This is a tough one for me as it took a while to get into but when I eventually did I still wouldn't say that it was that enjoyable to be honest. I found parts of it unrealistic Eva and Gary I am eyeballing you and I thought the ending fell flat. I appreciate that some of it was well done and that some people would like this read but it just wasn't for me.

Hard book to get into. I tried but it started off much to slow for my liking. I made it through a few chapters, but just couldn’t commit to finishing.

Trigger warnings: War, Violence, Antisemitism, Cheating/Adultery
Rating: ★★

To preface my review, I want to state that the idea of a British spy, a German spy and members of the Dutch resistance living under one roof is a really interesting concept and it is what initially drew me to the book. But unfortunately, I was incredibly disappointed for a number of reasons and Dutch Courage really just missed the mark for me completely.
One of my main takeaways from reading Dutch Courage was how implausible some of the plotlines were. I felt that the portrayals of both the Dutch resistance and those working for British intelligence didn’t do them justice and recognise how clever, meticulously planned and well thought out much of the work they did actually was. Simple details such as them keeping documents written in English in the wallets they carried whilst undercover, choice of the blatantly English name Gary for the undercover identity of a British spy, them standing in the middle of the street loudly declaring all of the events and Nazi deaths they were responsible for and one of the Dutch resistance suddenly deciding to don a German military uniform and stroll into the office of a high-ranking Nazi with fake papers and a bottle of poison, seemed completely unbelievable.
Despite having high hopes for the interesting dynamic that a British spy (Gary) and a German spy (Eva) living under the same roof could bring, I was bitterly disappointed with how their relationship actually played out. Upon discovery of them each being spies from opposing spies, instead of trying to arrest or even kill each other, they simply start a sexual relationship. I felt there were so many interesting paths this relationship could have gone down, but unfortunately the chosen path was disappointing to say the least.
I did appreciate the plot point of the Nazi General secretly supporting and aiding the work of the resistance as it tied up some previously blatant plot holes. However, I found it made everything much too easy for the characters and made the novel lack the grit I crave from a historical fiction novel set in Nazi occupied Europe. Every potential mistake they made or problem they ran into was conveniently fixed by the General at the drop of the hat and it made some potentially exciting moments in the novel significantly less impactful. I would have much preferred this get out of jail free card to have been used sparingly.
The second half focuses more on the relationships between different characters, both within the group of protagonists and the relationships between them and some of the prominent Nazis in the story. These relationships are incredibly complicated to understand, however, and what starts as a love triangle ended up as a rather ridiculous love hexagon. Although I’m normally quite partial to a bit of romance in historical fiction, in this case there were so many people involved that it became very difficult to keep up. I also found it very implausible that both the British spy and the Dutch resistance solder would allow themselves to be seduced by a woman who they know to be a German spy.
I also found none of the characters to be particularly likeable at all. I wanted to be firmly supportive of the resistance members but they were difficult to root for, particularly due to their attitudes to adultery. It’s established in the first page that Jakob is having an affair with his younger assistant Angelina. Jakob is portrayed sympathetically from the outset and practically flaunts his affair throughout the novel, whilst the other characters condone it. His wife Rini is portrayed throughout the novel as the antagonist and she is described in horrendous ways by some of the characters such as a “battle-axe” and as “playing the victim” when she shows emotion at the discovery of her husband’s affair. The blatant collective victim blaming and sympathetic treatment of the adulterer was incredibly frustrating and further cemented the fact that none of the characters were likeable. The one positive we got from the affair plot was the introduction of the woman scorned trope through Rini becoming vengeful upon discovery of the affair and this could have been a really interesting plot point but it was stopped in its tracks by the General who again steps in to ‘save the day’ and Rini is not mentioned again for the rest of the novel.
The book as it seemed to end prematurely. Although the various plot points were all tied up by the end (albeit more neatly than I would have liked), the novel ended in 1941.The characters were celebrating a happy ending despite there still being four years left of the war and therefore four years left of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
I did note a few historical inaccuracies within this novel, particularly the inclusion of an escape from Nazi occupied Holland in a two-seater Supermarine Spitfire, five years before it was actually invented. It was partially my recognition of this inaccuracy that made me question if I, as someone who is well versed in historical fiction and the history of the Western front during the Second World War, was the correct audience for the novel. I felt that someone with less familiarity with the time period, who would therefore not be as inclined to notice the historical inaccuracies and implausibility of some plot lines, may take more enjoyment from reading Dutch Courage and enjoy it for what it is, a work of pure fiction set in a historical time period rather than the well-researched, dramatic and high-intensity storytelling we get from other works within the genre.

I have posted an extended review on my blog www.yourschloe.co.uk and the post is linked.