This is my first introduction to the work of Suzanne Kelman and her writing blew me away, I've subsequently downloaded her bestselling novel A View Across the Rooftops as I need more of her words to satisfy my thirst for her work.


When We Were Brave is a totally captivating historical time slip novel about the bravery of the silent heroes of WWII, the secret agents who intercepted codes and messages. When We Were Brave was truly brilliant storytelling by Suzanne Kelman and her words broke me.


I find historical novels set around the two wars fascinating, I especially like to read and learn about the impact it had on people, those not on the frontline but equally displaying a bravery for the task they'd chosen to help with the war effort.


When We Were Brave is a time slip novel were the present day learns something about a relative who lived during WW2. This relative's life has been lived in a shadow of accusation and for many years their existence had been banished to a cupboard never to be spoken of again. Until Sophie discovers a photograph of her Great Aunt Vivi taken during WW2. This photograph opens up a conversation that Sophie's elderly relatives wish to shy away from but Sophie feels compelled to seek the truth about her Great Aunt. Sophie goes on a journey of painstakingly researching through many war records across London, Cornwall, Paris and Berlin.


The story then slips back to 1943 to when a young woman who is headstrong and a little reckless makes the decision to be trained as a SOE and risk her life in the name of wartime espionage, the silent and invisible heroes of conflict.


Both sides of this story entranced me; Sophie unearthing more and more about her Great Aunt and piecing together a completely different picture to what Vivi was remembered as. I was also equally fascinated by this brave young woman Vivi who was all alone in a world of unrest and danger but there was a human element to her new role that Vivi found herself making new friends and falling in love.


The author has written such a wonderful, compelling story that will grip you to the very end, it will break your heart but it will also leave you with a sense of gratitude for these selfless individuals. I can't stop thinking about this story.

Vivienne Hamilton is young, beautiful and slightly naive when she is sent to France in the midst of World War II. A top secret member of SOE, she is determined to do her bit for the War effort and stop the Nazi's invading her beloved Blighty.

But her position is compromised, meaning that she must be sent back to Britain. She is devastated and still determined, so she retrains as a Nurse at the family home in Cornwall, where she meets and falls in love with an injured young man.

In the present day, Sophie is exhibiting at the imperial war museum, when she comes across a woman in a photograph that looks eerily like her Mother. She knows that it must be someone in the family, but she cannot recall ever seeing a photograph of the young woman before.

After liasing with her Grandmother and her family in Cornwall, Sophie discovers the woman's identity. Vivienne Hamilton, her great aunt. Lost to the war, but never spoken of in family circles.

'Villainous Vivienne' as she was christened by her family supposedly run off with the enemy (a high ranking Nazi officer) to France, never to be seen again.

The photograph itself makes no sense though, as it shows Vivienne leaving SOE HQ in London long after her return from France.

Sophie, a romantic at heart, is certain that there must be more to the story, and she deals with her own losses, her great aunt's story becomes critical to her recovery.

When We Were Brave is a wonderfully researched, beautifully written novel, and I look forward to the author's next.

This was a wonderful book and one I will recommend to all of my booklover friends. I have fallen in love with historical fiction books that deal with WWII. This book takes a unique approach and introduces the reader to the British SOE ... or better known as Winston Churchill's Secret Army. This group of spies sacrificed so much in their efforts to stop Hitler's advances across Europe.

The author does an amazing job of blending the story of Sophie Hamilton from the present with her Aunt Vivienne during WWII. There is mystery and intrigue. And while you don't discover the truth until the end, the trip through the pages makes the journey worthwhile. I loved the story and the historical details. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and could not put the book down. And make sure you have a few tissues on hand because you will need them! Having turned the last page and closed the book, I am moved by this touching story of love, bravery, and sacrifice.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookoutre, and Suzanne Kelman for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I am beyond grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience this saga and share my opinion.

Another really good historical fiction from Suzanne Kelman. I enjoyed the character development very much and the dual time periods of both characters. I like a mystery to solve also which this definitely had. I found myself reading quickly as I wanted to find out if Sophie would be able to solve what really happened to her great aunt Vivi. This one will tug at your heartstrings for sure. Lots of emotion. It truly is inspiring to realize the sacrifices made by so many during WWII.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

A dual timeline novel, When We Were Brave features Sophie, a grieving mother in the present searching for clues as to what really happened to her great-aunt Vivienne, an SOE agent that was labeled as a traitor during WWII.

Another case of "I liked the story, but I didn't fall in love with this novel and its characters." It felt too much like any other WWII story that I have read. Is it too much to ask that we can have a female protagonist in a WWII storyline who isn't immediately desired by every man she encounters?


Goodreads review published 19/02/20
Publication Date 24/02/20

This was a truly heartbreaking and inspirational read. I was gripped from page one and literally flew through the pages. The secrets, deception and lies all just came pouring from the pages until the satisfying truth was finally revealed.

