A very interesting historical fiction written about the resistance in Belgium during WWI. It's nice to see such a wonderfully written novel about this time period. Bits of history throughout made this novel very appealing. Based on real people during this time period made the story come alive. Highly recommended!!

Kate Breslin is one of the absolute best authors around for Christian Fiction. Her research is impeccable, her characters are most believable, her settings are real, and her plot lines are incredible. I just finished High as the Heavens a couple of days ago, and I have been stewing on how to review it. It is not a light read, but it is worth every minute spent reading it.

When I was a child, I absolutely loved the show Hogan's Heroes. While Kate's book is not in any sense "comedic" like the television show, there are some parallel plot lines. High as the Heavens is a World War I book, Hogan's Heroes is World War II. The similarities include an underground group of people working for freedom from the Kaiser in Germany. Spies and counter-spies are just some of the people who populate this book.

Eve is a Red Cross nurse working in a hospital in Belgium when her husband, who she thought was dead, shows up in her ward. Between her work at the hospital and at her aunt's cafe, she has quite the job to do to get her husband out of the hospital without the Germans knowing where he went. That is the starting point for all of the adventures to follow.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a coded message for the underground. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.

What a riveting story of World War I espionage! It took me a couple of chapters to really get into it, but once I did I was holding my breath to see how things would resolve for Eve, her family, and Captain Simon Forrester. What makes the story even more fascinating is knowing that it was inspired in part by real-life accounts from women who were spies during World War I. Now that’s my kind of story!

The first third or so of the novel alternates between the ‘present day’ events (1917) and filling in key parts of Eve’s history with Simon and the events of the German assault on Louvain. Whilst learning this background was important, it did slow down the development of the story and gave it a slightly disjointed feel early on. However, once these extended ‘flashbacks’ finished and we stayed with the present I really settled into the story.

In the present day, Eve has a number of competing objectives: find her younger brother and sister, who disappeared during the German assault on Louvain three years ago; break Simon out of hospital before he is transferred to a German POW hospital and hide him for the duration of his recovery; continue to pass on German intelligence to the British through La Dame Blanche; continue to make hospital administrator, Major Otto Reinhardt, believe she is passing on legitimate Allied intelligence to him; complete the assignment Simon was supposed to carry out and smuggle Simon over the border to Holland; and find out who the traitor is within the resistance network. As you can see, she has her work cut out for her!

Complicating all of this is her relationship with Captain Forrester. Much has happened in the three years since they last saw one another, and neither of them are the same person now that they were then. Eve, in particular, carries a burden of guilt that she believes will come between them, and she refrains from telling him all that is going on her life currently because she knows he will not be willing to leave her, and may even try to prevent her in order to protect her. But this leaves Simon unsure of where her loyalties lie, or why she seems to be holding herself at a distance. And he, too, suspects there is a traitor within the resistance movement...

The tension builds throughout the novel to a gripping conclusion. Definitely recommended for lovers of historical fiction!

High as the Heavens is an historical novel set in Belgium during World War I and follows a young nurse as she works with a resistance group in the occupied territory.

I really enjoyed the setting as I find this to be a neglected era with most books focused on the late 19th Century or the second world war. Ms. Breslin develops fascinating characters and weaves a spellbinding story line of history and intrigue.

Every novel these days seems to be a romance and I loved the perspective in this story of a married couple and their struggles during the separations of war.

The story drew me in and I was eager to see rescues completed and missions fulfilled. I was angry with the German Kaiser and mourned with the widows and mothers of fallen soldiers on both sides.

Beer, wine and liquor flow freely throughout the story with the main characters partaking and the author detailing the flavors and scents of the alcohol. This is a controversial approach and given the detrimental results of alcohol abuse within the American culture (where this novel is published) this element weighs heavily in the strength of my recommendation.

The publisher supplied a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and impartial review.

