Really enjoyed this book. Full of forbidden romance, secrets and lies! Love a Ww2 book and this was up there with the best of them!

Excellent dual timeline novel based in the 1940’s and 1990’s. Hartley delves into Roses and Walter’s life/ love story.
Thie book is well written and interweaves between the two time periods to slowly but solidly reveal the story.
A good read, well paced and enjoyable

Set in 1940 and 1990 this is a dual timeline story. Emma, in 1990, discovers she had a great-aunt Rose, who disappeared during the second world war and who has lately died and left a tract of land to her, called Silverwood Vale in the English countryside. Emma lives in Canada and is having problems in her marriage. She decides to fly to England to sell the land while she decides what to do with her life. When she arrives she starts to delve into Rose's life and what she discovers astonishes her.
I found it hard to rate this book. Silverwood Vale is really the central character. Rose and Walter's relationship while strained at the start, turns out to be lovely. Her story has the most page time. She had a pretty miserable life until she found Walter in the woods. I learned stuff about WWII that I hadn't previously known. I love this when you read something in a fictional story, based on real happenings that has you looking up information afterwards.
The story overall just didn't grab me. I felt like there was a lot of stuff left hanging. I needed more explanations of some events. Still I'm in the minority here as I know lots of people loved it. If you like stories set in WWII then try it because it comes at the war from a different angle.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an early copy of this book.

It is WWII and Rose lives at home with her sick mother and aggressive step father. Her sister is engaged to a service man and has left home to live in London. Rose does not see any light in her life until she discovers a German spy in Silverwood Vale Forest close to her home. Walter has been sent as a spy as part of Operation Lena, an ill conceived program by the Germans. Walter is determined to give himself up but Rose and he find a connection and she hides him in an abandoned cottage in the forest with Rose’s help.
In 1990 Emma who lives in Canada discovers she has inherited a parcel of land and a cottage in England from a Great Aunt she knew very little about. She travels to London to learn more about her inheritance and in the process we learn about Rose’s incredible life and the life of the forest.
We are taken on a journey through a dual time line that is filled with nature, family secrets, loyalty and love.
A wonderful weekend read !

I enjoyed how this book switched between the 1940s and 1990s as it explored Roses and Walter’s story. It kept my attention as each puzzle piece was slowly revealed and finally all joined together.

When Rose found an injured German soldier hanging from a tree in a nearby woods, she took him to a small cabin to heal. Walter wanted to stop the German plans for sabotaging London. Escaping from a brutal step-father, Rose helps Walter at her own peril. Their kindness and love of nature combine for adventures that saved lives during the blitz and an old growth forest. Her Secret Soldier, by Julie Hartley, is a very different WWII story and well worth the read. I was able to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

I am always drawn to stories about world war 2, the tenacity and resilience of the generations that lived through this difficult period in history. This is a story of secret love, trust, families over 2 time periods 1940 and 1990 and the joy nature can bring in times of uncertainty. I loved the story that intertwined the 2 time periods withe the war and trust at its heart.

What a great historical WWII fiction debut novel! I thoroughly enjoyed the book, reading it in less than 24 hours. With the dual timeline routine in books, movies, and TV getting rather stale, Julie Hartley wrote a beautiful tale of love and loss using this style of writing. Her Secret Soldier has found a permanent place in my heart and on my bookshelf.

Easy to read, and far easier to become lost in the woods alongside Rose and her German lover, a downed German spy sent to England to help Hitler with his desire to invade the British Isles, this new author kept me glued to the story with only a few breaks for a walk, a refill of the coffee pot, and 40 winks. The tale was refreshing, bringing to light a few details I hadn’t known about Hitler’s use of spies, many having little idea of the British way of life, the language, or the terrain.
This poignant tale of love and loss tugs at the heartstrings. The prose is beautiful, the settings are rich and well-developed, and the characters are well-developed.

If you love WWII historical fiction, you must read this unputdownable story.

I started reading at 6 PM on a Friday, slept for three hours, made a pot of coffee, and picked up the book because I simply had to keep reading. A book rarely calls to me like Her Secret Soldier has. I highly recommend this book and this new author to all historical fiction lovers, especially those with a deep love of WWII historical fiction.