We start the story with Sophie in the present day. She has her own troubles to battle but when a photo of what she thinks to be a relative is displayed in the War museum Sophie starts asking questions. It turns out to be her Aunt Viviene who has shamed her family and joined the Nazi party in a traiterous turns of events, she helped an injured Geman solider to escape capture in a British war hospital and her family never forgave her for the shame that she brought to the family.

Sophie is determined to uncover the truth and her investigations take her to Paris when she meets the nephew of Captain Marcus Voinsten, the officer that led her aunt astray.

This story is also told from the past and the story of Viviene is brought to the front. She’s a British spy and deployed to Paris to aid the resistance but a bombing raid uncovers her radio aerial and she has to flee in shame before she is captured. Working at the family home, which is being used as the hospital, she turns her hand to nursing and when a plane comes down into the sea and Marcis Voinstein is sent to recover she is soon drawn back to Europe and back to the web of lies.

I found this an intense read and the characters really got under my skin. We were left questioning whether Viviene and Marcus made it to the end of the war and what their real parts in the war really were.

I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you for my ARC. I will be posting review on amazon, goodreads and my blog nearer to the publication date.

** I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
An interesting look into how complicated the spy networks were in WW II. A beautiful young woman finds herself embroiled in multiple spy networks working in France. A mission goes poorly and she is cast out of her first group only to find herself deeper undercover vet in the Nazi regime. Her existence has been mostly wiped away until a distant relative accidentally stumbles across a phot of her and begins deliberating going into her life.
Told in alternating tone lines, I found the WWII timeline fascinating and intriguing whereas many aspects of the current timeline felt unnecessary or tacked on for drama.
The story is good but the current difficulty distracted from the heart of this story. Most fans of WWII stories will enjoy this book but it is not the best I’ve read.

Fans of the WWII novel will find this one a real treat! Sophie, who is struggling after the death of her daughter and mother, travels back to her family's house in Cornwall after she comes upon a photo of a woman who is strikingly similar in appearance to her mother. It turns out to be her aunt Vivienne (Vivi), who the family turned its collective back to after she helped Marcus, a German prisoner of war, escape and left the UK. This is a dual time line novel- and Vivi's story is much more than anyone in her family knew. No one knew she had worked for the SOE or what she did for them. No one knew Marcus' story either- until Sophie starts researching it. This is really well done, with good insight and a big heart. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

The setting of this book was from the perspective of the present day, as Sophie was looking for answers to her greatgrand-aunt, Viviene, past to hopefully give her some answers she was seeking to help make sense of her own life. The story toggles back and forth from Sophie’s present day findings and from 1944, when Viviene was alive, giving the account of what she went through being an undercover SOE, fighting for the freedom of England against the Nazi’s. This is a wonderful story about two SOE’s, Viviene and Marcus, who did what they had to do for their country, even if it meant looking like traitors. The hidden messages of the Sparrow was beautifully added as it gave an added emotion to the ties she left behind to her two brothers. I love how this book found a way to bring back the love of Viviene and Marcus into modern day- how Sophie had found Alex, Marcus’ great grand nephew.

I love books that tells the story of individuals fighting something as horrific as the War. It brings the war to life that there was so much more to fighting- what people fought for. I enjoyed reading this book and gave it a 5/5 stars.

When I read Suzanne Kelman's A View Across the Rooftops I fell in love with her writing. After reading When We Were Brave she has officially added to my autobuy author list.

The dual story lines of Sophie and Vivi will make you fall in love with both characters and physically feel their struggles. Sophie is struggling when she happens upon a photo of a woman that looks just like her mother. After discovering the woman is her long shunned great aunt Vivi, Sophie goes on journey to find the truth. Are the stories true that have been passed down or was there more to the story of Vivi running off to Paris with a Nazi?

For a book to bring tears to my eyes it has to be amazing and When We Were Brave did not leave me dry eyed. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves WWII fiction and even those that normally do not gravitate to historical fiction. You will not be disappointed.

Despite a slow start, I found When We Were Brave the be captivating. Normally, I adore dual timelines, but the present day story felt too forced and it pulled me out of the story.

I was more interested and invested in Vivi’s story than I was in Sophie’s, and felt those parts were more of a distraction. I’d have preferred to have the story set solely with Vivi and her journey in WWII.

It was an interesting twist to have the story be about uncovering the truth about someone who’d been assumed to be a traitor.

