At times during the start of the book I was ready to give up. I found it jumped about a lot making it hard to read. I persevered mainly because I know the area the book was set in, and I so wanted for that reason to like it.

The book continued to jump about a lot; perhaps too larger a time scale was covered, and it would have been better to have been over just a few years of the year. I also never did really feel I understood why the Free French were sent to East Yorkshire for training (something I will look up myself). I was disappointed that we learnt nothing more about Anthony and his wife and how they reconciled their marriage.

I also felt at times the behaviour of the main character was not portrayed consistently (I couldn't understand why she suddenly had sex with a complete stranger when the war ended nor how the chap was sobbing one minute about his lost pal then having sex the next?)

It had great potential but sadly lacked spark.

This is a really good book. It is the first one I have read from this author. Yes, it is a “war story”. But the war is the back story. The main story is about some of the children in Paris who, for whatever reason, were separated from their parents after Paris was bombed by the Germans. These children were taken to a large farm in the English countryside to be cared for for the remainder of the war. Ms. Broady is a good storyteller. The characters are very realistic and their lives are believable. I will be reading other books from this author and recommending it to family and friends. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.