Thank you to Revell Fiction for the ARC of Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin. All opinions are my own.

This was my first time reading from this author, so I didn’t know what to expect. I do like WWII stories, but sometimes I find them too similar to other books I’ve read. This wasn’t the case at all with this story. I found this book to be unique, and I loved learning so much new information about WWII.

Before reading this book, I knew very little about military intelligence during the war. I found the double agents and the whole military agency so fascinating. I never really knew how they went about spying, so I loved learning their tactics and codes.

The setting for this story was a special highlight of the story with the beautiful Scottish landscape and sea views. I thought it was interesting to see how much the war impacted a small community.

Cilla and Lachlan were such wonderful characters that I was rooting for from the very beginning. I loved how they balanced each other out with their personalities, and how they encouraged each other to grow personally and spiritually.

I also appreciated the Christian faith elements throughout the story. It was so nice to see the characters’ spiritual journeys even though that wasn’t the main focus of this book.

Overall, I would recommend this book! I’m excited to read more books by this author in the future.

I have been a fan of Sarah Sundin's books for quite awhile. I think this is my favorite of all of her books. With an intriguing plot and wonderful main characters, Sundin has penned a captivating tale of intrigue and espionage. The author has set a high standard in her attention to historical detail. I love learning as I am entertained by a good story. The details about MI5's Double Cross program were just a few of the interesting tidbits I picked up.

With a multi-layered plot, the author explores the inner turmoil and moral decisions of wartime espionage. The main characters also struggle with decisions on a more personal level. The plot steadily builds so that I was sitting in the edge of my seat the last quarter of the book.

Ms. Sundin's poetic prose appeals to the senses, to the point that I felt as if I had landed on the Orkney islands. The vivid setting almost acts as a character itself, providing an integral component to the plot. I am ready to pack my bags and visit the islands in person. Highly recommend!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and the author/publisher. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I always enjoy Sundin's books. She treats us to parts of history most of know little about. Some of the facts that come out in the story are ones that I wish they had taught in history class in school.
In her gentle way, Sundin takes you along for a ride through a part of WWII that is part of the human story. She reminds us that not only did these things happen, they happened to fellow humans. They are part of our stories also.
Do yourself a favor, get this book, plop down and disappear for a while into the past. Your present will be all the richer for it.

I am a fan of Sarah Sundin's WWII set fiction, and I don't believe she could write a bad novel. This one is very good, though not, in my opinion, her best. The main difficulty lies in the set up for the story. In order to establish Cilla as a reluctant Nazi spy, her behavior at the start of the story is monumentally stupid. She is described as a very intelligent, if overly impulsive, young woman. There is no intelligence involved in deciding your easiest ticket to an English escape is to pretend to be a Nazi spy and then desert once you hit the shores of Great Britain. I could buy a panicked and impulsive move to volunteer, but continuing all the way through the Abwehr spy training without bailing on the idea goes way beyond an impulse. I just did not find that believable.

However, once Cilla lands in Scotland and encounters Lachlan and becomes a double agent, if we set that all aside, it becomes a very good story indeed. Lachlan is a wonderful, stalwart character, Cilla-in-Scotland is relatable, and both the spy story and the personal story of Cilla and Lachlan dealing with past injuries from damaged siblings and theme of forgiveness and mercy are excellent. And after the action climax, the resolution of Lachlan and Cilla's love story is quite lovely, if perhaps unlikely. So overall, a fine story, and well worth reading.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Best read so far this year! A captivating historical fiction story set in the Orkney Islands during World War II.

Dutch Resistance fighter, Cilla van der Zee, infiltrates the Dutch Nazis to gather intel on their actions. As the noose on her efforts tightens, Cilla makes the bold decision to offer up her services to the unsuspecting Germans to act as an agent. She'd do anything to get off the continent and seek refuge at her aunt's place in England to wait out the war. Upon her arrival in the Orkneys, she's immediately captured and turned in order to aid the British in their MI5 "Operation Double-cross". Although a fictional account, this book draws on the historic record and delivers a harrowing story of great courage and ingenuity.