Who says you can’t find love with the enemy? Julie Hartley’s character, Rose, proves that compassion always makes sense.

I loved the book and can’t wait to read more of this author’s work. It's a five-star read all the way around.

Thank you to Net Galley, Bookouture, and Julie Hartley for the opportunity to read this free advanced copy. This review is voluntary and mine alone.

Operation Lena, the German espionage operation in Britain, turned out to be one of the least successful spy missions of World War II. Plotting an invasion of the United Kingdom in 1940 – codenamed Operation Sea Lion – the Nazis sent spies to gather intelligence across the English Channel.

England 1940, and Rose is about to come face to face with one of these German spies. Seeing a parachute crash into the woods she rushes to help and discovers a young soldier. Her instinct is to help him but when he speaks she discovers that he’s a German named Walter. He admits that he’s a spy but tells her that he’s been made to do it and will do whatever it takes to sabotage the Nazis plans - he has no desire to harm anyone. Does she believe him, or is he just telling her what she wants to hear?

Fast forward to 1990 where we meet Canadian, Emma, who has just received some unexpected but amazing news. She’s inherited a cottage in the middle of a forest in Silverwood Vale in England. Her great aunt Rose (who she’s never met) has named Emma as her only beneficiary in her will.

Emma travels to England and finds that the cottage is really isolated, and she wonders how Rose could live like this. Searching the cottage, she discovers human bones hidden in the cellar. And so begins the search to discover everything she can about Great Aunt Rose, and it’s quite a story!

What she finds is a tale of espionage and romance, and not forgetting Silverwood Vale which is almost a character in itself!
Enjoyable read.

“Her Secret Soldier” is a debut WWII novel by Julie Hartley. In this book we follow two people in two different timelines - Rose (1940s) and Emma (1990s). Rose, who lives in the UK in 1940, as she discovers a parachute in the woods near her house. Rose decides to rescue the parachutist - a German who had spent some of his life growing up in England. Rose and the parachutist care for each other, but Rose wonders if she can really trust him and not betray her country. Years pass (50 or so of them) and Emma is surprised to learn that she has inherited her great-aunt Rose’s cottage in the woods. Emma is unaware of Rose’s history, but she decides to go see the cottage - and woods - before selling the property. Both Rose and Emma are changed in this book. I did like that any romance happened off the page with both characters. I also liked the resolution to Emma’s story. I thought the idea of this book was an interesting one (do read the Author’s note) and this book held my attention. It was pretty easy to keep the two women’s stories apart.

A dual time read, a young married woman and her aunt, two different countries, but similar in looks, and we are there to read their story.
From finding an enemy soldier in England, to deciding to leave Toronto and go to England and leave behind your life there. We get a deep look into Rose's life, from her ideal childhood to life with a stepfather, and her ideal place, Silverwood Vale.
Emma has never met and they never knew what happened to her Aunt Rose, but somehow she has inherited from her. We travel with Emma as she leaves and goes to England, and we see how her life changes.
Yes, I page turned for answers, at times with holding our breath from fear, and following how things turned out.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bookoutour, and was not required to give a positive review.

Love Endures

This is a WWII romance. It is a dual timeline story, but it is a bit different than others. I really enjoyed the difference. It focuses on the characters and their feelings and desires rather than on the war although the war is the central part of the story. A bit hard to describe.

The story focuses on nature in a small wooded area called Silverwood Vale. It focuses on two young women, Rose in WWII and Emma in 1990. When Emma inherits Silverwood Vale, she travels from her home to see her inheritances and is intrigued with the story of her great aunt Rose. Silverwood Vale is a place of wonder in nature and it is instrumental in both lives of the young women.

As Rose explores Silverwood Vale and the history of her great aunt Rose, she uncovers a beautiful love story from WWII between the English girl Rose and a German Soldier Walter. The story and the forest are instrumental in reuniting Emma with her nature loving husband Mike.

This story is heartbreaking and heartwarming both. I was surprised at how the two fit together and very much enjoyed both stories. It has suspense, danger, intrigue and romance. You will not be disappointed with this story.

