The Girl Who Never Gave Up by Kate Hewitt

This is the last book in the Emerald Sisters series. After reading all the installments in this series, it makes me empty now. However, The Girl Who Never Gave Up has ended at the highest and brightest point.

The story bought the girls back together. This time was the story about Rachel. The struggle, the love, the motherhood, all these challenges in the darkest time in their lives - world war 2. I enjoyed much about to see how determined Rachel was to survive. The bitterness and the sweetness parts were presented in an impressive way by the author.

I’m looking forward to reading more books from Kate!

Many thanks to Netgalley, bookouture and the author for my copy.

This beautiful series has been touching & heart wrenching. I’ve loved getting to know each of the Emerald Sisters in their individual stories. I felt a lot of timely comparisons to horrific events that are part of these heartbreaking World War 2 novels.

This final book in the Emerald Sisters series tells the story of the power of a mother’s love, even in the darkness of the Second World War. Rachel’s story is riveting with all she goes through hiding from the Nazis & in the traumatic concentration camp. It was wonderful getting to see Sophie, Rosa, & Hannah again, in this final installment.

Thank you, Kate Hewitt, Bookouture, & netgalley, for my early gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

The Girl Who Never Gave Up is the fourth and final instalment in the Emerald Sisters series by Kate Hewitt. I’ve loved this series since the very beginning and this story provided me with all the answers to the burning questions which have only increased with each book. It was a brilliant and fitting conclusion to what has been a well-developed and well written series based on four young women who shared their intriguing and at times heart-breaking life experiences during World War Two. Each book can be read as a standalone but I would suggest to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the work gone into the overall series start with book one and work your way through them.

This story opens as the women gather in June 1946 to meet at a café in Paris, a year after the war had ended. It was a promise the four had made to each other after meeting on the SS. St Louis which left Hamburg in 1939 bound for the safety of Cuba. As the women gather after being through such turbulent times over the last seven years they are keen to share their stories but there are a few shocks and surprises in story. One big question is will all the women make the meeting that has been set in stone for so long?

I enjoyed how there wasn’t a specific overly long and detailed rehash of the women’s time on the ship. I’d read this before and knew what had happened so I really wanted to get stuck straight into Rachel’s story. But suffice to say enough of an explanation is given so that readers new to the series will understand what has already occurred. The promise of a haven in Cuba for so many Jewish people wishing to evade persecution in Germany did not materialise and the ship is forced to turn back with Sophie, Rachel, Rosa and Hannah all scattered to different parts of the world. Before they separate they break an emerald into four pieces and this becomes their talisman which they cling to through the good times and the bad. On that designated day in Paris hopefully all four shards will be placed together. But before that can happen there are a lot of trials, tribulations, suffering, uncertainty and dark times to get through.

Rachel is a German Jew married to Franz. She has left behind her mother and grandmother who were not able to travel and this is one thing that she will always regret. She wishes desperately that they were by her side but she must traverse her path with Franz. Although a lot of the time I felt she was flying solo as Franz was and could not be the husband she wanted him to be. Franz is recently released from Dachau having spent seven months at the internment camp. He is a shell of his former shelf and no longer the man Rachel married but she clings to the hope that she will be able to penetrate the walls he has established around himself and she will find the Franz that she fell in love with. Franz was once reckless, passionate, defiant, brave and had fierce convictions but now he barely speaks or interacts with Rachel and is in a state of just existing rather than living. Rachel is despondent and struggles to deal with this new Franz but she knows that her loyalty always lies with her husband and that when they married it was for better for worse, in sickness and in health and that she must never give up on him. She is the strength and pillar now of the relationship. She has taken over the role that a man usually occupies and without Rachel by his side he would quite simply cease to exist and go down without a fight.

Rachel tries everything to get through to him whilst on board the boat and when they are shipped back to a quarantine camp in the Netherlands. She is persistent and loyal despite the lack of interaction, support, affection and encouragement that a spouse should offer. I admired how she kept going and never gave up on him. I understand why he acted the way he did, for God knows what he must have witnessed and experienced in the camp but at the same time I thought should he not have been grateful that he was still alive and back in the arms of somebody who had missed and loved him very much? I wanted him to step up and shoulder the burden with Rachel. She couldn’t do everything on her nor should she have had to. Rachel kept trying with him, for if you don’t with regards to both Franz and their deteriorating situation there is no other choice but to curl up and die.

