I have read many historical novels set in WWII Europe, but they are usually focused on France, England, or Germany. "The Watchmaker's Daughter" is set in Switzerland, and this was a welcome change. The neutral status of that country, coupled with its proximity to France and Italy (on opposing sides of the conflict) led to unusual situations, and this fascinating novel makes the most of them. The protagonist, Valerie, and her family and friends in Geneva, are finding ways to live during the war and oppose the ever-present Nazis. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story of intrigue, resistance, and courage. I look forward to the promised sequel! Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

I love reading about the war years as I learn so much more about it than I knew - we didn’t study those years when I was at school - we learned about the tudors and the stuarts!! This novel is fantastic. I felt as though I was actually living in Switzerland with Valerie!! Highly recommended

Rating: 3.5 rounded up
Pub day: 4-26-2022 - Tomorrow!

It’s 1942 in Geneva, Switzerland and a Nazi invasion is looming. Valerie helps her father, a local watchmaker, by delivering packages all over the city. She might not be able to join the army but she is determined to do what she can to help the French Resistance.

You all know I read a lot of historical fiction so when I see one that sounds a bit unique I snatch it up. I enjoyed getting a perspective from inside the Swiss border, until this book I didn’t realize that Switzerland was actually preparing their troops, including training in ski warfare, for an invasion. I googled (no surprise) and found out that “Switzerland was able to remain independent through a combination of military deterrence, economic concessions to Germany and good fortune as larger events during the war delayed an invasion.”.

This book is filled with history, mystery, and even some romance. All of which will continue into book two of this historical series. I think the audio would have benefited from multiple narrators. Having the male perspective in a different voice than the female would have brought the story to life more. Maybe grab this on for your kindle or your bookshelf!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for this advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

Compelling, action packed, thrilling, emotional, sweet, scary and so many more adjectives could describe this book! This book needs to be on your must read or must listen list! The narrator on the audiobook does an outstanding job of bringing the authors well crafted characters and storyline to life. I truly felt that I was walking alongside Valerie as she navigated life in Geneva, Switzerland while the Nazi war waged all around her country causing her country's neutrality to bend to the point of breaking. This story was especially compelling to me as I just recently had the honor to visit the Holocaust exhibit at Union Station in Kansas City. After seeing the heart shattering evidence of the deplorable treatment and murders of the people deemed "unfit" by the Nazi regime, this story struck me as incredibly insightful while managing to instill hope for the future. To my abject delight, this is only the first book of these characters' and I am already impatiently anticipating the next! I can't wait to see how Valerie continues to navigate life as a young woman in a war torn world who wants to do all that she can to make a difference and help those who need it most. This book seriously has a little bit of something for everyone, history, action, love, betrayal, murder and more to entertain while shining a light of remembrance on a horrible part of the world's history. I am absolutely hooked!

The Watchmaker's Daughter by Dianne Haley pulled me in from the very beginning. The author wrote the story from the viewpoint of a Swiss resistance fighter. I found this perspective to be very interesting, as I had thought Switzerland to be neutral and not occupied by any nazi soldiers during WWII. The characters of Valerie, Phillipe, Emile all appealed to me. The book is a great beginning of a series and has mystery to it. I want to know who the spy is! I want to thank #NetGalley and #Bookouture Audio for allowing me to listen to this pre-release audiobook. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased the ebook from #Amazon. Harriet Collings performed the audiobook wonderfully. Her European accents sounded authentic to me.

It was a very interesting story, not what I expectet but still good. I liked the charakter and sure the plot twist came unexpected.
Looking forward to the next book!

Narrator has a beautiful voice but lacks any emotion or enthusiasm which makes it hard to keep interest,

Valérie is swiss and uses her dads watch deliveries to cover her work for the French resistance. Phillipe, her partner and swiss soldier, breaks up with her after seeing her with a German soldier in a café. He is then set up and arrested for being a German spy and the only thoughts that get him through a (poor) interrogation are thoughts of Valerie.. it doesn't always make sense!

It's a good read, but has a few plot flaws.

