Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and author Kate Hewitt for the advanced reader copy of this book. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

This is the third book in a series by Kate Hewitt that centers on four young women who meet during World War II. They are four Jewish women attempting to escape Nazi Germany with their families on board the S.S. St. Louis, which was turned away from Cuba. The four end up in very different circumstances, but promise each other they will meet up again when it’s “safe.”

Like earlier books in the series, The Girl Who Risked It All gives us a glimpse of life after World War II, with three of the four women meeting up as they promised. We know that one of the women is not there, but not who it is. One of them remarks that she knows the missing woman will not be there because she saw her cut down.

Hannah was on board the St. Louis with her younger sister, Lottie. They were on their way to live with their father in Havana, Cuba after their mother remarried an S.S. Agent. When the remaining passengers are divided up to go to various European countries, Hannah and Lottie find themselves in France. While Hannah is out one day trying to arrange passage to Cuba, Lottie is taken to an orphanage. Hannah manages to track her down, but the setting Lottie is in is much better than what Hannah can offer her at the current time.

While trying to figure out her next step, Hannah makes the acquaintance of Michel. He’s a jazz musician who lives with his parents nearby. They offer Hannah shelter and she helps out in the father’s tailor shop. Being only half-Jewish, many of the restrictions once the Nazis invade France don’t apply to her, but Hannah stays hidden as much as possible until one day she is discovered. With contacts in the Resistance Network in France, Hannah is sent south to the Vichy area where she finds herself working as a seamstress in a brothel that caters to German officers and becoming a part of the Resistance.

Hannah has a lot of great character development here. She begins as an 18-year-old woman who is unsure of her life and her place in it. She is depending on her father to take care of her and her sister once her mother rejects them to side with her S.S. husband. Once she is convinced that they can’t get to him in Cuba, she finds a resilience she didn’t know she had. Lottie is the most important thing in the world to her, but she also gives her sister the space to grow as well. Hannah learns from Michel’s family what family life can be like in a real family where there is love. She finds herself falling for Michel but isn’t sure he feels the same until he joins the fight when the Nazis invade France. It seems everyone she loves or cares about ends up abandoning her and she has trouble trusting that people will be there for her. This creates a resilience in her that helps her survive the war.

More than the other two books in the series, The Girl Who Risked It All gives a more complete picture of life during World War II. Since Hannah’s story takes place in an occupied country I can see how the Nazis acted as well as how the people who resisted fared. Hannah is luckily able to get into a situation where she’s not suffering all that much but also has guilt about it. She does quite a bit of work for the Resistance but is tarnished by the company she keeps to glean the information. After the fact, it was easy for people to point fingers at those they believed to be collaborators, but with so many secrets these allegations were often against people who worked against the Nazis.

I enjoyed The Girl Who Risked It All quite a bit. Kate Hewitt does a terrific job making me feel like I was right there with Hannah during the occupation as well as the difficulty she faced when she had to make hard choices. This series has been great to read, and this is another entry that delivers very well on a subject that is pretty serious.

I absolutely loved the book but I will say that despite re-reading twice- I had a hard time linking prologue with epilogue. Perhaps it makes more sense as part of series that puts that into context. I truly would love to learn what I’m missing. :-) Is Hannah finally seeing Rosa and Rachel to share that Sophie is dead? Who thinks Sophie is not dead? It’s not cleared up in Epilogue. Seems incomplete.

That being said- that comment is just for author and publisher.

What I will say for online reviews…

I loved this book! What a unique look at world war 2 historical fiction. That is my favorite genre and I truly enjoyed Hannah’s story! There was wonderful character development and moving plot. Writing was excellent! Look forward to more from the author!

What can I say but yet again I enjoyed another book in The Emerald Sisters series by Kate Hewitt. I do love all of her books and this one didn't disappoint. This is yet another 5 star read for me and I just couldn't put it down.

The first part of the book does a bit of a recap of the friends and what they have all experienced so far in this dreadful world of war. This, the 3rd book looks at Hannah and her story of growing up so quickly, of helping the resistance and of course the children including her younger sister Lotte. This story really gets into your head and your heart and once you start reading you can't pout it down as you always want to know what happens next.

