Reviewed by Emma Crowley
When Vivi arrives in Madrid, she is captivated by its heat and colour, a world away from the grey of her life as a lonely newlywed back in Berlin. But her diplomat husband and beloved brother Christian are here for one reason only: to bring the Nazi regime to Spain, and to destroy everything that stands in their path.
When Vivi is caught in a bombing raid, she is thrown unexpectedly into the arms of Emilio, a member of the militia. As she gets to know him and his love for his country, his passion inspires her, and her world changes overnight. And as he stares at her with his warm brown eyes, her heart races in her chest, knowing she is truly being seen for the first time in years…
But falling in love with Emilio is dangerous. Franco and his Nazi allies are closing in on the resistance in Madrid, and it’s only a matter of time before Emilio is discovered. Vivi does everything she can to protect him, but she knows time is running out.
When her worst fears come true and Emilio captures her brother, Vivi must decide where her loyalty lies. Should she betray her lover to save her family? Or will she choose love above all else? And once the war is over, can she live with the consequences?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Man She Had to Save and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Man She Had to Save is the first in a new series by Catherine Hokin which centres around Vivi von Rhomberg. It’s set between Germany and Spain from 1934 right up until the last year of World War Two. The author takes her characters through a very tumultuous time as they navigate death, destruction, horror, greed and cruelty whilst some try to stay loyal to their principles. The story opens with a brief prologue set in the Spanish Pyrenees in March 1945 as Vivi faces an impossible decision but whoever she chooses the other will hate her. But what has led her to this point and what is her background? To discover the answers, we are taken to Berlin in 1934 as Vivi is walking up the aisle.
Vivi is about to embark on a marriage to Hannes but rather than there being any real love between the pair it is more a marriage of stature secured by Vivi’s father, Leopold, for her. She will become a diplomat’s wife and this will be crucial as she navigates the troublesome times that little does she realise are ahead. Vivi is a young woman who asks questions and has lots of her own thoughts and opinions which most men of the day would do their very best to curtail. She is someone who knows her own mind and thinks outside the box and wants freedom and to explore what life has to offer. She has spent a lot of her life waiting for it to happen and with her marriage she had hoped for this to come to fruition, but she soon understands that she is meant to accept her role as the dutiful wife who keeps house and provides her husband with children. She has felt invisible when she was living with her parents as golden boy her brother, Christian, was the one who received all the adulation, input and support and now the same is happening again but will she let this get her down or stand tall and help fight in battle in any way she can?
The first half or so of the book focuses on the Spanish Civil War as Hannes is transferred to Madrid to the German embassy. Vivi’s grandmother had been born there and she views this opportunity as a way to slip in and out of her loveless marriage and to explore the city in order to deepen her culture and connection to her grandmother. But there is unrest brewing in the country which to be honest recalling my long-ago history lessons on this topic I just believed it was an internal fight between Spanish Loyalists and Nationalists but this book showed a different aspect that the Germans were also involved to some extent to which I had had no idea about. This is seen from Christian’s point of view as he is a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe. Germany wants to redeem its rightful place in the world and create an extended Reich with more living space for its people and if a war in Spain would divert attention away from what Germany was doing than all the better. Hannes is fully behind Hitler as is Vivi’s father but she detests everything he stands for. To this end throughout the book, she is caught in the middle of things and this is something that frustrated me about her. As she explored Madrid and came to understand what Franco was trying to do and how she didn’t want to be on that side I felt she should have been braver and broken free from the shackles imposed upon her by her marriage.
The situation in Spain deteriorates rapidly and the normal people are suffering badly with unspeakable atrocities committed. On one such occasion Vivi encounters Emilio, a man who wears his heart on his sleeve. He is full of energy, strength and is selfless and firmly rooted on the side of the Loyalists. Love blossoms between the pair and this is what will cause Vivi to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Loyalty to a man she loves despite the fact that she is married but also loyalty to her family in particular her brother who she thinks can do no wrong and couldn’t possibly be engaging in some of the barbarity that is ensuing across both Spain and Germany the further the book develops and World War Two is declared. A lot of the first half of the book was very much back and forth in terms of Vivi being in Madrid then back to Berlin and so on. I felt that nothing really significant occurred or something that the reader could get their teeth stuck into. The romance between Emilio and Vivi seemed to occur so quickly but it didn’t always seem believable. I mentioned up above how I wanted to break free from her marriage but the as the book developed I could see that this couldn’t yet happen for reasons I won’t go into as that would ruin the plot.
The second half of the book was far superior to the first. I thought it was much meatier and there wasn’t random chapters where the book had jumped forward in time and it seemed as if the reader had to fill in the blanks regarding an event which I felt occurred several times in the first half. There was far more depth to the second half and surprisingly it was Christian who really caught my attention. He was the ultimate baddy and I would never say I liked the baddy in a book but he was needed here as he brought some spice and action to what had been a bit lacklustre from the Vivi/Emilio standpoint. Christian, can sniff out everything that goes on even the secret work that his sister engages in. His rising through the ranks of the air force could be described as meteoric and he is involved with the higher powers due to his flying ability but also on land too. He has no morals and will crush anything in his path. Evil, twisted, cruel , corrupt and menacing are all words that I would use to describe him. He lies with ease and pretends to Vivi that he is all sweetness and pie and that he would always be there for her. But he hides a deadly secret. One which the reader is privy to, and I had hoped that Vivi would soon discover.
This is where I felt Vivi lacked a bit of tenacity and perseverance. She could have been the most amazing of characters like some of the other female heroines I have read in Catherine Hokin’s books but she fell flat. I needed her to be braver than she was and try and confront Christian. She was so gullible regarding him right up until the last minute. Yes, he was her sibling but she should have seen through him straight away. Don’t get me wrong Vivi did do incredible things but I felt there could have been so much more to her. This opportunity is there now as the end of this book left things very much at a crossroads and Vivi is aimless and needs direction. There is a purpose which can be ignited and I hope this happens in book two and that she really ramps things up because the potential is there for her to really show what she is made of. So overall, The Man She Had to Save was a bit of a mixed bag for me but as I mentioned the second half makes it worth reading but yet I am keen to see what the author has in store for book two to see will revenge redemption or unification be achieved.
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