Author Sarah Sundin has meticulously crafted an engaging and evocative story about this time and place in history. Her writing is superb. Her characters are very well developed and are true to their convictions. Cilla, the protagonist, demonstrates bravery, cleverness, and tremendous insight and ingenuity. The mise-en-scène spectacularly describes the barrenness and loneliness of the northern Scottish Isles. The descriptions exude the penetrating chill of an Orknian winter's night or the gentle sea breeze of a summer's day. The research put into the story is rich and well described. The author's research notes, upon conclusion of the book, are equally worthy of reading. Although this was my first foray into Ms. Sundin's writing, I assure you, it will not be my last. This is an excellent read for fans of historic fiction that hold a bit of chaste romance.


I am grateful to author Sarah Sundin and her publisher, Revell, for having provided a complimentary copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publisher: ‎Revell
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN:‎ 978-0800741860

Sarah Sundin is an autoread author for me. Midnight on the Scottish Shore was a little different to me than her other novels. While other Sundin novels are fairly serious, this one had a lighter air about it. This was most likely due to the banter between Cilla and Lachlan. It was just perfection, had me chuckling.

Cilla is a lighthearted, almost carefree, but a lot of it is an act. She is complex, and has depth to her that was appreciated. Stoic Lachlan struggles with perfection, regret, and forgiveness, but is also passionate and strong in his convictions. So there are strengths and weaknesses in each character. The secondary characters in this novel are imperative to the plot. Some authors will throw in additional characters and you wonder why because they seem unnecessary, but the secondary ones in Midnight on the Scottish Shore were integral to the plot.

While there is romance, I didn't feel like it distracted from the double agent portion of the novel. And the ending... delightful.

Special thanks to Revell and NetGalley for this complimentary ARC. All thoughts are my own.

1941: Dutch spy Cilla van der Zee and Scottish naval lieutenant, Lachlan McKenzie, have differing missions. Hers is betrayal. His is survival. Can they shape the course of history for good?

Dunnet Head Lighthouse is an active lighthouse that stands on the cliff top of Easter Head on Dunnet Head. The lighthouse was built in 1831 by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson. The lighthouse was automated in 1989.It is managed by the Northern Lighthouse Board.Dunnet Head is a headland in Highland, on the north coast of Scotland.Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.Near the Dunnet Head lighthouse are minor WWII fortifications built to protect the naval base at Scapa Flow, including a Chain Home Low radar station.

Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands controlled the entrances to the North Sea, and it was distant from German airfields. It was the main British naval base during both World Wars. Following the German defeat in WWI, 74 ships of the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet were interned in Gutter Sound at Scapa Flow pending a decision on their future in the peace Treaty of Versailles. On 21 June 1919, after seven months of waiting, German Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter made the decision to scuttle the fleet because the negotiation period for the treaty had lapsed with no word of a settlement. After waiting for the bulk of the British fleet to leave on exercises, he gave the order to scuttle the ships to prevent their falling into British hands. The Royal Navy made desperate efforts to board the ships to prevent the sinkings, but the German crews had spent the idle months preparing for the order, welding bulkhead doors open, laying charges in vulnerable parts of the ships, and quietly dropping important keys and tools overboard so valves could not be shut.

These ships posed a severe hazard to navigation, and small boats, trawlers and drifters, moving around the Flow regularly became snagged on them with the rise and fall of the tides. The Admiralty initially declared that there would be no attempt at salvage, that the sunken hulks would remain where they were, to 'rest and rust.' In the first few years after the war, there was abundant scrap metal as a result of the huge quantities of leftover tanks, artillery and ordnance. By the early 1920s, the situation had changed. In 1922, the Admiralty invited tenders from interested parties for the salvage of the sunken ships, although at the time few believed that it would be possible to raise the deeper wrecks. The contract went to a wealthy engineer and scrap metal merchant, Ernest Cox, who created a new company, a division of Cox & Danks Ltd, for the venture, and so began what is often called the greatest maritime salvage operation of all time. During the next eight years, Cox and his workforce of divers, engineers, and labourers engaged in the complex task of raising the sunken fleet.

During WWII, the strong defences built during WWI had fallen into disrepair. Defence against air attack was inadequate and blockships sunk to stop U-boats from penetrating had largely collapsed. While there were anti-submarine nets in place over the three main entrances, they were made only of single-stranded looped wire; there was also a severe lack of the patrolling destroyers and other anti-submarine craft that had previously been available. Efforts began belatedly to repair peacetime neglect, but were not completed in time to prevent a successful penetration by enemy forces. On 14 October 1939, under the command of Günther Prien, U-47 penetrated Scapa Flow and sank the First World War-era battleship HMS Royal Oak anchored in Scapa Bay.[11] After firing its first torpedo salvo, the submarine turned to make its escape; but, upon realising that there was no immediate threat from surface vessels, it returned for another attack. The second torpedo salvo blew ahole in the Royal Oak, which flooded and quickly capsized. Of the 1,400-man crew, 833 were lost.

