she find happiness again? Hetty -
desperately trying to make her way back from Paris to her beloved family in
England, a fateful and tragic encounter brings Hetty to Chateau de Faubourg
where she joins the resistance and risks both her heart and her life fighting
for charismatic resistance leader Stefan Lefarge...
However dark the times,
courage, determination and the power of friendship can overcome the hardships
of war.
Review
I’m a huge Rosie Clarke fan so was delighted to be asked to
review Hetty’s War after I love the previous book in this series The Runaway
Wife. Despite being the third book in the series it can eaily be read as a
standalone as Rosie Clarke has given enough details at the beginning to come up
to date with the story.
In this book the
focus has moved on from Annabelle to her younger sister Hetty. In the previous book
Hetty ran away to Paris to be with her artist lover, which is where we find her
at the beginning of this book. No longer with her lover Hetty’s found herself
working in a fashion house and loving her life in Paris, so much so that when
news of war breaks out, she refuses to go home to England. Remaining in Paris
despite good advice from her friends shows that Hetty’s still young and naïve like
she came across in the previous book. Eventually Hetty’s makes her way out of
Paris and finds herself at the Chateau de Fauberg where she becomes part of the
French Resistance with the gorgeous Stefan, a man Hetty seems drawn despite all
the warning signs that it will all end in tear.
Although Hetty’s story is the most prominent in this book
she is not the only woman who we read about. Georgie has recently lost her
husband Arthur and is struggling with the guilt that maybe if she’s loved him
more, he’d still be alive. The story follows Georgie on an emotional
rollercoaster as she once again meets up with the love of her life and experiences
true happiness if only for a short time.
The third woman’s story is Beth’s, a young girl who was
taken in by Annabelle in the previous book when her mother dies. Feeling indebted
to Annabelle Beth feels she must stay and help in her hotel, but she longs to
go out into the world and experience new things. A chance meeting with a young solider
provides Beth with a new job and the possibility of romance.
I loved all three of these stories, each of these women experience
a lot of heartache throughout this book and its wonderful to watch them grow
and become stronger because of it. Hetty was a real revelation as initially she
comes across as just a spoilt child, but she really shows a strength of character
and kindness when she’s pushed to her limits.
I really enjoyed reading Hetty’s Secret War, having known very
little about the French Resistance it was fascinating to read about the secret
missions and hideaways. Rosie Clarke really seems to have captured the uneasy
and dangerous atmosphere surrounding the missions. I think this has been balanced
out perfectly with romance throughout the book and made Hetty’s Secret War a
book which was very difficult to put down.
Thank you so much to the publishers for sending a copy for
me to review via Netgalley and inviting me to be part of the blog tour.
About the Author
Rosie is happily married and
lives in a quiet village in East Anglia. Writing books is a passion for Rosie,
she also likes to read, watch good films and enjoys holidays in the sunshine.
She loves shoes and adores animals, especially squirrels and dogs.
Follow Rosie:
Twitter:
@AnneHerries
Facebook:
@RosieClarke
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2X8rCWy
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2FIxkJn
Google Play:
http://bit.ly/2RbTjcI
iBooks: https://apple.co/2sKSJZO
Follow Aria
Website: www.ariafiction.com
Twitter:
@aria_fiction
Facebook:
@ariafiction
Instagram:
@ariafiction
