Louise gets pulled into a way that she never wanted to be a part of as she returns to Paris. Stuck at her stuffy boarding school, Louise longs to get away and ends up returning to Paris, where the war is waiting on her doorsteps. She gets pulled into the underground world of the French Resistance, and though it’s not the fun and excitement she was hoping for, she finds value in the work she’s doing. When she meets a young Nazi officer, the loyalties between her family and the new man in her life are causing her to be torn. She’s forced to question what is right and pusher to take a stand.


This was a great read. Really enjoyed Louise’s story. Wish it was a bit longer but overall enjoyed the book

I have never read this author before but I will be looking for other books of hers for sure! This is a great book. I couldn’t put it down! Thank you for writing such a great book!

As someone who loves history i was hoping i would enjoy this but i was wrong.

I'm not a fan of romance and this story has that included i felt it would have been much better if that had never been the case. That might just be because i don't enjoy romance in any type of book but you never know maybe i just needed to look past that because i did enjoy the historical elements dotted throughout.

Louise is finally free from boarding school in England and returns home to find her home of Paris is under Nazi occupation and she is dragged into a war she doesn't want to be part of. She finds herself in the dangerous world of the Resistance movement and finds herself in love with Nazi Officer Hans and she must decide between her loyalty to her family and her feeling for the officer.

It was an okay book where the writing style is great with only minor grammatical and spelling errors.

This was a good read. I think as you learn more about the main character you realize there were probably many people like her during that time. I enjoyed the story and seeing how the character grew.

"Who's side are you actually on Louise?" asked Maman coldly.

One Line Review: As World War II begins, a young woman must decide where her loyalties lie; whether it is with the resistance and joining her family to fight against horrific injustice, or with a man who seems to have stolen her heart and mind.

Synopsis: Louise, a brilliant young woman, albeit slightly selfish, craves adventure and anything different from the from the norm. After having to move home to Paris as WWII rages on, Louise realizes that the German Army and Nazis are taking over the places she once recognized. Having the ability to speak English, German and French she has taken on a bartender role, affording her papers to be out after the curfew set on the city. Quietly and in the background, Louise's friends and family have joined the resistance against the Nazi's, doing everything they can under the shroud of nightfall to provide shelter, transportation and food for those affected. One day, Louise reignites a past courtship, who just so happens to be a leader in the German Army. A whirlwind romance leads Louise down a path that makes her question which side she really belongs on, and what she must do in order to be true to what she truly desires.

My Thoughts: The author of this novel does a fantastic job of leading you to a world of frustration ongoing with our leading lady. You find yourself wanting to scream at Louise for the choices she is making for herself, seemingly blind to what the best course of actions is for herself until the very end. I chose to give this book a 3.5, simply because I wished it were longer, to develop the deep-seated emotions that should arise regarding this tragic time. The author included a great amount of detail, but I would've loved to have seen a possible secondary perspective from those leading the resistance to fully submerse you into the heartbreaking fear that came along with their rescue efforts.

A great thank you to Valerie Anne Hudson and BooksGoSocial for this Digital Review Copy! I will be keeping an eye out for future updates from this author!

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

For whatever reason, Not My War reminded me of a after school special. I enjoyed reading it, but it had a cautionary tale of falling in love with your oppressor vibe.

Ii is an addictive read, though, and the ending isn't predictable, which I loved.

I do want to give a trigger warning about graffc headshot wound description. Obviously it some violence is to be expected in a War based book, but this one is associated with suicide.

Wow, fantastic novel, kept me intrigued all the time. Many different plots entwined together. Loved the different characters and how the threaded the storyline together. Well versed and thoroughly recommended.

The daughter of a British diplomat and a university professor from Germany, Louise was born in Switzerland but lives with her in Nazi occupied Paris. Through most of the book she’s silly, naive, and self centered. She seems oblivious or consciously unwilling to acknowledge the deadly antisemitism on the Nazi’s and convinces herself that she’s in love this a Nazi Captain. I didn’t feel that Louise’s transformation into someone brave who’s working for the resistance was believable.

An interesting if slow moving story of a young woman who learns to fight the Nazis after the invasion of France and learns that she is more capable than she thought.

Not My War by Valerie Anne Hudson was downloaded for free from BookSirens for me to read and give my honest review. I enjoyed the book, but it was not one of my favorites. I think I was so irritated at the actions of the main character Louise, that I just couldn’t find myself liking her.

Having read many novels set during W.W.II, I found this book quite different. Louise Bellingham had been at boarding school in England and returned home to Paris during the Nazi occupation. She distanced herself from the horrors around her because she was not Jewish and wanted to enjoy a fun-filled life. Reluctantly helping the Resistance, she is also seeing a Nazi officer. She eventually has to make a choice between her family and her officer. As she continues to live in Paris and witnesses the atrocities that the Nazis bring to the city, she must take a stand and decide whose side she is on.

I do think that the author wrote this novel well and her characters developed as the book went on. I will say that the story was redeemed in my eyes at the end. Actually, the novel brought me to the idea that many Parisians had their own coping mechanism to deal with the invasion.

love, love, loved this book!

This was for me a first book about the world war 2, and I eat this book up. normally I don't really stay up reading a book but this got me hooked and I wanted every time to know what was going to happen. it has some really good twist and turns. and very good grow of our main character, I already have decided to get a physical copy when I can

yeah… it was fine, i suppose but ultimately it was also way too short. you can see a clear development in louise’s character but it just felt very sudden and happened within a single chapter. i would’ve liked to see her having her doubts before that one event that changed everything, or at least in a more fleshed out way. the story overall was so quick it felt a little rushed. i struggled a lot with louise at first because of her refusal to see Hans as the enemy when her own housekeeper is jewish and her brother would’ve also been a target to the Nazis but unfortunately, i also feel like this is something that probably happened during the war. the little subplot of the father was useless to me and could’ve been used to develop other aspect of the story more in my opinion. it was fine but probably forgettable 2.5⭐️