I could not wait to read this book. I was so torn with the choices from Bethany House last month that I sorta drew straws and then immediately requested everything else on the list from NetGalley. I mean, sometimes I girl's gotta do whatever it takes for amazingly awesome sounding books. And I gotta tell ya, was not disappointed. Intrigue? Check. Romance? Check. Embraceable characters? Check. Story line that draws you in and keeps you engaged? Mostly check. I know, I know I'm too picky 'they say'. Pmerhaps I am, but then again I've read a few books in my lifetime and I know what I love, what I like, and what doesn't do it for me. This book did it for me and I liked it but I spent the first but of the book trying to find my way and a little overwhelmed. Probably much like the characters did as they were engulfed in a war zone they didn't ask for and didn't want surrounded by German soldiers that didn't respect them or really even themselves. Not really a place anyone wants to be.

It's painful for me to have to say the only reason this book was at a 4 star review is that first perhaps quarter of the book. I felt like I was missing something. It took a bit of time for the pieces to make sense and the momentum to grow. I don't expect a spy to hang a shingle and adverse. I don't expect a spy to really trust anyone. It took me a while to fall into the mindset with the trust and withhold and what the heck did that German/French/What language was that again phrase mean? It just didn't come together for me to begin with. By the time I found my grove it was a runaway train and I was strapped in ready to roll.

This book seriously hit all the marks for me. Even the good guy turn bad guy but wait what is he oh there's his true colors theme kept me engaged. I loved that the book was set in a real historical time period based off real historical people and real historical groups. I loved that the characters that were drawn together were real and fresh and I wanted to comfort them and yell at them and all the things. I also respect, and appreciate, the inner struggle that Eve had to go through with her own place in all the different experiences she had. The realization that forgiveness is more than just a prayer. The idea that life is not black and white. And the knowledge that even bad situations can lead to good results when you Trust. The faith was so seamlessly integrated and so well developed that it felt so true and natural yet not 'in your face' so much that someone how doesn't care for christian books would still enjoy it. Seriously, I am so glad I fell in love with this book from the description and 'had' to read it.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

Another classic from a well loved era WWI.

Eve is just another widow in this horrible war. Living in Belgium working for the Red Cross in occupied Belgium, she works for the hated Germans but is living a double life. Her work in the Red Cross and her having won an Iron Cross for services to the Germans gives her access to information and people which are useful for the allies. Underneath the facade she is heart broken with the loss of not just her husband but her sister and brother who would be eighteen and fourteen were they alive.
Taken on a train to the deadly camps, she has little hope for their survival.

Unexpectedly things change and the tension and progress of the story ramps up. Her husband is alive, parachuted into Belgium, injured but alive. No one knows his identity and it is upto her to prevent it getting known. She has also got to know that her siblings had jumped off the train and are alive in France. Getting them out is going to be formidable. Occupied France like Belgium has strict border controls.

The enterprise, strength of mind and courage of this woman is loosely based on a factual story and is just another angle from which we know about this war. The occupation of a country must be a horrible existence for the survivors and this is descriptively detailed in the story. I found it very difficult but at the same time engrossing what means people will find to somehow betray the occupiers of their land, sabotage them and generally be a pain in their side. The occupiers themselves have to feel that they are disliked, hated and just tolerated because there is no choice. It cannot be easy to live in those circumstances, always on guard because you do not know from where the next attack would come.
Review on my blog 22/6/2017. Goodreads and Amazon review up on 19/6/2017

Beneath the nurse's apron Eve Marche wears while tending to German and Allied troops beats the heart of a spy. Pinned to it is the Iron Cross she was awarded for saving Major Otto Reinhardt. While the cross provides an element of protection from the Bosch, it also invites scornful glares from fellow Belgians. She can't tell them the truth, no one must know—no one outside her family—of her involvement in the La Dame Blanch network. In her third novel, Kate Breslin dials up the danger and intrigue for a story I could not put down!

Breslin's interplay between the greater European conflict (WWI), local resistance, and one woman's remarkable stand against evil is brilliant. She accomplishes the first by using Belgium as her primary setting.  Then, through a series of flashbacks, transports readers to Britain, Scotland, and France. In doing so, we catch glimpses of the war from different vantage points. As for the citizens of Brussels, who doesn't enjoy the spirited efforts of the underdog? I cheered for the resistance workers who engaged in both small as well as grand acts of subterfuge against their German occupiers. Many of whose nail-biting escapades were inspired by actual people (see the Author's Note). Overall, my favorite aspect of the story was Eve. She's a daughter, sister, widow, nurse, and spy, all rolled into one dynamic character. The secrets she keeps would overwhelm me, yet through prayer and a keen intellect she perseveres to save many lives.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel. This review is my honest opinion, and I was not required to write a positive review.