I liked reading about the Swiss contribution to WWII, how they fought back, it was an interesting POV.

This book was enjoyable from beginning to end. It did a great job of building characters, showing historical horrors, building suspense, and having a love story. Very well balanced. Good read!

I read a LOT of WWII historical fiction with "regular" girls and young women as the heroines. Doing brave things close to and far from home, protecting their families and friends - this is a common theme in the genre right now.

This novel is SO unique and yet fits into the genre so well. I applaud Haley for her unique setting, her use of the dual POV with a linear timeline/storyline and just enough but not too much intrigue, believability and a great cast of characters that I'm keen to learn more about as the series progresses.

Valérie is our heroine and she struggles with her loyalty to Switzerland, to her family and her friends. Doing what's right and easy are two different things in "free" but "occupied" Geneva in 1942 and everyone is struggling. There's a lot of lying, of people not being who they seem (for better and worse) and the potential for heartbreak and loss.

Haley takes this on admirably and does a great job of it - melding the perspectives of Valerie and her boyfriend Phillipe, a Swiss soldier who's a pro on skis and in the map room. His skill and fortitude should be serving him well, but instead he irks others and ends up being set up - one of the only things I really saw coming in this twists and turns novel.

With beautiful narration that suited all characters, this amazingly well written female led historical novel set in 1942 Switzerland has it all. Romance, intrigue, treason,. I'm so glad to hear this will be made into a series. The author knows really good to engage.

I really enjoyed this book, and the audiobook narrator was great. I love stories set in the past, as I always learn a lot of history from them. I found this one very interesting.

Set in 1942 to begin the story, Valérie is living with her father in Geneva. He is a watchmaker and she helps him in his business. While she does this, she helps the Resistance by smuggling messages for them while she is delivering her father's parcels. These messages help the Resistance to save French refugees. She becomes torn after a while, as her father wants her to do one thing, she wants to do another thing, and then she has her boyfriend Philippe to think about too. What will she do? Who will she be able to help and who can she trust?

This is a very good book, which I highly recommend!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It is 1942 and Valérie lives with her watchmaker father in Geneva. France has been invaded by the Germans, but Switzerland remains neutral. Valerie is aware of what’s going on across Europe and wants to do her part to help, but has divided loyalties as her father is relying on the German officers for much of his current business!
As she helps with deliveries for the business, she is able to smuggle messages for the Resistance that help move refugees from France across the border to safety. As time goes on, Valérie grows more distant from her father having been warned by him not to get involved. It also becomes apparent that not everyone is honest. Her boyfriend Philippe, is a soldier protecting their country and we get a war-time romance intertwined through the story. However when a secret document is found, Valérie realizes that Philippe is in danger and she must decide whether to protect him, or remain loyal to the Resistance cause.
We don’t often find books that focus on neutral Switzerland during WW2, and this helps to fill the gap and give a glimpse into how much the “neutral” countries did to help the resistance movement. It was an interesting take on “who can you trust?”.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator wasn’t quite right for me, just slightly too “home counties” on the accent to suit the book and no variation in voice to differentiate the characters. The story itself was engaging, it just lacked some detail & interest for me. Some aspects were a bit far fetched and I wanted to know more about the watchmaking & the involvement of Valerie’s father in the resistance – the book could have been called “The girl in the grey coat” for the amount of detail we got about this part of the story!

This is a fairly quick read, and I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys WW2 Historical Fiction, but would suggest reading the book rather than the audiobook.

A quick read of a story that has depth. It tells the story of Valérie who lives with her Father, a watchmaker, in Geneva, Switzerland. This story is full of danger and very tense as the Germans have occupied nearby France and they could be coming closer. Valérie helps her Father deliver watch parts and her and her friends are putting their lives in danger, they don't know who they can trust or if their secrets will be safe. Not everyone is honest and it is very difficult to find someone to trust or know which side people are on. Her love, Philippe, a soldier in the Swiss army, based in the Alps protecting their country - will their love survive, will they see each other again? The story is based on their love story in a time of war/crisis. It's a dramatic read that is sad in parts and made for a very interesting read with believable characters. This is written well and the descriptions of people and places were brought to life so much so, that I was wary of everyone.

