Such a great book. I love this genre and Rosie Clark is a beautiful storyteller. I was hooked from the first page and read it in one weekend....I can’t wait for her next book.

I have read this author previously and was looking forward to reading this. I felt the story was a little slow and persevered but did. Of enjoying as much as previous books to be honest.

A great book. Third in a series but can be read as a stand-alone.
The story follows other girls in the war as well as Hetty
A lovely historical fiction read with some romance

This is the third book in the ‘Women at War’ series, for those readers, like me who haven’t read the previous two books, there is a comprehensive summary at the beginning of the book, with character details and significant events explained and noted.

The story reads well as a standalone, but the characters are complex and the previous storylines intriguing, so that I wish I’d read the whole series. There is a distinctive writing style, in keeping with the time period and some of the dialogue seems a little stilted, but you get used to this, as the characters are believable and easy to like and the plot has many twists.

There is a satisfying balance of action, angst, historical detail and surprisingly sensual romance in this story. Focused primarily on Hetty as she fights a secret war in occupied France, the story also features, Georgie, Beth and to a lesser extent Annabel and Jessie, characters featured in more detail in previous books. Hetty’s story is exciting and shows her character development well.

The plot is interesting and well-paced and the characters are authentic to the time period but endear themselves quickly to the reader, so you become absorbed in their stories and want them to find happiness and peace as World War Two draws to a close.

An enjoyable, historical read, with notable characters and an intriguing plot.

I received a copy of this book from Aria Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The author did a brilliant job of capturing the time period in this novel. The characters and plot were also well written. This was a great piece of historical fiction!

Hetty’s Secret War is the third book in Rosie Clarke’s ‘Women at War’ series. I haven’t read either of the previous books in the series – Jessie’s Promise and The Runaway Wife – but I’m pleased to say Hetty’s Secret War works perfectly well as a standalone. However, it does contain references to significant events in the two previous books so it wouldn’t be the place to start for readers planning to read the whole series.

The title and the book description give the impression that Hetty’s story is the main focus of the book but, although hers is certainly the most dramatic, the experiences of the book’s other female characters – Beth and Georgie – also play a major part. And we shouldn’t forget Hetty’s brother, Ben, who also has a pivotal role in the lives of at least two of the women and whose wartime experiences contribute to a very dramatic and compelling element of the book.

The outbreak of war sees all three women forced to confront changes in their personal lives and the end of the war will see them confronting others. The book takes readers on an emotional journey revealing the trauma and loss that war can bring as well as the terrible uncertainty about the fate of husbands, lovers, brothers, sons. It also demonstrates the important contribution of women in wartime, some in roles which involved just as much risk as those on active service. It also has a chance meeting to rival Casablanca’s ‘Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine’, albeit with a bit of role reversal. I have to say this coincidence requires quite a high level of suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader..

Talking of films, as someone who loves films set in World War 2, I particularly enjoyed Beth’s meeting with a handsome stranger on a train that could be straight out of the 1942 film In Which We Serve (directed by Noel Coward) in which ‘Shorty’ Blake (played by John Mills) first meets Freda Lewis (played by Kay Walsh) on a crowded train.

I know Hetty’s Secret War will delight fans of the series and also readers who like a strong element of romance in their historical fiction – and who aren’t adverse to a bit of bedroom action along the way with descriptions that at times leave not much to the imagination (and seemed to me to be a little out of kilter with the tone of the rest of the book). Reading the book, I was most struck by its message of the possibility of second chances and that companionship, affection and trust play just as important a part in the success of a relationship as those ‘weak at the knees’ moments at the beginning of one. Of course, the perfect solution is to combine both. You’ll have to read the book to see if Hetty, Beth or Georgie end up in this happy situation.

Hetty’s Secret War is an emotional, compelling and involving historical saga from one of the genre’s finest and most talented writers: Rosie Clarke.

Wartime is a time of courage, sacrifice and jeopardy and nobody knows this more than three women who find their strength and resolve tested as they find themselves plunged into a dangerous and terrifying world where every second could be their last. While the men are doing their duty for king and country and facing horrifying atrocities and untold danger, the woman have to keep strong, find hidden resolves of courage and soldier on regardless of the many obstacles standing in their way.

