This story is told in alternating viewpoints of five women, all very different, from different walks of life , all experiencing D-day, the day which changed the course of the war throughout the world.
You meet an American turned Nazi sympathizer living in Germany, spewing Nazi propaganda over the airwaves, Mildred is known as "Axis Sally", and a voice hated by the American soldiers.
Theda is a volunteer at a hospital along the English channel that will receive the wounded and casualties once the D-day invasion begins.
Flora is a member of the French Resistance, her job is to send notice and activate the resistance once the code that means the invasion has begun is broadcast on the BBC.
Emilia is a German secretary, working for high-ranking SS and Gestapo in occupied France. She feels she has sold her soul to the devil with no way out.
Adelaide, estranged from her daughter and living alone is forced to billet German soldiers in her home. Once the invasion begins, these kind young men she has come to care about become ruthless evil killers, forcing her to flee for her life.
Very different women, different circumstances, all experiencing this historical day in their own way. This story was terrific. To see the different take each individual depending on their situation thought and felt about the events of D-day. Extraordinary how different each individual story and out-look of the same event can be.
This book moves along at a nice brisk pace, keeping the reader's interest from page one. I recommend this one highly.
Thank you to Alcove Press and Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

The writing made it impossible for me to get into this book. It took way too long to get going, the beginning was bogged down by too much exposition and telling about the characters. There's hardly any action or dialogue in the beginning, just stories and anecdotes about the characters' pasts and histories. It made it impossible to for me to care.

I've been getting more and more into historical fiction but I hqve higher expectations for this one! I enjoyed the book but couldn't connect with some of the characters. Overall, I still liked it and would recommend it to all those who love character-driven historical fiction books with female main characters.

All the Lights Above us is a book that take places on D day and is told from the perspective of 5 women.

Mildred, Theda, Adelaide, Emilia and Flora.

They all have their own story.

Not all are likeable.

M.B. Henry has done a remarkable job writing All the Lights Above Us.

I was captivated from page one to the final page. I felt like I was right there.

The author's notes are fascinating and tie it all together.

I simply could not put this book down.

I cant wait to read her next book and I will be the very first in line.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an unforgettable read.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review! I liked the multi pov's and really getting the different insights on such a historic day. This is very well done and one of the best fiction books I've read on D-Day. Well done.

This was quite an arresting read. Five women across Europe all very different in age and occupation enact a very
important day not just in their lives but in the world. The repercussions of this day echo in their own little
world but also very much in the country in which the stories were set.

June 6th 1944 was D Day not just for the Allied Forces. It was a disastrous day for Nazi Germany occupied France.
The Nazis were determined to hold out and murder as many as they could before they gave up to the Allies and these
five stories told in alternating chapters effectively describe what took place on both sides of the divide.
From the Resistance worker Flora to Adelaide who just kept her head down, boarded young German men and who could
be viewed as a collaborator but who wasnt, she was just a survivor. Then we have Midge the young American who bound
herself with Nazi Max and would always be thought of as a traitor, Theda the young English nurse trainee whose
sights unlike those of her colleagues was set on a career and not just enticing a young man into marriage and Emilia
the young German woman who is seeking to escape one German prison of Lebensborn for a career with a Nazi high up,
hoping one day she can escape it all.

The book covers not just the work and lives of five very different women, but the effort of meticulous planning
and implementation for the success of 6th June. The carnage, the destruction that preceeded it and that which followed
it was brutal but matter of fact.

As usual a WWII book from so many different perspectives, and a very good account of history.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of All the Lights Above Us by M.B. Henry. This is the debut novel for this author. As a fan of historical fiction, I was looking forward to reading to this multiple points of view story that focused solely on the events of D-Day, June 6, 1944. Two of the main character stories are German focused and the three other main characters are from the perspectives of French and English women. You could tell the amount of research the author put into this novel as each character went through a lot and explained what was occurring from all 5 perspectives. I liked that the stories were focused on how the women found the strength to get through such a challenging day after years of enduring war. For the characters that were on the German side, you learned how proud they were to be doing what they were doing...until they weren't. Cracks in their loyalty were shown and the story pushed them to find the strength to make some difficulty decisions. The other three main women characters demonstrated their love of family and country as they made their own difficulty decisions as D-Day progressed. In the Author's Notes, she explained the origins for the main characters and who was real and fictionalized. I rated this a 3.5 star for two things. With 5 different points of view, it became a challenge to keep all the different stories straight when I had to stop and restart reading on a different day. Also, there were some phrases that the author used that didn't seem to ring true for the time period and I couldn't find in my own limited checking whether they would have been said in this context. Overall, it was a well-researched story with interesting characters. If you like multiple POV and WW2 stories, I would recommend this book. I would look for the next book by this author.

