This was sooo good, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story set in Denmark featuring interesting characters. Of course, it’s based on my favourite period of history, WW2, so it was bound to appeal to me, but what I liked most was the setting it was based on since typically I don’t find stories based around Scandanavia. The narrator did a great job, I looked forward to listening every day. My gratitude to NetGalley, author and publisher for granting me a copy to review.

This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

The audiobook narrator here did a tremendous job in setting the mood. When the book first begins, we have a bereft woman at the loss of two things in life, and she is at a crossroads. Since she is the only one in her family without familial obligations, she is chosen to empty out her grandmother's things. It is during this time that she stumbles upon an odd item. When she pursues that line, she finds out things about her grandmother's part in the resistance movement during WWII in Denmark.
I am pretty sad to say that I did not know that Denmark was an occupied territory during this period, and the unique situation that it was in was completely new. This is probably why I am rating the book the way I did. If I had already known the facts, I might be approaching the narrative differently.
Life in an average Danish household is described during troubled times. That and the youth's energy to do something did not always result in prudent reactions. We have multiple characters introduced to us, fleshed out gradually, till it made sense for things to happen the way they did.
I enjoyed the older timeline a lot more than the present one, even though there was lesser in the current timeline. I may not be as big a fan of this mode of narration as I once was. I now feel like this particular story could have been told with just the older information, probably leaving those final revelations to an epilogue and still being a good book to listen to.
I have been slower in listening to audiobooks than I once was, but I made good progress with this one.
People who are interested in reading/listening to a book set in Denmark during the occupation should definitely give it a shot.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

"The Helsingør Sewing Club" deals with the Danish resistance movement during WWII and how non-Jewish people tried to protect the Jewish population of Denmark.

I thought the subject matter was really interesting but I think the characters didn't really get enough development to really make me care. The romantic subplots got on my nerves because the male characters were even less developed than the female ones and I think the present-day storyline didn't really add anything to the overall narrative.

I am doing a personal historical reading challenge this year, so this book fitted perfectly into this slot and added to my tally so far.

I have been recently drawn to WW2 books recently and this one is no different, our MC is Inger, a remarkable lady who joins a local resistance group to help Danish Jews escape to Sweden.
This book is based on true events, which makes it more remarkable.

I also enjoy the duality of this story as well, as it imparts two stories that connect with each other, it was the typical, clearing out the loft or a cupboard and find something that traces back to a relative from the past and unleashing thier particular story, but it was a good listen for me,you do not often get stories about Scandinavian troubles during the second world war and it was refreshing.

I really enjoyed the audiobook format and the narrator was good in thier task. and even though i am not Danish, i appreciated the pronunciations of the Danish words, assuming that they were correctly said.

This story did meander a little and i lost myself in places, but overall a good listen.

3 stars for my rating is a good book and worth the read / listen.

In the light of current affairs this book, this book took on even more meaning. Was completely unaware of the bravery of the Danes during WW2. Enjoyed the two parallel timeframes playing out which gave the book an extra dimension in comparison to other WW2 novels. Highly recommended

This powerful dual timeline story is set in 2018 and during the horrible events of WWII. In 2018 Cecelia is clearing out her gran's apartment when she finds stuff from the past and this leads us to hearing her gran Inger's story about how brave the Danes were in helping Jews escape from the Nazis. Some events were heartbreaking, others heartwarming and I was literally moved to tears.
This story was more personal for me as a Dane and with mentions of places I am familiar with like the Bispebjerg hospital where my sister works and the boats used to get Jews to Sweden. My father is now a volunteer maintaining one of these boats for the local museum.

Very atmospheric and touching.
Historical fiction that was both entertaining and enlightening.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my feedback.

This is a story based on true events around Denmark during WW2. It is told in two time periods. To be honest I didn't feel that the 21st C part added much at all to the story, especially the romance interest which evolves. It just got in the way and was an unnecessary interlude between the important Danish story of utter heroism. In this part the characters were brilliantly portrayed and I could so imagine and see them. Great historical storytelling with good research.
I listened to the audio version and sadly I did not like the narrator. She reads with a questioning lilt making some sentences go up at the end when not required at all.

This was a beautiful story of immense courage in a terrifying time. I loved the alternating perspectives, and I found it made the story flow really well. There are two timelines for this one, and I was not as interested in the current-day timeline, but I understood the importance to the story. I much preferred being in the historical timeline and learning what had happened. That storyline was exciting, scary, and filled with wonderful characters! I really enjoyed the narrator for this book. She was great!

A rich tale of a brave country during World War 2. Denmark was occupied by the Nazis, but they were not beaten. When the Nazis started to target the Jews, the Danes joined together to help their countrymen to escape to Sweden. This is the story of one of these little groups and the individuals within them. How a group of ordinary people could achieve extraordinary things together.

Wow ... just wow!!

What an incredibly powerful story this is and one that is a must read/listen if you want to be gripped by an inspiring tale of bravery that is based on true events.

Told from diary of Inger in 1943 and her granddaughter, Cecilie in the present day, this is the story of how a community in Denmark saved their Jewish friends, neighbours and countrymen from the tyranny of the Nazi regime. Their self-less courage and strength is captured within the words of this book and although it starts off a little slowly, this helps to set the scene of what's to come.

I listened to the audiobook and have to say that Kristin Atherton did an excellent job of narrating this story; she drew me in and kept me there from start to finish.