“High as the Heavens” by Kate Breslin is another wonderful book set during WWI. Evelyn Marche lives in Brussels in 1917, during the German occupation. Evelyn works as Sister Nurse Marche of the Belgian Red Cross in the German hospital in Brussels, and in her uncle’s café. What most people do not know is that Evelyn is also a member of La Dame Blanche, a resistance organization. She lives with her aunt, uncle, mother and two German soldiers who are billeted in their home. Her life is fraught with danger and intrigue. Just keeping her clandestine activities secret from the Germans which whom she must work takes lots of stealth. One evening she sees a plane crash outside the city, and rushes to help. One man is dead and the other badly hurt. When she really looks at his face, she is astonished to find that it is her “dead” husband, a British Officer who perished in the first weeks of the war. She takes him to the German hospital for help and then spirits him away for safety from the Germans. Simon and Evelyn have each lived through unspeakable horrors and need to find their way back to each other and get out of the mess they are in.

Again, Ms. Breslin has written a compelling and undeniably exciting war novel. I loved this book and look forward to reading many more thrilling works by this author.

Kate Breslin's latest novel, High as the Heavens, is a WWI fictional masterpiece. And would you look at that cover? Simply gorgeous. I'm always amazed at how absorbed I get when I read one of her books. There's this perfect blend of romance, history, dynamic characters, and intrigue in her writing. Bravo!

I read Kate Breslin’s last book set during the First World War Not by Sight, and though it was good on some level I just wasn’t keen on it. I think this latest one was a considerable improvement, with stronger characters and just a better plot. The other one was about spying, and this one about espionage and an Underground resistance movement, but it was just more credible and not so predictable. I didn’t guess who the double agent was at all, which is always a good thing.

It was also great that this was a non-traditional Romance, with flawed but sympathetic characters who had a genuine connection and motive behind their actions. I also liked the way this novel ‘wore’ the historical details well. They didn’t overtake the story on the one side or seem contrived on the other. Rather, it evoked the period and world in which the characters were operating, a harsh and war-torn one which changed people forever. The world in which they had to bend the normal rules to survive.

My only complaints were that towards the Middle it did drag a bit, and some parts became a little repetitive, with Eve constantly going over something that had happened to her before and its impact. Also, her behaviour became rather bratty at times, not perhaps entirely consistent with her character. I don’t feel the reader needs to be constantly reminded of event manner mentioned above, they’ll usually get it quite quickly. The characterization and climax were strong enough to make up for that, however. Except for one part, which although typical in Christian Fiction might come over as a little corny and contrived to those who are not used to the genre.
Also, there were the inevitable Americanisms used by the supposedly Belgian and British characters ‘closet’ (Brits would say cupboard), ‘apartment’ instead of flat, ‘fall’ instead of Autumn, and Eve talking about what she wanted to do after ‘College’, which is what Brits call University. This did make some passages rather jarring, and one towards the beginning annoyingly vague, where the characters referred to ‘Oxford High School’ and Eve training as a nurse at ‘The London Hospital. Yeah, which London Hospital? I mean, there are quite a lot of Hospitals in London, and there are a lot of girl’s schools in Oxford. The names were so obviously made up, which was a shame when other such details were much more precise. I don’t feel there were as many Americanisms as there were in the author’s last book, and the attention to detail was greater, but there was still some room for improvement.
Overall though, this was a wonderful book, full of excitement, action, and high emotion, but interwoven with a satisfying message about finding grace and peace.

