This story of bravery and resistance set in the war and the Polish uprising against the Nazis will keep you on the edge of your seat! Wanda and Finn are enchanting characters, and the setting of this heartbreaking novel is vivid, and well-researched.
Wanda, a young Polish girl working for the Resistance in war-torn Poland, witnesses an evil Nazi officer murder her beloved father. Soon afterwards, she meets him again. However, can it really be him, because he is being so kind to her, and the little boy she is helping? It is his identical twin brother, sent to impersonate the Nazi, and help the Resistance. Wanda and Finn start falling in love, but their new-found faith in each other will be heavily tested by the dark forces around them, and thoughts of betrayal.

I enjoyed the story, although it's quite harrowing, but I found Gosia Nealon's style a bit hard to read. The book is written in the present tense, and the mostly very short sentences make it seem a bit stilted, unfortunately.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

WWII historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I like reading stories of bravery during a time of such hardship. In this book twin brothers on opposite sides are one person when one twin takes the place of the other. Will their secret be discovered? Find out in this enjoyable book.

I spent most of this book wringing my hands in nervousness for what was unfolding. Wanda witnesses her father’s murder firsthand and vows revenge. Fern impersonates his twin who has joined the dark side.
Who will prevail? And just who exactly is Gerda?
It’s a fast paced read with plenty if what’s around the bend drive.
Time, space, and consequences cause it all to come to a crescendo. Light can continue to shine even after the darkest of times. The human will to survive reverberates through the book.
Love, betrayal, hope, and renewal are all abundant.

This was an interesting look at the people of Warsaw as they struggled through the final years of WWII. For 23 year old Wanda and her family life hadn’t been as bad as for some but it was still terrible because of what was taking place during this time. Wanda’s brother is missing, although she is convinced hu is alive and working with the resistance. One day she rescues an orphan boy from the latest round up and the real trouble begins for her family. The Nazi who appears at their door destroys her family and changes her life forever.
Finn was sent from his home in the USA to join his twin brother, who had been captured. Finn was to go undercover as his brother Stephan, despite the fact that they are as different as they can be. Could he do it without getting caught?
Finn-as Stephan-met a young woman who sketched unlike anyone else, he felt a connection m but he couldn’t understand why he saw such animosity and anger in her eyes when she looked at him. Wanda, on her part, couldn’t understand how the same man who killed her father could now be so warm and caring towards her.
This was well paced and the setting was well depicted so you felt like you were there. I will be looking for book 2.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

3.5★s

It was 1944 and Poland was suffering from the German invasion. For twenty three year old Wanda and her parents, their suffering hadn't been as bad as some, and although Wanda's brother was missing, she was sure he was alive and working with the Polish resistance. But it was when she had brought a young boy home from the streets, one who'd saved her from the latest round-up, that trouble started. The Nazi who appeared on their doorstep was cold, inhuman and when he shot Wanda's father to death, she and her mother thought their grief would never end.

Finn was sent from his home in the US to join the resistance in Poland as his twin brother, Stefan, a Nazi, had been captured and the deal was to send him to London for interrogation and prison, and Finn to go undercover as Stefan. The two men were as different as any two could be, and Finn had to take care to be as cold and callous as his brother while doing all he could to support those who opposed Hitler. But could he do it without being caught out? His brother's fiancé, Gerda, might see through the deception, but he'd do all in his power to avoid that scenario.

When Finn - as Stefan - met a young woman who sketched beautifully, he couldn't understand the immediate hate in her eyes. For Wanda, she couldn't believe this man in front of her - she would kill him for what he did to her father...

The Polish Girl (originally called "The Last Sketch") by Gosia Nealon is an intriguing portrait of Warsaw and its people as they struggled through the last years of WWII. The horrendous death toll, the terrible loss of everything the Poles had known in their lives - all was portrayed well by the author. I felt a little disgruntled by certain parts in the book, which I can't comment on for fear of spoilers, but it's lowered my rating slightly. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an incredible read that had me turning the pages. Full of emotion and resolution. Wanda was an excellent lead character though I also very much enjoyed the chapters from Finn's point of view. When reading the book blurb I had no idea how it was going to unfold--a young woman falling for the man who killed her father but it worked out and was explained logically. Recommend this read. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

Thanks net galley for giving me an early copy of this great book in the resistance series, I look forward to receiving the next one in the series.
The books starts in Poland in 1944 where Wanda is a part of the resistance trying to beat the Germans.
She is struggling to get by but Wanda is with her parents, until Stefan a German officer comes to her house and kills her father.
Wanda is determined to get revenge for the killing of her father who she adored, and goes to her friend Anna for help.
There she meets the same German officer who pretends he does not know her and Wanda wants to kill him, but Wanda says there is things you do not know let it go.
Wanda looking at this German sees a man different from Stefan a kinder man with sparkling eyes and a soft mouth, how can thus be.

From then the story changes to more of a love story but its worth reading and it gives a good insight into the struggle of the polish people.

This novel is utterly heartwarming and had me up until way past midnight to find out if Wanda survived her story. After watching her Tata, (father) murdered, she makes a decision which will change her life forever.

1944- Poland

She joins the Polish resistance. Her brother left home years ago and she wants revenge for her fathers death.

During the resistance she sees “the awful Nazi” who killed her father.

I don’t want to give away anything about this novel, because it truly is beautifully written and has many facets and I don’t want to spoil it.

This is my first by this author and I am getting her next one The Polish Wife soon. Thank you Bookouture, Netgalley and author Gosia Nealon for this advanced copy. Available February 24, 2023.