This is a gripping story about events in Denmark during World War II and one which I wasn't aware of or appreciated so thank you to Ella Gyland for bringing this to my attention and I would certainly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this area or to anyone who just enjoys a really good book.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

Based on true events during World War 2 and the plight of the Jews who lived in Denmark. How the courageous danish people rose up to the challenge of saving as many jews as they could by getting them to safety in Sweden, acts of bravery and humanity. Based on facts and I guess some fictional characters and situations this book tells the story of the resistance and how they protected the people during the nazi occupation. Beautifully written about a very upsetting period of time and raises the profile of the Danes in the war, often forgotten about or seen as unimportant. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

I tend to gravitate towards WWII Historical fiction and the blurb of this was right up my street.
The dual narrative works really well, I always enjoy the trope of family past and present, especially where secrets are revealed, but certain aspects of the modern narrative felt a little superfluous.
The WWII aspect covers a lot in terms of Inger as a person, her family and her friendships and work life, but seemed to take a long time to get to the crux of the story and it went from quite slow paced for most of it to a pure roller-coaster at the end - which to me was a little off putting but might well suit other readers. The portrayal of certain characters in the story had me worrying slightly but it all righted itself as the story went on.
I listened to the audio book (with thanks to @netgalley and the publishers for the copy in return for the review) and it is done well on audio, it is easy to tell which narrative it is as well as the cast of secondary characters

I suspect my rating would have been higher if I'd read The Helsingør Sewing Club rather than listened to it through Audiobook, so please keep that caveat in mind with this review.

The Helsingør Sewing Club was an interesting story about an historical event that I knew very little about. The subject matter was therefore very interesting, and I did find Gyland's writing style to be expressive and beautiful.

The audiobook narrator did an absolutely wonderful job. I especially appreciated the correct pronunciation of Danish words. The problem for me was that the book started slowly, with a lot of meandering scene-setting that simply didn't keep my attention in audio form. And when the narrative got going there were a lot of PoV and jumps in narrative from first person to third that lost me a few times if I wasn't paying attention to every moment. Consequently, the characters ended up feeling a little underdeveloped.

I might want to give this a go in non-audio form in the future, as I think there's probably a lot I didn't get out of it due to the format. From a story point of view, I think it's definitely worth picking up - but if you're going with audio format make sure that you're a listener who is willing to fully commit and doesn't mind a slow start.

Thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook.
I am an avid reader of WW2 books and the work of the resistance and the plight of the Jewish people.
Loved the fact this was set in Denmark, somewhere I hadn't really thought about being affected.
I loved the dual time zone and thought it skipped between 2 with ease.
The narration was good too.
Highly recommended

***ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.co.uk in return for an honest review ***

2018 - Cecilia Lund is clearing her beloved grandmother's basement following her death. She stumble upon a box of jewellery, there is clue to where the jewellery came from which leads her to contacting David Nathan, an elderly gentleman living in Palestine.

1943 - Inger Bredhal is sent to live with her aunt, uncle and cousins from Copenhagen. She is a bookbinder and begins working for the local bookbinder. She soon discovers that this small town in occupied Denmark has it's very own resistance, one that she finds a role for herself in with her cousin Gudren. Both women play pivotal parts in helping Danish Jews escape to the safety of Sweden.

This amazing story is based in fact. 95% of Danish Jews were saved because of the help of their friends and neighbours, ensuring that they were saved from the German concentration camps.

This story is uplifting, heart wrenching, hopeful and devastating in equal measures. The need to do right for the sake of their friends, neighbours & strangers in need shows how communities retained their solidarity against years of oppressive German rule.

An utterly fantastic read.

While clearing her grandmother's flat, Cecilie discovers her diary. From it she learns that during WWII her grandmother, Inger, moved from the dangerous Copenhagen to a safer small village to work for a book binder and stay with her relatives. While she is there she joins the Helsingor Sewing Club. Disappointingly for me, there is no sewing going on, but a far nobler undertaking: they are the Danish resistance who smuggle Jews out of Denmark to safer. Through Inger we learn of the Danish resistance to Nazi occupation which was phenomenal.
This is a great story based on true events which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a romance which is not usually what I read so I found the romantic passages quite amusing - not to my taste - but very sweet nevertheless. My only concern is that thoroughly modern Cecilie meets a man and sleeps with him. However we are spared any graphic details and they do develop a meaningful relationship so that is a saving grace. Overall this is a really good easy ready about a very traumatic time in history that I would definitely recommend.
Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a great dual timeline novel, and I enjoyed the narration by Kristin Atherton in particular.

WW2 historical fictions are usually set in Germany, France or Poland, and it was interesting to read about Danish towns and people this time. The story was a bit slow here and there but all in all I was happy with both the past and present timelines and characters. The author describes Bodil's emotional struggle especially vividly even though she is only a minor character.

I find the "sewing club" a strange choice of title; it is hardly mentioned.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for this Advance Review Copy.

I tend to like this kind of book. This one’s title reminded me of the Guernsey and literary potato peel pie society. The story centres on the underground network in occupied Denmark where the villagers helped Jewish people fleeing the Nazi occupation to get to Sweden. The book has heartbreaking moments, as you would expect, but is ultimately a tale of hope and perseverance. Told in two different timelines, using the diary of a recently departed grandmother and discussions with her dying lost sweetheart . I really liked this book