Three days after the submarine attack, four Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 bombers of Kampfgeschwader 1/30 led by group commander Hauptmann Fritz Doench raided Scapa Flow on 17 October in one of the first bombing attacks on Britain during the war. The attack badly damaged an old base ship, the decommissioned battleship HMS Iron Duke, which was then beached at Ore Bay by a tug. One man died and 25 were injured. One of the bombers was shot down by No 1 gun of 226 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery on Hoy. Three of the crew died, while the radio operator Fritz Ambrosius was badly burned but managed to parachute down.
New blockships were sunk, booms and mines were placed over the main entrances, coast defence and anti-aircraft batteries were installed at crucial points, and Winston Churchill ordered the construction of a series of causeways to block the eastern approaches to Scapa Flow.

The XX System was a counter-espionage and deception operation of MI5.Many Nazi agents in Britain were captured or turned themselves to authorities and were then used by the British to broadcast mainly disinformation to their Nazi handlers.Some of the agents from the German intelligence services,Abwehr and Sicherheitsdienst(SD),were apprehended after they made basic mistakes during their operations.Some were false agents who had tricked the Germans into believing they would spy for them if they helped them reach England such as Nathalie Sergueiew and Roger Grosjean.The Abwehr and SD sent agents over by parachute drop, submarine, or travel via neutral countries.The last route was common, with agents often impersonating refugees. Once caught, the spies were deposited in the care of Lieutenant Colonel Robin Stephens at Camp 020 (Latchmere House, Richmond). After Stephens, a notorious and brilliant interrogator, had picked apart their life history, the agents were either spirited away (to be imprisoned or killed or if judged acceptable, offered the chance to turn double agent on the Germans. Control of the new double agents fell to Thomas Argyll Robertson (usually called Tar, from his initials), a charismatic MI5 agent. A Scot and something of a playboy, Robertson had some early experience with double agents; just prior to the war he had been case officer to Arthur Owens (code name Snow).

The Weerbaarheidsafdeling (WA; "Resilience Department") was the paramilitary arm of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB), the fascist political party that collaborated with the German occupiers of the Netherlands during World War II. The organisation, roughly equivalent to the German SA, was founded in 1932 by Anton Mussert, co-founder of the NSB in 1931 and its leader until the end of the war. Members wore and marched in black uniforms and were thus called "blackshirts". In 1933 the Dutch government banned the wearing of uniforms (by civilians), and the WA was disbanded in 1935 in order to forestall the Dutch government's banning it. In 1940, after the German invasion, the WA became openly active again, and more ruthless than before. They specialised in violent attacks, particularly on the Dutch Jewish population.

Selkies are mythological creatures that can shapeshift between seal and human forms by removing or donning their seal skin. Selkies symbolise the fluid and transformative nature of identity. They represent freedom and adaptability, echoing the deep, mysterious connections between humans and the natural world. Their stories often reflect themes of love, longing, and the duality of existence.

This book was phenomenal! This was my first book by this author but it will definitely NOT be my last! I wish I co go back and reread it again for the first time. This is a Christian historical romance set during World War 2 in Scotland. Our heroine is a supposed spy coming over from the Nazis and our hero is working for the Allies. In this forbidden, slow burn romance, our characters must work together, with our heroine as a double agent, to send missives across the waters. There is faith, family, forgiveness, spies, wartime, and so much more. This was an incredible read that I’m sure I’ll reread at some point.

Midnight on the Scottish Shore
by Sarah Sundin
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
From one of my favorite writers this book does not disappoint!!
Sarah Sundin has done it again, bringing WWII alive. This time we begin in the Netherlands, and through the eyes of Cilla van der Zee, as she personally witnesses the brutality of the German War Machine. She wants out and love the twist she develops, as she gets to Scotland, with the German's help.
I highly recommend this book! What a story the author weaves, spies, counter spies, espionage, and then the family drama. You will be quickly page turning for answers, and they do come, but with a lot of surprises.