This book kept me reading well into the night and as always with Kate Hewitt books I had it read before I knew it. I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book 3 of 4 - Hannah is a Jewish refugee in France with her sister. She joins the resistance and needs to put her sister in a children’s home. So sad to read about all that was lost in WWII. Kate Hewitt is an awesome author.

The story of the Emerald sisters continues in *The Girl Who Risked It All*, the third book in the series. After a brief recap of how the four friends met on the ill-fated St. Louis route to Cuba, the focus shifts to Hannah and her sister, Lotte. The girls end up in France, and after several unsuccessful attempts to contact their father in Cuba, Hannah realizes it is best to leave her sister at a children's home while she tries to keep herself safe.

The narrative takes readers on a journey where Hannah finds safety and love, only to experience loss. She faces various challenging situations that force her to confront how much she is willing to sacrifice to save others and what it means to be half-Jewish under Nazi rule. Along the way, she receives help from unexpected allies and reunites with an old friend.

Like the first two books in the series, this story draws readers in and holds their attention until the very end. The author excels at portraying the historical experiences of the time, making the situation feel incredibly real for the reader. I can't wait until February 2025 when the fourth and final book is released!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book.

I’ve loved this series. I’ve enjoyed reading about the Emerald Sisters and what they experienced during the war after coming off the St. Louis. This book is about Hannah and her sister Lotte. They are part of the group that gets left in Paris. Hannah has no choice but to grow up fast. She’s barely 18 years old and has her sister taken away from her almost as soon as they arrive in Paris. She has nowhere to live and no job. She’s lucky enough to run into Michel and him and his family keep her safe and give her work.
She easily falls for Michel, but when he goes off to war and Hannah is forced to leave the safety of his family, she finds her way into helping the Resistance. I love reading about the Resistance. There are so many different stories out there that talk about how many different ways that people helped to take down the Germans.
I can’t wait for the last book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC of this book.

This is the 3rd in the Emerald Sisters series. Hannah met her friends on the St. Louis, a ship from Germany sailing to Cuba with Jews who were escaping Nazi Germany for a better life. When they are refused entry and forced to separate they split an emerald, agreeing to meet at the end of the war. Hannah and Lotte end up in France. Separated by circumstances, Lotte stays at a school for Jewish refugees and Hannah finds work nearby as a seamstress. Eventually, Hannah starts working for the resistance.


I’ve been reading the series and have found it very engaging. Each one tells the story of one of the friends and their experiences on the ship and during the war. However, this could be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed Lotte’s story, which focuses on her time in France and being involved in the French Resistance. I love that the author weaves real-life resistance heroes into the story. I loved all of the characters in the story and the author does a great job describing how difficult it was during that time, not knowing who to trust. I’m looking forward to the next and final book in the series.


Thanks to @bookouture, @netgalley and the author for this ARC

The Girl Who Risked It All (The Emerald Sisters Book 3) by Kate Hewitt

How amazing this book is. Even it's a series, it can read as a standalone. The story mainly followed Hannah and her younger sister Lotte in the tough time during WW2. The courage, love and fearless that Hannah showed was really touching and inspirational. I love the way that Hannah had a strong and pop-out character under the author's pen.

The Girl Who Risked It All is a heartbroken story, yet it's a fast-paced and page-turning one. It was so different from other WW2 historical fiction, as the others focused on the concentration camp. This book dived in from a great angle and brought you back to 1939 in France.

I always recommend Kate Hewitt book to my friends. This is also one of my favourite books!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date:: Oct 17, 2024

I am in Awe of Kate Hewitt’s talent, she reels me in almost instantly and this 3rd book of the Emerald Sisters and it’s gripped me, made my heart race and my breathing stop.
Hannah’s story is heart-breaking, her mother a very cold fish, divorced her Jewish father and married a Nazi, as she didn’t want Mischlinge in her home, she packed Hannah and her younger sister Lotte off on the SS St. Louis to Cuba to be with their Jewish father.
It wasn’t as simple as that, although it was for their mother. On the SS St Louis things became complicated and the friends Sophie, Rachel, and Rosa, Hannah had made say goodbye to each other. Each leaving with a shard of Emerald.
It’s wonderfully written from start to finish, you can feel the acceptance and strength that shines through Hannah and her love for her sister. The strength her shard of Emerald affords her.
The embrace of Michel and his family, the homesickness for a home she longed for she never had before. I really resonated with that sentiment. It reminds me of a Soul Asylum song called Homesick.
A highly recommended read. 5 stars and more.

