This is a very compelling story that made me tear up because it is brutally honest and detailed. Every page was gut wrenching and I will be reading the prior stories of this series. It’s a reminder of how much effort it takes to make a marriage work and how difficult it can be. It is a story of survival and growth. It was beautifully written. I will be recommending it to my friends.

Loved this book. I literally couldn’t put it down. This was the last book in a series. I have never read the others so will need to go back and read them. This book gives you all the feels, filled with love, courage and most of all hope!

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Girl Who Never Gave Up’, book 4 of The Emerald Sisters written by Kate Hewitt, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Four young women meet on the SS St Louis and becomes friends after being forced to leave their homes in Germany under the orders of Hitler. ‘The Girl Who Never Gave Up’ is the fourth part of the story of these women, Sophie, Hannah, Rachel and Rosa, named the Emerald Sisters after the sliver of emerald they’ve carried with them with the promise to meet up again in Paris one year after the end of World War II. The first party of the novel recaps on the history of the women and then continues with the story of Rachel and her husband Franz and their reliance on some good people in the Netherlands to hide them when Germany invades in 1940.

Although a work of fiction, this beautifully written novel relates some of the true facts of what happened to men, women and children in concentration camps, especially Auschwitz-Birkenau, and made for essential yet uncomfortable reading. The descriptions of the four young women and how they coped brought their stories to life for me. This being the final part of this wonderful series, I was hoping it would have an ending that didn’t finish in tears so I’m glad to say that I wasn’t disappointed, and despite the fear and horrors they’ve experienced they can now have some happiness in their lives.

This was a book I could not put down. It was the last in a series of 4 and even though I had not read the others it didn’t matter. This story is about Rachel Baur and her husband Franz and what they went through during WW2 being Jews. It was so heart breaking how they both suffered at the hands of the German soldiers.They start off going on a boat to Cuba but when they got there they were sent back .While onboard she makes friends with 3 other girls and they all arrange to meet up after the war at a certain place and time but who will survive the war to be there.I will definitely be reading the other 3 books in this series.Thank you to Netgalley and Bookature.

A story about four girls that meet and become fast friends. The individual journeys the four of them go on is heartbreaking and heartwarming.
You will go through many emotions reading this heartfelt story.
A story about courage above all else. And, never giving up hope.
This is the 4th book in the Emerald Sisters series. From what I understand, it is the last book in the series. I recommend reading the books in order as there is so much back story to each one of the main characters.
Recommended for fans of WW2 historical fiction books.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a powerful book this was. And a brilliant conclusion to the series. By the end of all the book featured I had really come to care for them all. And even when reading the others, the rest of this group of friends aren't far from your mind.

Having to leave their homes and safety must have been terrifying for people at that time. Never mind the uncertainty of what's next or for how long the suffering would play out.
Add to that if your of a group at risk and targeted. I don't know how they did it.

This is about Rachel and her love Franz. Having to flea their home and with Franz already traumatised from being locked up it's a fight from the very beginning.
They find a place to settle in the Netherlands. Here they are definitely not always met with kindness. There are thiss like the Ten blooms who take them in as one of their own. They nurture and care for them.
There story sadly gets worse when they are captured and ordered to the camps. Here they are separated. But it is then that Rachel learns she has something else to fight for. A fight she is now even more.determind to win.

The Girl Who Never Gave Up is the fourth and final book in The Emerald Sisters series and it tells the story of Rachel Blau and her husband, Franz.

The book opens with Rachel and Franz boarding the ill-fated SS St Louis. They are a young married couple fleeing Germany after Franz was released from seven months in Dachau. Franz is just a shell of himself, and Rachel is trying her best to care for him.

I do believe that this book was my favorite of the series, and Rachel’s story really touched me. It was a reminder that marriage is sacred and we should never turn our back on our spouse. A reminder that we should love them while they are here, the best that we can, even when we struggle to like them.

After reading all four books I have come to feel like Sophie, Rosa, Hannah, and Rachel are my friends, and I’m going to miss them!

