A historical fiction novel that follows the lives of five women on D-Day. This was a title that was an obvious choice for me to read. Very well researched, the storylines were complex and believable. The author was pretty ambitious I thought in including five very different experiences. As each chapter was engaging and pretty intense, sometimes the jumps between chapters seemed a bit jarring. To me that seemed like the real challenge of the book, to keep all of that together.
There are a lot of historical fiction books out that deal with D-Day and this is one of the better ones that I have read. I would recommend this to fellow history nerds like myself.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for this ARC copy of this book. This review is my honest opinion.

ALL THE LIGHTS ABOVE by M.B. HENRY.

This book is set in 1944, in and around D-Day, and is told from the perspective of five very different women.

I loved the five different perspectives that this story is told from, and the amount of accurate detail included. A great deal of research clearly went into this book.

A fascinating read, that kept me gripped from the first to last page.

Be sure to read the author notes too - they are interesting and insightful.

An absorbing read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to #Netgalley and #AlcovePress for a digital arc of #AllTheLightsAbove by #M.B. Henry.

I received an ARC of this via NetGalley and the publishers, in return for an unbiased review. This novel shares 5 women's stories with us, and there is some overlap after a while. It's hard to feel much sympathy for Mildred (Axis Sally), and I don't think Theda stood out particularly... I think Adelaide oddly enough, was the one I sympathised with most, seeing her character grow and change. Apologies for the delay in rading and reviewing this one!

This is a book that you need to make a list of who all the characters are and what their backgrounds were or you need to stay very focused. It involves 5 different women’s stories. Each chapter is well titled and tells you which one is narrating but I had a really hard time keeping track of who was who, where they came from and what they were involved in. There was just a lot going on and a lot coming at you from completely different scenarios.
Axis Sally and Emilia were my favorites. If the audible version of this featured 5 different women for each one, I think that would bring this one to life. The research was excellent and the descriptions actually gave a good vision of what was happening. Maybe if a fewer less main characters were introduced this one could have come in with 5 stars.
I personally thank the publisher for the privilege to be offered this ARC from Alcove Press and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with 4 stars.

World War 2 is coming to an end. Five women have a different slant on the events. The book is mostly written about fictional characters but there are a few actual characters. Some of true facts are supported well by creative fiction.
Strong female characters controlled this book and made it a great read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book. All opinions are my own. Perfect for fans of historical fictions like Kate Quinn's the Rose code. Following the stories of 5 women, set during the D-Day invasion, providing a personal account through their daily lives of the people who lived during WWII. It's a blend of real people with fictionalized elements.

All the Lights Above Us by M. B. Henry is a historical fiction novel telling the story of the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy. On June 6 1944, Allied Forces stormed Northern France and the story begins through the eyes of five women, Flora, Adelaide and Emilia who live in France, Mildred from Germany and Theda from England. The women are introduced in the first five chapters of the book with each following chapter continuing each woman’s own story. I really liked the premise of this story and appreciated how the main characters are strong, determined women who just want to contribute or have no option but to be a part in the war effort.
M. B. Henry weaves together the stories of these women, based in part on real people and real events. A beautifully written story of D-Day from different viewpoints, capturing perspectives and emotions of the different women, on
D-Day and also WWII and what it means to them as the end of the war draws near.
The author’s note at the end of the book explains what parts are based on fact and what parts are fictionalized. I was amazed by these notes.
Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

A multi POV historical fiction detailing the lives of 5 women across Germany, France and Britain in the hours leading up to, during and following D-Day.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for this early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’ll start with the positives. 1. The extensive research. I appreciated how many of the events and people in this book reflected real people and events. 2. The setting. I loved that this book took place over such a short period of time, focusing on so many details of D-Day. 3. The multi POV style allowed readers a peek into how D-Day unfolded in France, Germany, and Britain.

And the negatives - the writing. I just couldn’t. The writing was forced and disingenuous. The characters developed so quickly it felt rushed and unbelievable. A lot of the writing was just cringeworthy.