I found the chapters set in the Netherlands detailing Rachel and Franz’s new challenging life very well written, interesting and absorbing. I didn’t feel the chapters going by and the way the years slipped by too felt right and the pacing was good. Sometimes when there is a jump forward in years in a book or months moving by very quickly it can feel jarring to the story but here it felt natural and fitting. The themes of survival and resilience start coming to the fore as war is declared and over time Hitler extends his power and soon the Netherlands finds itself invaded and times grow ever more precarious for Rachel and Franz. I felt they were living on the edge all the time. That they could never fully relax because there was always the threat that they would be detained and shipped off to a concentration camp. Rachel had done her best to create some sort of life for them in the town of Haarlem and the new characters at this point added to her story especially the Ten Boom family whom I only discovered were real people when I read the historical notes at the end. I can’t imagine how it must have been living your life on your nerves in daily fear that at any time the Nazi’s would come for you and then what fate would await you.

The later half of the book was fantastic despite its harrowing nature. As mentioned in the blurb as the Nazi’s draw ever nearer and Rachel and Franz are discovered hiding along with others they are taken away on a cattle train. Their destination being Auschwitz. Here is where I felt Franz truly changed and a glimmer of his former self was beginning to make itself known. So cruel that just when their relationship was softening and maybe could get on track the gates of hell opened up and swallowed them. Whether they would emerge unscathed remained to be seen.

Rachel thought she had been through it all but little did she realise that her strength, bravery, courage and her power of endurance would be tested more than ever within the walls of the camp. She has a secret that she is holding close to her heart and she hopes that given it is late 1944 and there are rumours of the Soviets advancing through Germany that both herself and Franz might survive. But there are a lot of harrowing things to go through and I was glad the author did not spare any details when it came to describing what went on at the camp and to specifically Franz and Rachel. An outstanding picture as built by the author that only had my compassion and admiration growing by the page for Rachel. Dare I say it I think she was my favourite woman out of all four even though at the time of reading each book it was that woman that I liked. But Rachel was a standout character and I crossed my fingers that she would be one of the women that would be there on the right date at the café in the City of Lights.

Kate Hewitt has done herself proud with this series. It seemed slightly ambitious in its scope at the beginning and I wondered would it hold my attention throughout given some of the story had to be repeated with each book as it was necessary to do so. But I needn’t have worried at all, the characterisation, the settings and all the plotlines were superb all combining to make the series as a whole and in particular The Girl Who Never Gave up is an unmissable read that will leave every reader deeply satisfied.

I’ve loved this series and I’m sorry to see it come to an end. Kate did a great job telling the stories of Hannah, Rosa, Sophie and Rachel. They were four unlikely friends who survived unthinkable odds to make it back to each other.

This is Rachel’s story. From when she first meets the girls, then everything her and her husband went through, all the way until the girls are all together again in Paris. They escape Germany only to be left in the Netherlands and they end up in the camps anyway. A good chunk of the story is how Rachel survives Birkenau.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC of this book.

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How can this be the last book in the series?!?! I have come to know all of these girls and as much as I wanted to see how the story played out, I didn’t want it to end!!! Get the tissues ready with this one.
Four young women become friends aboard the SS St. Louis, a ship that was supposed to take Jews out of Europe, but it had no intention of stopping in Havana. First we had Sophie’s story, then Hannah, Rosa and now Rachel. I love how Kate Hewitt put so much history into this series.
Rachel and her husband wind up in the Netherlands and they hide from the Gestapo with the brave Corrie ten Boom and her family. I like how this amazing family was intertwined into the story. Rachel’s story was heartbreaking, but she still held onto hope. I don’t want to give away too much but the ending was satisfying.
Kate Hewitt is an “automatic” read for me. I hope she writes another saga like this. Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheGirlWhoNeverGaveUp #KateHewitt #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetDuringWWII

The Girl Who Never Gave Up is the final book of WWII Series The Emerald Sisters by Kate Hewitt. While the story begins with the girls meeting in 1946,the story quickly turns to Rachel and Franz boarding the ill-fated SS St Louis in 1939. They settle in the Netherlands which is a difficult place to be. Be sure to have a tissue handy for this story is a heart-wrenching tale of wartime suffering, spirit, and love with such sadness but also some wonderful surprises. Many in the Netherlands may agree with the Nazis concerning Jew but not all. It is the few who did not that stand out in Rachel’s story.

Of the four stories this was the hardest for me to read. The horrors seen, experienced and so few surviving it is heart breaking. Still there is hope. It is important for us today as readers and thinkers to know so hat history does not repeat itself. The Girl Who Never Gave Up is an inspirational story that is part of a stirring series.

