The Whispers of War is a novel that explores the impact of World War II on the lives and relationships of three women in London. Kelly creates a realistic and engaging narrative that combines historical facts, fictional characters, and emotional themes. The book is written with clarity, detail, and depth, providing a comprehensive and enjoyable reading experience. This book is suitable for readers who are interested in historical fiction, particularly stories that focus on World War II, women, and friendship.

The story takes place in the present and past. In the present we meet Samantha who has come to England from Chicago to meet her grandmother’s great friend Nora. In her grandmother’s will she specifically asked that Samantha deliver the eulogy and that she hand deliver a package to Nora.We begin to learn the main story as it is told to Samantha.

As Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany, three childhood companions must choose between friendship and country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labeled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost.

This book is well written and I really enjoyed all the characters. This book made me tear up a bit. This is definitely a book about friendship.

I quite enjoyed this book. I truly love a good historical fiction and I would read this one again. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and learn about their friendship alongside one of their granddaughters. I related to some of it in that way as well. It was also interesting to see the beginning of WWII from a different perspective than I ever had before. This story of three women living in Britain at the beginning of WWII was wonderfully told and pulled me in. I never even knew Britain had had internment camps in the past. I learned a few new things and enjoyed the story. Well worth a read!

I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was well-thought-out and well-written. My interest was kept throughout the entire novel and I am thankful for the opportunity to read and review The Whispers of War. I look forward to reading more books by Julia Kelly.

As I say frequently in my reviews, I am a huge fan of historical fiction books … especially if they are during WWII. This was a different aspect, however, from the books I typically read. You will learn about the internment camps in England during WWII. I was aware of camps in the U.S., but was not familiar with the ones in Europe. This is also a dual timeline book which is also a favorite for me. There are some twists and turns and two of the friends find themselves working hard to fight for the third friend’s freedom. I wish we had been given more descriptive details about the camps.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

What an incredible love story! I truly enjoyed this book, I am a huge fan of historical romance/fiction. The story of 3 women who meet at school but feel unwanted/unloved by their parents form a bond that lasts a lifetime., They share everything in their lives, always look out for each and are there till the end. Such a great book about the family you are born into and the one you find, true love and how everything comes full circle.

This was a really good book that had a little bit of everything..

New and interesting historical facts weaved into the story? Check
Strong women without manufactured angst? Check
Alternating timelines - one of my favorite points of view.. Check
Story of friendship? Check.
Needing to know what happened next? Check

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC. This did not impact my review of this wonderful story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave you an idea not only the struggles that people who had German descendants who left Germany struggled after the war broke out. But how the women who worked during this time had to put up with the same prejudices only worse than the ones that women of today in the workforce. To have to lie to protect yourself and your family had to be extremely stressful. I can’t imagine living in that era! Thank you Julia for writing such a great book!

Julia Kelly is fast becoming a talented historical fiction author. It had Downton-esque overtones, so I enjoyed that aspect. Superb characterization and writing as well. I just had a hard time connecting with the characters, but I loved their loyalty to one another

A story about what humans are capable of when mass hysteria arises.
Alternating timeline novels appeal to me and I rather enjoyed The Whispers of War. The story takes you from the 1939/1940 era to current day.
A story of 3 strong woman trying to find their way in a time that woman really had no power. They were expected to get married and have children. Working outside the home or being a older single lady was frowned upon.
I found this historical WWII historical novel to be quite interesting....full of of history I really wasn’t aware of. I did not know England had internment camps for foreign born citizens during WWII.
A beautiful, heartfelt historical fiction you should take the time to read.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I read and enjoyed Kelly's other novel, The Light Over London which was about a young woman's journey in the ATS and being a Gunner Girl. The Whispers of War also focuses more on characters than the war itself, which I like. It's about 3 women who have been friends since childhood. As Britain heads towards WWII with Germany, their friendship is testes. The author does a good jog creating realistic characters struggling to survive in a horrifically difficult and terrifying time. Not a classic but a decent read.

The Whispers of War was such a great read Julia Kelly has a way of keeping her readers interested through the whole book. This novel takes place in the past and present day, during the present day we meet Samantha who is living in Chicago when her grandmother passes away she finds a will that is left. In this will her grandmother asks that she travels to England to meet her grandmothers best friend Nora to hand deliver a package. The book then moves to the past were we meet Nora, Marie and Hazel who all meet up each Friday night. When their are rumors of the war and others being sent to interment camps the three friends brace themselves and try to keep a normal life. I absolutely love Julia Kelly and her way of story telling I also appreciate the amazing imagery that is created in this book.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this books. This is a great story of friendship, love and sacrifice that takes place at the beginning of WWII. Nora, Hazel and Marie have been friends for a long time-they met in boarding school. When the war breaks out, Marie is threatened with interment by the British government because of her German heritage. Despite the risks, her friends help her. I really liked this story and the details of their friendship. It was very well-written and I would recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers!

