As usual I will not be rehashing the plot here as I believe that the professional blurb writers do a better job without giving anything away.
Wow, wow, wow! This is one of my favourite books of the year! I loved this book and didn’t want to finish it. It just seems to have the right mix of everything I love: history, intrigue, suspense, romance and wonderful settings. I have to admit that having a couple of personal links to the storyline also added an extra level for me. One, we live in the area of Norfolk where the WW1 nurse Edith Cavell grew up and have researched much about her life. She features in this book as an important reference and influence to the life of the hero, Sebastian. Secondly, we had a holiday on the Island of Sark just before the covid years and feel very privileged to have had that special experience. It was one of the reasons I chose to read this book and as I had hoped was able to picture the place and even the gardens, Sebastian works on as we have visited the exact spots. We even went to a Shakespeare play in the grounds of the Seigneurie which is an event also featured.
All in all a favourite book of all time (Can I give it 6 stars?!) and one which I will be looking to keep. I have read and enjoyed other works by Melanie Hudson and will be looking out for more in the future.

Lovely read and the narrator makes the character Sebastian easy to love too.

Sebastian is in a POW camp mistaken for his twin, sentenced to death he tells a priest his story of how he got where he is. The timelines are easy to follow. Its an enjoyable read showing another point of view of how those were affected during the war.

This WW2 book had me totally mesmerised!
The narrator was just perfect and had the smoothest tones, what a fabulous voice to listen to.

The story was beautiful, sad, exciting and there were some really funny bits in.

I loved the main characters and just wanted to give them a warm hug. The bombshell near the end wasn’t such a bombshell as I had guessed that may have been the case, but the author, who I have read previous books by and loved, wrapped the story up so skill-fully and beautiful it was just perfect.

Strongly recommended.

I love a good WWII tale. My thoughts are, if these stories aren’t shared, we will never learn from the past. This book was particularly magical as it was a mixture of real facts and people and fictional events.
The characters were so loveable and the twists and turns of their lives reflected the sacrifices people made during the war. I loved the fact that the book is set in different countries. I didn’t know much about Sark before this book, so it was good to go and learn more about this island. A thoroughly entertaining read.

4.25⭐️

My first read by this author. I had the Audiobook version narrated by John Sackville. He is an excellent narrator his tone fits beautifully. It’s the story of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Sebastian Braun a German Doctor scarred by the first war, he is now a pacifist. No sooner has he finally found love with Sophie than they are torn apart by the war. We first hear of him in prison, awaiting execution. He has been confused with his twin brother Sasha.
We hear his story via his ‘confession’ to the chaplain.

The language used and dialogue places it well in the era. The writing style is slow and very descriptive. You can imagine yourself in the various locations from the isle of Sark, Paris to Cornwall.

Sebastian’s war time experience makes for a good read, also those of Sasha and Sophie add well to the storyline. I found that it lags a lot at the half half way point which has affected my rating. It picks up well after that, and is a lovely emotional read.

Sebastian is a very likeable character, in fact most of the characters are likeable which is a surprise!

It’s an enjoyable war time easy listen which I would recommend.