3.5 stars. A very enjoyable read about a young woman just after World War 2 who meets and falls in love with a handsome German POW from the camp near her village.

Both the primary and secondary characters were very likeable and it was a straightforward read in a little over a day. Perfect for summer and a glass of wine!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. My opinion is my own and was in no way swayed by anyone or anything!

It’s 1989 in Berlin and the Wall is coming down, Tiffany can now freely cross from East Berlin into West Berlin. She has a letter in her hand is trying to find the address written on the envelope. She wants to deliver this letter to the rightful owner, a letter from the past. That will provide some much needed closure.

It’s 1946 in Norfolk, England, World War II has just ended but the remnants of the war is still very much alive in everyone’s heart and mind. Fran’s brother is killed during the war while on the front lines. The government creates a camp for the German prisoners of war, they have the prisoners remove the barbed wire and mines from the beach. Fran lived at home with her sister June and her parents. June doesn’t like the the Germans and wants nothing to do with them. Fran, however, is more forgiving and goes to work at the camp in the office as a secretary. She meets one of the prisoners name Thomas. But it is completely against the rules to fraternize with the prisoners, and so Fran and Thomas keep their love a secret. Will their forbidden love stand the test of time? This time slip novel was so amazing to read. I loved how the author told the story from just after the war had ended, and brought to light things that happened to the survivors and the families of the ones that didn’t survive. The effects of the war are still so much apparent even today. This true story is a must read. What a phenomenal story, it will truly resonate with me for many, many years.

Thank you Sarah Mitchell for such a fabulous, unputdownable historical fiction. This story had all the feels of love, family, friendship and the endurance to make it through the hardest times of life. I highly recommend this book.

Sarah Mitchell’s The English Girl begins with a young woman, Tiffany, arriving in Berlin in 1989 as masses celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. Caught up in the celebration, Tiffany drinks champagne, befriends a handsome curly-haired German, and learns important German words like: Freedom. But Tiffany is on a mission of her own, spurred on by a 40+ year old letter her grandmother showed her.

In 1946, Fran’s village becomes the site of a German POW camp, controversial because the war is over, and the English are demanding the prisoners do the dangerous task of removing landmines from the Norfolk beach. On the day the prisoners arrive, Fran meets the brilliant blue eyes of Thomas, her soulmate.

Fran goes to work in the prison camp office of a Major who is suffering from PTSD; his wife is having an affair with an American soldier; and Fran’s office mate’s brother, Martin, is maligned by the town because he has a bad heart and wasn’t permitted to join up and Martin’s mother who harbors secrets of her own. To say that there’s a lot going on would be an understatement!

The English Girl does an excellent job of showing the ramifications of war on the human mind and how easily people would dismiss it as someone being barmy. As well, the way in which men who couldn’t go to war because of health reasons were mistreated, sometimes brutally, and how difficult forgiveness can be.

Despite the fact that from the first chapter I understood how the romance between Fran and Thomas would turn out, The English Girl kept me interested. There was quite a bit of melodrama with a variety of vehicle accidents, heightened, over-the-top emotions, and sometimes unreasonable behavior.

At times the book felt overly long and the scenes of the forbidden romance infrequent. The love was at first sight and I would have loved to have seen more signs of them being companionable rather than just attracted. As is often the case with stories of forbidden love, it raises the idea of being unable to control who you fall in love with and how that love is viewed–or would be viewed–by people who don’t approve. And, perhaps how easily people judge each other and act on that judgement.

The English Girl worked for the most part as I became engrossed in the lives of Fran, Thomas, Martin, and et al, and introduced me to a place, time, and history I had been unaware of.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love books that are based on World War II.

This one is a new perspective on this genre and I enjoyed it very much.

It's set in England with Fran being the main character who gets a job working at a German POW Camp and falls in love with a POW.

This had me gripped from the first page.

If you like stories about forbidden love, sacrifices that is set in Norfolk during World War II then I highly recommend this book

Just beautiful. Poignant. Heart breaking. Beautifully written. A novel that speaks to you. One that burrows into your heart. Loved this one.