Nora, Marie, and Hazel are three friends living in London on the precipice of the beginning of WWII. Nora is working for the Home Office, but also juggles trying increasingly to find ways to help Germans in England as the war breaks out. She finds this especially difficult, not only due to her position, but also her class. Hazel is in the market of matchmaking, having found hers she thinks in Nathaniel. When things transpire that link them more so, that seems even truer. Marie is a German born who has lived most of her life in London and faces the threat of deportation on the outbreak of war. Modern day takes us to Samantha --Marie's granddaughter--who is desperately trying to learn more of her beloved grandma's past by going to London and meeting her best friend, Nora.

After reading her highly enjoyable "Lights over London", I was so excited to see that Kelly had another historical fiction novel coming out. I loved her last one and was ready to take up the reigns again. This story starts out a little differently. We're automatically pulled into pre-WWII and our focus stays with 3 different women instead of one. With the split time narrative, this automatically threw up a red flag for me. Granted, I mainly kept up with everyone's story arcs and what was going on just fine. But it threw in way too many 'main' characters. You had four instead of 2. And don't even really get a good conclusion with Hazel. I know some might agree that actually it was the three from the 1940's that were the main characters and Samantha was just a vehicle--but then it's lazy writing. Samantha's story was nowhere near as intriguing either. We got so little of her and her worth that she did end up feeling like a trope and not a character. It's too bad--because properly fleshed out, she could have been so much more.

Good things: I did really enjoy getting to see the perspective Marie brought of a German in England during the war. You don't see it often and it was a refreshing perspective. The characterization we did get to see was mainly enjoyable. I had hoped for more with Samantha, but that may have been a purposeful omission. I was so intrigued to see a woman working in a matchmaking services during this time period! I know these services have been around for a while, but it was eye opening to see Hazel doing something beyond the normative secretarial work. I think it's phenomenal that Samantha has someone she could talk to about her grandmother and learn more about her earlier life. We should all be so lucky.

Otherwise, I just found myself kind of bummed with the missed potential of this story. Lights over London just seemed like a more cohesive story overall. Maybe the next one will be better?

Three childhood friends must choose between friendship or country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. This is a page turner that I was not putting down until I was finished. I bought the paperback and am not sorry that I did. I recommend this book.

“Whispers of War” by Julia Kelly is a wonderful book about the pre-war problems in Britain before WW II. I enjoyed the back story of the preparations for war by the British almost as much as I did the story of the three girls’ friendships and hardships during this time. We begin the novel in the present. Samantha has been tasked, after her grandmother’s death to deliver a parcel to an old lady in Britain. She doesn’t know what it contains, only that as her grandmother’s executor, she is bound to take care of this task.

The novel continues with the story of three girls who have been friends since prep school. Socialite Nora wants to do her part for the war effort by joining the Air Raid Precautions Department. Hazel is a matchmaker, who tries to partner lonely men and women together, in spite of her own unhappy marriage. Marie is an expat from Germany, born there, but has spent her whole life in Britain. As war looms, the three girls gather each month for dinner, gossip and laughter. As things become tenser, the plight of Marie is a matter of great worry to all three girls. Marie will surely be termed an enemy alien and would be transported to a detention camp in Britain or turned back to Germany. The story follows these girls as they try to send Marie to America.

I truly felt the fear and determination of each girl as the path to war became more precarious. I was unable to put this book down and finished reading it in record time. I highly recommend Ms. Kelly’s novels. She has also written “The Light Over London”. Her knowledge of the country, the cities, and the habits of the British at this time made the story very real to me. I got lost in it.

I loved this story. The characters were rich & the plot was fascinating. This is a perfect example of historical fiction done right. I didn’t know a lot about internment camps in Britain during WWII, & I thought this was an excellent way to give some life to this story without it being dull & boring like a history text. Marie, Nora, & Hazel represent strong women in a time that made it hard to be a strong woman, & they did so with grace & intelligence. I also liked how it went between the past & the present day in a logical & easy to follow manner. I highly recommend reading this book!

Following the 2019 release of her tremendously popular book, THE LIGHT OVER LONDON, Julia Kelly returns with THE WHISPERS OF WAR, a work of historical fiction focusing on the lives of three young women living in London during the start of World War II. Bound by a deep, lasting friendship and their sense of loyalty to one another and their country, they fight for their freedom as the world is thrown into disarray.

