Sylvie is an operative for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and has been sent to Nantes in France to work as a dancer and aid the resistance
I loved Sylvie as a character, she is smart and resourceful, she has done the best that she can with her life after it was upended when she was a teenager and being forced to move to England from France. She struggles to feel like she belongs and this may be her chance to do something to help her country
There are an amazing cast of characters around Sylvie from every walk of life who bought the story alive and made it feel real. I became emotionally involved in what was happening and felt the nerves and panic about what would happen next and if everyone was aright after a mission
This book looks at the danger that agents could face, some of the work that they would do and the secrecy that ruled their lives making that part of history come alive
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a historical book with a lot of drama that will have you biting your nails in nervousness and unable to put it down

This was a beautiful historical fiction story that provided an amazing view of the WWII resistance. I loved the descriptive world-building that placed me right into France. There is a romance storyline that will keep you extremely engaged as well.

I highly recommend this one for readers that enjoy historical fiction set in the WWII period!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I was hooked on this book from the very first sentence. I really enjoyed the authors writing style and found it a read I just couldn’t put down. A gripping historical fiction romance with lots of intrigue.

I have really loved reading historical fiction about SOE’s and this one was no exception. Sylvie was a French born British spy who joined the SOE in order to help her homeland in the fight against Hitler. Sylvie arrives in France and goes undercover as a dancer at a nightclub called Mirabelle. She dances at night but during the day completes many missions to help The Resistance in their fight. During her time as an SOE Sylvie is surrounded by many colourful characters that are part of the SOE and also those she lives among.
A wonderful read about life during the occupation, the hardships they endured and the lengths they would go to to fight for their country,

Thank you to Net Galley and One More Chapter for the advanced copy.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sylvia lived in France with her mother who was a dancer, When her mother became ill and passed away, she returned to England with a father she had never met before. After her heart is broken she decided to join the war effort and make her life count for something. She is trained as a spy and sent to France to work with the French Resistance where she falls in love again.
If you are looking for a fast moving, gritty tale of war during WW2, sadly this probably isn't the story for you.
While I found it to be an enjoyable light read, it just wasn't what I was hoping for. This is more a love story during a tragic time in history than a story dealing with the horrors of war.

Sylvie wants to get away from her troubled past and serve her country, so when the opportunity to work for SOE arises, she jumps at it. Sent to Nantes, she works as a dancer, and enters the murky world of espionage and sabotage as the German occupation extends its steel-like grip on the country. She finds it exciting as well but she isn't sure who she can trust. Will her attraction to handsome Felix and the attentions of the German Nazi Dieter ruin her service? It is a difficult and twisty road for the very young and somewhat naive English girl to navigate.

I found this hard to put down although I didn't like Sylvie at first and almost gave it up, although I thought that Elizabeth Hobbes captured the atmosphere of the war, and it was well-written. Sylvie struck me as very hard at first, but I gave the book another try, and she became nicer later. (Unfortunately, it would have been easier for her if she'd remained hard!) The love story was moving, with an empathetic hero.

This is a must-read for any lover of wartime romances.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9780008400125
PRICE A$11.99 (AUD)

Elisabeth Hobbes is a firm favourite of mine for her fabulous historical romances so I was thrilled to find out she had written this WW2 novel for One More Chapter. Her attention to historical detail is always completely spot on and The Secret Agent shows that once again she can deliver a different period of history for her readers to lose themselves in.

We first meet Sylvia during her training to become a spy. Her french background makes her the perfect candidate when the opportunity arises for her to go behind enemy lines and she can become Sylvie once more. The reasons for her English name become clear during the flashbacks to Sylvie’s past and we come to understand her strengths and her determination to help the war effort by putting herself in increasingly dangerous situations. And of course there is romance thrown in as Sylvie has to decide which way her heart lies as she meets 2 very different men.

The Secret Agent is an historical page turner that kept me up till the small hours, engrossed and completely involved in the French resistance and falling in love myself with the town of Nantes. I have holidayed many times in France as I love the lifestyle, the food and the people and I’d happily move there! But I’ve never been to Nantes and am now desperate to visit. This 1940s version was brought to life perfectly by the authors gorgeous descriptive writing and you will feel as though you are there, living alongside Sylvie and the other dancers.

