Ella Gyland's historical romance took me to Denmark, in WW2. Through letting us peep into the lives of a few characters, especially Inger Bredahl, for a few precious months in 1943, the author builds a memorial for all those brave Danish people who helped their fellow citizens to escape to Sweden in the ever harsher German occupation.

The story develops in 2 parallel timelines, in 2 parallel places: Inger and her friends, family and love in Helsingor and her granddaughter Cecilie in Copenhagen 70 years later. The only links are David Nathan, a survivor, Inger's journal and a few pieces of jewellery. Cecilie, David and David's grandson try to work out what happened with Inger, her friends and her love through listening to David's brief accounts and Inger's journal. I liked how easy Gyland made the development of the storylines and the characters. Her prose is heartfelt, not sloppy or pathetic.

The title felt a bit odd, as the HSC is not mentioned in the novel for a very long time, and even then only briefly, but it is explained at some point.

Nonetheless, it is an inspiring story told beautifully.

I was intrigued that this book was based on true events, it is wonderful how people can come together to help others escape terrible events, but I did feel that the characters were a little flat and I struggled to get a feel for them, so struggled reading the book.

1943 Inger Bredahl discovers her employer is involved with resistance against the German occupiers and is determined to help free her country. 2018 Cecilie Lund is dealing with grief at the end of her marriage and the death of her grandmother when she discovers a hidden jewellery box and wartime diary.
The Helsingør Sewing Club is a dual timeline historical novel set in the recent past and WW2 in Denmark. I knew little about Denmark's situation during the war so found this book very interesting especially as the plot derives from true stories.
Most of the book is set in the 1940s but some is in the present day. Some chapters use the first person narrative of Inger while others show her friends and family using the third person perspective.
Inger is brave and resilient, aware of her own limitations. I found the whole range of characters to be very human and easy to relate to, including the German soldier Oskar who does his duty but is worried about his family back home. In the present day, Cecilie is trying to find her own inner strength to deal with her losses.
The Danes are struggling to exist under occupation but the danger of the Nazis' brutality lurks before becoming explicit. The Jews are warned about their impending removal to camps and their communities help to protect the majority of them. The descriptions of the reality of life under occupation were well researched and vivid.
The Helsingør Sewing Club is a very enjoyable historical and dual timeline novel.

I absolutely loved this book, other than "woman in the present day finds mysterious papers revealing a World War II past." It's a hackneyed plot device unworthy of Ella Gyland. I would happily have had the entire book take place in the past, because Gyland writes that beautifully. If you remember Lois Lowry's Number the Stars from your childhood, this is the grown-up version of the Danish resistance and I loved it even more for it. Highly recommend.

Inspired by events in WW2 this book is a wonderful story of the kindness and bravery of people in such a very hard and dangerous time. Based in Denmark 1943 and the main character, Inger, is working to save the Jewish people from the Germans.

She is a brave and courageous woman who brings hope to many. This story shows some of the horrors of war along with the compassion and strength of so many. This book has strong characters that you can relate to, this book makes you emotional and passionate and is a wonderful, beautiful tale that should be read and devoured.

Highly recommend and will read it again!

I very much enjoyed The Helsingor Sewing Club by Ella Gyland. It's a fictionalised look at the actions of the Danish people in 1943 when the Gestapo moved to send all Danish Jews to concentration camps. The novel centres on Inger, a young woman who moves from Copenhagen to live with her aunt, uncle and cousins. Her new employer is involved in subversive acts and gradually she is drawn into his group, code-named the Helsingor Sewing Club. The story is told in two timelines with the other being a contemporary discovery by her granddaughter of Inger actions.

A well written historical novel about the saving of Jewish people in Nazi era Denmark. Inger Bredhal joins the resistance in an attempt to smuggle people from her country.

The Germans Came is a dual timeline story and it’s based on true facts of how the people of Denmark saved ninety five percent of the Jewish population from being sent to concentration camps. Ella Gyland has skillfully written a narrative that describes how a country, despite years of German rule and enduring terrible hardship, the citizens did what was morally right, and they remained united and it’s truly inspirational. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately this book did not grab my interest sufficiently to reach the end. Others may like it but it was not for me.

