Member Reviews
I think this book will work for most Historical Fiction fans. It hits a lot of the plot points that make a popular historical. My person opinion was...it's fine. It has some really interesting parts, I wished we didn't have to switch POV's as often and there were a few POV's I could have done without entirely. It dragged at the beginning, especially learning how each character ties together but then pacing picks up and the ending comes up fast.
The author's note about his family history was very interesting but learning something is based on the history of people who passed and maybe didn't give permission always makes me feel a little bit strange. It's not my place though to say if it's right or wrong and I don't think a lot of people will be affected by it but it made me think a little differently about the story.
If you're a WWII historical fiction fan, I say go ahead and give this a try. It wasn't quite what I wanted but it was still a solid book.
4.5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend to others interested in WWII history. Told through the perspective of 3 young people, Billy, Ilse and Klaus, each involved in the war and shows how their lives intersect.
There is a musical theme that runs throughout and the chapter titles were a welcome and brilliant addition to the ‘tone’ of that section.
A well-done story involving spies, an RCAF pilot, and a love story. The lives of civilians and what they do to adapt is interwoven with the action of the war and gives you some semblance of how life carries on regardless of circumstances. If you enjoy flying, old planes, noisy pubs, music and also have an appreciation of the hard times faced by the everyday person, this book is a worthwhile way to spend your time.
This #Canadian author is one whose previous books I will definitely look into. #CC Humphreys
Thank you to #NetGalley, #PenguinRandomHouseCanada for this opportunity to review.
I absolutely loved this story. The characters were strong and believable. It's another WW2 novel , of which I have read many but with a difference. It focuses on people, their strengths, weaknesses, and rivalries and not just on one area of the war or one person's point of view. We read about individuals and their foibles. It's a love story between a dashing RCAF pilot and a beautiful Norwegian spy and love at first sight. It's an adventure as they both fight in the war in their own way. It's about people and the places and situations they find themselves in. We get to journey with the characters as they evolve and endear themselves to us. It's a high energy, soul disturbing and simply beautiful story.
I loved that it mentions Canadian places that are familiar to me.
C.C. Humphreys is an Canadian Author who brings his story to life, he is a new Author to me. Billy Coke and Ilse Magnusson's story starts in London one December evening in 1940. These two will go through so much when they are apart. In the end they will not even knowing if the other survived the war. The story held my interest as I read. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
WOW! I loved this book. It's the most interesting WW2 novel I have read in a long time. The plot was fabulous I loved how the main characters were a norwegian spy and a RCAF flyer. It was truly fabulous. And the author's note at the end as well was great. I did purchase this book and have recommended my family and friends read it. I gave this book a 4.5 stars as it did have a little bit too much language (swearing) which I didn't appreciate.
A beautiful WWII romance mixed with intrigue. I loved the depth of the characters with rich histories and family drama which gives the reason who they are and what they believe.
Lots of music references with song lyrics which makes this book even more special.
Strongly recommended.
I love historical fiction. I could not pass over this story set in WW2. The POV from both main characters were paced differently and offered perspectives of their activities during the war.
Read if you like: instant love, torn apart by war.
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Billy and Ilse are both part of the war, Ilse as a spy and Billy as a pilot. They only have a few days together, but they fall in love.
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Overall, the story was interesting and I was invested in what happened to the characters. I enjoyed the plot and the pacing, and I think the instant love trope was developed well. Ilse's role as a spy was interesting. If you like WW2 fiction, you will probably like this one.
One December evening in 1940 while bombs are falling on London, Billy Coke meets Isle Magnusson. They go away to the countryside and while spending three days together they fall in love. But then, they must go on their separate ways, Billy, a Canadian Spitfire pilot, to fight over North Africa and the Mediterranean and Ilse, a Norwegian musician, to return to her conquered country to spy on the enemy. Both of them willingly risk their lives for the war effort and every day that they are apart it seems less and less likely that they will find their way back to each other.
I wanted to love this book. It ticked a lot of boxes for me. Set during WWII, it’s an epic love story between a spy and a pilot. At times it seemed like nothing happened for ages and then BANG, everything happened at once in a way that felt more suited to a film than a book.
Actually, I think this book would work very well as a film. The things that bothered me — Billy and Ilse falling desperately in love so quickly, the scenes of Billy flying, and plot points that were dealt with quickly and relying on coincidence — are the sorts of things we forgive in films, because we’ve come to expect them.
I didn’t feel fully invested in the characters. In part, I think telling the story from multiple point of views detracted from the main plot, the love story between Billy and Ilse. I would have welcomed alternating chapters that shifted solely between Billy and Ilse.
And I wanted more from Ilse. I’m not sure if she remained unknowable because she was a reserved spy who had to keep everyone at arm’s length in order to survive, but I would have expected that as the reader I might get to know a little more about her.
Thank you to Doubleday Canada for providing me with a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to love this one more than I did. It's advertised as a historical fiction, second chance romance, but I feel we only really got half of this. The historical piece about wartime and spy's, especially female espionage, was fascinating. Even more fascinating when you learn the author's parents were inspirations for these roles.