Hannah is a Jewish refugee and arrives in France with her younger sister Lotte.  Hannah has promised to keep her safe, protect her and never be separated from each other.  But with the war looming, Hannah has no choice but to leave Lotte at a children’s home that has offered to take her in.  It’s the only way Hannah can protect her.  Hannah has no where to go and finds herself wandering aimlessly but knows she can’t survive without somewhere to go.  Soon she meets Michel, and he and his parents welcome her into their home.  When Michel is sent to the frontlines, Hannah once again is completely alone.  She joins the Resistance and is determined to keep others alive.   But when Hannah heard of a raid planned on the children’s home where Lotte was living, she knew she had to rescue her sister.  Unsure if she could save her, Hannah wonders where will they go from there to continue to be free, and out of the hands of the Nazis?

The Girl Who Risked it All, written by author Kate Hewitt is an amazing story of courage, strength and never giving up.  I love all the stories of the courageous people, and what they did for each other during the horrific war.  The sacrifices they made for total strangers that soon became family to them.  Each other was all they had and with their massive internal strength they somehow survived.  Hewitt is an amazing author with so much detail in her writing that you can feel the cold night air on your face and the emotions of having to leave family behind to protect them.  My heart was broken into the smallest of pieces during much of this story, but I never lost hope.  This inspiring story is one that I highly recommend.

I am loving this series, emotional and showing courage and strength. Hannah Lerner and her younger sister Lotte have arrived in France after being on the SS St Louis for months turned away from Havana and their father, and now Hannah is separated from her three friends she made on the ship but she has the sliver of emerald that holds them together and they will meet up again one day, but for now she and Lotte must do what they can to stay safe and find a place to stay.

War is imminent, and when Hannah goes to send a telegram to her father Lotte is taken into care of a group of people who care for orphan children, Hannah is devastated and makes haste to find her sister she realizes that maybe they can keep her safer there but she promises to that they will be together one day.

Roaming the streets Hannah has nowhere to go and tiredness see her fall asleep on a park bench when she is rescued by a Frenchman Michal who takes her to his family home where she soon is feeling comfortable and her heart is opening to Michal.

But war takes Michal to the frontline and soon Hannah is fleeing the Nazis as they learn that she is half Jewish, but sheer determination sees Hannah soon helping the Resistance, times are dangerous and very hard and Hannah has no idea if Michal is alive and of course there is the worry of her sister, but when she hears that there is a plot to take the children Hannah does the only thing she can her and a friend risk their lives to save the children, will they be successful?

A fabulous story that had me turning the pages, my heart thumping and cheering Hannah on the strength she shows is awesome, will she find love, will her and Lotte ever be safe and will the Emerald sisters meet as they had planned too?

I do highly recommend this one and the series.

My thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

The Girl Who Risked It All is the third book in the Emerald Sisters series by Kate Hewitt and I’m happy to say that this series continues to go from strength to strength. Each book has been so solid driving the story as a whole forward with not one book being slow or adding nothing to what the author is trying to convey. A brief prologue set in Paris in June of 1946 sees the women gathering at a café where they promised to reunite after the war. But there is shocking news which has been hinted at in the previous books but now further on in the book we get a solid answer with things falling into place. Or are they? I’m not quite sure how things are going to pan out. I know what my heart wants given how invested I have become in these characters and their intertwined stories but in another way I’m hoping Kate Hewitt might go against the norm and not have the all-round happy ending that many readers wish for. I’m being purposefully vague here as I don’t want to give anything away but suffice to say we are nicely set up for the concluding instalment and it will be interesting to discover how everything comes together.

This story focuses on Hannah and her younger sister Lotte. Their mother has more or less abandoned them to their fate as she is now married to a German officer. The sisters are mischlinges which means half Jewish and given the increasing dangers surrounding Jews in Germany and the fact that their mother has gone to the other side so to speak they are no longer safe in their home country. They board the St. Louis filled with German Jews bound for Cuba. Here they hope to reunite with their father who had went there many years before as persecution of the Jews increased. The journey onboard has been detailed in the previous books so I was glad there wasn’t a rehash of the same scenes as I felt it would have dragged the plot backwards instead of onwards. Ample information is provided for new readers so that they can slot right into Hannah’s story and there was the perfect refresher for those who have been with the series since book one. We see how Hannah makes friends with Sophie, Rosa and Rachel and that an emerald split into four pieces becomes their talisman in the hopes that one day they will reunite in Paris once the war has ended.

