I received an ARC of this through NetGalley for an honest review.

This is the story of Helen, a young English girl visiting Paris, and Max, a relatively wealthy German man. The European world is on the brink of war. They fall madly in love with each other and want nothing more than to be together. Helen ends up pregnant, and they plan to move to another country together to escape the realities of the escalating conflicts. Alas, reality has other plans for them. Max is forcibly taken away to fight for his fatherland (albeit not on the Nazis) and Helen returns to England to be with her family. Both of them end up married to other people and we follow both Helen and Max through their trials and tribulations on the road to bringing them back into each others lives. But, can they have a happily ever after?

I enjoyed the story itself. It was a long book, and historical romances aren't generally what I read. But, I did find myself caught up in it, wanting to know if these two could come together. The storyline was a little predictable and "convenient", but enjoyable. I had forgotten how much different and simple things were back in those times. How beautifully proper and chaste relationships between men and women were.

The editing in this book was horrific - I can only hope that this was truly an ARC that had yet to be proofed and edited. The formatting itself was so terribly off. Words ran together and it was hard to tell who was saying what at times because of sentences running together. Nothing that a good editing/review couldn't take care of.

Helen Latimer is on a trip to Paris to stay with her brother Charles in the summer of 1939 when she meets Max, the German with the wheat coloured hair and lovely blue eyes and falls hopelessly in love. With the storm clouds of war gathering though what hope is there for the pair of them?

Dragged home by her brother two days before war is declared she believes that Max has run out on her leaving her pregnant and alone but in her heart she is sure that it was true love and something must have happened to him

Back in their own countries they both marry new partners but their hearts are never in it and they cannot forget each other, especially Helen who's son Tristan is the spitting image of his father. With Charles off to war and her husband Roland invalided out of the forces her life is bleak - until she joins the SOE and returns to France

A great story that I couldn't put down - I loved the relationship between Max and Helen and the way Max hated the Nazis and despite the tremendous pressure from his brother Herman refused to join the SS. Great characters throughout the book and plenty of plots and intrigue