Honestly this book made me appreciate just how difficult the fictional part of historical fiction must be to writers.

All the Lights Above Us tells the story of how the D-Day liberation of France affected five strong but very different women. Because the story moves back and forth between the five women and their own stories, I found myself reading on and waiting for there to be some connection between the women - which didn't occur. I feel like this important story could have been told better by concentrating on one or two of the characters and telling their story or stories more completely and having there be a connection between the stories. For the publisher: please write the chapter numbers at the beginning of each chapter! When I wanted to go back to a previous chapter, I had no idea where I was in the e-book, which I found very frustrating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has easily become one of my favorites. M. B. Henry captures the history and multiple perspectives of the war splendidly. Although the novel essentially covers one singular day in the war, it does not feel drawn out. Instead, the author has written the novel in such a way that it left me wanting to keep reading about these women and what came next. M. B. Henry did an excellent job blending real people and events into this historical fiction, bringing the characters, places, and struggles to life. The novel is engaging, the characters are believable, and the stories tug at your emotions.

Thank you to Alcove Press and Netgalley for this eARC.
Pub Date: May 10, 2022

This books explores the lives of 5 women, as they navigate through the effects of the German occupation in Europe and eventual fall of the Reich on D-Day.

Mildred is an American actress working in Berlin as Axis Sally, a Nazi propagandist on the radio. Flora lost her parents when the Gestapo arrested her and has been working with the Resistance in France. Theda is a medical volunteer in the UK who sees more for herself than what other women in her time is accustomed to. Emily is a German working in France for the Gestapo whose alliances is slowly changing. Then there’s Adelaide, who reluctantly houses German soldiers in her home in France.

I admit I don’t know anything about the history surrounding D-Day, and according to the Author Notes, she has researched extensively on the subject and some of the specific things that happened in the book, did happen during that time. I was shocked to know some of the things that were done during those times, such as the Lebensborn, where some German girls are sent to a facility just to give birth to pure Aryans.

These five women, though with separate lives are in the same predicament. That being women, they are not expected to do and be more in the society they are in. Out of these five - Theda, Flora and Adelaide’s story resonated with me. Most especially Adelaide. There was one scene in the story that tugged at my heart, being given the same care that you’ve always given to your child as a mother. All of them showed great strength.

I like how this book was written, the descriptions were vivid for me and I can picture what was happening back then. Having 5 POVs in a book started as a little comfusing for me, having to remember facts about each character, but I eventually singled them out one by one as the story progressed. My only issue is that I wish the characters’ lives were explored more.

All the Lights Above Us follows five women during 1944, in and around the events of D-Day. I was intrigued because I hadn’t read any women’s perspectives surrounding the time when the Allies stormed the shores and took back the northern territory in France.

Mildred was interesting and I liked her chapters, in particular her justifications for helping spread Nazi propaganda over the German airwaves. Might we all deceive ourselves in times of war that we are just doing our job?

Flora’s parents were arrested for their involvement in the resistance and taken to a prison camp, yet she doesn’t falter and at her own peril, continues to work for them. Her story was very exciting, and I found it easy to follow.

Theda is working in the hospital when the battle for the beaches of Normandy breaks out. She won’t give up on the hundreds of men left behind when they are discarded as the Germans move in.

Adelaide is an older woman who’s one desire is to find out if her daughter and granddaughter are safe. She walks through the middle of the war, against all odds and warnings to return to the family home. She’s a fighter and I respected her determination.

Emilia worked as a typist at the Gestapo Intelligence Office in Caen, France. She is made to be available during prisoner interrogations (many involving torture.) Quite honestly, she was one too many characters for me to care deeply about. I guess I have a limit when chapters offer alternating stories, a five was sometimes too much.

I appreciated the meticulous research and the details of the day. I always love author notes and this one does not disappoint. M.B. Henry explains which characters and events were true and which one she fictionalized. A woven story well-done.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this one. I’m a sucker for WWII books about D-Day as that battle is one of my favorites of the European theater. Though I prefer studying the Pacific theater. But what set this one apart is because it is from the point of view of 5 different women who experienced D-Day and the events leading up to it and after.

