I loved that this story was based on true events. It is a gripping story and rich in historical detail.
Many thanks to Greenleaf Book Group and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Um yes! This book took off with a roaring start and didn't stop. You won't want to put it down as you follow these characters through the resistance of WWII.

I am a huge fan of WW2 fiction, but this one captured my attention because I visited Leiden last spring on a trip, and fell head over heels for the town. The Lioness of Leiden didn't disappoint me. It was a refreshing change and I enjoyed reading about the Dutch Resistance during the second world war. The characters had depth and made me feel things, and at times I was tempted to skip ahead because I was so worried about the fate of certain characters. 4 stars, and bring the tissues!

I was provided an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks to the publisher and the author for providing it to me.

The Dutch perspective of WWII is one I haven’t read until now. The Lioness of Leiden follows Hetty’s experience through the war.

The Germans invade and her boyfriend goes missing. When they close down her University, she finds she needs to fill her time doing something meaningful, so she joins the small, but growing resistance in Leiden. Hetty, her roommate Mimi, and another young woman orphaned by the war Maria act as couriers delivering messages, false papers to help Jews, downed pilots, and cash to help young Jewish children hide.

For five years Hetty fights the Nazis in her town. More than once she is almost caught and she deals with spies within her network. The war desensitizes Hetty to death and loss, but when her younger brother comes of age and joins the fight she really gets upset. The Gestapo quickly put her on their hit list, and sadly its someone closest to home she finds she cannot trust.

Inspired by the author’s mother-in-law’s experience through the war, Hetty’s journey is that of perseverance against great odds. Her story is not a romanticized version war, but a portrayal of reality in the day to day in a resistance network. Overall this is a good book, but I struggled a bit with the author’s characterization of the women. More than once it felt obvious to me that a man was writing a woman’s voice.

Thank you to NetGalley, Greenleaf Book Group, and of course the author Robert Loewen for the advanced copy of the book. The Lioness of Leiden is out now. All opinions are my own.

This book was interesting and good.

Book Description: This book is about the resistance in the Netherlands and the brave students who worked against the Nazi occupation during WW2.

I have read quite a few WW2 historical fiction books, but not many about the Dutch resistance. This book is inspired by a real person, and I especially enjoyed reading the Author's postscript. The author based the story on the stories told by his mother-in-law, the real life inspiration to this fictional story.
It never ceases to amaze me how brave people were during the war, how they fought for others and put their lives on the line.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and I'm very glad to have the chance to read it.

The Lioness of Leiden by Robert Loewen is a historical fiction novel based on the life of his mother-in-law Hetty Kraus. The novel follows the life of fictional Hetty as she goes from young university student to courier in the Dutch resistance.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a plot. The story of Hetty and her friends in the resistance simply jumps from one event to the next. The only element driving the story forward at all is Hetty trying to stay one step ahead of the Germans.

There were many poorly written sex scenes that added nothing to the story and portrayed women as wanton, giddy schoolgirls.

I wanted to DNF this book by the 5th chapter but pressed on hoping a plotline and characters would develop. They did not. The most interesting, and well-written, portion of this entire book was the firsthand account of Hetty Kraus in the Author’s Postscript.

This has the potential to be a very interesting story, but desperately needs a developmental editor. I would not recommend this book.

Bringing her true heroism to light in this enthralling historical fiction novel, Robert Loewen brings Hetty Steenhuis to life in The Lioness of Leiden. As a courier in the Dutch resistance during World War II, Hetty deals with the perils of fighting the Nazis and the often personal costs of resistance. Despite the many tragedies, Hetty continues to fight the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands throughout the war, leaving her university studies behind to pursue justice and freedom for her country. Loewen brings his mother-in-law’s story to life in this incredibly riveting and immersive read. His characters emerge fully formed, and their personalities are fascinating, dynamic, and realistic. Loewen highlights the perils of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and the many facets of the Dutch resistance’s strategies to remove the Nazis from their country. The characters are the driving force and heart of the story, and he gives them the spotlight they deserve. Inspired by true historical events and referencing a variety of documents on the Dutch resistance, particularly its female fighters, Loewen gives Hetty and her compatriots their due in his debut novel. The story is vivid and immersive, the characters lively and personable, and the stakes are real and high, placing the reader firmly in Hetty’s world of the 1940s.

Hetty is a student when the Germans invade the Netherlands. Her boyfriend goes missing, and is presumed captured or dead. Previously a shy and quiet person, Hetty comes to life fighting in the Dutch resistance and protecting her Jewish friends.

It took me a while to get into this book. The points of view were constantly shifting, which made it hard to get to know the characters. The book was well paced and the storyline was interesting. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

The Lioness of Leiden is a historical fiction novel set in the Netherlands during World War II and based on the author's mother-in-law who was part of the Dutch resistance.