Poland 1944. Not a good place to be for ordinary Poles, for Jews, for Roma for
anyone who did not fall in line. There were many ordinary people resisting the
enemy, and despite the man power, the fire power and sheer weight of the German
army, the Nazis had it hard in Poland.

In this setting Wanda has to face her father's murderer, shot in cold blood. She
vows she will kill him one day, but when that day comes she faces a quandary. One
that she hadn't bargained for. The story evolves through the ravages of war time
Poland - losses, brutality, murder, the fear that overwhelmed it all and the need
for survival.

The story had a unusual twist in the tale, almost from the beginning which roughly
foretold the end. The change from enemies to lovers was another difficult feature
to accept but then it became an integral part of the story.

Very descriptive, even the harsh bits this was an excellent story.

Reading of WWII is a reminder of how destructive war can be.
Hiding out, fearing capture and torture, starvation, and more haunt these Polish people daily.
The brave resistance fighters hoping the Soviets would come help over throw the Nazis, only to discover that communism is just as ruthless as Nazism.
Love and loss are common as the war years drug on.
I liked how the book ended as the main characters reunite.

The Polish Girl is a beautifully written novel about a Polish woman, Wanda, and a German-America man, Finn. The story begins just before the Warsaw uprising in 1944. Wanda is working with the Polish Resistance and aiding in preparation for the upcoming arising. Finn is an agent working with the government who goes undercover in Poland to assist in the preparations. Their paths cross in an extremely unique way, which I thought the author did so in a clever way.

My only complaint about this book was that sometimes it was hard to track the characters and I thought the introductions could have been a bit better. All in all, the book was great and I would definitely recommend it.

This was more of a romance than about the war and resistance, so I was a tad disappointed. However it was a quick read and was rather well written.

Enjoyed this romantic spy novel. I liked the writing and how the story didn’t stale at all, just kept pushing through and intrigued me with the diverse cast of characters their interactions.

Once I started reading I couldn’t put this book down. The trials the people of Poland were subjected too have been written about before but Gosia Nealon has a way of making you feel like you are right there, trying not to breathe too loudly so you don’t stand out. So you don’t catch the attention of any one of several horrible Nazi characters, some home grown, some German. I love books that transport me back in time, I could feel the dirt under my feet, smell the blueberries baking in the pie (really want to try some blueberry perogi).

It’s important to remember that the ordinary Poles suffered severe hardship under the Germans (and Russians) and received limited help from the Allies. Despite the odds, they fought back. There is death, torture and all the usual things that happen in war but the language used is subtle. No really gruesome details but enough for your own imagination to take over and make you really feel for the characters. One particular scene with a piano had me sobbing.

Wanda and Finn are a fantastic couple, both brave and committed to doing the right thing, they pay a very high price. My only quibble is not finding out what happened to one character but I’m guessing that’s because he appears in the next book. I can't wait to read more from this author. Highly recommended.

It was a good (and quick) read, though the topic was more about romance than really spying and resistance. The idea of the storyline was intriguing but lacked depth for me. I found that the spy was not credible nor professional in his supposed secrecy, but as an easy read, it was okay.
I received a complimentary ARC of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.

Identical Twins - one who joined the Nazi Party and one who escaped.

Stefan and his brother Finn always seemed to have different views on compassion.

When their father joined the Nazi Party, Stefan joined with him, but Finn stayed with his mother.

During the last year of the war Stefan killed the father of another character, Wanda, and she would never forget his face. 

When she encounters Stefan, who really is Finn, she can't see past the horrible deed he committed that took her father away.

Finn keeps coming in contact with Wanda, and she has to do what the officer asks her to do.

Wanda joins the Polish Resistance and is terrified when they find the ammunition she is hiding in her suitcase.

What happens now?

Does Wanda get imprisoned?

Is she tortured by the Nazis?

Find out when you read THE POLISH GIRL that has surprises and heartbreak.

It took a few chapters to sort out who the characters were, but once the book got going, you won’t want to put the book down.

Fans of historical fiction and women's fiction will enjoy THE POLISH GIRL.

This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review.

“When I hear him play Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata,’ something good dies in me. I stare at my blood-stained hands and then at the devil who’s playing Tata’s piano. And as the cuckoo clock announces another hour, I vow to myself that one day, I will kill the monster.”

Author Gosia Nealon invites us to get to know the types of people we only read about in history books, the ones represented by grainy black-and-white photos, and see for ourselves that they were regular people like us. They struggled in life with the same things we do and struggled to survive in the darkest hours of history. She wants us to see their strengths and weaknesses and see, that despite them, they moved forward.

Things I loved:
✔️perfect pacing; begins with tenderness in the midst of chaos and jumps right into murder and doesn’t slow down
✔️puts readers in the setting; 1944 Poland during the Warsaw Uprising forward
✔️ability to make my heart feel one thing while my head told me to feel another
✔️ability to add to the plot with German/Polish words; not just plopped in, but integrated with explanations
✔️ ability to create tension because readers know more than the characters
✔️felt the effect of war on people
✔️themes of revenge, disbelief, trust, secrets, and mistaken identity

Things I overcame:
✔️previous dislike of character-driven novels
✔️previous dislike of the enemies-to-lovers trope

Things that hampered my appreciation:
✔️fully connecting to the characters
✔️suspending disbelief
✔️instant romance


Wanda Odwaga was a force to be reckoned with and I loved watching her transform as she was touched by pity, anger, revenge and love. Book 1 of 3 in The Secret Resistance Series showcases the effect of war on ordinary people and the steps they took to move forward.

I was gifted his copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.