This is a well-done dual timeline where Cecilie Lund finds a clue to her grandmother's secret past while cleaning out her home after her death. Following the scant trail left by her grandmother, she learns of her involvement in the Danish resistance during WWII.

The book is a deep dive into a part of WWII seldom written about, which I really appreciated. I felt that just a couple of the characters were really well-developed and I wanted to know more about some others. There were a lot of characters, The focus could have been narrower.

I especially loved the author's vivid descriptions of Denmark and all the cultural information she included. I've never been there, so I found that really interesting. The writing style was also really beautiful.

I will recommend this one to all my historical fiction-loving friends.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this advance reader copy. This is my unbiased, honest review.

A great WW2 story and I loved the fact that it was set in Denmark which is featured in far less books of this ilk. Inger was a great character and again this story shows the strength and bravery of the people who fought for what was right whilst putting their own lives in great danger

This is my 1st book by this author and I was keen to explore this book, which is based on the WW2 efforts of the population of Denmark who strived to help their Jewish friend flea persecution.

Set over 2 timelines then and now we meet Cecile and her late Grandmother Ingar as Cecile discovers items hidden in her grandmother’s attic we discover what happened to her in the past and also learn more about Cecile.
This was at times an interesting read, finding out how many Jews were helped and hidden, it was also at times slow and confusing with the switching between timelines and think I would have preferred it to be solely set in the past but overall I found it an interesting read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title

4.5/5 In 2018, Cecilie Lund is clearing out her grandmothers storage room when she stumbles upon a jewelry box with a note inside claiming it to be the property of David Nathan. This is a name she had never heard of before and for a brief moment in time, worried that her grandmother had stolen the jewels. But upon meeting David and finding a hidden diary under the lining of the box, Cecilie discovers that her grandmother played a part in the survival of the majority of the Jewish Community in German occupied Denmark during WWII. Set in a dual timeline, Cecilie reads the diary along with David and recounts the heroism of the people of Denmark.

One of the things i love about WWII is that I’m always learning new things. Until recently, I was not aware of stand the Danes took against Germany. They came together to save as many of their country men as they could. They were all people of Denmark and they took care of each other regardless of religion. So…when I saw the summary of this book…I jumped at the chance to read it!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and Ella Gyland for for early access to this inspiring novel. And thank you to the people of Denmark for their courageous acts of humanity during history’s darkest hour.

An empowering true story of community, resilience, and defying those in power to follow your morality and truth and help others through the onslaught of violence and terror.

A novel based on true events during WW2 Denmark. The premise was interesting, but the narrative was slow and the two timelines held up the story. An enjoyable read.

I struggled a little to get into the book and felt it was a little slow actually getting to the main plot of the book. Once the storyline began in detail about the Danes helping the Jewish and why they did so I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The detail of hiding people and helping them across to Sweden was fascinating. I was a bit disappointed that more wasn't said about about how the main characters progressed through the war such as being captured and sent to a concentration camp. It was a shame this was only a sentence said in passing. The storyline has inspired me to find out more about the true story of the Elsinore Sewing Club and to one day visit the area.

i love tales from ww2 and the resilience of the people who lived through it. The fact this book is based on true events is unbelievable. Such a amazing story and had me gripped. Such a heartbreaking story but one i was unable to put down.

The Helsingør Sewing Club is an inspiring tale of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of community. I loved reading it and finding out more about the main characters. I really liked the fact it was set during the Second World War and current day, following the journey of both Inger and her grand-daughter Cecilie. Some bits were upsetting but definitely added to the suspense of the story.

I didn’t know the account of how the Danes resisted the Germans and rescued hundreds of Danish Jews and that made this an informative read. However, I didn’t find it a particularly interesting one. For me the writing was quite stilted and the final part of the book read like a badly written story that had come from the pen of an eleven year old. The ending was too quick with just a bit of information to tie up all the loose ends. It didn’t explore the feelings and emotions of Inger, her aunt or uncle, or anyone else. What happened to Godrun’s fiancée? We’ll never know because the author doesn’t tell us. Disappointing.

This was a really gripping story, set in Denmark during the latter years of WW2. I have never heard about what life was like for people in Denmark during the war, and I really enjoyed finding out about this. I also really enjoyed the way that the story alternated between the past and the present. It was a really uplifting story, and a real page turner for me.