Hetty is a student at Leiden University. When the story begins, the Nazi army has not yet invaded the Netherlands and the students continue to hope that they will remain safe. When Hetty's boyfriend disappears and the Nazi's begin to make life difficult for the people of her country, Hetty agrees to work as a courier for the resistance. At first she only carries messages and cash but soon gets more involved as she helps Allied pilots escape and assists people who are in hiding. She believes strongly in what she's doing despite the fact that her father doesn't want to make waves or publically disagree with the Germans. During the five years of the war, Hetty takes more dangerous assignments and the Nazis identify her as part of the resistance and get very close to finding her on several occasions. Throughout the years of the war, Hetty remains passionate about what the resistance is doing to save their country and its citizens. As her life became more precarious and several of her friends died, she continued to challenge the Germans. Even after the war is over, her life is totally different than she hoped it would be and she still thinks about the friends that she lost.


This is a debut novel and it was full of interesting characters and nail biting escapes. I wished that there would have been more back story on some of the characters. We got a little bit about Hetty's past but I'd have liked to learn more about some of the other characters and their reasons for risking their lives. Overall, it was a well researched look at the life of members of the Dutch resistance in World War II. Hetty is a brave and tenacious woman that I won't soon forget.

The Lioness of Leiden is based on a true story about a woman who joins the resistance after Nazis enter the Netherlands.

The Lioness of Leiden is based on the true life experiences held by Loewen's mother-in-law, it focus on true facts about the female Dutch Resistance during WWII. It tell the true horrors that people faced on a daily basis.

Robert Loewen's writing style made this an easy read but it was also a hard read due to the themes and events that are happening throughout.

Overall, If you are a historical fiction reader, this is a must read for you, I really enjoyed this novel.

A thrilling historical fiction novel set around WWII about a brave woman and friends that was inspired by true events! I loved the characters and the plot twists!! Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

Brilliant, fascinating story line inspired by real historical events in The Lioness of Leiden.
Once an inspired student of law, Hetty and her friends become a part of the resistance in the Netherlands during World War II. Things do start to get very complicated as they get further involved in the Dutch Resistance; people start disappearing, and yet Hetty continues on her mission to be a part of the solution. Plenty of romance is added in to this historical fiction novel, as well as some gripping suspense.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

When the Nazi's invade Holland, Hetty's boyfriend volunteers to fend off the Nazi's. When he goes missing, Hetty knows that she must join the resistance. She and her roommate, Mimi, are quickly recruited by Kees to form a small resistance cell in Leiden, along with Maria, an orphan whose parents were killed for resisting. They begin by transporting ration cards, but are quickly escalated for more dangerous missions, transporting pilots, people and weapons. As the danger heightens, Hetty's cell is directly targeted and Hetty can't seem to keep the danger away from those she loves.

Based on the life of his mother-in-law, Loewen presents an amazing story of the unknown heroes of Leiden during World War II. The writing is realistic and gritty and doesn't gloss over any of the dangers that these young women put themselves in. Hetty's character was emotional, heartfelt, determined and down to earth. Her decision making was for the greater good and I was in awe at her ability to always carry on in the face of danger. As well as Hetty's courageous acts, Mimi and Maria were astonishing heroines in their acts for the resistance. I didn't know much about the Resistance in Holland and was glad to learn about these incredible, brave, real-life women who were willing to risk everything to fight the Nazis.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I was attracted to this book because of the location, The Hague in the Netherlands, is where my parents grew up and lived during the war.

The author does not hold back as he describes some of the atrocities the Dutch endured as the Nazis endeavoured to take over. However, this book shows they did not take this invasion lightly and fought back.

There is a lot of people to keep track of, especially at the beginning, even though I had wished I had kept notes it didn't take long to become absorbed. The Lioness of Leiden is a well researched, raw story centring around Hetty as she worked with the resistance. She endured terrible losses, heartache, and danger. There are a number of different POVs which gave a vivid picture. The only thing I found lacking was a timeline to indict the progression of time.

The author notes at the end made this book all the more compelling with a final chapter that was emotional and a fitting end. Given this book is loosely based on the author's mother-in-law made the story all the more interesting and sad for the things her family lived through.

My thanks to Greenleaf Book Group (via Netgalley) for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review.

The Lioness of Leiden, what an interesting and eye-opening read so much bravery, courage and sacrifice from all the Dutch resistance. During reading the debut book I felt it did lack some description of setting, the time jumps when you thought it had only been a few days when in fact it had been years and I felt it missed the place setting, I felt I couldn’t visualise I was there. I do however believe this WW2 historical book is well worth reading. What an extrodianary life the authors mother-in-law lived, and after all the loss, she found love again.