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Kate Hewitt for the chance to read this book and share my thoughts!

This was the last book in this group of four.
This was Rachel’s story. It was sad but full of hope too.
It was a fitting conclusion to the four girls who had become friends during an awful time.
Perfect for all historical fiction fans

The Girl Who Never Gave Up (The Emerald Sisters book 4) by Kate Hewitt, is a poignant reminder that even with the worst heartache, there is always hope.

Four Jewish women meet on a refugee transport in 1939, fleeing Germany with little more than their lives. They become fast friends, their shared experiences binding them in a lasting sisterhood and exemplified by an emerald shard that each one is given. They vow to meet a year after the war ends in a Parsian cafe.

This novel is about Rachel and Franz Blau who hoped to settle down and begin anew in Cuba, but are forced to settle down in the Netherlands. Hewitt details their life there beautifully: the varying attitudes and people they meet before and during the Occupation. Their struggles to live as a couple. Relationships, friendships, joys, sorrows, worries, fears are all explored beautifully and organically.

Despite raging anti semitism, the weary Blaus meet people like the Ten Booms who with their love for the Jewish people, consider it a privilege to help them, even though it means a concentration camp and maybe death.

The Blaus learn vital lessons from the Ten Booms: you can trust God will give you the strength you need for the moment, just when you need it, not before. Lessons they need to draw on to face what lies ahead.

When the women meet again in June 1945, they are faced with their biggest heartbreak: the absence of Sophie. Rachel and Hannah had seen her during the war, but now no one knows if she's dead or alive or even where she can be.

The novel is a celebration of life, hope and the sheer resilience of the human spirit.

I was given an ARC for my reading pleasure by the publishers, but the opinions expressed are mine alone.


#TheGirlWhoNeverGaveUp #WorldWarTwoFiction #Holocaust #Historical #HeartbreakingYetHopeful #KateHewitt #Bookouture #NetGalley #TheBookishPilgrim

I did not need to read the previous three books in the series to appreciate and understand this story. This is the conclusion of the stories of four young women who got on a ship to flee Germany in 1939 and promised to meet again after the war.

The story was different from many of the historical fiction WWII novels I have read in the past. It described at length Rachel’s and Franz’s journeys before they were led to Auschwitz. Initially, Rachel was a frustrating character—so naive and sheltered—but as the story unfolded, I could see how her experiences shaped her into a more resilient and self-aware individual. Her emotional growth was one of the most engaging parts of the book, especially when she began to understand the depth of the horrors around her, especially in understanding the reasoning behind Franz's behavior. It's so sad they lost so much time in the years they were together by not sharing in their grief.

The themes of survival, resilience, and the human will to endure were central to the novel. Rachel’s determination to survive, despite everything she faced, was inspiring. The bond that developed between her and Franz was equally moving, and their relationship added an emotional layer to the historical backdrop. Kate Hewitt’s portrayal of the period was vivid and poignant, especially in the way she captured the fear and uncertainty of those living through the Holocaust. Kate Hewitt’s storytelling captured both the horrors and the moments of hope, making this book a memorable addition to WWII historical fiction.

Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the chance to read and review

This is Book #4 in the Emerald Girl series, although it could be read as a standalone story. This one follows the story of Rachel and her husband Franz. After being denied entry to Cuba, at the start of WWII, they end up being dropped off in Holland.

I have loved the stories of the girls and Rachel's was no exception. Rachel and Franz tried and make a living in Holland, which was difficult with all of the restrictions placed on them since they were Jewish. While there she met and got to know Corrie Ten Boom, a real life heroine who helped save many Jews during WWII, along with her family. What an amazing person and family. I really need to read more about her and her life. I loved Rachel's tenacity and how she drew strength from her religion during horrifying times. I loved her friendship with the girls she met on the boat even from afar. This was a great series about faith, friendship, and forgiveness.