I read a lot of historical fiction based on World War II so it always surprises me when an author gives us a different perspective. This novel is based after the war in England and looks at how life in a small town has been affected. This is a well-written dual time line novel that is based on true facts.

1946 - Norfolk England. In this quiet part of England, the government decided to create a camp for German prisoners of war to help remove the barbed wire and mines from the beach. The people of the village were angered by this - many of them lost their loved ones during the war and didn't want Germans in their town as a reminder. Fran lived with her sister June and her parents and had lost a brother during the war. Her sister hates the Germans and wants nothing to do with them, while Fran is more forgiving and goes to work at the camp as a secretary. When Fran first sees Thomas, one of the prisoners, she is aware of his blue eyes that seemed to see into her soul. She and Thomas fall in love but know that they have to keep it hidden because there was a law about fraternizing with the enemy. Thomas makes plans to stay in England after the war but they aren't sure how to accomplish this goal. He gets repatriated back to Germany and has to decide if he will look for his family at home or stay in England with his love. There is also a dual story line in this time period of the camp commander who is suffering from what we would now call PTSD and how his wife deals with it.

1989 - Berlin. Tiffany arrives in Berlin as the wall is coming done opening up the ability to travel to east Germany. She is Fran's granddaughter and is on a mission to find someone from the past. The 1989 part of the novel brackets the 1946 section and provides closure to the story of Fran and Thomas.

This is an interesting look at the trauma that many soldiers face when they go home after war. There is also a look at the way a person is treated by the people in town for not being able to fight due to health issues. This sweeping story looks at the power of hope and love after a war. Several parts of the book had me checking Google to see if they really happened. One of the most interesting was that the people of the area were encouraged by their church to invite a German prisoner to Christmas dinner and that many of the English families did open their homes. It showed the goal of many people to create peace after the long war.

Overall, this was a well written look at love and hope, family, and the effects of war on both the soldiers and their families. I am going to read some of the earlier books by this author.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review.

This is a powerful story of love, forgiveness and freedom. I guarantee that you will have trouble putting it down, and that the moving ending makes you cry! It's also a story which resonates in hard times such as these.

When Tiffany arrives in West Berlin in 1989, the excitement of the Berlin Wall falling down sweeps her away, but she is not there for that reason. She wants to find out the truth about a family secret, a truth which takes her into still dangerous East Berlin.

This tale mostly concerns Fran and Viv, however, with their star-crossed loves. Even though World War II is over, Britain still has German prisoners, and Fran decides to work at the local prisoner-of-war camp. Here she finds herself attracted to handsome, blue-eyed Thomas, a clever prisoner who speaks English, but her sister hates Germans because Fran's brother died in the war. It is against the law to fraternise with Germans, and feelings against them remain strong in the village. Can Fran follow her heart?

Married to the Army officer who runs the camp, Viv has a secret love affair on the side. Her husband Toby has been acting strangely, and Viv fears that he is dangerous. She wants to join her lover in America, but can she go?

This beautifully-written anguished story set in stunning Norfolk is a wonderful novel.

This is a new author for me. I’ve read and enjoyed books set the same periods and the blurb sounded similar to other title’s I’ve read so I thought I’d enjoy it. I wasn’t disappointed. Apparently, the book is based on a true story which intrigued me. I enjoyed the way the book moves between two time periods gradually revealing the threads that link them. A lot of author’s use a similar structure and I tend to enjoy fiction that uses this. I’ve strangely read a lot of books set in Berlin recently. Must be my new thing. I found this well written and engrossing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The English Girl by Sarah Mitchell.

The English Girl begins at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in 1989, as the wall is coming down. Tiffany travels from West to East with a letter in her hand and only an address to begin her search for someone important.

Most of the book takes place in 1946/47 in Norfolk, at the end of the Second World War. German soldiers in a Prisoner of War camp are being used to clear mines and make the beaches safe and the book centres around the camp and the people who are helping to run it. Fran begins work in the office in the camp and quickly meets and falls for Thomas, one of the German prisoners.

Fraternising with a German is strictly against the law, and so Fran and Thomas have to hide their love for each other from everyone else but continue to see each other at any snatched opportunity they can. Only time will tell whether there is any future for their forbidden relationship and Sarah Mitchell keeps the reader guessing throughout the book.