This book follows 5 different women from 5 different backgrounds through D-Day, over a little more than 24 hours.
There is Mildred, known as Axis Sally, working for a Nazi propaganda radio station.
Theda, who is a medical volunteer is Portsmouth, England.
Flora, working for the French Resistance.
Emilia, working for the Gestapo.
And Adelaide, trying to get to her daughter on the coast of France.

I loved this book! Some perspectives were definitely more intriguing than others. Flora's was by far my favorite story. I flew through this book! I kept picking it up during work because I needed to read the next chapter. I also really liked getting a fictionalized Axis Sally, a name I have only heard but really knew nothing about. I've seen a lot of historical fiction books around WWII recently but this one is definitely a standout one for me!

It was heartbreaking. It was a story that we all need in our lives. It is a book that tore me into a million pieces.

Reading about the war is never easy. For me, it is especially hard right now, when I see the war in the country next to me. When I see people coming to my homeland with barely anything. Looking for shelter, a home, a place to stay, work. This time is so crucial, this is a lesson for me of my kindness and being just a human. And this book means so much to me right now.

I'm impressed with how the reality of the war is written. I felt the pain, the terror, the insecurity, and fear about the tomorrow. The women on these pages are heroes - even though they are standing in totally different positions. Although the author does not judge them. It is more about being a witness and giving us, readers, a chance to see their lives.

I love it. It means so much. Talking about history, trying to remember the people who sacrifice everything for freedom is something we all should be doing and keeping in mind. I hope this book will be truly appreciate it cause it deserves so much love and affection.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a fantastic historical fiction novel about DDay with 5 different female perspectives. I loved the level of detail!! Having two German women tell their side was fantastic. I only wish there was an epilogue for the characters...Emilia and what happened to the diamonds for example. Definitely a great addition for any WWII historical fiction readers!

I love historical fiction and appreciate an author who does their homework. In All the Lights Above Us M.B. Henry has done exactly that to bring us an engaging story of D-Day from the viewpoint of five ordinary women with extraordinary experiences.

It covers a short time – the day before D-Day, D-Day and the following day. Incredibly Henry describes not only the women’s D-Day experiences but through short chapters, manages to provide the reader with their background stories giving us a full understanding of emotions, purpose, and reasons for their actions. Each story for the most part is separate to the others. Each has their faults, but they are strong and persist in their beliefs and aims. The reader may not agree with their actions, but they represent many women during war and should not be judged.

Characters include real people and fictionalised people based on the author’s research. The characters are well developed and as their stories unfold you understand the hardships of war on ordinary people.

The five women represent women in different countries and different situations. They are in non combative roles but enormously impacted by the war around them.

Adelaide is in her sixties. Her home in France has been taken over by German soldiers and she is compelled to care for their needs. She cares for them like a mother but it’s not until her town is affected by fighting that she sees the cold-heartedness within them. Her only wish is to be with her daughter who lives in another town. Bravely she leaves her home and heads off to find her. In doing so she experiences more of the horrors of war.

Emilia is a young German woman brought up to believe the Nazi way was the right way. She is a classic Aryan woman with golden hair and perfect blue eyes. She works as secretary to a Gestapo intelligence officer in Caen, France. After observing the constant cruelty of her boss’s interrogations, she begins to question everything and plans to escape.

Flora is a young member of the French Resistance passing on messages. She is frustrated at not being permitted to do more but there is more than just discrimination behind the reasoning.

Mildred is an American expatriate who makes her living as a radio broadcaster in Berlin. She is based on a real person, Axis Sally, who spread Nazi propaganda over the air waves. She has foolishly convinced herself she is only an actress, it’s not propaganda, its’s just her job. When the DA-Day landing is over she realises she will most likely go to prison or worse for her actions.

Theda is member of the Voluntary Aid detachment (VAD)- a medical volunteer caring for wounded soldiers in Portsmouth England. She shares a dormitory with her friends but unlike them who see their future as wives and mothers, she wants to follow a nursing career.

The struggle and frustration of caring for the wounded is brought home on D-Day when hundreds of soldiers are brought in needing attention. It depicts not only the suffering of those soldiers but those that cared for them often working around the clock.

The women’s stories were so real I felt their pain and fears and hope for the future. Anyone who thinks that the atrocities of WWII did not happen needs to read this. I know it is "fiction”, but the author nailed the reality. It was like looking at the war from above as the women move through their troubled lives.

It is an absorbing read with vivid descriptions and emotional stories. Some scenes are graphic but needed to emphasise the horrors of war and the impact on everyday people – to put history in perspective.

If you read this book don’t ignore the author’s notes at the back where she explains how real people influenced the characters in the story. They also demonstrate how much research she undertook to get the realities of D-Day right.

