"You Let Me Go" by Eliza Graham is a captivating and emotionally charged novel that delves into the complexities of family history, love, and betrayal. The story follows Morane as she grapples with the shock of being excluded from her grandmother Rozenn's will, while her sister inherits the family home in Cornwall.

The novel beautifully weaves together two timelines, one set in the present and the other during the German occupation of Brittany in 1941. Graham skillfully unravels the mystery of why Rozenn turned her back on Morane, leading Morane on a poignant journey to uncover her family's past. The coastal village in Brittany serves as an evocative backdrop for the historical narrative, and the secrets unearthed add depth and intrigue to the plot.

The characters are well-drawn, and Morane's quest for answers is both relatable and compelling. The emotional weight of the story is palpable, making it a moving and thought-provoking read.

While "You Let Me Go" is a poignant and beautifully written novel, it falls just short of a five-star rating due to some pacing issues in the present-day storyline and a few moments where the plot feels slightly contrived. However, it remains a highly recommended read for fans of family sagas and historical fiction, offering a satisfying blend of mystery, emotion, and reconciliation.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

This was a really good read. It was about a girl called Rozenn and her family during world war II in France. Im really interested in books set during this time period.

I was immersed into this book immediately.

A very intricate story of love, finding oneself and recovering from losses so great that future was bleak and doomed.
Two generations of women connected by blood and disconnected by times, events and choices experience love, life, loss, hardship in their own way. Grandmother's youth comes at the time of WWII and granddaughter's 'finding oneself' comes after grandmother's passing.
Finding out that her beloved gran' left her house to her sister instead of her, Morane is shocked and confused. But being her grandmother's daughter she intends to find out why, how and whatever for.
The story is told through time-split - in two times: WWII in Europe and modern day England seaside.
The story is amazing, warm but direct, romantic and sad.... It has everything a family sage should be.
One could say it shows human face of the war and strong backbone of modern youth.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A good drama. Perfect read for the weekend.

I love a good historical fiction, especially when it’s a mystery. After the death of Morane’s grandmother, she finds that her grandmother left her home to her sister. Feeling as though this was unlike her, she sets out to uncover her grandmothers past and learn more about who she really was. This dual timeline follows Morane’s search for answers, and her grandmother Rozenn’s story during WWII, all while uncovering family secrets.
I enjoyed this a lot. WWII is always one of my favorite times to read about and this story kept me engaged and wanting to know what happens next.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Great dual timeline book following Rozenn in the war and her granddaughters in the present. Full of plenty of secrets to uncover to explain Rozenn's actions in the present and sibling problems. Really enjoyed it especially the historic aspect. Eliza Graham always a must for me

This WWII novel was a nice read! It was filled with love, family, and betrayal in two time periods. I couldn't wait to see how this one would unfold, and did not disappoint.

loved this as a historical novel, the characters I felt were interesting and I enjoyed going along for this journey.

Family, secrets, relationships,……these elements came together in a captivating plot. The writing is atmospheric and beautifully done.
Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Absolutely loved this book. It was so well written and easy to read. I loved the duel point of views and the story line overall just draws you in from the very start.

I loved the setting of this book,. Cornwall is absolutely beautiful, but I found the story a bit slow and honestly a bit over used. I have read this plot in similar novels before.

What a wonderful book telling your story of Rozen and her granddaughter Morane.

Rozen was born in France but ended up in Cornwall during the war. She is a very strong woman but did not tell her family about what happened in France when she was there. Rozen and her family end up in St Martin as her Father is a Doctor. They want to get Yann out of France so arrange for him to go on a boat to Britain but something goes wrong and Rozen & Luc find themselves in the boat.

Morane is so like her Grandmother a very strong character but when Rozen dies she leaves the house in Cornwall to her oldest Granddaughter and Morane wonders why.

Morane wants to find out some more about what happened to Rozen in France so she travels to St Martin the last place her Grandparents were.

It is a place for Morane to make discoveries and find out about her family.

I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down.