Inspired by a true story, The English Girl was a beautiful read and opened up my eyes to the fact that people who fought in the war weren’t just allowed to pack up their bags and go home as soon as it was over. For many, it continued for years without them knowing what had happened to their families back home. The story also told of how wartime events affected not only the soldiers who fought but those who were left behind, both men and women, and how society treated them.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a difference, then I would recommend The English Girl, you never know, you might learn of events that you didn’t realise had happened. I definitely need to read more by Sarah Mitchell!

5 stars for sure!! This book gripped me and I just couldn’t stop reading it. I fell in love with every character and every story, they are so very elaborated that you just can’t help falling in love!
The whole history behind the book has always fascinated me, how it was for them during the wars and after it, and this book taught me a lot and made me search even further due to curiosity.
If you love the history of World War, Cold War and a beautiful love story this book is for you!!
Thank you so much Sarah Mitchell and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book!!
Ps: on page 245 on the e-book there is a mistake with the names, instead of June it’s written Daisy.

Trigger Warning: PTSD
The English Girl is set in dual timelines though most of the story is set in 1946 after the World War II. Set in England there are three storylines that go parallel with each other and tells us about Fran, June, Viv, Major Markham, Thomas, Martin and Daisy. Though its a historical fiction this novel essentially deals with forbidden love between Thomas/Fran and the infidelity of Viv with an American soldier. It also deals with an important topic of the aftermath of the war on soldiers in the form of PTSD.
The atmosphere of this novel is a little gloomy which is perfect for the backdrop of Thomas and Fran's love story as he is a German prisoner and Fran is a Britisher. Fran's granddaughter finds a letter which compels her to travel to East Berlin. What is in the letter and why the compulsion is a mystery that compels you to read till the end. Every character in this novel has a dimension of their own and fits perfectly in this atmospheric novel.

As a huge fan of WWII historical fiction, this was a plot that I hadn’t encountered with POWs. So naturally, I devoured this novel in about 24 hours. I loved Fran and Thomas!

My only complaint is the ending felt a little hurried. Thomas leaves and suddenly we’ve moved forward in time. I would have liked just a little more about Fran’s time after discovering Thomas has left the country.

I would recommend this to any WWII fiction junkie.

When is love impossible? Can you really love someone when times demand that you don't?

This book starts with the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and a young woman bearing a letter sent to her grandmother many years ago. We are led back to a time right after the war where German prisoners were housed in Norfolk, England and tasked with the removal of bombs planted along the beach during the war. It's 1946, and sentiments run high as there are few who have not lost a beloved someone to the war. The main character Fran has lost a brother, but then encounters a German prisoner, who touches her heart in so many ways with his kind and loving nature. Fran falls for him and he for her, but with tensions running high Fran and Thomas find that their love seems to be doomed.

Also, present is a young man, Martin, who through no fault of his own is deemed unable to serve. He becomes the brunt also of the mentality some had of those who could not serve. However, Martin's mother holds a secret which Martin will learn that will change his life. He too, is smitten with Fran and vies for her attention, but her heart is won by Thomas.

Fran has a sister, who hates all that has to do with the Germans and constantly reminds Fran of the loss of their brother, a wound Fran feels most deeply along with her mother. However, the war is over and tensions need to be cooled as the people come to realize that many of these prisoners were not Nazis, just young men compelled to serve.

We are also witness to the loneliness war brings to the women who are left behind as the head of the camp's wife became involved with an American soldier who promised her the world but delivered only emptiness and heartache. We see the results and the devastation that was brought to many a soldier before we ever knew about PTSD and the effects it had on minds., never being able to escape the horrors of wartime.

This was a fine story that made us look at the aftereffects of war and how one can't control the person they love and care for. The brutality of war often survived after the last battle was fought

Thank you to Sarah Mitchell, Bookouture, and NetGalley for a copy of this story due out June 18, 2021.

I love my historical fiction, particularly wartime fiction, but THE ENGLISH GIRL gives something of a fresh perspective to the genre. It is a tale of forbidden love set against the backdrop of a post-WW2 Britain in a humble Norfolk village with the added facet of the tearing down of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Berlin and Germany once again. I expected the story to switch between timelines throughout the book but this one is different in which the majority of the story takes place in post-war Britain with the Berlin wall featuring in the first and final chapters.