Beginning in the present day, the novel introduces readers to Samantha, who has recently lost her beloved grandmother, Marie. In addition to her inheritance, she receives a very specific letter demanding that she travel to England to hand-deliver a special package to her grandmother’s lifelong friend, Nora. Upon arriving in the eccentric old woman’s home, Samantha learns that there was so much more to her grandmother than snuggles and bedtime stories. Marie had to fight for her freedom during the start of World War II, and it is largely due to her friendship with Nora that she survived. Settling in with lots of tea and a bit of jetlag, Samantha readies herself to hear Marie’s tale, as told by Nora.

The year is 1939, and all of Britain is watching carefully as Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, threatens to attack Poland, thereby forcing the world into another war to end wars. In London, three young women are paying particularly close attention --- for one of them is German-born, with a distinct accent that she worries will turn her into a scapegoat for her neighbors who remember all too well the lives they lost the last time England went to war with Germany. Former debutante and current happily single homeowner and independent woman Nora works in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, where she dreams up solutions to some of the country’s biggest and most unsolvable problems, facing intense pushback from her male superiors. Married matchmaker Hazel has a keen eye for characterizing the people she meets, but she is holding secrets of her own that threaten her eternal optimism. And then there’s Marie, a German expat residing with her beloved aunt and uncle --- and their insufferable son, Henrik. Marie remembers Germany well enough and has found work in the German Department at a local school, but her heart lies in England, where she has found best friends, purpose and maybe even love.

As England declares war on Germany, Kelly whisks her readers along as rations become scarce, gas masks become necessities, and long-simmering prejudices and discriminations become all too obvious. Though Marie holds an esteemed position at her job and has done good work in the past, her entire life is thrown into the spotlight when one of the men she assists is declared a Nazi sympathizer after fleeing in the night. Marie knows nothing about his personal life --- it is even revealed that he kept a separate planner hidden away from her --- but this does not matter to the Home Office and their sergeants. As the lead detective begins to breathe down Marie’s neck, she worries not only for her own safety, but for the safety of her aunt and uncle, who fled an impossible situation in Germany and are endlessly grateful for the security they have found in England.

Of course, as the Home Office digs into Marie’s past, they also dip into the histories of Nora and Hazel --- one of whom has some suspicious ties of her own to Nazi sympathizers and British informants.

Kelly tracks the girls’ lives from August 1939 to June 1940 --- a seemingly impossibly short time for entire lives to be upended, but such is the nature of war. As Marie goes from a respected and sought-after young woman to an unemployed scapegoat for British prejudices, Nora and Hazel are changed too. Nora, always stubborn and independent, takes her love and loyalty to the next level, even giving up her beloved career for something entirely new and challenging. Hazel, meanwhile, turns her matchmaking skills upon herself and asks whether or not she is truly happy --- or if she even deserves the happy endings she is so good at helping her clients find. Drawing upon deep and surprising research into the lives of Germans living abroad during World War II and her own tender and lyrical prose, Kelly paints a portrait not only of the world at war, but of the lives of the real citizens who experienced it and fought for their freedoms to live, love and build friendships.

Though World War II is hugely popular in historical fiction, I believe that THE WHISPERS OF WAR is unique in its representation of the experience of a young German woman in London. Marie’s journey is so satisfying, heartbreaking and inspiring that it feels both reminiscent of works like THE NIGHTINGALE and THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS and completely fresh. The women at the heart of the book are delightfully modern --- they drink sidecars with breakfast when the situation calls for it, meet at a women’s-only club, and work and support themselves like men. But Kelly writes with such a keen eye for detail that her characters never feel anachronistic; they read as strong, quirky and, well, badass. Though their friendships are of the highest importance to them, they never put aside their own ambitions and chances at happiness, which highlights Kelly’s careful character arcs and compassion for her creations.

It is difficult for me to find anything negative to say about THE WHISPERS OF WAR, but I did wish for more closure on Hazel’s story. The unique format of the book --- told in three parts with short, present-day chapters in between --- lends itself to fleshing out each of its characters, but also leaves room for greater connections between each part and the present. It is my great hope that Kelly is setting up room for a sequel or prequel, but I am equally prepared to read whatever else she has planned next. If THE WHISPERS OF WAR is any indication, it will be sweeping, emotionally resonant and highly educational.

The Whispers of War is a fantastic work of historical fiction and a strong addition to the prolific WWII canon. This is a story of the bonds of friendship and the costs of war.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.