I loved reading The Secret Agent and that feeling of becoming so involved with what was happening that it was always a surprise to look up and find myself back in the modern world. The attention to historical detail is once again perfectly portrayed and I would recommend both this book and the authors others in a heartbeat!

A great book about a Second World War SOE agent in France. The descriptions of Nantes in Occupied France really brought the city to life. The book made France under Nazi rule sound terrifying. Sylvie is a wonderful feisty woman who wanted to aid her birth Country.

My one criticism is that I would have liked to hear whether the romance in the story continued. The ending was a bit ambiguous for me.

A WWII romance set in France. Sylvia is a nightclub dancer. She tries to fight to keep the Nazi's from taking over her country. Undercover, she learns secrets from Nazi men who come into the nightclub. I enjoyed the story very much. Romance, heartbreak, intrigue. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Sylvie Duchenne wants to help her country of France during the war.  After travelling with her mother's dancing troupe, Sylvie has the necessary skills for a placement with the Special Operations Executive, the SOE.  She is placed at the Mirabelle nightclub in Nantes.  Sylvie is to act as a courier, but also has a more dangerous role of extracting information from any German soldiers that she may attract.  Sylvie dives into her role, ready to help in any way possible.  However, her first contact never appears and Sylvie must quickly change plans, relying on the club's pianist, Felix.  As Sylvie's missions become more involved, a German Secretary, Dieter Baumann becomes entranced with Sylvie. As the Resistance moves forward with operations, Sylvie's cover is compromised and she will have to make a life changing decision.
The Secret Agent is historical fiction of the Resistance set during World War II.  The strength of Sylvie's character drew me in from the very first scene where she was being interrogated.  I was intrigued by the training that the women of the SOE went through and the various roles that they played in the Resistance.  While Sylvie may not have been a real person, she was based upon three very real women who risked everything to help their country:  Noor Inayet Khan, Odette Hallowes and Violette Szabo.  While there may have not been a resistance cell in Nantes, I was impressed by the historical detail of the occupied town, the attitudes of the people there and the activities of the Resistance.  I was constantly amazed by Sylvie's fortitude and willingness to take on tasks.  The writing style bounced back and forth between Sylvie's point of view before the war and during the war creating an even pace and well rounded characters.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of this book! Just to think about all those that tried to keep working and learning everything they could to help resistance fighters to save their countries. To only hope that they don’t get caught before they can help their countries.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Sadly, I could not finish this book. I found myself getting bored each time I sat down to read it. I liked the premise so I continued to try, but after setting it down for a week with no desire to look at it, it is clearly time to walk away.

An extremely well-researched book, with a little romance thrown in, about Sylvie's life a dancer in Nazi-occupied France, then onto becoming a SOE (Special Operations Executive), risking her life and coming of age in a brutal time in our history. Well written.

This historical fiction is set around the time of WWll, when Allied forces are making their way into occupied France to put an end to Nazi’s power. Sylvia is a French born English spy who is sent back to France to aid The Resistance. She is a very good dancer and disguises herself as Monique, in one of the nightclubs called Mirabelle in Nantes. The plan is for her to mingle with German soldiers to pass on the information back to The Resistance in an effort to free her home country France from the hold of Nazis. She meets her ally, Felix who is a pianist at the same place. Is he really an ally or a opponent disguised as a friend.

I really enjoyed the writing style of Elisabeth. The story really flows smoothly and is very easy to read and enjoy. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of historical fiction with some added dash of thriller!! Go get your copy now!

This was a 5 star read for me and thank you #netgalley, #harpercollinsuk and #elisabethhobbes for the free copy of eARC in exchange of my honest review!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A good story, with good characters, would not say it was the best book I have read but just enjoyable.