"Midnight on the Scottish Shore" is another wonderfully written WWII novel by Sarah Sundin. Sundin's storytelling keeps getting better and better! This book is a standalone, however Cilla is the cousin of Aleida who we met in Sundin's last release "Embers in the London Sky". Cilla feels she needs to flee the Nazi occupied Netherlands and finds her chance to do so by going through Nazi spy training, though she never plans on sending information back to the Nazi's once she arrives to the U.K. She ends up in Northern Scotland and is found by Lachlan, a naval officer stationed at Scapa Flow which is a strategic base for the British military. Cilla turns double agent to work for the British military, ends up being assigned to a lighthouse in Northern Scotland and the story takes off from there.

This book is filled with rich historical detail and as with Sundin's other novels, there are intriguing side characters and a story of intrigue to bring our heroine to a happy ending of her own. This story shows a lot of character growth for Cilla and growth in a faith towards God. This is a very faith filled story in certain parts. I was on the edge of my seat with certain parts of this book and couldn't put it down because I wanted to find out what would happen next! The author's descriptions of Scotland were beautiful and her words paint a picture of beauty in this remote part of the world.

For anyone that has enjoyed Sundin's other books, they won't want to miss this one. If you are a fan of Christian WWII fiction, you won't want to miss reading this one. I haven't read any others that take place in this part of the world in the WWII fiction realm so it was refreshing to see a different part of the war, but one that wasn't as safe as many might think it was during the war.

I recommend this one for age 16+ due to espionage, death and bombing scenes. The romance in this one is light and only kissing and holding hands are mentioned.

Thank you to Revell fiction and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this romantic tale full of intrigue and historical detail! I learned so much about Scotland during WWII and could just feel the wind and smell the heather in Sundin’s descriptive writing. Lachlan was a dream male protagonist - he has all of the best qualities of my favorite Scottish hero, Jamie Fraser. Cilla was a perfect mix of vulnerability and strength. I like how she didn’t rely on others to do what was needed - she was full of action.

I especially loved the themes of God’s forgiveness and protection throughout the book. This was the first book I’ve read by Sundin and I can’t wait to get to her backlist.

Every time I pick up a book by Sarah Sundin, I always know I am in for an amazing historical read. Her WWII novels have been some of my absolute favorite historical reads. One of the things that I love is that despite having written so many by now, each one is unique and seems to open my eyes to a unique aspect of the war that I'd not heard much (if anything) about before. This one was absolutely no exception. World War II, spies and romance... honestly, what more could you ask for in a good book? I was drawn into this story right away and held captive right through to the end... it truly was just the right blend of historical details, a deliciously slow burn romance and enough intrigue and danger to keep me wondering how it was all going to play out. If you enjoy Christian historical romance, you absolutely won't want to miss this one.

**ARC received via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is the 3rd year in a row I've started the year with a Sarah Sundin book, in order that I can rest assured that my first read of the year will be stellar. And as always, Sundin delivers with her upcoming release Midnight on the Scottish Shore. Sundin is the master of WWII fiction and it shines through in the various plot lines and locations she chooses for her WWII novels. This one takes place primarily in Scotland, which is an unusual setting for a WWII novel. This book follows Cilla van der Zee, who is a part of the Dutch resistance playing the part of an undercover Dutch Nazi. When the man she's admired is killed in a Nazi raid and she is expected to rejoice, she seeks a way out before she blows her cover. When she finds the perfect way to escape, things don't turn out as she expects when she is arrested as a spy upon landing on the Scottish shore. Only time will tell if she will be able to prove her loyalty to the allied cause in Scotland, or if she will be executed as a spy.

This book had a little bit of everything - WWII history, a wounded hero, a slow burn romance (that also included the enemies to lovers trope and the grumpy/sunshine trope), spycraft and espionage (including MI5), family disputes, and a solid faith thread. The faith thread was a bit slow going, but once it came shining through, it became a powerful plot enhancer and themes of forgiveness and surrender abounded. I enjoyed the strong character development in this one as both Cilla and Lachlan had some major growth throughout the story. Though they were strong likable characters from the get-go, they grew into stronger and more likable characters as the story progressed. I had tears at several times during their growth scenes, particularly one between Lachlan and his brother. The romance was sweet and slow, as Lachlan eventually learned to trust, and the overall story line was fresh and interesting. If you've read Embers in the London Sky, you'll enjoy seeing some familiar faces in this book, but if you haven't, you won't be lost at all. I always enjoy seeing guest appearances from old, familiar friends along the way though. All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable story and one I can heartily recommend to fans of historical (especially WWII) fiction. Special thanks to the author and publisher for an advance copy of this book. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin is an epic historical novel that immerses readers in WWII, Scotland. The story catapults you into a world of intrigue, code-breaking, danger and spying.

