Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a story of the Dutch in WWII. I wanted to enjoy this but did not finish. I couldn't get into the novel.

A Time for Defiance is the suspenseful tale of the invasion of Holland by the German soldiers in WW2

Aafke runs her family grocery store but that all changes when the Nazi's arrive in town and take over.

Tension is high among the citizens of Eindhoven and when there is a run on the store for goods, chaos results and Otto a German soldier rescues Aafke from total disaster.

Their paths will cross throughout the war and this special connection is always present.

Tension mounts as the underground fights back against their invaders and Aafke joins the ranks.

Things do not go as planned and Aafke soon learns that she never really knew her friends.

We also see the war from Otto's perspective and though he is the enemy he does abide by rules .

James Shipman does an excellent job of making the reader feel the tension and he has you holding your breath for both Otto and Aafke.

This is my first but not last book by James Shipman and I highly recommend you grab your copy of A Time for Defiance and settle in for a captivating read.

Please take time to read the author's notes at the end of the book , they add so much to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing/Kensington for the privilege of reading and reviewing A Time for Defiance.

This was the first book I read by James D. Shipman. A Time for Defiance was interesting, but it took me several weeks to finish. Although I liked the story between Aafke and Otto, I found the other characters dull and uninteresting.

The setting was the Netherlands as the Germans invaded, which the author portrayed well; the story failed to pull me in. Some decisions the characters made seemed unrealistic, given the punishments they may have faced, which left me questioning the believability and realism of the story.

The author offers a glimpse into another part of the war I always wanted to read more about, which is what kept me reading along with the perseverance and courage of the main characters despite the orders and horrors they faced.

This book was a three-star read as I struggled through the narrative a few bits at a time. But if you like learning about previously unknown aspects of WWII, this is an enlightening historical fiction read.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and Net Galley for the E-book ARC. My review is voluntary and mine alone.

A Time for Defiance by James Shipman was the first book I have read by this author. Since I like historical fiction that shines light on little-known aspects of WWII, I thought I would like this book. The plot about a young Dutch woman who helps the resistance sounded compelling, but the execution of the story fell flat for me.

I found the characters and the actions they took to be unbelievable, compared to other fiction and non-fiction books I've read about WWII. I appreciated some of the themes the book explored: following orders vs. following one's own conscience, loyalty, courage to stand up for oneself and others, resilience and persistence.


Thank you for Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

James D. Shipman’s A Time for Defiance takes us to Eindhoven, Netherlands where the sudden occupation of the country brings Aafke and Otto, a German officer, to each other when he steps in to stop looters at her father’s grocery store. The story continues to tell each of their paths during World War II with Aafke joining the Dutch Resistance and Otto fiercely fighting - the war and his conscience about what his homeland is doing to people during the war. Through the story, they find each other again more at Otto’s perseverance in seeing her. Aafke prefers not to be seen with him due to what her missions are within the Resistance.

Otto is a character that you find hoping will see the end of the war alive and bonded to Aafke, whom he never gives up on no matter how much she tries to push him away. Aafke feels she has a lot to prove as a woman trying to take part in getting freedom for the Netherlands. Shipman also has some distasteful characters in Aafke’s father and her fellow Resistance fighter, Arno, who displays similarly abusive traits. Overall, I enjoyed the book and reading about the war from a male writer’s perspective since I seem to read more female authors. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book will be published on November 26, 2024.

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A very suspenseful novel full of surprises!!!! I enjoyed the storyline as it explicitly showed not to trust appearances... Rather thought provoking as to the work of a German soldier as opposed to that of a Nazi. Easy to generalize the duties of both as many people do. I really hated some characters and really loved others who showed seldom integrity and conscience... A great novel which has kept me up most of last night!
I received a digital copy from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.