I found this book very interesting. Lots of historical detail which set the scene really well and made you feel as though you were in occupied France. The opening couple of pages instantly gripped me
"My name is Sylvie Duchene and I am a dancer. There is no network. I am just a dancer. I know nothing. Please…I swear it…"

An Anglo-French girl is recruited into the Special Operation Executive and dropped into France. She becomes a dancer in the city of Nantes, with the intention of entertaining the Nazi soldiers who frequent the club and finding out information that could be of help. How she does this and the people she meets forms the story. Naturally the book is written from the Allies' point of view but I thought her portrayal of one young German soldier was especially well-done and showed how ordinary people get caught up in horrible situations.

I read it very quickly as I was always wanting to find out what happened next - always the mark of a good story! Would definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in historical fiction - and a good love story!

This was a story I couldn’t put down, I loved Sylvie’s character! Elisabeth Hobbes made me care about her right from the start and I was hoping she would survive her mission. The snippets from Sylvie’s past also helped to bring a greater depth to her personality. As her past is revealed from a childhood in France right through to her life in the present as an SOE. Where she finds herself in this dangerous situation but is so determined to play her part and help liberate France.

The romance within this story plays an important part but it doesn’t overpower the plot. Instead it just enhances an already engaging story. The reader really gets to know Sylvie along with experiencing her fear of discovery. I felt like I was right there with her at the check points. These were the moments where I hoped her character would be able to continue to aid the Resistance without getting caught. Sylvie was quite a solitary and I guess complex character but her strong willed nature had me rooting for her. I was easily drawn into the story as contact with the resistance was made. Seeing friendships built and even a romance develop. All the while the dangerous, dark element of discovery hangs over them.

All of the characters in this story played an important role. It just goes to how remarkable the network of people were in the Resistance. All doing their bit, like a link in a chain. Even the smallest of actions made a huge difference. Elisabeth Hobbes brought this story to life not only with her wonderful characters but with richly detailed descriptions.

It was a really good book about an agent called Sylvie who was born in France but ends up living in England.

Sylvie ends up in SOE and is sent to Nantes, France to work undercover as a dancer. She certainly thinks on her feet and gets herself out of some predicaments which could have put her and the resistance people under arrest.

There is a German called Dieter who seems to like Sylvie will she have to go to the lengths that she doesn't want to go to get information from him.

It was very interesting to read what might have happened in the War for people working undercover for the British.

3 stars
There’s a lot of books about women during WWII who were dancers and then become spies for the Allied forces against Hitler.
In this book, we start when Sylvie is already in training to be an Allied spy.
This had a bit of a dual timeline, but it wasn’t one of those that has a present timeline (thank goodness honestly). It had Sylvie about 10ish years before through her present time which was 1944. I much prefer that kind of dual timeline. I don’t typically enjoy ones that mix historical and present fiction.
I did like learning about her past as we follow her with her present. Things came together and made more sense.
It didn’t totally stand out amongst all the other WWII spy novels I’ve read, but it was an enjoyable read.

The Secret Agent by Elisabeth Hobbes is a marvellous historical novel that will have you gripped from the start.
The novel is set mainly in occupied France during 1944 as we follow the exploits of the resistance and S.O.E as they operate under the nose of the Nazis. They are brave and daring as they plan and carry out acts of sabotage.
Not all Germans were Nazis. The reader witnesses flashes of humanity behind the uniform. We must remember that on every side soldiers had families who would mourn their passing. In contrast to this we view cruel attitudes towards others as evil reigns within.
The brave men and women of the resistance had to be adaptable and think on their feet as not everything went according to plan.
All the characters were well drawn eliciting a variety of responses from the reader.
We see the background story to a character as the novel alternates backwards from 1944. Life events produce choices, choices that eventually lead to where and why a character ends up in 1944.
The Secret Agent was a thrilling read. It was impossible to relax as danger lurked close by. I loved it and hope to read more by Elisabeth Hobbes.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

French born Sylvie is living in England during WW2 and determined to do something to help the country of her birth so she joins the SOE and returns to France to take up the job of a nightclub dancer whilst helping the Resistance. With many Nazi's frequenting her club she is in a good position to glean secrets and pass them on but it is a very dangerous game. Sparks fly with Felix the pianist but is he friend or foe and can she afford to risk getting involved with him?

A great book about WW2 occupied France and the SOE, I loved the character of Sylvie (Monique) and her bravery with a great storyline it was definitely a book I couldn't put down