I admire Henry’s writing style and dedication to researching the facts. I will be keeping an eye out for her future books.

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press and MB Henry for a pre-publication copy of this book. It is due for release on 10th May.

Operation Overlord and the ripple effects of what happened on June 6, 1944 were felt around the world and continue into the modern era. MB Henry explores this monumental invasion and its monumental legacy through the lives of 5 women; Flora, Adelaide and Emilia in Caen, France, Mildred in Berlin, Germany as well as Theda in Portsmouth, England.

Henry writes to help us understand the vast scope of D-Day and put a face on those it affected, hoping that readers will use this knowledge to have more control of their future. She warns us not to become complacent, thinking it won’t happen to us, and encourages us to enlighten ourselves so that we can become better prepared, making prevention a possibility in our future. These women come from different countries, different backgrounds, and contribute differently to the war; however, they are united in their collective experience of the most terrifying night of their lives. The different perspectives add to the success of this book and its purpose.

Each women’s experience is highlighted in short, taut and informative chapters. I especially enjoyed how the author retold the events but allowed readers to fill in the blanks and come to their own conclusions. These women are flawed and human and are trying to make sense of their circumstances and situations. How they handle it is a result of their mindset influenced by their culture, their country and their social status. What readers will conclude is that while none of them had any control over what happened that day, they had a say in how it affected them.

I love the metaphor of the title and postulate that this is one of the best historical fiction accounts surrounding D-Day.

I was gifted this advance copy by M.B. Henry, Alcove Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book follows five young women: Adelaide, Theda, Emilia, Flora and Mildred, during the day of the infamous D-Day Invasion of World War II. All, the women had different pasts, and different backgrounds. They were all headed on different paths. From a nurse to a Natzi "worker," they all couldn't have been much more different. On this day, they all faced obstacles that would change their lives forever.
If you like historical fiction, and you love to learn new things this is a read for you. I love that every time I pick up a historical fiction novel I learn, and get to enjoy a great story along with it!

This was a really interesting book - the timeline was short, focused on the hours just before and during D-Day, with five separate points of view. In the author's note, Henry speaks of empathy and notes that "Putting a human face on the trials of long ago can help us better connect with that happened. It can also help us understand that all of us are human, and none of us should presume that it can't happen to us."

All of the characters in this novel are flawed, and I love that. Two of them are on the German side. I think what I found most intriguing is that I felt that the author was less concerned with showing us the characters as she saw them, perhaps, and more about making us think about the characters and come to our own conclusions. Emilia, for example, works for the Nazi Harald Heyns. We can understand why she's now in this position, and we can be glad she's having doubts, but the question remains...is her change of heart enough, considering what she's seen and done? What about Axis Sally? Do we feel sorry for her in the end? Adelaide's arc was so intriguing to me...her need to mother led her to have genuine affection for the German soldiers billeted with her, but she is truly French at heart, and her relationship with her daughter is complicated and so real. Flora is part of the Resistance but far from perfect - her anger and rashness get her in trouble. Theda was my favorite - I loved how she rose to the occasion and stepped into her own life.

In an absorbing read, Henry shows us that while there is a right and wrong side of history, each side is made up of people who are intensely real and flawed, and that war shines a light on the humanity of those caught in its grasp.

All The Lights Above Us
By: M.B. Henry
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Pub day May 10th, 2022

This was such an eye opening glimpse into the days surrounding June 6th, 1944 - D Day. It was a very human experience reading this book - most all WW11 novels I’ve read (and there have been a few) are almost never from the perspective of Nazis - specifically Nazi Women. This book contains 2 of these kinds of characters. While what the Nazis did is egregious, unforgivable, and abhorrent, to understand what happened (and so that it is not repeated) it is important to have insight to different perspectives.

This book takes place over the course of a few days surrounding D Day. It covers the point of view of five very different women during that time. What I really loved is that many of the characters are based on historically accurate people and events. There is Mildred an ex-American living in Berlin and grappling with her new found fame and her position at a prominent radio station. Theda, an independent and career driven volunteer nurse trying to find her way in a world she doesn’t quite fit in. Adelaide, a dignified, mature woman who is a mother to all, even the enemy Germans who have invaded her home. Emilia, a beautiful Nazi born girl who on the outside seems to have it all, but who is victimized by the Nazi party she is apart of. Lastly, we have Flora; a rough around the edges, determined and misunderstood French girl who helps with the French resistance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from front to back. I was evenly invested in each of the 5 womens stories and found myself heartbroken for each of them at different times in their stories. A must read!

