A great plot, really enjoyed it. Lovely characters too. Looking forward to reading more from the author!

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

WOW! I loved this book! This author is new to me, and I will definitely be reading more by her. The writing style had me enamored from the first couple of chapters. A beautiful WW2 novel! I recommend it for anyone who loves historical fiction.

I didn’t get on with this book. It failed to grab my attention at the start which unfortunately meant I struggled to get into it and therefore didn’t get very far with it.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting book with good writing that draws the reader in. The characters are likable and engaging.
I felt that senparts needed more development and explaining as it got confusing at times.
On the whole, a good book.

Rarely do we read stories about the women who played a vital role in WW2.
Esme on the brink of her wedding receives some devastating news. She heads off to start a new life; little did she realise to what extent.
A great easy read.

Thank you for the copy of this book in return fora full and frank review.

I had of course heard of SOE but had only vaguely heard of the 'decoys' used to test the patriotism of the operatives before they were sent overseas.
So it was interesting to read about the training and story of a girl who after a traumatic family incident was recruited to be used by SOE eventually as a decoy. It was also interesting to read about a 'posh' hotel in Brighton and how the patronage seemed to be affected by rationing etc in different ways to the general population.
I enjoyed the book and often found myself reading just 'one more page or several' before snuggling down at bedtime.
However I did feel frustrated at times - one character obviously had something happen in her life - she met up with the heroine - they sorted out the problem but we, the reader, had no idea what had actually happened. Though it was obvious it involved a man.
I often feel that the last few chapters of many books are rushed and this was no exception - I felt let down by the ending and was wishing for more - but there was an ending which was predictable but nevertheless the book was a great read.
All in all I enjoyed this book and would look out for more by this author.

Brilliant book, brilliant story line all based in wartime such a lovely heartwarming book. If you like historical books you will love this

I'm a huge fan of books set in this era, so it was hardly surprising that the theme of Decoy Women would grab my attention. 

When Esme Colborne learns her true identity only days before she's due to marry Richard Trevannion, she suffers a huge crisis of conscience. Convinced that her real background makes her no longer "suited" to Richard (his family is one of the oldest and wealthiest in England) she packs up her things and leaves home with no plans or destination in mind.

She finds a place to live but has no idea what to do to earn a living since her own savings won't last forever. When, by chance, she spots a distraught woman with her son speaking in French at the station, Esme asks if she can help, assuming the woman is lost and needs directions. Having been to finishing school herself, Esme is fluent in French but soon realises the woman's husband is coming to meet them. 

That conversation, no matter how brief, is the catalyst of her story from thereon. Someone overheard her speaking French and suggests she call the number on a business card where the opportunity to serve her country awaits.

And so she is recruited as a decoy woman. Her job is to test men who have recently completed their training as Special OperationS Executives before they are sent to France. Esme is set up at the Hotel Aurelian where she is to meet these men and see if they hold up to scrutiny, albeit done in the most subtle and seductive way. If they fall foul of her methods and blow their cover stories, then her report will deem them as unsuitable. If, however, they pass her test, then they are sent onwards to fight the good fight in France as spies.

Esme excels at her job, but she also gets too close to some of those she is supposed to be testing, in particular to Marcus. As the bombs are dropped more frequently, Esme suffers the loss of her closest friends, and it makes her reevaluate her life. What will become of her once the war ends - she'll have no job, and has lost the only true friends she  has made since leaving home. Can she pick up the threads with her family, and maybe even with Richard, or should she hope for a new life with Marcus?


This is an interesting and enjoyable read with an original plotline centring around the decoy women. My thanks go to Netgalley and Canelo for the advanced reader copy.

Should one let a background, one that was just found out, destroy her life. and her happiness? When Esme Colborne finds out she is adopted, from a working family no less, will it keep her from marrying the man she loves, who is a descendant from one of the oldest families in England. Will she let that secret wreck her life? Will it matter to the man she is about to marry? With a strong sense of patriotism Esme becomes a Decoy Women, used to test the ability of new SOE operatives to maintain their covers stories. It was women like Esme who would then write a report about the operatives and whether they were able to keep to their story or not.

HF is my favorite genre and in reading this novel, I added it to the many I have enjoyed before. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled a bit with the basic premise that Esme felt she couldn't marry her fiancé because she is adopted and thus not of his station. Please. Once I got past that, I was intrigued by the concept of the Decoy Women, used to test the ability of new SOE operatives to maintain their covers stories. Not all of them did, btw, and it's a good thing Esme and the others in the program were able to weed them out. Esme isn't the strongest character but I found the historical part of this most intriguing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of WWII fiction.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I am a historical fiction nerd. And i tend to gravitate to war fiction books. So this book looked to be right up my alley. But for.me this story was a little bit too slow. I did not pull om my heart strings. I did appreciate that the Main character was a strong heroine. But for me it was nothing new. So just an ok read for me. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest review

A NOVEL TAKE ON THE FEMALE WAR EFFORT DURING WWII (REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)

I always do my reviews in a sort of pros and cons kind of way - detailing the things I liked and the things I disliked. Based on those lists, I give an overall judgement. This novel was hard for me to do that with, because even though the cons list is actually the longest, I didn't dislike this book at all. I actually rather enjoyed it. And I can't really put my finger on why. But maybe I don't have to. Maybe I should just find pleasure in the simple fact, that I read a nice book 🤷‍♀️

👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍

SOE and decoys: The central theme of this book is that of the female decoys employed by the SOE (Special Operations Executive) in Britain. Here, young women were trained to test male spies' loyalty and discretion, to ascertain whether they were fit for the trials ahead. Of course, these women were themselves working under cover, and where therefore also spies. I found it very interesting to get an insight (however, not a totally accurate one) into this female war effort, that I had had no knowledge of beforehand.

