Emma's Review: The Last Agent in Paris by Sharon Maas

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Paris, 1940. As Nazi soldiers march down the Champs Elysees, Noor’s heart is shattered. Her family is forced to flee their home to the safety of England, and as Noor watches the French coast disappear in the distance, she vows to do everything she can to stop Germany from devouring her beloved country.

Training as a wireless operative in England, Noor’s perfect French makes her the ideal candidate for undercover work in her beloved Paris, and she is soon assigned to an illustrious spy network led by a mysterious man named Prosper.

Day after day, Noor walks the treacherous streets of Paris looking for safe places to broadcast messages to London. But Nazi officers lurk around every corner, and Noor’s heart thunders in her chest as she evades detection, tightly clutching the briefcase containing her radio equipment. She knows it would take just one stop and search for her life to be over.

With each passing day her mission becomes more lethal as, one by one, her fellow agents are captured. Someone is betraying them, but who? And when Noor becomes the last agent in the network, can she keep the links with England alive, to help win the war? 

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Emma's Review: The Twins on the Train by Suzanne Goldring

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

As the smell of smoke drifts through the air, Jewish people lock their doors. They no longer feel welcome in their home city, and while some mothers hide their children, others take them, clad in dark threadbare coats, to the crowded train station and the hope of a new life.

Rosa has feared for her twins since they were born two weeks ago. As she huddles in her filthy house, crammed in with her neighbours, she sees children growing weaker. It may be too late for her and her seven-year-old daughter Therese. But can she find a way out for her precious babies?

Dora scans the desperate crowd on the platform, despairing as she knows there isn’t room for all of them on the train to England. And when a woman thrusts a basket containing newborn twins into her arms, a shiver of dread slides down her spine. Babies aren’t authorised to travel – how can she keep them hidden from the cold-eyed soldiers?

She knows this mother wants the same thing she does – safety for these innocent children. But will she be able to help this brave woman before it is too late?

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Emma's Review: The Tuscan Diary by Anita Chapman

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

When Jessica’s grandfather left for war, he promised to keep a record of each day he was apart from her grandmother. The diary was lost along with him – until now, when a mysterious, handsome Italian man named Alessandro shows up at Jessica’s door with the diary in hand.

Immediately enchanted by her grandfather’s accounts of Italy’s glittering golden hours, Jess decides to spend a summer in Tuscany before she’s due to take over at her family’s farm. She hopes she can visit the places her grandfather once did – and finally find out what really happened the night he died…

In the historic city of Siena, she finds a job as companion to the glamorous Sofia – Alessandro’s grandmother – whose stories of Italy during the war are captivating. And as Jess spends more time with Alessandro, she begins to fall for him with each lingering look into his deep-brown eyes.

Together, Jess and Alessandro visit her grandfather’s resting place. But the more Jess learns about her grandfather’s time in Italy, the more she’s forced to question whether everything about her family’s past is a lie…

Jess came to Italy in search of answers, but time is running out. She can’t shake the feeling that the diary that has stolen her imagination is merely a work of fiction. And if it is, will the truth about her family inspire her to turn away from the path she thought she was destined for, and towards the life she truly wants? 

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Emma's Review: The Irish Family Secret by Daisy O'Shea

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

When Ginny Kingston returns to Ireland’s windswept Roone Bay after ten years of self-imposed exile, the last person she wants to run into is black-haired Ruari Savage. But there he is, glowering at her from the back of the tiny church hall, as she holds the townsfolk spell-bound throughout her lecture on Irish history.

The Kingstons and the Savages have been neighbours, farmers and bitter rivals for as long as anyone can remember. But, finally drawn home by work, Ginny is determined to discover the truth behind their family feud. And what happened to the first young lovers who tried to mend the rift over fifty years ago. For some strange reason, mechanic Ruari with his practical mind and strong hands, has offered to help…

Ruari’s aid, however, comes at a price: the truth about why Ginny herself left so suddenly. What he doesn’t know is that Ginny’s devastating secret might destroy their families’ new-found peace – and any chance of happiness they have with each other – forever…

Can Ginny and Ruari work together to heal old wounds? And will the secrets that have divided their families for generations ever come to light – or tear them all apart? 

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Emma's Review: Eden's Comfort Kitchen by Tilly Tennant

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

When Eden turns the key in the red door of Four Winds Cottage, the clifftop house where she used to holiday as a child, she is overwhelmed with bittersweet memories. She lost her mother recently, and she’s hoping Seaglass Bay will heal her broken heart.

The villagers welcome Eden with open arms, but she can’t help but notice that life is tough for them when the holidaymakers go home. Her mother always gave so much to those around her, and Eden is determined to follow in her footsteps. She sets up a community kitchen where her new friends can enjoy a homecooked meal, and as she watches people chatting over delicious stews, she feels sure that her mum would be a little bit proud of her.

But Eden’s happiness doesn’t last long. An unwelcome visitor arrives in Seaglass Bay in the form of handsome, chiselled Cam, who wants to buy the land the kitchen stands on. Eden is determined to save it and challenges Cam to a fortnight working with her so he can see how much would be lost if it closed.

As Cam rolls up his shirtsleeves and whips up his famous roast chicken, sparks fly and Eden feels a sense of triumph – he clearly can’t resist a challenge. The heat rises as they mess around in the kitchen, Cam’s dark hair dishevelled and his blue eyes shining with fun, and she realises that maybe he doesn’t have a heart of stone after all…

But just as she begins to let her guard down, Cam disappears without warning. Has she failed to win over the man she swore she’d never catch feelings for? And can she save the place that’s helped save her?

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