Many thanks to M.B. Henry, Penguin Random House, and Goodreads for a digital copy of this book. I read and reviewed this voluntarily and opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own. This book is available for purchase on May 10th, 2022!

All the Lights Above Us is a story about D-Day landing on the 6th of June 1944, written from five women’s points of view and it’s about what happens to them over a twenty four hour time frame.

Mildred Gillars is American living in Berlin and she works as a Nazi radio propagandist. She reads inflated stories and false news to promote Germany are winning the war, she’s known as Axis Sally and considered a traitor by the allies. Theda Brown lives in Portsmouth and she’s a VAD at the Queen Alexandra Hospital. She’s worried about her brother William, the waiting is getting to her and will she be able to cope once the casualties start to arrive. Flora Babineaux lives in Caen, since her parents were arrested two years ago she’s been drinking too much and has a minor role in the French resistance.

Emilia Wagner parents wanted her to take part in the Lebensborn program, she refused, and she works as a secretary for Harald Heyns in Caen, a high ranking and nasty Gestapo agent. Emilia witnessed everything he’s done and she needs to leave Caen before the allies arrive. Adelaide Paquet is a loyal French woman and she been boarding German soldiers in her house. She’s desperately worried about her daughter Georgette and granddaughter Francine, she leaves on a cross country trek through war torn France and she's heading straight for Utah Beach.

All five women come from different backgrounds, countries and support different sides in the war. What they all have in common is their involvement on the day that’s going to change their lives, the course of the war and history.

M. B. Henry wants us to understand the scope of D-Day, the miraculous planning, where the invasion took place, how people were affected by it, the sacrifices that were made and the bravery of everyone who was involved and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for on honest review, a debut novel that uses real facts and the authors imagination to give us an interesting insight through five characters experiences on D-Day and four stars from me.

Historical fiction and especially that of WW2 is one of my favorite genres and I was really looking forward to reading this one. However, it didn't keep me hooked from the beginning and it took me a while to get into. It improved only after the first half. The historical descriptions were immaculate and the description of the five heroines were captivating. Nevertheless, I couldn't but wonder whether a middle-aged (old?) French woman in the 40s in France could actually speak both English and German in order to be able to converse with the soldiers. Also, while the first half of the book was extremely slow, the last part evolved really fast and the end felt rushed.
Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Many books have been written about D-Day ( Operation Overlord) and the vast majority have focused on the experiences of the soldiers as they landed and did their best to achieve their objectives. The author of this novel takes a different approach allowing the reader to experience the emotions and traumas of the attack from the vantage point of five different female characters ranging from a mother who is afraid she has failed her daughter to a woman involved with radio propaganda or what we would today call "Fake News". Some of the experiences described are very intense. The characters for the most part do not interact with each other and have their own unique issues that they face throughout the attack.

At times I found it challenging to keep track of which character was which through the back and forth of the book but I did feel that it was well researched and well written. It is not a particularly "happy" book so of that is what you are looking for, don't expect to find it here. It did , however, get me thinking about all the various ways that people are affected by warfare and how little power they have to control the outcome as it affects them.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #AlcovePress for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Timeline of an invasion

All the Lights is the dramatized story of Operation Overlord - the invasion of Normandy, focusing on the women who either witnessed, or who were otherwise involved or affected by the landings in Normandy on June 5, 1944.

We meet Mildred, US born, and now working for the Reichs Rundfunk Gesellschaft in Berlin, Theda, who wants more out of life then being a mum and keeping house, now working as an army nurse at Queen Alexandra's Hospital in Portsmouth, Flora, a courier for the French resistance in Caen, Adelaide, an older women who mothers the young German soldiers stationed in the village, and the beautiful Emilia Wagner, destined to be in the Lebensborn programme, yet ending up as an army typist -
Circumstances lead these women to make courageous choices to survive, or to new insights when all hell broke loose on June 5, 1944.

The storyline switches back and forth from one to the other, which initially took some time getting used to. I found the quick change of perspective confusing at first, but as the storyline progressed, it became easier to keep the women and their different stories apart.
The D-Day story has been romanticized, with an emphasis on the female perspective, the observant reader will easily find the historical details, such as the Benouville Bridge ( later the Pegasus Bridge -), the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise ('Utah Beach'), where paratrooper John Steele landed on the church steeple, his chute draping over the perilous steeple points. (He survived the war, today a dummy can still be seen hanging from the church tower), Queen Alexandra's Hospital in Portsmouth, where the treatment of the wounded troops who had been brought back from the Normandy beaches began.

I love war novels in general, and just love how the author has chosen different female perspectives to tell D-Day stories. I read the book in one go.
A 4 star read for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC - his opinion is my own.

Really good sorry. This was the interesting story that I just really wanted to keep reading and reading I know you will enjoy it