I requested an e-book edition of this title for review and purchased the audiobook of my own volition. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

High as the Heavens is one incredible novel - yes I said novel because it is so intense yet light on top about a nurse called Evelyn. Evelyn is part of the resistance in WWI. She lost her husband in the war or did she? She works for her Aunt and Uncle at their café doing what she can to save lives including her mother's, and her siblings that are lost in France. She does what she can when she finds out information working in the café - and something incredible happens - you will not believe that changes her life dramatically - it is a shocker - what should she do? What would you do? I shall not tell you what happens so I don't ruin the book for you. Get this book it is incredible and you are so drawn into it that when the book ends you find yourself disappointed that there is no more, and you hope , really hope there will be more from this author.

Kate Breslin has again created a fantastic read! High As The Heavens tells the story of Eve and Simon. They are married the week before he leaves for duty during World War One. Their story is told in flashbacks as Eve struggles to survive as a nurse behind enemy lines. I loved their story and the historical detail made me feel as though I was there. I loved the way Breslin examines how you can love someone but struggle to trust them. This book will definitely end up on my keeper shelf!

From Amazon:

Page-Turning Intrigue and Romance from an Up-and-Coming Historical Romance Talent
In 1917, Evelyn Marche is just one of many women who has been widowed by the war. A British nurse trapped in German-occupied Brussels, she spends her days working at a hospital and her nights as a waitress in her aunt and uncle's café. Eve also has a carefully guarded secret keeping her in constant danger: She's a spy working for a Belgian resistance group in league with the British Secret Service.

When a British plane crashes in Brussels Park, Eve is the first to reach the downed plane and is shocked to discover she recognizes the badly injured pilot. British RFC Captain Simon Forrester is now a prisoner of war, and Eve knows he could be shot as a spy at any time. She risks her own life to hide him from the Germans, but as the danger mounts and the secrets between them grow, their chance of survival looks grim. And even if they do make it out alive, the truth of what lies between them may be more than any love can overcome.

About the author:

Biography
Former bookseller-turned-author Kate Breslin enjoys life in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and family. A writer of travel articles and award-winning poetry, Kate received Christian Retailing's 2015 Best Award for First Time Author and her debut novel, For Such A Time, was shortlisted for both the Christy and RITA Awards and received the American Christian Fiction Writer's 2015 Carol Award for Debut Novel. Kate's third novel, High As The Heavens, will release June 2017. When she's not writing inspirational fiction, Kate enjoys reading or taking long walks in Washington's beautiful woodlands. She also likes traveling to new places, both within the U.S. and abroad, having toured Greece, Rome, and much of Western Europe. New destinations make for fresh story ideas.

I was given this book by NetGalley.com for review purposes. All thoughts are my own.

Wow! Just Wow! This book is truly a treasure. I found myself laughing, crying and biting my nails as I turned the pages. Step back in time and experience occupied Belgium, feel the fear and hopelessness. The pain that only war and the loss of the ones you love can bring and the hope that only God can give. The characters are real, the hardships unimaginable and the dangers unspeakable. Be prepared to lose sleep over this one.

This is the first book I have read by Kate Breslin. After reading it, I can honestly say I look forward to reading more by her. High as the Heavens kept my interest the entire time. I could easily picture what she was describing. She kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what could possibly happen next. This story takes place during World War II. I found it interesting reading about what life was like for people during that time. We often don't think about what it would be like living in fear and wondering where your next meal is coming from. I could not stop reading, and was hanging on tight until the last page. This book follows Eve and Simon as they both work to do their part to end the war.

Eve hasn't had an easy life since the war started. Being a nurse she gets to see the toll it takes first hand. Since she is a British nurse surrounded by German soldiers, she and her motives are often questioned. But Eve is hiding a bigger secret than they can imagine, she is also a spy for the Allies. When Simon literally crash lands into her war torn world, it will never be the same. The Germans would kill him if they knew who he was, so she does her best to keep his identity a secret. As it turns out they both have some things they would rather not talk about, and secrets have a way of dividing people. Can they work together and make it out alive?