Presently surprised at how much I liked this story!
Wonderful characters, very well written and an awesome plot!
4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author and publisher for a copy of this book. The Opinions expressed are my own.

I hope you’re ready to travel to World War II-era Europe, because this book will sweep you back through time and make you feel like you’re walking with Rozenn through the streets of German-occupied Paris and Brittany! You’ll also get a peek at life across the Channel in Great Britain, where modern-day main character Morie spends much of the first half of the book. As Rozenn’s favorite granddaughter, Morie is both shocked and hurt when the reading of Rozenn’s will reveals that she has left her house and belongings to Morie’s sister. But, when Morie discovers fragments of her grandmother’s letters from a mysterious, unnamed person, she decides to go on a solo quest to discover the secrets about Rozenn’s life in France. Armed with her small, seemingly insignificant inheritance- an old pocket watch with strange initials- and desperate to prove that she is not a pathetic loser, despite her failing business and recent breakup, Morie sets off. What will she learn in the old fishing village on the Breton coast? Grab a copy of You Let Me Go to find out!

I really wanted to love this book. The cover is gorgeous and the premise is intriguing. There were several parts I did like, for instance, there is distinct emotional maturation to be seen in both main characters throughout the book, which was satisfying as a reader. The format of switching POV’s every chapter was a cool way to meld contemporary and historical fiction. The visual descriptions of Paris, Brittany, and Cornwall painted a pretty picture of each, so now I especially want to visit Cornwall.

Eliza Graham did a great job of building tension between the Germans and the French and Breton people whose homeland was being occupied. She also showed the range of positions taken by the French and Bretons at that time, varying from joining the Resistance to betraying countrymen. And I loved that she included a mentally disabled character, showing both how difficult life can be for disabled persons AND how worthy of love, respect, and protection they are anyway! Points for diversity and inclusion.

However, I really struggled to even finish this book. The first 60% of the story is extremely slow. I am a really forgiving reader, pushing through slow starters and always giving a book a solid chance to reel me in. It is exceedingly rare for me to quit on a book, but the only reason this one didn’t land on the DNF list was because I was determined to fulfill my obligations as a reviewer. I’m glad I persevered, as the ending was nice and unexpected (I would be shocked if anyone predicted the end of this story, so it’s got that going for it!). But, honestly, I was pretty relieved to just be done with it. Again, I rarely feel that way about a book.

I think the author could have resolved this issue by cutting some redundant parts and shaving down time spent building suspense for storylines that didn’t really contribute to the big picture. For instance, for the first several chapters, Morie’s accident is referred to very vaguely and mysteriously, leading the reader to believe that it is a major plot point. But, all it does is contribute to Morie’s backstory for why she feels like a failure, which was accomplished perfectly fine with just the breakup and business troubles. Yes, the accident triggered those things, but that doesn’t mean it deserved even half of the weight it was given at the beginning of the story.

Like I said, the author wrapped things up pretty well in the end and there were some really nice aspects to parts of the story. It’s still a book worth reading, if you have the patience to trudge through the first half. But, personally, it was not my cup of tea. I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Yet another WW2 book, this one with a difference. Largely set in Brittany, it tells the story of Rozenn and her family as well as her modern day granddaughter Morane. Morie decides to visit Brittany following her grandmothers death and finds a lot of family secrets. A good read with just a little suspense thrown in.

Morane was passionately loved and in turn loved her grandmother Rozenn. She also loved the house in Cornwall, so she was stunned (as was the family) when the house was left to her sister Gwen. Morane cannot understand what her grandmother expected her to feel but at the same time she has an understanding that there is more to this inheritance that meets the eye.

At a very rocky place in her personal life, Morane decides to be impetuous, put aside her failing business and pursue the few clues left behind to go to Brittany and there discovers such a hidden history of her grandparents, a history that not even their son, Morane's father knew about.

Discovering an uncle, an aunt whom no one knew about, finding out details of her grandmother's work during the Nazi occupation of Brittany and the shameful secret that she hid till the very end, not disclosing it even at the end though a muttered word on her deathbed was only discovered in hindsight by Morane much later.