Thanks to netgalley, publisher and author for this opportunity.

I enjoyed this book. I think if I read the actual book and the audio I would have enjoyed it better. It took a long time for me to really get into the story and connect with the characters. Sometimes I felt lost in the story but I admire the fight they had in the story though.

Name of Book: The Watchmaker’s Daughter
Author: Dianne Haley
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Mystery
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Pub Date: April 25, 2022
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars
In 1942 Valerie a watchmaker’s daughter living with her father Albert in Geneva, Switzerland, often makes deliveries for her father. When not making deliveries she is helping Phillipe, a soldier she loves who is with the French Resistance and they want to protect the village in case the Nazis invade Switzerland.
I really am not a big WW2 fan (stories are usually so depressing) but the narrator made this very interesting.
The end indicates that this is the first in the series of Valerie and Phillipe’s heart breaking story of love and bravery!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 25, 2022.

This shorter book packs a huge punch. It is an interesting twist on typical WWII historical fiction. It tells the story of Valerie a Swiss Resistance fighter. It opened my eyes how much the neutral Swiss did to actually help,fight against the Nazis in WWII. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator.

My only issue with the book was that it was too short! It’s not really a complaint, I would just have loved even more of the story.

4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoture for the audio ARC of this book.

It's so very hard watching atrocities being done right outside your window and for Valérie Hallez this was her reality. She is aware of the atrocities of the camps through listening to a radio, but she is torn as her father, a watchmaker, relies on the Germans for his business and their living. She knows that in some way she must help, fight the wrongs, and get involved in what puts her in a very dangerous position.

Valerie embarks on a plan to help the French Resistance, as she secrets away messages in watch part deliveries. She even ventures out at night and hides Jewish children in his workshop. She grows distant from her father, as she can't understand his seeming acceptance of the way things are. She does find consolation in a childhood friend, Philippe, who is a soldier. Every so often, he gets leave and comes to her and their love and affection grows as each worry about the safety of the other. When Valerie comes across a secret document, she realizes that her beloved Phillips's life is in danger and she must decide if he is the one to save or is it the French Resistance that she owes her loyalty?

This well written book kept me engaged in the heartbreaking story and once again offered up the way in which people fought oppression each one in their own way. I definitely recommend this one to those who enjoy a WW 2 book with a slightly different look at the participants in the struggle for freedom.

Thank you to Diane Hailey, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the audiobook of this story due out April 25, 2022.

I enjoyed this Historical Fiction book. Trust is everything! Imagine thinking your father is a traitor.
1942: Valerie Hallez lives in Switzerland and knows France has been invaded by the Nazis, and she realizes her country is next. Her father Albert, is the local watchmaker and relies on German trade. How can her father continue to service and entertain the Nazis?
Valerie hears a radio announcement about camps taking in children. Valerie is given the chance to hide Jewish refugee children, and this becomes her life. She starts smuggling messages in his watch deliveries for the French Resistance. Her boyfriend Philippe a soldier comforts her in letters.
As a hidden document is found Valerie realizes her sweetheart Philippe is in danger. She is torn in what she should do.
This novel is beautifully written, heartwarming and gives us an inside look into what people had to do to save lives at any cost.

This book was written well and added the eerie feeling of being followed/watched.

Were all of the secrets worth it. I really liked the character and how this story unfolded. It made me feel like I was part of their time. I've read a lot of WWII books and this one gave a different perspective than most due to location and the method the characters impacted the war.

My only critical thoughts would have been to have the secrets via the watchmaking be drawn-out a little longer. Overall a very enjoyable book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook.
The narrator was perfect.

I thought Valerie was a very brave individual and her bravery got her into trouble but it didn’t stop her.

The story was built upon the lengths the resistance went to to help strangers in Switzerland. I assumed as Switzerland was neutral they didn’t have any issues. How wrong was I?

My only issue was I felt it was too short a story, that said, it was well written and I look forward to more by this author.