👎 WHAT I DISLIKED 👎

Drive: While reading this book I found the drive of the plot to be kind of lacking, mainly because the purpose of the book was shrouded - was it a self-discovery book? A there-and-back again book? A war book? A romance? I couldn't really figure it out and it bothered me.

Esme: Our main character Esme was not a character I could really like, sadly. She didn't do anything very offensive or anything, she was just a bit shallow in many ways. Also, I disliked many of her decisions and couldn't follow her reasoning for them. She seemed a bit vapid at times.

Ending: I was so disappointed by the ending, because it really let down the entire book. Esme has come so far and experienced so many things only for her to end up right where she began. Honestly, I really wanted her to end up with Marcus, not Richard.

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A great read and another new side to the SOE that I had yet to learn about.

Esme Ward is set to marry Richard Trevannion decendent of. a well to do family in England.
Following a dinner party hosting Richards family Esme’s mother sits her down and shocks her to the core telling her that she was adopted. Esme’s world is thrown upside down and she decides that because she is from a working class that she is not worthy to marry Richard.
She flees without telling anyone and upon looking for some steady work she finds herself working for the government undercover.

“Decoy women” was another part of Churchill’s SOE that I had not heard of.. These women were put in place to test the agents abilities to conceal their true identity and motives. The decoy women would then write a report on whether the target agent was able to keep to his story or blow his cover.

I felt like a few parts of the story were cut very short and thought it should have continued on to reveal a bit more but nevertheless it was an enjoyable read from beginning to end.



Thank you to Canelo and Net Galley for the advanced copy.

Good, but could be great. It was an interesting take on the war years. My main problem was with Esme, the female protagonist. She seemed shallow to me, and even at the end hadn't changed all that much, despite her saying she had. She goes from one man to another and back again. Childish for sure. That's what this book lacks, depth. A good story though, and the ending was okay.

Thanks to NetGalley, Canelo and Rosie Meddon for my copy of: Her Patriotic Duty.
England May 1940, Esme Colborne is engaged to Richard Trevannion he’s from one of the oldest and well to do families in England. Esme’s mother Naomi wants to have a chat, she’s expecting the dreaded what to expect on your wedding night talk and its much worse. Esme is devastated to learn that she’s adopted, she’s twenty five, her parents have waited until just before her wedding to share this information with her and how can she possibly tell Richard? Esme feels betrayed, she’s in shock, she’s not good enough to marry her fiancée and she runs away.

Esme finds a place to live, by chance a stranger over hears her talking French and she’s given an unexpected opportunity. Esme has no idea how she could be of use to her country during WW II but they have a plan to test men who have trained to be Special Operations Executives and before dropping them into France. The idea is to use 'decoy women', Esme is sent to the Hotel Aurelian, here she’s given assignments to meet, chat to the agents and try to get them to slip up and blow their cover stories. Esme proves that’s there’s more than one way to win a war, she’s very good at her job and some agents don’t pass the final test.

Unfortunately for Esme she discovers the war is very dangerous, the air raid sirens, bomb shelters and barbed wire on the beaches are not props. During a bombing raid she experiences the terror and afterwards the sadness and tragedy of two lives lost. This makes Esme think about her choices she’s made, did she judge her parents harshly and would Richard ever want to see her again? Her Patriotic Duty is a brilliant story, it made me aware of women volunteering to be decoys during WW II, it was part of Winston Churchill’s plan to win WW II and he was a very clever man. Well done to Rosie Meddon to write a book that honors and makes us aware of these brave and smart women and I gave it five stars.

Her Patriotic Duty by Rosie Meddon

Two days before your wedding your mother pulls you aside and tells you a secret your parents have been keeping all your life! Everyone has the jitters before they get married. I almost turned around if it weren’t for my Uncle holding tight on my arm as we walked down that long, long, aisle.
Esme goes from upper middle class about to be high society and she is told she is an adopted niece. They are not her parents. Her parents are dead and they were poor laborers. She is so confused.
She runs. She can’t expose that to her fiancé because his mother already disapproves of her to being in the family. Just think, a nobody!
Socialite to poor nobody and she encounters a fluke situation during her running away that enables her To serve her country as a undercover spy operative to ferret out the men who they were sending in as spies if they could be trusted with secrets.

There was so much here that the author missed she could have really ran with. I think she held back and there was no growth or development. It was choppy in places. I loved this whole premise and I hope she reintroduces maybe Miss Black with Wally! What a story could erupt there!

Thank you to the authors and publishers who work diligently for us the readers.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Fantastic book from beginning to end with interesting characters and storyline with twists that keep you reading

Rosie Meddon's Her Patriotic Duty is good, but uneven. It's certainly better than the cover would lead one to believe. It tells the story of a woman recruited by the SOE to weed out unreliable agents before they are sent to France. This middle part is the strongest part of the novel. I remain unclear whether this was an actual SOE operation. It is compelling either way and I found myself racing through as Esme Colbourne/Ward met each new agent. Where the book is weakest is when it deals with her real life, including her class-motivated decision to run away from home and a tepid romance with a member of the Admiralty. It's difficulty to put a finger on quite why I liked this book, but I found it better than my review may indicate. Overall, recommended as a solid read for someone who has read nearly everything in the genre.