Emma's Review: The Girl Who Saved Them by S.E. Rutledge

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

1944, Germany. Louise struggles down from the cattle car, stumbling on the platform as guards shout harsh threats to keep moving. Blinking at the rows of terrified women, hope drains from her heart as her sister’s warnings ring in her ears…

Seven months earlier, Paris. Louise Beaufoy ushers the American airforcemen down to her basement, heart racing and ears pricked. Will this group finally be the one that gets her caught? Smuggling allied soldiers out of occupied Paris is the only way she can find to repay the men who’ve done so much for her country—no matter how furious her sister Marie is at the risk she’s taken with their lives…

Paris is filled with vengeful German spies and Marie pleads for her to stop. But then Louise’s gaze meets the beautiful blue eyes of handsome William… As the time she must hide the men increases, Louise can’t resist getting to know him, sharing stories of their lives over candlelight, fingers brushing and her heart unfurling. The thought of letting him go becomes more heart-breaking with every passing day, even as she knows her deepening feelings are dangerous…

But when Louise is presented with a terrible decision that will plunge both her and William’s lives into jeopardy, will she be ruled by her heart or her head? And will her choice keep the love of her life safe, even as it leads her to the darkest place she’s ever faced—or will they both suffer for the sake of one last mission…?

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Emma's Review: A Promise to my Sister by S.E. Rutledge

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

At the imposing iron gates of Auschwitz, twenty-one-year-old Hodaya clings to her mama and papa, her little sister Bayla’s arms around her waist. But when Hodaya is sent one way and her parents the other, a plea to keep her sister safe is the last thing in her mother’s eyes. Hodaya makes a silent promise in return.

But Auschwitz is no place for a little girl, and keeping Bayla safe takes every ounce of Hodaya’s strength. She hates watching the spark in her little sister’s eyes dull, and as she hands over her daily rations of watery soup and stale bread to keep Bayla fed, she feels herself weakening by the second. But she vows to find a way out, even if it means sacrificing the young woman she once was.

Admiring the bravery of other prisoners’ revolts and imagining a world in which she joins in, Hodaya battles between her determination to save Bayla and mounting despair. But in the end, it’s the most unlikely person who reminds her to dare to hope: Alaric, a German soldier. As desperate hunger closes in, Alaric draws a parcel of warm food from a satchel and offers it to Hodaya – his expression guarded, blue eyes troubled, but his hand steady.

But can Hodaya trust a stranger, particularly a German? And as sickness takes hold of Bayla, is it already too late to keep her promise to keep Bayla safe—or will the last ounce of hope in her heart lead to an escape from the darkest of places?

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