The much longed for new life in Cuba does not materialise. It was lie and a cruel trick had been played on them all. The four young women find themselves scattered with Hannah and Lotte being sent to France with little or no money and not being able to contact their father. Hannah is only 18 but she really steps up to the plate for Lotte and becomes the mother figure she so desperately needed. Hannah is strong, fierce and determined and has to grow up fast. She displays such incredible maturity as there is an awful burden placed on her shoulders but she deals with it admirably and responsibly. Through no fault of her own Hannah despite vowing to protect and keep her sister safe is separated from her sister which sees Lotte ending up in a home/orphanage for children. When Hannah locates her and tries to get her back she realises that perhaps it is the best place for her sister although it breaks her heart to be apart. The home is where she is with other children of her own age and considering the deteriorating situation and with the Germans advancing it is where she will be safe and cared for. Now Hannah has herself to look after and she can try and get to see Lotte whenever possible.

Hannah is determined that she will find a way to Cuba to her father but doors are closed in her face when she tries to get a new visa. Now she knows she is stuck in France for the duration of the war and she has no safe space to call home. When things are about to get a bit dicey, a chance meeting with Michel sees her fortunes change. She is taken in by his family and starts work as a seamstress with his father. Here the romance element of the book started to appear and yes let’s be honest it was too quick that the pair should fall head over heels for one another but I just went with it.

When France is invaded Michel goes to war and soon there is no news of him. The city of Lights is taken over by the Germans and once again life irreparably changes for Hannah. So much happens to Hannah and at times you forget that she was only 18 as she did things that no young women should have to do. Her story took many surprising twists and turns and at times I really felt that she was in the centre of the lions den and with one false move the game would be up and everything would come crashing down. When she is forced to flee Paris as her heritage is about to be discovered she finds herself in the Zone Libre and here is where I felt the book really took off as Hannah finds herself working with the Resistance. It still amazes me after having read hundreds of World War Two books that there is still lots more to be learned about what the everyday ordinary men and women did at the time with so few resources. Their ingenuity and the fact they were so brave and they put their lives on the line on a daily basis deserves nothing but admiration and gratitude. I often think would we in the present day being faced with the same situation do the same things?

The later half of the book moved along at a swift pace and the months and years pass as Hannah’s resistance work is detailed. Where she carries out this work was quite a surprise, but it just goes to show that no corner from society stood back and did nothing. Every person was involved no matter how they had been previously viewed for what they did. Again, I am being very vague here as I don’t wish to give anything away but if you had said to me at the start of the book this is where Hannah would have ended up I would have been very surprised. But it all worked very well and one aspect of the storyline involving a breakout from a prison was very well written and allowed for a more different side to Hannah to emerge which proved to be tantalising and surprising.

Hannah is selfless in her actions when it comes to Lotte. At times she has to let go and it is very difficult for her but Lotte undergoes a transformation. I would have loved just a chapter or two from Lotte’s viewpoint as it would have provided an even more well rounded picture than there already was. To see her experiences and learn her opinions would have been quite beneficial. I loved how one strong element of a past book came into force as we raced towards the conclusion and like Hannah I was shocked but then things made sense and it answered a burning question that I had had since book one. There is a sense that with only one book left to go that the author is beginning to weave all the loose strands together but yet there are still plenty of unanswered questions and of course we still have to learn of Rachel’s story.

Hannah was a fabulous character, extremely well written and full of grit, strength, determination and courage. She was a young woman who kept ploughing on fuelled by the love she had for both her sister and Michel. She pushed herself beyond her limits time and time again and I really grew to like and admire her as a character. Hannah was someone who was hellbent on ensuring that evil would be defeated for humanity’s sake. She knew that many sacrifices would be made and suffering and loss would occur but she kept enduring on in the hopes that peace would one day rein and she would be reunited with the Emerald Sisters as promised. The Girl Who Risked It All was another excellent instalment in this series and it has only whetted my appetite for the conclusion and thankfully there is not long to wait as The Girl Who Never Gave Up will be published in January.