Germany 1939, World War II rages on across Europe and Franz Blau is released from Dachau. Franz and his wife Rachel, know that they have to leave their homeland, Germany, if they want any chance at all of survival. Franz is weak from Dachau and Rachel is his strength and hope.

They seek solace in the Netherlands and without knowing the language, they see the Germans getting closer and closer to the border. They don’t think they have anywhere to go until Corrie ten Boom and her family help them hide in order to survive.

Once again Franz and Rachel are captured and they are separated from each other and sent to different camps. It’s not long before Rachel discovers she is expecting, and now her focus is not only to find Franz but now she must risk her life to save her baby.

The Girl Who Never Gave Up, written by author Kate Hewitt, is an amazing story of courage and never giving up hope. I loved this book from cover to cover. What a phenomenal storyline, incorporating the amazing Corrie ten Boom into the book.

This wonderful story had me in tears quite a few times, but I was also cheering on Franz, Rachel and their baby. I loved the faith they had in each other, and they never, ever gave up. As difficult as it was they still held on to the hope of making it through. This heartbreaking and unputdownable story is one that I highly recommend.

My Review:
It was wonderful to return to the Emerald Girls, this time the focus on Rachel Blau, wife of Franz and their journey post SS St Louis. For me this was the best out of the 4 experiences and believe me they are all wonderfully written. If you are just joining the girls now, you are lucky you can get all four experiences now. Franz remains dazed from his experience at Dachau and its so hard for Rachel to reach him, her faith in getting her husband back rarely wavers as they navigate their way through living in Holland, reconnecting with an old friend of Franz’s and Rachel finding a job to help pay for food and rent. As the Nazi’s draw closer and closer their lives become ever more restricted, along the way they meet some incredibly brave souls to support them no matter what risks they may face themselves, and some who turn their back on them as soon as the threat becomes more real.
Their story is hard, lonely, strong and I was totally in awe so have the ten Booms woven into the story. It’s also nice to meet characters such as Jakob. Will they make it to meet the others in Paris? A recommended 5 star read.

No one writes WWII saga series like Kate Hewitt!
This is the concluding book of four friends on the doomed St. Louis ship, sent back to Europe and how they all fared.
For most of the book Franz was just a hollow shell and I felt sorry for Rachel.
I loved how Hewitt inserted the ten Boom family into this book and how they played an integral role.
Rachel endures must about every facet of persecution.
Ultimately, the book ends on a high note although Hewitt makes readers think something else for most of the book.
Hope can be a powerful motivation.

Rachel Blau and her husband Franz had managed to survive through the torments that dogged them both. They'd arrived in Haarlem after disembarking from the SS St Louis and then leaving the quarantine camp. The little apartment had been lent to them by a friend of Franz's, but as the Germans came closer, Rachel and Franz hid, first in one house and then another. Dutch people who had sympathy for the Jewish people and risked their own lives to keep them safe. But finally their luck ran out, and the cramped and overcrowded train took them to Auschwitz/Birkenau, where they were separated. Because of her work in Haarlem, Rachel could confidently say she worked in a bakery, so her job in Auschwitz was in their bakery, cooking bread for the Nazis.

As Rachel's pregnancy progressed, the terror of knowing her baby would die once born in the camp, saw her planning for the safety of her child. A kind midwife, as well as one of her old friends, performed a miracle, and Rachel's baby girl, Corrie, was taken to safety. But would Rachel find her after the war was over? All the while, Rachel had kept her sliver of the emerald they all had - when they met again in Henri's in Paris, once the war was over, would they all be there, reunited again?

The Girl Who Never Gave Up is the 4th and final episode in The Emerald Sisters series by Kate Hewitt and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Rachel's story was as harrowing as the rest, but maybe moreso as the brutality of the Germans overruled it all. I have loved this series, and look forward to more stories by Ms Hewitt in the future. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for my digital ARC to read and review.

First time reading a Kate Hewitt book and I can honestly say im going back to read the first 3 books of The Emerald Sister Series. This telling of Rachel’s story was Heartbreaking, with her still holding onto so much hope and grace. The emotional journey we go on with many members of the Jewish community.

Publication date: 30th January, 2025
Read dates: 21st January – 28th January 2025

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which kept me turning the pages and unable to put it down.

It’s the story of Rachel and her husband Franz, and what happened to them during WW2 as they were Jews.