I received a complimentary copy to read and review. The review is voluntary and my own words.

Thank you Netgalley & Bookouture for this ARC. I'm absolutely obsessed with historical fiction and the WWII era and requested an ARC purely based on that. This turned out quite different from my past reads. It doest necessary talks about details of war but its a beautiful love story of simple nature loving girl and a German spy . It was a beautiful read, but there were few places where the story was slow and repetitive. There are 2 timelines in the story , Rose, 18, living on the English coast in 1940 & her great-niece Emma, in Toronto in 1990. would have loved if the story had a little more about how Emma and how she discovers about her great aunt. A little about how Rose and Walter managed all these years in prologue would have been great too.

But over all a great read.

The very epitome of page-turner with a chilling storyline that grips from the first and kept me guessing right up to the heart-racing denouement STUNNER ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My favourite genre is historical fiction and my favourite time period is WWII. I am so glad I was able to read the ARC of this story. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author.

This is a great debut novel. The writing is beautiful. Lyrical but not overdone. Having just listened to the Bono book he could have done with this exact level of prose. Enough to make the story beautiful but not enough to detract from it (and make me want to skim over the extra "fluff").

The writing was so descriptive and I truly felt like I was in the forest with Rose and Emma. The orchid, the family of badgers - so beautifully written. A love story in the middle of war is usually a winner for me - this one was no different. There is a great plot twist near the end (I was not expecting that at all). Overall a quick and super enjoyable read. Highly recommend this one - especially if you are a fan of historical fiction.

Her secret soldier took me through the era of World War II, with a gripping tale of love, sacrifice, and secrets.
The book followed the lives of Rose and Walter, whose encounter setoff events that tested the their loyalty and courage.

The author captured the emotions and struggles of the characters, especially Rose, as she grappled with loyalties and the realities of war.

With a dual timeline it added depth to the story, bringing the past and the present together as Emma, Rose's long lost relative, unravelled the mystery of Rosie’s past. The hidden secrets in the old cottage brought suspense to the plot, and it kept me engaged throughout.

Her Secret Soldier was a captivating and story, exploring the themes of love and sacrifice. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will find this story a must-read.

Days later, I’m still thinking about Rose Tilburn and her secret soldier and longing for a trip back to Silverwood Vale!

This refreshingly unique historical fiction novel highlights worthiness, the risks everyone took during wartime, how war makes killers of the best of men, and how far people can be pushed before they give up.

In a dual timeline format with equally compelling narratives, new-to-me author Julie Hartley slowly reveals what happened to an 18-year-old missing young woman during WW2. She raises thought-provoking questions such as why we tend to reject things we can’t understand, why we make judgements about people we don’t know and why we’re unwilling to take risks to prevent stagnation.

She writes to inform about Operation Lena, the Treachery Act of May 1940, and the XX Committee. I especially loved the moment the title revealed a double meaning!

Hartley’s book was better than imagined and I can’t wait to explore her backlist as I await her next novel.

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

A story based on true events. During WWII a parachute crashes into the woods in England. The problem - he is German. A woman hides him in her family cottage, not knowing what happened to him. Years later a family member searches the cottage and finds something to make her question everything about her life. This story has stayed with me for a days.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow what a debut! Such a good quick read. Historical fiction is by far my favorite thing to read and one with a love story is always fun. A beautifully written story with characters that you just fall in love with. Highly recommend this book it does not disappoint.

Her Secret Soldier
By: Julie Hartley
Pub Date: September 12, 2024
Publisher: Bookouture

My first novel by this author, and DEFINETELY not my last. Absolutely loved this heartwarming story and I was fully invested in the lives of Rose and Walter.

Rose lives in England in 1940. She finds a parachute and a soldier in the woods behind her home. She wants to help the wounded soldier, but quickly discovers he is German. She decides to help the young man when she discovers more about him and a friendship is formed.

1990-Emma inherits a cottage from her Great Aunt Rose. Her aunt was something of a recluse. Emma find something shocking hidden in the cellar and the mystery begins to under cover her aunt’s past.