Brandenburg Gate, 1989: Travelling to East Berlin just as the barrier that divided the nation (and the city) finally falls, Tiffany joins the tide of people crossing the newly opened border between the East and the West. But Tiffany has arrived with a purpose. With only a name and a forty year old address on a crumpled letter, yellowed with age, she is accompanied by Ralp who offers to help her reach her destination and resolve a mystery from the past. But what secrets of the past will she uncover? And will she be welcome?

Norfolk, 1946: The war has ended and in a small Norfolk village, Fran and her sister June watch the arrival of German POWs troop down the main street on their way to a nearby army camp they are to be stationed at while undertaking work to diffuse and remove the mines from the beach. As they pass by, Fran locks eyes with the brightest bluest eyes she has ever seen and is mesmerised by their beauty. Even long after they have passed, she cannot get the blonde haired blue eyed prisoner out of her mind.

When Fran is told of a job going in the office of the POW camp, she is eager to take it up in the hope of setting eyes on her blue eyed prisoner again...and maybe find out his name. But when her sister June discovers she is to work with "the enemy" she is outraged, accusing Fran of forgetting how the Germans killed their brother and all the men of families throughout the village and the country. But Fran doesn't share her sister's hate although she understands it and starts work alongside Daisy in the camp under Captain Markham.

Then Daisy introduces Fran to her brother Martin who was deemed unfit for service due to a heart defect. However, others are not so understanding and believe Martin to be a draft dodger, fabricating his exemption to escape service to his country. Almost as soon as he sees Fran when she comes to his rescue in an alley one evening, he is enamoured with her. So when Daisy introduces them he is smitten. The pair fall into an easy friendship despite Martin wishing for something more but he soon discovers that her heart belongs to Thomas.

Interwoven into the story is that of Vivian Markham, wife of the Captain in charge of the POW camp, who had an affair with an American soldier stationed in Britain during the war as well as the PTSD suffered by her husband in the wake of post-war life. There is also the underlying story behind Martin's unfit for duty certificate and the doctor who issued it, making for an interesting take on the historical fiction genre.

Then the time arrives when Thomas is to be repatriated to Germany and the couple face the possibility of being separated. Despite this threat, they hatch a plan together where Thomas will make his escape and meet her at the village hall the following evening. She waits...but he doesn't show. Instead, Martin is there...and with him is a letter explaining everything.

It's at this time we rejoin Tiffany and her journey to East Germany...and it is then we learn the truth about her visit. And we wonder, what will await her at the end?

I am no stranger to historical fiction but the manner in which THE ENGLISH GIRL was written is something of a refreshing perspective and a somewhat different look at WW2 fiction and the days and years following. The forbidden love between an English girl and a German POW was illegal and risked harsh penalties should they be caught. And throughout the story even Fran found herself wondering if it was worth it?

The characters are easily engaging with some likeable and others not so much. The story is thoroughly compelling, albeit heartbreaking at times, and I enjoyed my time in 1946 Norfolk. And I have no hesitation in recommending THE ENGLISH GIRL to fans of wartime and historical fiction.

I would like to thank #SarahMitchell, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheEnglishGirl in exchange for an honest review.

The Letter

This story is engaging from start to finish. I did get lost for a minute when the time was switched from the 1980’s to the 1940’s. I soon caught up and later I figured it out. Sometimes the dual timelines throw me a bit. I loved the descriptions of the town and the sea on the beach, sounded like a beautiful place. The characters were great, especially Fran.

It starts out with a young lady named Tiffany arriving in Berlin in 1989 just as the Berlin wall was tumbling down. She has come from London to find someone in East Berlin. She meets Ralf and they search for an address she found in a letter at her grandmother's house.

An unforgettable love story of two young people Fran and Thomas, in a most inconvenient time and place. Fran is an English girl working in the office of the commander of a British camp for German POW’s. Thomas is a German prisoner at the camp. They meet and fall in love, but it must be kept a secret because fraternizing with the enemy is illegal.