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Historical fiction. I enjoyed reading the detailed descriptions of how different life was during the war. And found it intriguing to hear about some of the ways information was passed and hidden from those who didn't know where to look. I couldn't imagine not knowing who you can trust, and who would rather have you killed. I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

High as the Heavens

by Kate Breslin

Bethany House

Bethany House Publishers
Christian

Pub Date 06 Jun 2017

I am reviewing High As the Heaven's through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

This book transports us back to 1917, in Brussels, Evelyn Marche is a nurse who has been widowed by the war, and is now trapped in German occupied Belgian. Evelyn also has a close guarded secret, she's a spy working for a Belgian resistance group in league with the British Secret Services.

Captain Simon Forrester is now a prisoner of war and badly injured, when Evelyn realizes who he is, she risks her life to hide Simon from the Germans.

Simon had been in a German. P.O.W. camp.

The danger only mounts as time goes on, but Evelyn will continue to risk her life to protect him, because she knows who Simon is. Her husband, the husband she had thought was dead.

Will Evelyn and Simon be able to escape, or will they die trying.

Find out in High As Heavens!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

It is rare that a story—whether a TV show, movie, or a book—takes me by surprise. I can usually guess the twists before they are revealed. Yet, occasionally, someone manages it and I enjoy the ride even more because of it.

In High as the Heavens, Kate Breslin managed to surprise me more than once. As Eve Marche navigates her job as a nurse, her duties to her family, and her secret missions for her country, she leads a full life. The first surprise comes quickly, when a face from her past appears in Brussels (sorry, no spoilers but I can say I liked this twist to the story).

As the story unfolds, you get a sense of the horror and heartache that Eve (and others immersed in a war they wanted no part of) have endured. Events that changed them, that broke them. Yet Eve is determined to continue to aide her country in every way she can.

The tension and intrigue mount as Eve attempts to save the pilot and get him to safety while tasked with completing his mission.

High as the Heavens is an excellent WWI story of spies, lovers, family, and hope.

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

"She was caught between two worlds: the one her desperation had forced upon her, and the other a world she's once dreamed of sharing with him. "


If you loved Not by Sight than you'll love this book to!



"She was doing far more than simply helping her mother's people; she was playing a dangerous game with high stakes."


Eve is a young woman, who lost her husband very early on in WWI. After losing him she went to live with her mother and young siblings in Belgium. Where tragedy ended up striking once again. This lead to another move with her mother to live with a different Aunt and Uncle. After what happened in both of these major life events, Eve is rattled and heartbroken. She is going through the motions of being a Red Cross nurse and a spy. That is until one night on a mission a plane crashes and she rushes to help thinking it could be the persons he was supposed to meet. But who it really is will not only give her the surprise of her life, but also make her start taking even more risks.

"Now her decisions struck him as tactical. Her mind weighed options with cool reason, making life-and-death decisions and taking incredible risks."

Overall I really loved this book. I ended up caring so much for not only Eve, but her family and friends. While we mainly see things from her perspective we occasionally see things from others point of view as well. For me this always make it so much more enjoyable because we get to see more of what is happening the place that we are, and to see how others are dealing with the same type of struggles. The romance was a side part of the story once again and I love that in books so much! Instead the focus was on Eve's work as a nurse and a spy and trying to find her younger siblings all while keeping herself and her family out of harms way. When it came to finding out who was making things difficult for those in the spy group, I was surprised by who it was and was pretty upset that they would do such a thing. For those worried about the religious parts of this book, I hardly noticed any mention of God or religion, until we got to the end and even then it was brief. This is more of a story about the struggles faced during WWI and how some people might have survived.

"I couldn't let another boy lose his life because of me. I have been lost for a long time, husband. I had to find my way back. Today, God gave me that change."

While this story is a work of fiction Eve was based off of three incredible woman in WWI: Edith Cavell, Gabrielle Petit, and Martha Mckenna who I will be trying to learn more about now.
WWI books are hard to find in the fiction world for the most part until recently. This is something that I'm really enjoying, while we know a lot about WWII, what I know about WWI is minimal and it is slowly changing with the help of books like this. This time in with the fact that nurses would sneak out allied patients in order to keep them from becoming POW. Also flashlights/torches were also starting to be used at this time. (They got the name flashlights because the battery life wasn't the best meaning they would turn them on and off quickly in order to make them last longer.)