As for the second chance romance, I just felt underwhelmed and then let down by their eventual reunion if you can even call it that. I understood why Ilse had to continue her mission and not stay with Billy, but the storyline with Klaus bothered me when the audience is expected to pine for two star crossed lovers. Maybe an epilogue would've given me some semblance of ending or connection with Ilse and Billy but inside I was left frustrated.
I listened to some of the audio and physically read parts of the book.
I always enjoy WWII books. I enjoyed the add ins about Canada and even some add ins of Alberta!
I enjoyed the love story between Isle & Billy and their journey of finding each other again.
Chris notes the main characters were based on his parents experience which is really interesting.
This was my first book by Chris and I’ll def be checking out his others.
Billy Coke is a Canadian pilot in London in 1940. During a German bombing of the city, he encounters Ilse Magnusson, a Norwegian flautist, who turns his world upside down. The two spend 3 days together and fall in love. Both know they must separate; Billy to become a spitfire pilot and Ilse to return to Norway as a spy for the British SOE. Will they be able to reunite? The book shares their individual efforts and their encounters throughout the course of the war.
I enjoyed following Billy’s story, his travels, flying expeditions, relationships with his comrades and efforts to find Ilse. While I also enjoyed Ilse’s story of ingratiating herself with the Nazis and their sympathizers in Norway, I wished her story could have been developed a little more in-depth. Overall though, it was a good book and I enjoyed the ending.
Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy to review.
Some books are so well written that they stay with you for a long time after you finish them. This is one of those books. The prose is beautiful, the characters so real I could just picture them. I know C.C. Humphreys drew the main characters from real life but ALL of the characters could have just walked off the page.
The story was engaging. I am not generally a historical fiction fan but I learned a great deal from this novel and was invested in the plot right from the beginning.
I was saddened to see the last page turn.
Historical fiction is not a genre that I read much of, so I do believe that my thoughts about this book are solely based on the fact that I do not gravitate towards this genre.
This book was well-written but I found it so difficult to get invested in the story. It felt like it dragged on for me.
My feelings about this book aside, I would try this author again.
An ARC was provided by NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. What an awesome story to tell. This book is loosely based on the author's parents and I can't imagine how exciting it must have been to research what their lives likely looked like. I am so glad he shared this because it was an exciting story to read. I love when snippets of real stories are integrated into historical fiction. Someone's actual experience thrown in to be memorialized forever in a printed book.
The story was great. I loved both main characters. Ilse was so brave to work as a spy and to set herself against her other family members. Billy was so likable and his adventures so daring. I really enjoyed this book.
This was an excellent novel by an author I had not previously heard of! Genevieve Graham, an author I love, had recommended it. Set in Second World War it follows the lives of Billy Coke, a pilot, and Ilse Magnusson, a Norwegian, who meet and then must separate as they have their own missions to complete.
Charged, touching, and intriguing!
Someday I’ll Find You is a rich, captivating tale that sweeps you away to the early 1940s and into the lives of Canadian Spitfire pilot Billy Coke and Norwegian musician turned spy Ilsa Magnusson who, after accidentally meeting during a bombing raid on the streets of London and subsequently spending three blissful days in the English countryside, spend the rest of the war thinking of each other, doing whatever they’re told do, and hoping beyond hope that one day when the guns are silent, and the battle is won that somewhere, somehow they will find their way back to into each other’s arms.
The prose is eloquent and fluid. The characters are resilient, brave, and endearing. And the plot is a tender tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, sacrifice, desperation, tragedy, friendship, espionage, romance, new beginnings, and the horrors and hardships of war.
Overall, Someday I’ll Find You is a heartfelt, sentimental, affecting read by Humphreys inspired by real familial events that does a lovely job of interweaving historical facts and compelling fiction into an insightful, heart-tugging tale that is atmospheric and highly absorbing.
As a Canadian, I am always excited to read books written by Canadian authors, with Canadian characters, locations or themes. This book was also neat, because aside from ties to my own country, it’s loosely based off of the authors family, and that adds an extra level of interest.
World War 2 and historical fiction are my favourite genres, and so I was very excited to read this. The story was romantic, exciting, heartbreaking, worldly, interesting.
This book starts slow, certainly. The chapters are also long especially at the start, in my opinion, and I much prefer the pacing of books that come with short, rapid chapters. However, it does end up being worth it so stick it out!
Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Random House Canada for this arc!
Historical fiction set in England and Norway during WW 2.
Ilse Magnusson is determined to help her country defeat Nazi occupiers from within Norway. Billy Cook is a Canadian pilot determined to fly for the RAF and eventually RCAF to protect London and defeat Hitler in the air. The two young people are drawn together but their service to their countries comes first. The novel moves quickly back and forth between the 2 and the details make you feel like you are right there with them.
The bonus is the author's connection to the characters and their situations. They are based on his parents and extended family. the story could only be told when the last members passed on and some lived into the 100s. No wonder it felt so real!!!
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Someday I'll Find You by C.C. Humphreys, published by Penguin Random House
I was excited to read this novel, as the description said for readers of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls. I found the novel a bit slow, had a hard time sticking with it to be honest and skimmed the 2nd half. It's full of well described characters and description from WW ll, but just wasn't my favorite read, which happens to all of us. I'm glad to see others really enjoyed this novel
The story focuses on Ilse and Billy and their meeting and separation during the war
This is a first of Humphreys books that I have read