One of my favorite books this year! Very engaging, well written story with a lot of depth. Very well written "mystery" and you can not tell what is going to happen next. An interesting piece of historical fiction based off a flight nurse during World War II with a mysterious past and a romantic story as well. Also like how it had a realistic and complicated ending.

This is a heartwarming WWII love story between a flight nurse and injured soldier, but it is more because it speaks to the human spirit and our efforts to continue on in adverse conditions while maintaining our humanity. The first part of the book establishes Kate Campbell as a dedicated nurse with a strong sense of purpose to help and save the transported soldiers in her care. Against her general philosophy regarding the patients in her care, she falls in love with one of the injured patients. This is a beautiful love story as their relationship slowly develops. When he is returned to battle, Components of Kate’s past come up which take her from her flight nurse duties to enemy territory and its adversity involving her more directly in the war and international politics.

This author’s writing was fantastic. i found myself right there with Kate. it grabbed my attention and was perfectly executed.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to receive a complementary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely mine.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction about a WWII nurse and her experiences first in the Pacific and later in England. The book goes far beyond a typical nurse’s experiences, though, because this nurse has to (spoiler!) go behind enemy lines to try and rescue her family. Why is her family behind enemy lines? Well, her story is complicated.
I’m a big fan and now want to find other books by this author. It’s not, like, super deep or educational or anything like that, but it’s good escapist fiction that sucked me in and kept me following closely along. I may have spent several middle of the night hours reading when I should have been sleeping!
I received an e-ARC of this book for free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I love historical fiction more than pretty much anything, and this was no exception!
 
The writing was fantastic—it’s honestly what stands out to me the most about this book. It was attention-grabbing and just overall beautiful. Everything was executed perfectly!
 
An impeccable storyline, stunning writing, captivating characters, and heartwarming love in all forms. This had everything I wanted and more!

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾!

Kate is a flight nurse, facing much of the horrors first in the Pacific theater of WWII, then in England. When Kate meets William, she wants to tell him the truth of her background, but as their relationship grows, she holds back. Separated by the war, William remains hopeful but when he doesn’t hear from Kate, he assumes she is dead. Kate’s journey, however, was just beginning, ending in much sadness. I really liked the book but the one part that was a bit far fetched was Kate’s trip back to Germany in the middle of the war. I still would recommend this book to historical fiction fans. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

*3.5 // As with Salazar's previous books (I've read all except for Zora Lily), LIES brings out the heart and grit in her character develoment. From Kate's starting chapters in the Pacific to her chapters in England, I learned so much about flying nurses. Like so many others during this time period, they went through so much! The lead up to Kate's backstory was very much anticipating energy and I felt I was more looking forward than being in the present moment. The twists were so twisty, though, and I loved the action of the second half of the book!! I'm normally not a dual timeline fan, but since the contemporary timeline scenes were few, it didn't interrupt the flow of Kate's storyline. Another engaging story from this author!

This sweeping novel takes you from the war torn Pacific theater to the skies over Normandy to the danger behind the German lines. I loved the romance and guessing game as to how the threads of love, duty, and betrayal would weave together. It’s a poignant novel that tells a little-known aspect of the war, one that leaves you gasping at its murky intrigue and uncertainty. Highly recommended for those who love WWII novels!

I really enjoyed this book. The sacrifices Kate made throughout her life and her love story with William. It was a heartbreaking story of love, loss and freedom. I love reading about nurse stories from WWII

This was a beautiful and emotionally charged novel! I haven’t read a ton of historical fiction but I love anything set in WWII so I really enjoyed this one. The writing was beautiful and engaging and I cannot wait to read more of the authors work. I absolutely loved the chemistry and the way the romance played out. The characters were complicated but relatable. If you enjoy historical fiction mixed with romance this one is for you!

The Lies We Leave Behind
Noelle Salazar

Heartbreaking yet hopeful, The Lies We Leave Behind is equal parts moving historical fiction and angsty love story. While dual timeline, the story primarily follows a WWII flight nurse, charged with transporting and caring for wounded soldiers. Through a captivating blend of history, mystery, and romance, Salazar weaves themes of love, duty, loss, and family secrets. The Lies We Leave Behind is an emotionally charged, quickly paced novel you won't be able to put down.

I wasn’t expecting this story to turn out how it but, but damn was it good. I was drawn to Kate, she was strong and brave, as you would expect in a nurse caring for injured soldiers.
I wanted so much more of William & Kate and really fell hard with them. I did enjoy how the story unfolded and was hoping for something else but was pleasantly surprised with the actual twist. My heart ached for both Kate and William.

This is my second book by Noelle Salazar, and she is becoming an auto-buy author and a favorite.