I'm so happy to see that Breslin learned from her book For Such A Time (I'll be posting a review for this on the June 12), to not make a romance happen between certain people.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I know it feels like Tuesday, but it really is Wednesday, and you're halfway through this week! Woohoo! How about celebrating with a new book review? This one is a good one! I included High as the Heavens by Kate Breslin on my list of books you need to read this summer. I hadn't read it at the time, but I really hoped it would be a good one. It did not disappoint!

High as the Heavens finds British nurse Evelyn Marche in Brussels, Belgium during World War I. Although the city is occupied by the Germans, Eve is working with the Belgian underground to help bring them down. One dark night Eve receives orders to go into the woods and pick up another agent. But as she rides her bike towards the woods, a plane flies overhead, and crashes into the woods. Eve hurries to the scene of the crash, and finds the pilot dead, but his passenger is alive--and turns out to be Eve's husband, Simon, who she thought died three years ago! So, Eve must now develop a plan to keep her husband safe until he can escape from Belgium. But, there are a few things standing in her way. The first is the fact that there is a traitor somewhere in their group, so Eve can't be sure who she can trust. Also, she has a deep secret that she is keeping from Simon. She believes that if she tells him the truth, he will hate her. Simon finally figures out who is betraying them to the enemy, but it might be too late to save Eve. It all comes down to a daring rescue in the French countryside, that will have you on the edge of your seat!

Eve is a wonderful heroine in this story. She is a strong woman, fighting to protect her family and her country, even if it means risking her own life. At first I was a little annoyed at Eve's attitude towards Simon, but as I read more of her story, I could really feel her pain and even shame. She had been through so much, had given so much, and she was afraid to have hope in the future any more. When Simon returned so suddenly, she wasn't sure they could ever have a happy life again. Simon has had his own struggle throughout the war, and at first he isn't sure he can still trust Eve. As he spends time with her, he sees that she has been through so much, but underneath she is still the same woman he fell in love with. During their stolen moments together, he begins to convince her that they have a future. They can't go back, but they can go forward, and make a new life.

I loved High as the Heavens so much! The story is so powerful, and I love that it's so much more than a love story. It is a reminder to me that there has always been evil present in the world. There are always people who hate freedom, and will do whatever they can to destroy it, they just have different names. But High as the Heavens is also a story of ordinary people who fought against evil every day. I was amazed to read about all of the ordinary people in Brussels who worked to transmit secret messages to the British--restaurant owners, the launderer, the priest, nurses, orderlies, the cigar man. Every one of them doing what they could to stop the Germans. Although this book is a work of fiction, it is proof of the fact that evil cannot triumph as long as good people stand up and fight.


High as the Heavens is definitely a book that you need to add to your summer reading list. It has great characters, action, history and even a little romance just to keep it interesting. This is Kate Breslin's third book, and they seem to be getting better with time! Check out her first two books For Such a Time and Not by Sight. And don't miss this one!


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I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and a favorable review was not required.


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High As the Heavens by Kate Breslin tells the story of Evelyn Marche, a widowed nurse serving in Nazi-occupied Brussels. She lives a difficult life, supporting the Allies but working for the Nazi hospital administrators. At night, she works for an underground resistance group. She soon puts her life in even greater danger as she attempts to rescue an Allied POW that she nurses back to health. I have read many disappointing historical fiction novels lately, but this was not one of them! I was impressed by the author’s ability to make the book’s time and place so real and vivid and relatable at the same time. I look forward to reading more books by this author. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first Kate Breslin book, and I was excited that the plot centers on World War I. Set in Belgium, British Eve Marche works as Red Cross nurse in a German occupied hospital. Nurse by day and spy by night describes her life, but the danger intensifies when a rendezvous with her underground contact goes horribly wrong. Eve must risk her life getting this spy out of Belgium, and the stakes are even higher because they have a past connection.
I especially enjoyed how Breslin incorporated the real story of spy and nurse Edith Cavell who had been arrested months earlier in Belgium and then used another lesser famous nurse to base her character Eve March off of. I look forward to reading more Kate Breslin books.