In When We Were Brave, we meet Sophie Hamilton in present day London. She is mourning the loss of her mother and daughter. While working on an exhibit at the Imperial War Museum, she sees a photo from WWII that leads to a search for the truth about her great aunt Vivi who had previously been unknown to her. Villainous Viviennewas believed to have run off with a Nazi and was branded a traitor. Told in dual timelines, we are taken back to wartime and Vivi’s initial time serving in the SOE (Special Operations Executive) where she travels to France. Once back in England, her family estate is turned into a hospital for the soldiers. There she meets Marcus Vonstein, a Nazi who was wounded and held captive who may or may not be working undercover for the Resistance. Vivi trusts and helps Marcus escape and they set off undercover to help the Allies while leaving their families to believe the worst in them. Sophie is determined to unravel Vivi’s story. She teams up with Alex Vonstein who also wants to learn the truth about his great-uncle Marcus. Sophie’s determination to clear her aunt gives her new purpose as she is trying to rebuild her life.

This was an absorbing, well-researched book that gives the reader some good insight into the real events of the Physician/Prosper Network which operated in the French section of the SOE as well as the days leading up to D-Day. While this is a moving and compelling fictional story, it helps the reader to remember all the brave people who worked behind the scenes during WWII.

I loved the author’s last book, A View Across the Rooftops, which was one of my top reads in 2019. When We Were Brave may end up topping my list for 2020 – it was that good.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the incredibly talented Suzanne Kelman for an advance copy of this moving book which will be published on February 24, 2020.

Review to be posted on my blog www.MicheleReader.com right before publication.

A tragic story of a soul calling for redemption. A life of love and sacrifice for the greater good. This sad tale ends with the "sparrow" returning to her nest. Rest in peace they whisper.

This is a well researched historical novel set in World War 2 as well as the present day.
When Sophie Hamilton sees a young woman in a photo taken outside the SOE spy headquarters in the 1940s it sets off a chain of events, as the woman looks very much like Sophie’s late mother.
Sophie is working as a curator for a museum in London whilst taking a break from her job as a lawyer.
When she discovers the person in the picture might well be her Great Aunt Vivienne who was never mentioned by any of her relatives and was in fact despised by them for her Nazi sympathies after helping a German agent escape from Britain, Sophie resolves to look into Vivi’s life. Was she really a traitor or was she working for the government.? Why was she standing outside SOE headquarters?
In the 1940s the reader is immersed in Vivi’s story as she joins the SOE and trains to be spy before being sent to France. Did she really betray her country or is there more hidden beneath the surface of the story.
In the present day Sophie has her own problems, she has lost her mother and young daughter and is having serious issues in her relationship. The investigation into her long lost relative gives her something to focus on.
I thoroughly enjoyed this thought provoking book. It really made me think what sacrifices ordinary people had to make in the war years and how brave they really were.
We not only learn about Vivi but also about her friends and colleagues from the 1940s.
The author has definitely done her homework so the details she includes make the story very authentic.
I loved the characters Sophie and Vivi, separated by many years and yet so similar in a lot of ways. Both have difficulties in their lives but both are bravely trying to sort them out.
I haven’t read Suzanne Kelman’s first book which is mentioned at the end of this novel but I shall certainly look out for it.
This is a five star read for me and I will be recommending it to family and friends.

When We Were Brave is a dual timeline historical fiction book. Sophie is in present day London when she discovers a woman in a picture from WWII that has to be related to her. Sophie soon finds out she had a great aunt Vivienne that no one talks about. Vivi seems to have turned Nazi and the family went through years of shame due to her actions. Sophie must discover more about Vivi no matter what she did, Sophie must discover the truth. If for no other reason than to just help her through the losses she has suffered in the last year. the other POV is Vivienne's POV during WWII. She is able to tell her story first person throughout the book and I won't review that part, to do so would give spoilers.

When We Were Brave is more fiction than history, the characters are fictitious, however, the book is inspired by the real events of the Physician or Prosper Spy Network. The Network was known by either name and it operated under the French division of Britain's SOE. It was infiltrated by the Germans and hundreds of spies were captured with 80 being killed. Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #WhenWeWereBrave and allowing me to give my honest review. When We Were Brave is an enjoyable, well written book that I can recommend!

Another brilliant book from Suzanne Kelman! I enjoyed both the present day and 1940s storyline and read the book in a day. The book really brought it home how people were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country, family and future generation and by the end I was in tears!
The two female lead characters were great. Vivi, who starts out as a bit reckless, comes into her own and becomes strong and courageous in the most frightening of times. I could not have done what she did! Sophie relentlessly tries to find out what happens to Vivi whilst battling with her own personal tragedies.
This is a great read for anyone with an interest in WW2, the spy network and in general, as a reminder not to take people at face value. Like her other book 'A View Across the Rooftops' this would make a great film or TV mini series (fingers crossed!)

This is a wonderful book filled with so much emotion, love, betrayal, heartache, joy and any other feelings that you can come up with. I loved this book.