The story of the Guillou family unravels slowly - how the war affected them all and how it changed the course of their own family history. The descriptiveness of the area of Brittany is wonderful, characterization is spot on - each one was very different to the other despite being one family and close knit at that.

This was an engaging story exploring the complexity of a family's secrets. Lovely setting and well written, this is a book which I would recommend and enjoyed. Thank you.

Morie’s life has gone off the rails and she is in the process of rebuilding it and her business when her beloved Grandmother passes away. Rozenn and Morie had always been close, and her Grandmother’s beloved home, Vue Claire, was Morie’s favorite place to be. She is stunned when she learns that her Grandmother left the house to her sister, giving her only a compass and no explanations. Disappointed and hurt, Morie tries to bury her feelings and works to help her sister prep the house. In the process, she finds parts of a mysterious letter and pictures, both of which bring more questions than answers. How did Rozenn, who grew up in Paris, end up in Cornwall? How and where did she meet her husband, Luc? In search of answers, Morie decides to investigate, using the name of a village in Brittany as her starting point.
Using a dual timeline, Eliza Graham’s YOU LET ME GO traces Morie’s journey to uncover her Grandmother’s secrets while simultaneously tracing Rozenn’s path to becoming the woman Morie knew. Intricately woven together, Graham has created a story that will wrap itself around you as you travel with these two women. Graham did an excellent job of creating and fleshing out the characters. Rozenn was headstrong and self-centered through much of her story, helping give a little more understanding of her secrets and the guilt she had when it came to the results of her actions. Morie was traumatized and a bit lost, but in searching for answers, she starts to find her footing and direction in her life.
The story was interesting and well-developed, with unexpected twists that kept me guessing. I found myself curled up with the novel, engrossed and happily turning pages, not wanting to leave the world Graham created.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#YouLetMeGo #ElizaGraham #LakeUnionPublishing

Book Summary:

This follows 2 main characters. Morane and her grandmother Rozenn. This goes back and forth between present-day (Morane POV) and WW2 when France was under occupation (Rozenns POV).

When Rozenn dies, Morane is heartbroken to know that all she got from her grandmother was a compass while her sister Gwen gets the family home. When looking after the house, Morane finds letters that were written for her grandmother. Rozenn never talked about her family after the war so Morane and the family has no idea what Rozenns life was before the war. While reading the letters, Morane takes it upon herself to figure out who her grandmother was.

Rozenn was a normal teenager when the Germans occupied France. She was living in Paris before moving to Brittany. She has an older brother name Yann who is in hiding. Along with a twin sister named Claire who has a mental disability.

While in Brittany, Rozenn meets a local by the name of Luc. Which turns out to be her future husband. Luc wants to help out in any way he can even if it means getting caught. Rozenn wants her brother, Yann, safe so it doesn’t cause any trouble for the family. But if something goes wrong, it will change the course of history that Rozenn might never talk about for the decades to come.

When Morane sets off to Brittany, it was to find out more about the family. The family she never knew. The family her father never knew. Threw this, Morane finds out that the past isn’t always pleasant. Morane does want to have a better relationship with her sister. So is what Morane finds worth saving her relationship with Gwen?

Thoughts:

It’s not often a book pulls me in from the first page. This book not only pulls me in but I was leaving each chapter with “I need more.”

I love historical fiction and I fell in love with the characters. Even if they had a snobbish attitude from time to time. Like Rozenn. Felt like she was a snob from time to time but for the most part, it seemed like she wanted her siblings to be safe. Even if she was a snob from time to time she would wack someone upside the head if she heard someone talk ill about her siblings. Especially Claire.

I fell in love with the story along with the setting. I felt like I was in the book and it was just amazing. I felt myself going on the adventure with the characters and it was amazing to see the journey they were on to see how they as people ended up.

This was my first book by this author and I loved it. I can’t wait to read more from this author!!