Some parts were really sad, reading about their ordeal by the German soldiers. When they were on a boat heading to Cuba, they are sent back, but on that boat Rachel befriends other girls and they make a plan to meet up when and where after the war.

But, it’s not certain who will be there when that time comes.

I highly recommend this book.

This is a very compelling story that made me tear up because it is brutally honest and detailed. Every page was gut wrenching and I will be reading the prior stories of this series. It’s a reminder of how much effort it takes to make a marriage work and how difficult it can be. It is a story of survival and growth. It was beautifully written. I will be recommending it to my friends.

Loved this book. I literally couldn’t put it down. This was the last book in a series. I have never read the others so will need to go back and read them. This book gives you all the feels, filled with love, courage and most of all hope!

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Girl Who Never Gave Up’, book 4 of The Emerald Sisters written by Kate Hewitt, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Four young women meet on the SS St Louis and becomes friends after being forced to leave their homes in Germany under the orders of Hitler. ‘The Girl Who Never Gave Up’ is the fourth part of the story of these women, Sophie, Hannah, Rachel and Rosa, named the Emerald Sisters after the sliver of emerald they’ve carried with them with the promise to meet up again in Paris one year after the end of World War II. The first party of the novel recaps on the history of the women and then continues with the story of Rachel and her husband Franz and their reliance on some good people in the Netherlands to hide them when Germany invades in 1940.

Although a work of fiction, this beautifully written novel relates some of the true facts of what happened to men, women and children in concentration camps, especially Auschwitz-Birkenau, and made for essential yet uncomfortable reading. The descriptions of the four young women and how they coped brought their stories to life for me. This being the final part of this wonderful series, I was hoping it would have an ending that didn’t finish in tears so I’m glad to say that I wasn’t disappointed, and despite the fear and horrors they’ve experienced they can now have some happiness in their lives.

This was a book I could not put down. It was the last in a series of 4 and even though I had not read the others it didn’t matter. This story is about Rachel Baur and her husband Franz and what they went through during WW2 being Jews. It was so heart breaking how they both suffered at the hands of the German soldiers.They start off going on a boat to Cuba but when they got there they were sent back .While onboard she makes friends with 3 other girls and they all arrange to meet up after the war at a certain place and time but who will survive the war to be there.I will definitely be reading the other 3 books in this series.Thank you to Netgalley and Bookature.

A story about four girls that meet and become fast friends. The individual journeys the four of them go on is heartbreaking and heartwarming.
You will go through many emotions reading this heartfelt story.
A story about courage above all else. And, never giving up hope.
This is the 4th book in the Emerald Sisters series. From what I understand, it is the last book in the series. I recommend reading the books in order as there is so much back story to each one of the main characters.
Recommended for fans of WW2 historical fiction books.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a powerful book this was. And a brilliant conclusion to the series. By the end of all the book featured I had really come to care for them all. And even when reading the others, the rest of this group of friends aren't far from your mind.

Having to leave their homes and safety must have been terrifying for people at that time. Never mind the uncertainty of what's next or for how long the suffering would play out.
Add to that if your of a group at risk and targeted. I don't know how they did it.

This is about Rachel and her love Franz. Having to flea their home and with Franz already traumatised from being locked up it's a fight from the very beginning.
They find a place to settle in the Netherlands. Here they are definitely not always met with kindness. There are thiss like the Ten blooms who take them in as one of their own. They nurture and care for them.
There story sadly gets worse when they are captured and ordered to the camps. Here they are separated. But it is then that Rachel learns she has something else to fight for. A fight she is now even more.determind to win.

The Girl Who Never Gave Up is the fourth and final book in The Emerald Sisters series and it tells the story of Rachel Blau and her husband, Franz.

The book opens with Rachel and Franz boarding the ill-fated SS St Louis. They are a young married couple fleeing Germany after Franz was released from seven months in Dachau. Franz is just a shell of himself, and Rachel is trying her best to care for him.

I do believe that this book was my favorite of the series, and Rachel’s story really touched me. It was a reminder that marriage is sacred and we should never turn our back on our spouse. A reminder that we should love them while they are here, the best that we can, even when we struggle to like them.

After reading all four books I have come to feel like Sophie, Rosa, Hannah, and Rachel are my friends, and I’m going to miss them!

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Kate Hewitt for the chance to read this book and share my thoughts!

This was the last book in this group of four.
This was Rachel’s story. It was sad but full of hope too.
It was a fitting conclusion to the four girls who had become friends during an awful time.
Perfect for all historical fiction fans