The Bell and the Blade

by Paullina Simons

Love is at the heart of the Resistance in this pulse-pounding World War II thriller from the bestselling author of  The Bronze Horseman saga.

In Nazi-occupied Belgium, an ordinary merchant ship docks at Antwerp. Hidden deep in its hold lies a mysterious cargo—something the Germans must never find. 

To stop it from falling into enemy hands, the U.S. Army dispatches a covert unit drawn from the survivors of D-Day, a hardened team of specialists sent to parachute behind enemy lines and secure the shipment before it's too late. The soldiers are prepared for anything . . . except what they their only allies on the ground are a partisan cell made up entirely of women.

Thrown together in the crucible of war, this unlikely band of brothers—defiant, reckless, brave—must put aside their differences to stop the desperate Nazis from a diabolical plan that could deliver the Germans their ultimate victory.

Leading the partisans is Charlie, a steely Belgian fighter who meets her match in Fletcher, a brilliant American lieutenant determined to see the mission through—no matter the cost. Alongside them is the lethal and charismatic Rafael, made defenseless by the dazzling and complicated Louise. With help from a Congolese colonial officer and a ten-year-old Jewish boy—both marked for death—they are all that stands between a world turning to peace and a world reduced to ashes . . .

Praise for the Bronze Horseman trilogy

"Extraordinary." —Teresa Medeiros, New York Times–bestselling author

"[A] love story . . . both tender and fierce." —Publishers Weekly

"Recalls Dr. Zhivago." —People 

"This has everything a romance glutton could wish a bold, talented, and dashing hero, a heart-stopping love affair." —Daily Mail

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, War, Historical Romance, Belgium, Historical

539 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 3, 2026

About the author

Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad, USSR, in 1963. At the age of ten her family immigrated to the United States. Growing up in Russia Paullina dreamt of someday becoming a writer. Her dream was put on hold as she learned English and overcame the shock of a new culture.

After graduating from university and after various jobs including working as a financial journalist and as a translator Paullina wrote her first novel Tully. Through word of mouth that book was welcomed by readers all over the world.

She continued with more novels, including Red Leaves, Eleven Hours, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross (also known as Tatiana and Alexander), The Summer Garden and The Girl in Times Square (also known as Lily). Many of Paullina's novels have reached international bestseller lists.

Apart from her novels, Paullina has also written a cookbook, Tatiana's Table, which is a collection of recipes, short stories and recollections from her best selling trilogy of novels, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross, (also known as Tatiana and Alexander) and The Summer Garden.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the first 100 pages, I told myself "I trust Paullina"

Then, I started being late to everything. I couldn't talk to anyone. I had to finish this book.

A very different Paullina Simons story. I feel like I jumped in to a raging river and was swept away by its strong current- this book was so fast! But brilliant. Action packed.

My favourite author of all time, always.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books]

I am so excited for this…The bronze Horseman by this author is one of my most all time favourite series which has always stayed in my heart, a series I’ve read numerous times. So to see she’s written another war time story, I can’t wait to read it..l

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful story took me deep into Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1944. The characters include a group of Allied soldiers and a group of female Belgian resistance fighters. The soldiers are dropped into Belgium to be aided by the resistance group in pursuit of an item which has the possibility of changing the outcome of the war in favor of Germany. The plot is long, intricate and detailed – but for me, wonderfully so. Whenever I thought there was going a resolution in favor of the Allied/resistance group, the plot took another turn! The many different hardships and brutalities suffered by the main characters were fully portrayed. Yet also their friendships and love were extremely visible. The details were so tangible. I felt as if I had been right there in Belgium in 1944. It’s a Paullina Simmons novel, so there is romance – but this is not at all a romance novel. The romance is completely governed by war. This novel consists of a wonderfully told story (it’s not heavy literature), but I fully enjoyed every minute of it. It was the right thing at the right time for me. I listened to the audio and highly recommend that version if you are interested in this novel.

[Soraya Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read a book by Paulina Simons for years (The Bronze Horseman is still one of my favourite books!), but I'm so pleased I picked this one up. I read a review that said it was like a historical novel but with a Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino spin, and that's the perfect description. Great read, amazing characters, absolutely loved it.

[what.karli.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

𝙰 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝟽𝟼𝟶 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝟿𝟶+ 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗! 𝚂𝚎𝚝 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚆𝚊𝚛 𝟸 (𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺) 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝙱𝚎𝚕𝚐𝚒𝚞𝚖 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚙𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚢.

𝙼𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙿𝙾𝚅’𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚏𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚂𝚂 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛.

𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.

𝙰𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝-𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝙸 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙸 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜.

𝙰 𝚈𝙴𝙿 𝚈𝙴𝙿 𝚈𝙴𝙿 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚖𝚎!

(𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: 𝐈 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 ’𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞’ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭)

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow missed the soul of The Bronze Horseman. Couldn't really empathize with the characters except Louise. The good thing about Paullina's writing is that it's never boring. You want to stay till the end of it. The plot was really well done. Wish the characters had been given more flesh too.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This makes me so sad. The book seems to miss everything that makes a Paullina Simons novel. So many characters, so much technicality. Hard to feel any connection or emotion at all — something that she usually does perfectly. Not sure what changed, but this book was not it for me, sadly. 3 stars is probably being generous. The writing is still strong and the I learned some history. Otherwise, a letdown.