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

A great end to the series so best to read them in order. Rachel and Franz story is told in this book as they go from the ship St Louis to try and evade the Germans to Auschwitz as they are captured. The four friends make a promise to meet in Paris once the war is over so who will turn up? Although the characters are fictional it was amazing to introduce The Ten Booms who were a real family. Thanks to Kate and her publisher. Thanks also to NetGalley

The ending to the final book in The Emerald Sisters had me in tears!

Each book can be read as a standalone, however the threads woven throughout the whole series kept me guessing from the first page of book one until the very last chapter. Kate Hewitt did a fantastic job of navigating the timeline so that each girls’ appearance in the other books built on the overall story, rather than confusing it. I did feel that Rachel’s story was slow to start, but a lot of the earlier details contributed to her time in Auschwitz so the slow start all made sense in the end.

Overall an amazing series, with a heart-wrenching conclusion.

4 stars out of 5 ⭐️

The Girl Who Never Gave Up by Kate Hewitt is the fourth and final book in the Emerald Sisters Series. The book is published by Bookouture.
Raw and gritty, the heroine is fighting for her life and her baby's in a concentration camp.
Literally unputdownable I read the whole book in one sitting, shed more than one tear and now I'm sitting here with a massive bookhangie.
The fitting conclusion to this historical fiction series, that gave all the feels, made me sad, a bit happy,but mostly my heart hurt for the characters and their story.
I recommend the book and the series, 5 stars.

The fourth-and last- in an emotional series about four young women during WWII. Rachel and her husband Franz thought they were safe in the Netherlands but no. And now, Rachel is pregnant and despairing of her baby. She is. however, resilient and has a power of positive thinking that many could not imagine, No spoilers from me but know that this is well written and heart wrenching. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. For those who have followed along and for those who haven't but who want a good read.

This is book 4 in the Emerald sisters series which is the final book but can be read as a standalone novel.
It follows the troubles of 4 friends who face heartbreak and sorrow in the camp in Ww2.
But above all, you read about friendship,strength ,love and loyalty .
Impossible to put down .
5 stars from me

This is the 4th book in the Emerald Sister series, but can be read as a standalone. Each book follows one of four friends who meet aboard the MS St Louis bound for Cuba on the eve of WW2. This sailing would become known as the Voyage of the Damned, as countries around the world refused to allow the ship full of Jewish refugees to dock. Eventually England, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium agree to each take a portion of the passengers. This is when the four friends are separated, with a promise to meet again at Henri’s in Paris after the war: each taking a small emerald shard with them for luck and a reminder of their friendship.

This book follows Rachel, the oldest of the girls and the only one who is married. She and her husband are taken to the Netherlands where they spend time in a quarantine camp before moving to a small city apartment, and eventually move around as they try to navigate the increasing restrictions on Jews as the war progresses. She encounters people with various and complex attitudes toward Jews and the Nazis before they are eventually arrested and taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There are many heartbreaking aspects of this book, both on the larger scale of the holocaust horrors, but also the deeply personal struggles for Rachel- as a daughter, a wife, a friend, and a mother - as the situations she finds herself in become more and more dire.

I have always been a fan of historical fiction, and tend to gravitate toward WW2 fiction specifically. If that’s a genre you enjoy, or you like books like the Nightingale or Kate Quinn books, I recommend this book!

I was excited to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, but all opinions are my own.

I have read all of the books in this series and enjoyed reading them all. A must for any avid wartime fans. It can be quite moving at times as it tells the story of 4 friends trying to flee for safety as war lo0ms and how all of their lives are changed by it.
A wonderful book in the series.

This was a wonderful, but sad and tragic, story of WWII. Rachel’s struggles as a young Jewish woman during this time are absolutely heart wrenching. The author did a great job of portraying Rachel’s journey in a way that makes you feel you are right there with Rachel. This is a story that will stay with me!

This is a heartbreaking WWII story. I’d give it more stars if possible. I suggest you read the whole series. Kate Hewitt is an awesome author.