June is the sister that hates all Germans and thinks they are all Nazi’s. Daisy is her co worker in the office and the sister of Martin who is smitten with Fran. There comes a time when Thomas doesn’t show at their meeting place. The choices made by Thomas . Martin and Fran will change all their lives.

I loved the ending, it was a good way to end the book. I enjoyed reading the book and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Sarah Mitchell, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an early copy of the book.

1946, Norfolk, England: She gazes out across the beach, it's beauty marred by the sharp barbed wire, hiding deadly mines beneath the sand. Everyone in he village is nervously awaiting the arrival of the German prisoners. Grief and anger spill over in Fran's village when the prisoners arrive. Her brother had been killed on the front line and Fran ca only see these young men as his killers. But prisoner Thomas will force Fran to question everything she thought she knew.

1989 Berlin: Tiffany arrives in Berlin just as the wall that divided a nation finally falls. She joins the tide of people crossing the newly opened border between West and East. In her pocket is a crumpled letter addressed to her grandmother, yellowed with age, that led her in search of a wartime secret with the power to change her future.

This book was inspired by a true love story. It tells o the trauma soldiers coming back from war had to deal with and how it affected the people around them. Fran worked in the German prisoner of war camp where meets the handsome Thomas and makes friends with Martin. Martin was Fran's co-worker's brother who couldn't fight for hid country due to a weakness of the heart.

Some of the plot was a little far fetched but the pace was steady throughout. It's informative and interesting. The characters were well developed and believable. The story held my interest throughout. I loved it.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #SarahMitchell for my ARC of #TheEnglishGirl in exchange for an honest review.

The English Girl will capture your heart.

Its after the war and Fran is working in a POW camp for Germans where she meets and falls in love with Thomas a German prisoner.

Emotions are high in the small village of Norfolk after the war and people more than resent the Germans especially Fran's sister.

Any relationship would be taboo and the consequences far fetching.

I found myself glued to the book as I wanted to know what would happen .

The English Girl is historical fiction at its best.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a fascinating heart breaking yet heart warming read.

What an interesting book! It starts with a character named Tiffany in 1989 Berlin where the "wall" fell and the excitement of that time. After that, I expected it to be a dual timeline like many WWII books have been lately. But this one is different - you won't see Tiffany again until the end.

In the meanwhile, you'll learn Fran's story - set in 1946 England. She's lost her brother, Robbie, to the war and her sister June is so angry and hateful. They are watching German prisoners walk to a new work camp set up in their town. That's when Fran's eyes meet Thomas' and you know there is going to be a good story here. Soon Fran begins working at the camp and keeps running into Thomas - he helps her save a man being beaten in the street for not fighting in the war. Martin was medically excused for a weak heart - and turns out to be the brother her co-worker keeps trying to set her up with. Martin has his own demons and finds out the truth about his medical condition. Thomas and Fran fall in love, and while he's being sent home - he decides to escape to stay with Fran. She waits and he doesn't show up. But Martin is there.

Then the storyline goes back to Tiffany and you'll see why she was in Berlin.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is a dual timeline read.

It’s 1946 in Norfolk(England) there’s fear and grief in the village where Fran lives, as prisoners of war who are German, are sent to camps nearby. Since her brother was killed on the front lines, as far as she’s concerned, the men are just killers.

As the men are clearing mines, Fran’s path collides with prisoner Thomas, they both try to help the wounded.

When she sees how Thomas’s nature and how he puts himself in danger to save others, things change for Fran. Now, understanding that he just a lad, like her brother was, made to fight, in a war, he didn’t think was right.

Now, after that day, there’s something connecting the two of them. As the lines are drawn for battle, across Europe, there’s a lot of tension in the village that are at breaking point, abs something could about to be unleashed, and maybe neither of them can control this.

Now, in 1989, in Berlin, Tiffany has come from London,, as the wall comes down that divided a nation. Knowing only a few German words, celebrating with strangers, she crosses the border between West and East.

What she has in her pocket is a letter with her grandmothers name on it, that’s now changed colour with age. She’s here to uncover a wartime secret with the power to change her future…

Recommend It.

This is the forbidden love story of Fran who works in the office at the prisoner of war camp and Thomas who is one of the prisoners.