[Lynsey McDonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paullina remains the master of the epic historical love story. This one is as sharp and resounding as its title. It hits different - love is only one element, matched by ferocity, friendship, humour, heartbreak, and a game that can have no winners.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down

[Rach Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put it down. Another epic story by my number one favourite author. Loved it!

[Saskia The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Loved it, as I love a lot of Paullina's books!!

This is a cracking story that had me on the edge of my seat for a large chunk of it! It's a Holocaust story, a love story, a cat-and-mouse story, a story of friendship and of doing the right thing - whatever that might be.

Did I love the ending? Jury's out. 🤔 Did I love the fact that the soldiers and the partisans all seems to have an in depth knowledge of poetry at the drop of a hat? Hmmm, it stretched credibility a bit, however lovely it was. Did I really love reading the book? YES!

CW: pretty intimate sexy fun times (but not a huge amount of them), body horror (war)

Senior Fiction

Y12, Y13

[Jo Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst this was a well researched historical novel I did find elements of it unsatisfying. Perhaps due to the amount of characters, I found myself not really connecting to any of them. I did find Rheinhardt’s character, the book’s antagonist, quite interesting, and his motivation of power throughout the book contrasting with heroes of our story. This was a book that I found myself consistently googling questions. A lengthy read of nearly 600 pages.

[Janelle Martinz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was thinking maybe 3 1/2 but rounded up to 4 stars. I can be a fan of historical fiction and this was pretty good, the whole everyone taking on love with everyone thing was a bit of an eye roll but it didn't totally dominate the story so it was fine. Not quite the bronze horseman but would still recommend.

[Erin Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this so much, one of the best books I’ve read all year

[Ashley McWhannell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooo good!!! Loved

[Lucy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not usually into historical fictions, but WOW this was such a good book. Couldn’t put it down!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real struggle to finish.. infact I didn't!

[Cait · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine, but missing the heart of what I like about Simons' books.

[Amanda · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I read this via Whispersync and the narration was excellent.

[Amiehp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many characters and not able to feel a connection to any of them. Read 200 pages and decided I didn't want to endure 600 more.

[Jenna Ely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brought me right back to how I felt reading The Bronze Horseman over 10 years ago. Absolutely incredible storytelling by Paullina Simons. I have read dozens of WWII historical fiction books and this one does not disappoint. I stayed up way too late reading it, felt physically anxious and ill for the characters, and couldn’t put it down at the end. I don’t even have words.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carol read this and thought I might like it too. She was right! Detailed storyteller around the end of WWII in Belgium concerning an unusual group of soldiers and female resistance operatives.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and a decent 4.4 from me

[Miemie Minty · Rating 4 out of 5]

So happy to have discovered another historical fiction author I love. This story is set in Belgium during the Second World War — a part of history I haven’t read much about before. I adored the characters, and the story kept me on the edge of my seat throughout

[Yiska Rosenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

כתוב היטב! מעניין וזורם! אבל לצערי נותן מקום גדול ומיותר ל"אנושיות" של הנאצי (שאין בו בכלל) ומפספס לחלוטין את הדמויות המעניינות והמשמעותיות של הפרטיזניות והלוחמים.
השאיר לי תחושה לא טובה של מוסר מעוות.

[Laurena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author sure knows how to weave a story. Great characters and an interesting plot.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into it, but once I was hooked I couldn't put it down.

[Amie Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow to start but then hard to put down. Great holiday read

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit if a different tale for this author, although still in her wheelhouse being set in Europe during WW2. Gave me a bit of ‘the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ vibe. An enjoyable holiday read.

[Chinchilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it

Well researched, as Simons’ books always are. It took a while to set the stage but it was a page turner. The love story is secondary to the main plot, so if you’re expecting a Bronze Horseman type of epic love story, this book will probably disappoint you.
I’ll admit I’m a hopeless romantic, so the ending could have been better. That’s all I’ll say so as to not give away any spoilers.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve officially become an “I will read anything Paullina Simons writes” kind of reader ever since I finished The Bronze Horseman. So the moment The Bell and the Blade was released, I immediately went into DEAR mode (drop everything and read. ) Never mind that it was over 700 pages long. Never mind that I barely knew what it was about. I simply trusted Paullina Simons, and once again, she did not disappoint.

Set during World War II, this novel initially felt very different from The Bronze Horseman. It seemed heavier on action, espionage, and danger rather than romance, and honestly? I was completely hooked anyway. Then suddenly, right in the middle of all the chaos and life-or-death tension, Paullina gives us romance. And not just romance but the kind that makes your heart race while the war itself is already making your pulse pound. I was swooning and stressed at the exact same time.

I genuinely could not put this book down.

I loved every character …Charlie, Louise, Fletcher, and Fletcher’s entire group. Each of them felt vivid, brave and selfless heroic.

And Paullina Simons truly has a talent for creating heroes you adore just as much as villains you absolutely despise. Von Reinhardt made my blood boil. The kind of villain that makes you want to scream at the pages because he’s just that cruel and infuriating.

One of the most heartbreaking parts for me involved Louise and Grunfell. I won’t spoil anything, but that storyline completely shattered me emotionally.

Readers looking for a perfectly neat “happy ever after” may find this story bittersweet instead. Even Von Reinhardt’s fate feels unsettlingly realistic . That justice is not always satisfying, and sometimes the greatest punishment is simply losing power, influence, and significance.

This was a long, immersive, and emotionally gripping read set in a time when tomorrow was never guaranteed. And in today’s uncertain world, it leaves you reflecting on the value of peace, freedom, and the sacrifices people made to preserve them.