Henry's All the Lights Above Us is conceptually interesting. D-Day is the great under-discussed event in World War II fiction even though it was arguably the most important event on the European front. Henry's approach is also interesting--telling the events of the invasion from multiple perspectives including the British hospital nurses, the French citizenry, the Resistance, and Germans stationed in France. Unfortunately, the book is simply too short. Each of the narratives is underdeveloped. The characters need much more fleshing out and so do their stories. I liked this book and I enjoyed reading it. But, when I got to the end, I wondered where the rest was.

Read 11% of the way into this book but kept starting and stopping. I had trouble getting into it and figured it was better to review as is. It was written well just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book gives an in-depth look at D-Day, told from the perspective of five women from different backgrounds: Mildred or Axis Sally, an American radio broadcaster in Berlin, part of the Nazi propaganda machine and the first American woman convicted of treason; Flora, a resistance fighter in France; Adelaide, a mother boarding German soldiers in France; Emilia, a German secretary for the Nazi Intelligence Division (SD), stationed in France; and Theda, a British nurse. Each of them helps the reader see different sides of the war and their roles in it.

My main impression of D-Day was of the beach invasion, so it was great to learn about the other parts of the operation - the bombings (which killed many French civilians), the parachute droppings (some of them miscalculated, ending up with the soldiers' deaths), and the role of the French resistance. But the story goes much deeper than just the war. It's about women's lives: how women can sometimes be underestimated and taken advantage of; how a mother can feel useless once her child leaves; how women question whether they can have both a career and love or if they have to choose one or the other. I especially enjoyed Adelaide's journey through the French countryside in search of her daughter and Theda growing in her confidence.

The descriptions of the war were excellent, especially a scene recounting the sights, sounds, and smells of injured soldiers inside a hospital. I also loved how the German characters were humanized and not just evil puppets and how the Allied forces were not heroic saviors. All characters were complex and real.

Recommended for lovers of historical fiction and stories about WWII!

For lovers of historical fiction, this is a good book to read. It is an interesting comparison of four women, their role and the impact of D-Day invasions had on them as women, their perspective of humanity, and choices made for survival. The author does a wonderful job exploring the full spectrum of human emotions, love versus hate, fear versus courage, parent versus child and many more. Painting images that left me pondering the lives of ordinary people on the periphery as well as those directly involved in the war. I felt the story ended too abruptly and left a few things undone with some of the secondary characters. All in all, a solid story worth reading. #AlltheLightsAboveUs #netgalley #historicalfiction #WWII #D-Day

Really gave insight to the people in Europe during WWII that I really never knew. A little long but good read.

All The Lights Above Us is one of the best ARCs I've gotten to review in a long time. This is a debut novel for M.B. Henry and I officially can't wait to read her next book.

All The Lights Above Us follows five women during D-Day. We have the American expatriate turned German radio host, the British medical volunteer nurse, the French resistance worker, a French mother forced to house German troops, and the SD secretary. We follow each woman's perspective as they come to terms with what D-Day means for them and what the future of Europe will look like.

I was in love with this book from the beginning. Each perspective was interesting and held it's own in the space of the novel. Also, if you read this book (and I highly suggest you should), please take time to read the author's note. The information in there enhanced the characters even more. I'm sure you can guess my rating of this book, but it was 5 stars for me!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, M.B. Henry, and the publisher, Alcove Press, for gifting me this EARC for review!

Rating: 5 Stars

I think if the POVs had been paired down a little bit, this story would have been a lot easier to follow. I wanted MORE from the POVs and because there were so many of them, it felt at times, that there wasn't room for them to breathe and develop each storyline fully. Otherwise, this was a fantastic piece of WW2 fiction. I haven't read much that focused on D-day specifically and it was fun to explore this event through the stories being told.