This story is told in alternating timelines; WWII we meet and follow Vivi and then in present day we are introduced to Sophie. The story takes off from there and I encourage you to pre-order this book today!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in February 2020.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Suzanne Kelman for my copy of: When We Were Brave.

When Sophie Hamilton attends an exhibition of WW II memorabilia in London, she notices a photo of a woman who holds a striking resemblance to both her and her late mother Alice. Her family estate is in Cornwall, her great uncle Tom still lives there with his daughter Jean, she decides to pay them a visit and solve the mystery? Her uncle has dementia, so it’s left to her cousin Jean to explain to Sophie that the family had a very black sheep, her name was Vivienne, and her name had never been mention for over 75 years?

During WW II in England many large country houses were used as hospitals and places where wounded soldiers could receive medical treatment and convalesce. The Hamilton family home in Cornwall was one of them, Vivienne worked in the hospital, she helped a wounded Nazi officer Marcus Vonstein escape, they both fled by boat to France and her family never saw her again. Her family in Cornwall copped a lot of abuse from locals about Vivi being a traitor to her country, once the gossip eventually stopped, it was easier for her family to never mention her name and they didn’t.

After Sophie visited her cousin Jean, she realizes the old photograph doesn’t fit with her family’s story, as it shows Vivi leaving an address associated with a spy network in London, a place she had no reason to be, and it is dated right before she disappeared with the German Soldier. The family had no idea that Vivi had trained and worked as a special operation executive in France for a month. After her first mission was a disaster, when she returned to England she was told she didn’t have what it took to be a spy, so she went home to Cornwall and offered to help at the hospital.

Sophie Hamilton life is falling apart, her relationship with her partner Matt is strained, and he’s become very distant and can barely call her! The reason there having issues is because their baby daughter Emily and her mother Alice were tragically killed in a car accident the year before. Both Sophie and Matt are struggling to cope and being together reminds them of what they have both lost. When Sophie finds out what Matt’s really up to she decides to have a holiday, go to France and try to solve the mystery about her why her Great Aunt Vivienne left England all those years ago and why did she help a Nazi soldier escape?

Sophie travels to France and Germany, nothing can prepare her for what she’s about to uncover. Her great Aunts story and Marcus Vonstein’s, is very complicated, it’s about WW II, love, betrayal, heartache, bravery, sacrifice and both being spies. Sophie is determined to clear her Aunts Vivienne’s name, she also comes to terms with what has happened in her own life and she can begin to take small steps to find love again.

I loved When We Were Brave, I gave it five stars, I have read the authors previous book called A View Across The Rooftops and both are very powerful heartbreaking stories.

This is a beautiful read which takes place between two time frames – during World War II and present day. Told from the perspective of Vivi, a nurse who one day escapes and elopes with a Nazi Prisoner of War. She was never seen again and disowned by her family. In present day. Sophie discovers the story of her Great Aunt Vivi after she finds a photo of her. The picture doesn’t fit with what she has heard about Vivi, with it showing her leaving a known building associated with British Spies during the way. Having to deal with her own grief following the death of her daughter, Sophie also begins to look into the true story behind Vivi’s disappearance.

I love these war time stories, and each time I read one I’m finding the authors are finding new angles to approach the wartime from. In this book, it focusses on the spy network, in particularly the SOE – Special Operations Executive. These were a band of men and women who were sent all over Europe to conduct spying and sabotage. Told from both Vivi and Sophie’s points of view, you get to find out that the family story passed down over the years was completely wrong. It was heart-breaking to think that they all thought so badly of Vivi when she was just doing one of the bravest jobs that you could imagine.

Sophie’s story was heart-breaking also, with the grief that she was experiencing. The hunt for answers to Vivi’s story seemed to be a great distraction for Sophie, researching and visiting places where Vivi may have been. As the secret is uncovered bit by bit through Vivi and Sophie’s experiences, I found myself holding my breath in anticipation to what Sophie may actually find!

The story was mesmerising and captivated me with every turn of the page. Whether it was based in the present day or in Vivi’s time, the storylines were absolutely heart-breaking. It did also fill me with a sense of pride, gratitude and sheer humbleness that there were people around that were willing to put their lives at risk to save others. A story which was filled with sadness, love, courage and sacrifice – I couldn’t put this book down! Would definitely recommend!

This book was brilliant! What if you didn’t know about a family member but what you learned was that person was a traitor? This is how Sophie learns about her great aunt Vivi. The story only starts there. The book alternate between Vivi’s and Sophie’s stories, both filled with agony, pain, and many decisions along the way. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and for a long time I thought what Sophie though - her aunt was a traitor and that’s it. But as the story unfolds the reader is brought into the story and you’re learning that a lot of history is a series of decisions that the person thought we’re right at the time. Suzanne does a brilliant job of weaving both stories together beautifully. Highly recommend this book!!l