I would like to thank Greenleaf Book Group, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this complimentary copy for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


#TheLionessofLeiden #NetGalley

The Lioness of Leiden is a WWII historical fiction set mostly in the Netherlands and revolves around three women who took part in the Dutch resistance. Hetty, Mimi, and Maria are the three brave main characters who carry out dangerous jobs such as helping downed pilots and refugees in hiding, delivering coded messages, etc. I'm always amazing by stories of bravery during war and this book is filled with tense moments which made it super readable. I really loved all three friends and I think it's really neat that Hetty is loosely based off the author's mother-in-law. I do wish there would have been some sort of timeline added to each chapter because I was confused at times when starting a new chapter because there would be a significant jump in time.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It had The Nightingale vibes so I would definitely recommend if you loved that novel. But keep in mind that War is not pleasant and parts of this book were really hard to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for giving me access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well done, Mr. Loewen. This is a well-written story of the Dutch Resistance in Leiden, which pulls no punches while highlighting both the bravery of everyday citizens and the cowardice of others. The abject cruelty of the Nazis in occupied countries never ceases to horrify and there were accounts in this story that were new to me.

Knowing that the author based this novel on the experiences of his mother-in-law, Hetty Kraus, made it truly a privilege to read. (I loved Hetty meeting her future American husband randomly on a Swiss train.) I'm so impressed that this is Robert Loewen's first book, especially since he is a few years older than me! I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for making this ARC available.

Leiden is dictated by Nazis, and Hetty with her roommate Mimi decide to join the Ressistance. Constantly in danger, in fear of loving their loved ones, they decide to fight for their freedom.

Given that this story is based on a real person (the author's mother-in-law), and that a lot things on this book really happened to her, makes the whole experience all the more haunting. Reading books based in WWII never gets any easier. It is appaling the fact that there once existed a person, who thought that he had rights over an entire people, who believed that there was a 'superior nation'. Regardless, it was insightful to see the point of view of people of the ressistance, and what they had to do, for example to carry falsificated papers or hand grenades, how they could always be searched by Nazi soldiers etc. What was also ever present throughout the whole book, was the uncertainty of war and how things can change in basically a second

Character-wise, it was definitely worthy to see their development. Dear Hetty, who suffered through so much, losing some friends from uni, her constant arguments with her father, and at the same time trying to maintain her cool. while executing her line of work as a mesage courier. What was also really fullfilling were her personal relationships with Yacov, but mostly Mimi, and how much they cared for one another. Mimi, even though she was different than Hetty, was there for her, trying to understand her, even though she was afraid of being a part of the Ressistance.

This book contained so much death, uncertainty, plot-twists, but most importantly it contained hope. And for that I'm wholeheartedly grateful.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book comes out on April 4th!

I found this book to be highly readable and enjoyed the writing style. Hetty was a lovable character. Unfortunately, I feel a lot of the story fell flat. There was not enough setting of the scene to understand what was happening historically and the book was paced poorly. For example, war breaks out at the start of the book, and when I think it has only been a few months, the book states it has been "two years" since the main character's boyfriend has gone. The book would have benefited from more frequent references to major historical events to ground the sense of time or simply putting the year and month at the start of each chapter. Therefore, even though the book is based on true events, I found this book to be not adequately representing the potential research the author did for the historical aspect of this work.
What bothered me the most was how the author depicted women and romantic relationships in this book. I feel that many women reading this book will share my sentiments as how poorly women's bodies and romantic feelings are portrayed, which was in a very stereotypical and sexist way. While I can appreciate the perspective of a woman participating in the WWII resistance, I found it unlikely they would sleep with the men they were working with, or that this would be the best way to really demonstrate their true sacrifices and risks. In general, I found the stakes of the war to be underplayed, and deaths to be too casual and too easily gotten over, considering this truly is a war story. I found the ending to be a bit abrupt and strange, and for the book to start and end along with the war was nice, but perhaps too large of a scope.

I wrote a whole review and it got deleted, so here we go again. Here's to hoping I can capture everything I wanted to in the initial review.

The Lioness of Leiden is a historical fiction story loosely based on the author's mother in law's experience in the resistance. It is a story based on the Dutch resistance, which is more of a unique viewpoint than many WW2 fiction books I've read. The author does a great job at provoking a myriad of emotions. Rarely does a novel leave me feeling as gut punched as this one. I fell in love with all the characters. The beginning of the book focuses on three young women, but as the story progresses the focus becomes more on Hetty. I loved Hetty's character and the amount of resilience and passion she had. This was a beautifully written and intriguing historical fiction with drama, suspense, and romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Greenleaf Book Group for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.