Cilla van der Zee is a vibrant, intelligent girl who infiltrates the Nazi party in the Netherlands, to escape to Britain, where she plans to stay with her aunt for the duration of the war. However, not everything goes her way, and she is captured as a Nazi spy. Despite being on the allies’ side, they treat her like the enemy, forcing her to become a double agent. The author has captured the intricacies of spying during the war and has created a story that reads like a movie.

The supporting cast of characters makes this book hard to put down. As usual, Sundin has done her research and takes the reader on an adventure that is filled with intrigue, danger, faith and love. If you like WWII historical fiction, you will love Midnight on the Scottish Shore.

I received a complimentary ebook from Revell through NetGalley for my honest review.

This is my 3rd novel by Sundin, and she always give a riveting historical fiction novel. You can tell she has done her research.
In this novel we follow Cilla van der Zee who has to do the unthinkable when she has to spy for the Nazis while in Britain.
She wants to work for the Allies instead and is pulled in many ways. While trying her mission she is found by a Lt Mackenzie on the Scottish sore and turns her over. She is to be executed.
British intelligence decide to send her to Scotland to use radio as a means to deceive Germany, working with the Lt. How will they work together when trust has been broken?
A sweeping saga which will wish you away to those frightening times.

Took me awhile to warm up to Lachlan, as he was just so harsh, but by the end, thought the book was just as good as Sundin's normally are. I have a special interest in the Orkneys and was pleased to see a book set there. The history was interesting, once I could wrap my mind around the setting and what was happening there.
Cilla seemed to have a conversion experience that was only named in vague terms. For something so life changing, I would have liked to see the source of the change be spelled out more, but the mentions of the Beatitudes were used in just the right places and overall, faith was given its place.
This was ultimately a satisfying read, and I learned some things. I'm grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ebook I could read in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

"Midnight on the Scottish Shore" is a Christian romantic suspense set in 1941-1942, mostly in Scotland. Cilla spies on the Nazis for a Dutch resistance group until it gets dangerous. Desperate to escape the danger, she charms a German intelligence officer into taking her into training to spy for Germany on British soil. But things go terribly wrong when she's dropped off. She's captured by Lt. Lachlan, who unknowingly sends her to the British counter-intelligence to be trained as a double agent. No one believes that she's not truly a German spy, but she's determined to be pleasant and do a good job if it'll help the British war efforts.

The characters were well-developed, had complexity, and acted realistically to events. They felt like real people who really lived through these events. The historical details were woven into the story and brought the story alive in my imagination. Lachlan and Cilla worked well together, finding ways to convince Cilla's German contact that she's loyal while providing only information of minimal importance. Lachlan struggled with forgiving his brother, who betrayed him by deliberately ruining his naval career. Cilla found the freedom that God offers, even when we're physically confined. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical romance.

Set in Scotland during World War 2, Sarah Sundin has introduced us to her latest character who wants to escape the German's which triggers the start of our story. As always when reading a Sundin book, I learnt a new aspect about the war - in this case, more about Scotland's part in the war.

It was nice to have a previous pairing introduced as a side characters. I liked the main characters growth over the course of the story. I did not immediately relate to the characters or their choices however their issues helped them become more likeable - the themes of forgiveness and trust were central to the story.

I receive complimentary books for various sources, including Netgalley, Authors, and other such sources. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received compensation.

If you are interested in a happy ending World War 2 novel without a lot of the heaviness of war, Sarah Sundin is always a good choice! I learned a bit about double agents and how the Allied powers used spies to win the war. Plus the romance is always enjoyable!

A young woman in the Dutch resistance in World War IIs tries to flee by acting as a German spy, but ends up as a double agent in Scotland, working with a stern military man who is determined not to fall for her charms. I enjoyed the story, although there was a bit too much detail on espionage for my taste.