Georgie has just seen the man she loves go off to do his bit for the war effort and she is terrified. She thinks about him constantly, worries dreadfully about the terrible things which he is facing and wonders whether she will ever hold him in her arms again. Every knock at the door sends a shiver down her spine as she wonders whether today will be the day when she will receive a dreaded telegram telling her that the man she loves has died. Georgie keeps close to her heart the hopes and dreams which she has of a future spent with her sweetheart, but will she be denied her chance at a happy ending? Will this dreaded war ever end? Or will it take every chance of happiness she will ever have?

Beth has known her fair challenges throughout the course of her life. An orphan who knows what it feels like to be abandoned and alone, she finds herself caught up in a whirlwind romance that makes her feel happy for the first time in a long while. When she gets married, she soon become a war widow and is faced with another insurmountable challenge: bringing up a baby by herself who will never know its father. Can Beth rise to the challenge? Or is she merely setting herself up for more anguish and heartache?

Hetty has been stranded in Paris and she cannot wait to make her way back home to her family in England. When a fateful and tragic turn of events brings her to Chateau de Faubourg, she joins the Resistance and meets dashing and enigmatic leader Stefan LeFarge. Will Hetty end up risking her life and her heart all for the sake of the War?

A tremendously well-written tale of courage, friendship, romance and war that I loved, Hetty’s Secret War is packed with adventure, emotion, evocative historical detail and nail-biting drama that swept me up and kept me reading all through the night. When it comes to first-class historical sagas, Rosie Clarke simply cannot be beaten and I am already counting down the days until her next mesmerizing tale!

Hetty’s Secret War by Rosie Clarke is the final installment in Women at War Trilogy. It is early summer in 1939 in Yorkshire when Georgie Bridges receives the news that her husband, Arthur is ill and will soon pass away. Georgie has had a good life with Arthur, and she will miss him when he is gone. However, she has never stopped loving Ben Tarleton who is training for a special war mission. Georgie is happy to reconnect with Ben, but their time is short. Ben is soon sent overseas, and Georgie may never see him again.

Beth Rawlings is nineteen and has just finished her secretarial courses. Annabel offers her a job at Rowntree House Hotel, but Beth would like to spread her wings and help the war efforts. She meets Captain Drew Bryant on the train and falls head over heels in love. When they receive word, that Drew is being deployed, they quickly marry. Beth keeps busy at her job with Arnold Pearson, but she soon discovers that she is with child. Just before Beth is due, she receives a telegram that Drew is missing in action. Will Drew be found, or will Beth become a war widow?

Hetty Tarleton has been living in Paris for ten years when war breaks out. She is a free spirit and artist. Her friends encourage her to return to England, but Hetty does not wish to leave. With the Germans about to enter France, Hetty departs in her car where she navigates roads clogged with people trying to get out of France before it is too late. After a horrific incident, Hetty meets Pierre de Faubourg who takes her to his family’s home, Chateau de Faubourg. Hetty becomes close with Pierre’s mother, Adele. She joins the resistance where she meets the enigmatic Stefan Lefarge. On one mission Hetty encounters the last person she expected to find in France. Hetty takes great risks fighting the German invaders. Will she make it through the war alive? Join Hetty, Beth, and Georgie as they struggle to survive World War II in Hetty’s Secret War.

Hetty’s Secret War can be read as a standalone, but you will find it confusing in the beginning. I suggest you read Jessie’s Promise and The Runaway Wife before embarking on Hetty’s Secret War. You will have a better understanding of the characters and their situations. I have always found World War II a fascinating time period (I would not have wanted to experience it though). Women were encouraged to work outside the home and take on tasks that were previously done by men. It was a difficult time, but people rallied together for the war effort. This is what we see in Hetty’s Secret War. I found the story nicely written with a variety of characters in different situations. There is foul language and intimate scenes included in the book (fair warning). While the book focused on Hetty, Beth and Georgie, we also catch up with Annabel. I like how the separate characters stories intertwined to create one charming book. They face losses and experience heartache, but there is joy as well. Hetty experiences danger and life threatening situations. Despite the hardships, they continued to have hope and faith as well as the comfort of family and friends. The ending had me smiling. Hetty’s Secret War is an emotional novel that will touch your heart.