Quick Look
-WWII fiction
-dual timeline, dual POV
-male MC you’ll love
-tons of twists

My Thoughts
If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, then you already know that I’m a Noelle Salazar stan. As soon as I got my hands on the advanced reader copy of The Lies We Left Behind, I dove in and was finished in only a few days. Y’all, I LOVED William, and hearing from a male main character’s perspective was such a delightful change of pace. I will venture to say he has now become one of my favorite MMCs of all time. I also really enjoyed the romance, finding it just the right amount of tension and spice (door ajar). While it’s entirely fictional, Kate’s character is based on the real-life flight nurses of WWII, heroines in their own right. Having never heard of flight nurses serving in WWII, I was thrilled to discover another fun fact about female military service, thanks to this author. Being a sucker for sister stories, the tale of Kate and her baby sister sucked me in and kept me engaged, wanting to know more about their lives before the war and what happened to her little sister. The ending may be the only thing I didn’t love, mostly because I struggled with Kate’s choices. I understand them, but it hurt my heart and brought tears to my eyes. The many twists and turns kept the plot moving forward, sometimes at dizzying speed. But the overall tension and suspense of this book were top-notch!

Noelle Salazar’s The Lies We Leave Behind weaves together a historical fiction mystery set during WWII. This book details the love story of Kate and William. Kate has a secret past, and when the past catches up to her, and with the chaos of WWII, she makes a dangerous mission across enemy lines. Salazar did a great job showing how love can blind us. This has officially taken the place of my favorite Noelle Salazar book.

Five big stars for Noelle Salazar’s newest! I have read and loved two of her other books, so I had high hopes for this one — and it delivered!

Noelle has a gift for writing sweeping historical fiction tales that immerse you into the setting and the characters’ worlds. What I love most about her books is the emotional pull I feel while reading. The pacing is perfect, the flashbacks are well executed, and the story is engaging.

Everyone who loves historical fiction should add this one to their list!

Historical fiction is becoming one of my new favorite genres. This book drew me in right away. I was very interested in reading the POV of a flight nurse during WWII. When it comes to history there are so many things I never thought about. Like how do pilots fly injured people out of battle without getting injured themselves? Pretty wild.

Kate is such a wonderful character. I love the energy and passion she brought to the story. There is a lot of depth to her character and her backstory is excellent. I also quickly attached to other characters as well. Kate’s bunkmates added friendship and humor to the story, which helped during the tense moments. And what can I say about William? He is a great American soldier who has so much love for Kate. I can't imagine being in his position during the war. Not knowing if you're going to make it home and if the person you love is still alive.

There were a lot of tense moments throughout that kept me wanting to see what was going to happen next. The beginning started off slow but the ending really picks up. It was predictable at times, but it didn’t take away from the emotion of the story. This story was heartbreaking and wonderful.

Read if you like:
🪖 WWII
❤️ Romance
🤐 Secrets
❤️‍🩹 Caring for Others

Noelle has such a talent for writing amazing historical fiction novels that fly by in the matter of minutes. Gathering my thoughts for this but loved it!

I took a break from editing my own book to dive into one of my most anticipated reads of the year. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve picked up any historical fiction so this was a refreshing read. I love strong female characters, especially in historical fiction where it’s easy for women to become dulled, and this book delivered. In a market so saturated with WWII, the storyline and backstories were unique enough that it didn’t get lost in the noise of everything else.

P.S. Noelle Salazar also wrote the book The Flight Girls, and as a historian who spent months writing a historiography on the Women Air Force Service Pilots of WWII, couldn’t recommend that book enough.

The Lies We Leave Behind is a historical novel. In 1943 Kate Campbell is working as a flight nurse in the Pacific. When she is assigned to a post in Britain, her life changes.

I wanted to read this novel because I love historical fiction and am particularly interested in the World War II time period.

This was an engrossing read. I found the work of a nurse in the Pacific interesting, and a topic I have not encountered often in historical fiction. I also liked the 2003 timeline and its connection to the earlier time period.

I recommend this book for other fans of historical fiction. It is a beautifully written book with strong characterizations.

Not my favorite by this author unfortunately. While still solid, her other books have been outstanding. Still, I appreciate the research that goes into her writing, as well as the blend of genres represented in her works.

When Kate, a military nurse, meets William, an injured soldier, while serving in England during World War II, she told herself that she shouldn't let her heart get involved. But the pair falls in love and they promise themselves to each other for the future and say good-bye when William returns to the battle front.

As Kate waits, she receives word of shocking news back home. She leaves England and suddenly finds herself in danger as she hunts for a family member whom she was led to believe died years ago. No matter how long she is away, she never stops loving William and vice versa.

Will William and Kate reconnect "forevermore"? Or was their love affair only meant to be for a season?

I'll be honest. I considered DNF'ing this book about 30% in because it moved so slowly. If it hadn't been an ARC, I would have. But I am SO glad I kept with it! The story picked up once Kate and William's stories were connected. There was one recent night that the plot was so thick with drama that I binge read till way past my bedtime.

One thing I didn't care for was the ending. It was very abrupt and I think it could've been been fleshed out a bit more. I closed the book wanting more that part of the story. However, I will say, one other thing I didn't love is that the book was incredibly long--416 pages is way too long for a book in my opinion. I think so much could've been cut out and we still would've had a fantastic plot.