I’ve really enjoyed this series.
Hannah, responsible for her sister Lotte, is stranded in Europe as the darkness closes in.
Hewitt details Hannah’s adventures and experiences as a woman living in the shadows during a dangerous time.
I don’t think readers can appreciate the actual anguish, anxiety, and fortitude people endured for what seemed like an eternity during WWII.
It’s a very good book.

This series is about 4 girls who meet on a ship to Cuba. They have left Germany to build a save life there. But they don’t get access so before short they’re back in Europe. This story is about Hannah and her sister Lotte. It follows their journey during the war. Will they ever meet her friends again, can they keep their promise to meet again in Paris?

I enjoyed reading about the strength and struggles and danger. Asking myself what would I do. Can’t wait for the conclusion of this series.

I have read all other other books in this series and this was just as good. It continues the story into the lives of a few friends brought together before and during the war. This is Lotte's and Hannah's story as they try and keep safe.
Another heart warming story, can't wait for the next book.

The Girl Who Risked It All is the third book in The Emerald Sisters series. Should you read them in order? Yes, I definitely recommend this.
This is a heartfelt story about the determination and resilience of women during the war. How strong they had to be…..
A must read for historical fiction fans.
Kate Hewitt always delivers a solid historical read.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Girl Who Risked It All by Kate Hewitt is the third book in the series Emerald Sisters which are the individual stories of four young women who met on the fated voyage of the St. Louis, the ship from Germany carrying Jews, which was turned back by Cuba, as well as several ports in the United States before heading back to Europe where they were each sent to different countries. This is the story of Hannah and her sister Lotte. Their mother had been married to a Jewish man until it became dangerous and she invited a Nazi official to move into their home. She no longer wanted to be bothered with her daughters so she managed to get them visas so they could join their father in Cuba. Sadly, they were turned away even as he was in a row boat awaiting them. They ended up in France where Lotte was put in an orphanage for her safety and evacuated several times, and Hannah met a young man who took her home to, thankfully, sympathetic parents. They fell in love but he joined the French army and was not heard of for several years, presumed dead. She continued to work with his father, who was a tailor, as she was an excellent seamstress, until she came across the radar of a cruel Nazi officer and was forced to run. In her new home she became an active member of the resistance.

This is a Holocaust series that is a little different than many. It focuses on things outside of the battlefield and the camps. It is a touching story of several years of abject misery and fear. Hannah was shy, but courageous. She managed to keep in touch with her sister and saw her occasionally, but many other surprising things happened along the way. It is well-written and well-researched. Hannah is a very sympathetic character. One who does what she has to do to survive. Along the way she loses many prejudices but develops some new ones. She learns to view people for who they are but that doesn’t stop her from spying on the them. It was a good book. Touching.

I was invited to read The Girl Who Risked It All by Bookoutre. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #KateHewitt #TheGirlWhoRiskedItAll

Hannah and her sister Lotte are inseparable. Hannah vows to do everything to keep Lotte safe and by her side but when Little is taken in by a home for children Hannah believes that she may be better off staying in the home. The strength of the female characters in the story is testament to the times, you needed to be courageous and brave and that is what they are. It is truly inspiring and I went through every emotion possible while comprehending the book. As with the previous books I am still thinking about The Emerald Sisters and I finally had a couple of my questions answered in this book. It's a hard story to put down and stop thinking about. I adore Lotte and it was great watching her character grow. Make sure you put aside some time and tissues before reading!

The Girl Who Risked It All (The Emerald Sisters Book 3) by Kate Hewitt is Hannah’s along with her sister, Lotte, story. Part of the 1939 SS Louis passengers who were denied safety in Cuba. They have landed in France. Not as safe of a place as time goes by.

While all of the books in this series have strong young woman, Hannah stands out the most. When danger comes, she does not shrink away but is truly courageous in ways heartbreaking that leave me breathless and on the edge of my seat as I read. What a wonderful finale to the Emerald Sisters series, for surely Hannah is a shining gem in a dark, dark time.

I thought this was another good book by this author. It was intense and sad at times. Hannah and all the women in the book were strong and determined.. I think this book was my favorite of all three. Definitely recommend