This is the third book in a series, but if you’ve not read the other two it’s fine as Rosie put an update at the front of the book. It’s set during the Second World War and follows the lives of family and friends in England and also France during these hard times. Hetty was living in France and when the War starts she decides to go home to England. After leaving Paris Hetty gets caught in an air raid and seeing innocent people being killed in front of her she changes her mind. Full of anger and wanting revenge Hetty instead joins the resistance fighting back against the Germans. There are many ups and downs before the end of the War but I loved following the family to see how they survive. A great read highly recommended.

Intense emotional journal with four woman during World War 2 located in Britain and France. Lots of twists and turns, love and loss. Hard to say enjoyable but it was a very interesting read. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Oh sigh. Three women, all dealing with the pain of losing a loved one to WWII. Georgie, Hetty, and Beth are very different but each of them is coping with tragedy. Georgie's husband has died but she's reunited with her earlier love- and then he heads overseas. Beth's pregnant and her husband, a pilot, has gone missing. Hetty - oh Hetty- she went to France as a young woman and now that she's stuck there she's working with the Resistance. Clarke weaves together these three women in a way that might not surprise you but will keep you reading. This notes that it's the third in a series but read it as a standalone as it's meant to be linked but not successive of the others. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. Fans of this genre will enjoy it.

WWI and II both fascinate me. The stories thrown up are intense and emotional - always. Survival in the face of hardship, persecution, then the separation sometimes temporary most often permanent from loved ones, the fear of the unknown, the missing. Then you get immense stories of courage of ordinary men and particularly women who took up the challenge at every level. The stories are never dull.

This was another good one.

Three separate people linked by the War. Georgie the only man she loved gone on a secret mission as a spy. Will he ever return? It seems so sad that after waiting so long for happiness that it is snatched away from her. We have Beth on the threshold of being a young woman. In love and marrying in such haste. Her husband in France. Every time the bell goes she is in suspense whether it is for her with the dreaded news. When it does come she has to face it head on with a baby on the way. Then we have Hetty who went away to France impetuously. Fled with a French lover, disillusioned by love and men, now caught in a no mans land with no way to return.

Each story was intense and Hetty's one though more dramatic than the other two all were equally emotional. The losses which each woman faced in turn were really sad. Each waited for happiness, each was given it for a short time, then it was lost. The fact that they continued to live with faith and hope and finally found comfort and love was enlightening.

Beautifully told the three women were individually strong characters who grew with the story. Descriptive of both England and France at the time in 1939 it brought everything alive.

Told in four different perspectives from four women joined by marriage or family, the story focuses on the changes and challenges brought on by separations and deprivations of war. Hetty, the namesake for the title ran off to Paris at 17 full of dreams of an artistic life with her new (and significantly older) lover. When that romance failed, it left her cynical and wholly untrusting of men – but utterly in love with Paris and France. The younger sister of twins Annabel and Ben, she’d left leaving Paris until it was too late – caught in the southbound traffic leaving the city she was spirited off into a chateau, with the ‘man of the house’ soon to leave as he worked for the resistance. Meanwhile, her brother Ben – now a playwright of some renown has signed on to the war effort and was recruited by the SOE, mainly for his familiarity with an area that the Brits were helping locals on the ground. Years before he married a woman he didn’t love, leaving behind one he did – his sister Annabel’s best friend Grace. Grace had gone on to marry Arthur, even though it wasn’t a love match, and never forgot about Ben. These two manage to find one another again and reaffirm feelings and hopes for a future together. Lastly there is Annabel – mother figure to Beth who has been raised by Annabel at her small inn in Cornwall – loved and supported, Beth is feeling the need to do something different – and a chance encounter with a soldier place her in a position of driver/secretary to a man at the ministry of defense – while she waits for her husband to return after the war.

At first, there was so much going on and lots of information – all making it a bit longer to truly dive into the story. But, it wasn’t long before personalities, relationships and tendencies came clear – and the true magic of their interactions develops in front of your eyes. From Hetty’s anger to Grace’s worries, Beth’s growing up and Annabel’s fingers trying to gently (or not so) push people toward situations and connections she thinks will work well for them. A bit of her gentle persuasion, more backbone from characters than they had previously shown (by their own admission) and a clear sense of the family connections and affections – both biological and constructed. One thing that held true in this book (and I’m told from relations who share stories) is the hope for better and the determination to move forward and onward – because that is what is done. I think readers are best served by reading the earlier books in this series – and I’ve read a few others of this author’s titles and she does manage to create a real and palpable sense of friendship, affection and the time. Characters are plausible and distinct, never perfect but always easy to recognize and appreciate.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-alw/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Many thanks to #NetGalley and @ariafiction for allowing me to read and review an advance readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed a number of other books by Rosie Clarke but this was the first book that I've read in this series. As such I did find it a little confusing at first figuring out all the different characters and what their background stories were. I would recommend to other readers that it might be best to start with the first book in the series before starting this one.

The story focuses on the lives of three different women - Hetty, Georgie and Beth. All three are connected to each other at least peripherally. Hetty was rather a free spirit who wasn't bothered by the norms of society at the time. She had moved to Paris while young to be with a man but when the relationship ended had stayed there and established herself to the point where she felt Paris was more her home than England. As war loomed she delayed making a decision to return to safety in England until it was too late. In a desperate last minute effort to evacuate she was exposed to the realities of war and all it's horror and ultimately stayed to fight and do her bit for the resistance in France.

As the story begins Georgie loses her husband, an older man that she had married when the man she really loved married someone else. Georgie loved her husband but was never in love with him and discovers that in reality this was not enough for him leaving her with a burden of guilt. When she reconnects with her original love and begins a relationship with him (in spite of the fact he is still married) she also throws aside convention to be with him whenever she can. Her home is taken over for war purposes and she moves back to be closer to family and friends of the past. When her lover goes overseas in a secret capacity, she waits and worries and wonders what will happen to him. Then news arrives.

The last character is Beth, who was orphaned and basically raised by others who loved her and treated her as one of their own. She meets a young pilot, falls in love, marries and is quickly pregnant. She still wants to do her part in winning the war and works in London until her pregnancy makes it too difficult to continue. When word comes that her husband is missing and eventually declared dead she has choices to make.

The story of these women and how they became involved in war efforts was an interesting one but didn't grab me as much as some of the other books that I have read by Rosie Clark. Again, I wonder if it would be different if I had read the first two books and really felt like I had gotten to know the characters.

I really enjoyed this book even though I had not read the previous two It is set across the UK and France and mainly focused on Hetty, Georgie & Beth’s lives. Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
What a fantastic book loved every page it's a real comfort book hadn't read the other 2 books but was ok as they seem quite stand alone.

Brilliant. I really enjoy this author's stories and this new book is another winner for me.
The author Rosie Clarke blends great period detail and a sense of place with a seamless plot that together creates hours of enjoyment.
I highly recommend this author and her books.

A wonderful book ,a story of love, friendship and heartache all feel the trauma of war.i have loved this story can highly recommend.Have your tissues as it is emotional.5*

The third in a trilogy looking at the lives of three very different women and how they cope with the war. They are stand alones but I do think the series is enhance by knowing the story of the earlier ones. I read the third one last and then went back and read books one and two. Gaps filled in and I got a new sense of the third installment.

I love the way the threads of each of the women unravel and intertwine. This creates a well- rounded and interesting story. Three or more points of view, more as other characters come and go. What you have at the end of this book is a fuller picture of war time resistance, of human suffering but of female strength. This is the story of women during the war. Those left behind whilst the men were at war. And those who joined the resistance.

Hetty is the main character of this third part and her story of leaving France and joining the resistance is interesting and sad. What women like her must have gone through is quite something. There must be a million Hetty;s in the world. And thank goodness for that.


Georgie begins the year as a young widow like so many of her time. She meets a former love but then a secret war mission gets in the way. Then there's Beth - her husband is sent away and she then finds out she is pregnant. Again women like so many of their time, and you feel honoured to be hearing their voices come through loud and clear.

The story is nicely paced and the story moves from one location to another. The main focus of the novel is not the locations but the women. Wherever they are, they must be strong and move forward. I found each one of them sincere and a friend as I read.

An interesting picture of ordinary people in the most extraordinary circumstances.

I enjoyed this book. I hadn’t read the previous two but that wasn’t a problem.

It is set across the UK and France and mainly focused on Hetty, Georgie & Beth’s lives.

It was well-written and unpredictable in parts. I would also love to read he first books as I really felt drawn to these strong female characters & would love to know more about their lives before WW2.