Hetty's Secret War

by Rosie Clarke

In 1939, with the world on the brink of war, one women faces a future more uncertain than she had ever imagined... Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Cathy Sharp.

Georgie - when the man she has always loved is sent to France on a secret war office mission every knock of the door fills her with dread of it being the feared telegram boy...

Beth - orphaned as a child, Beth is coming of age and determined to do her bit for the war effort. Caught up in a whirlwind romance, she marries only to become a war widow... and one expecting a baby who will never know his brave father. Can she find happiness again?

Hetty - desperately trying to make her way back from Paris to her beloved family in England, a fateful and tragic encounter brings Hetty to Chateau de Faubourg where she joins the resistance and risks both her heart and her life fighting for charismatic resistance leader Stefan Lefarge...

However dark the times, courage, determination and the power of friendship can overcome the hardships of war.

Genres: Historical Fiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 19, 2019

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hetty’s Secret War is the third book in Rosie Clarke’s ‘Women at War’ series. I haven’t read either of the previous books in the series – Jessie’s Promise and The Runaway Wife – but I’m pleased to say Hetty’s Secret War works perfectly well as a standalone. However, it does contain references to significant events in the two previous books so it wouldn’t be the place to start for readers planning to read the whole series.

The title and the book description give the impression that Hetty’s story is the main focus of the book but, although hers is certainly the most dramatic, the experiences of the book’s other female characters – Beth and Georgie – also play a major part. And we shouldn’t forget Hetty’s brother, Ben, who also has a pivotal role in the lives of at least two of the women and whose wartime experiences contribute to a very dramatic and compelling element of the book.

The outbreak of war sees all three women forced to confront changes in their personal lives and the end of the war will see them confronting others. The book takes readers on an emotional journey revealing the trauma and loss that war can bring as well as the terrible uncertainty about the fate of husbands, lovers, brothers, sons. It also demonstrates the important contribution of women in wartime, some in roles which involved just as much risk as those on active service. It also has a chance meeting to rival Casablanca’s ‘Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine’, albeit with a bit of role reversal. I have to say this coincidence requires quite a high level of suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader..

Talking of films, as someone who loves films set in World War 2, I particularly enjoyed Beth’s meeting with a handsome stranger on a train that could be straight out of the 1942 film In Which We Serve (directed by Noel Coward) in which ‘Shorty’ Blake (played by John Mills) first meets Freda Lewis (played by Kay Walsh) on a crowded train.

I know Hetty’s Secret War will delight fans of the series and also readers who like a strong element of romance in their historical fiction – and who aren’t adverse to a bit of bedroom action along the way with descriptions that at times leave not much to the imagination (and seemed to me to be a little out of kilter with the tone of the rest of the book). Reading the book, I was most struck by its message of the possibility of second chances and that companionship, affection and trust play just as important a part in the success of a relationship as those ‘weak at the knees’ moments at the beginning of one. Of course, the perfect solution is to combine both. You’ll have to read the book to see if Hetty, Beth or Georgie end up in this happy situation.

[Heather York · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely read

Rosie Clarke is fast becoming one of my favourite go to authors. Loved this 'women at war' trilogy, each book had its own unique story but the characters were nicely linked over the 3 books. A warm heartfelt read

[Bev Walkling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to #NetGalley and @ariafiction for allowing me to read and review an advance readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed a number of other books by Rosie Clarke but this was the first book that I've read in this series. As such I did find it a little confusing at first figuring out all the different characters and what their background stories were. I would recommend to other readers that it might be best to start with the first book in the series before starting this one.

The story focuses on the lives of three different women - Hetty, Georgie and Beth. All three are connected to each other at least peripherally. Hetty was rather a free spirit who wasn't bothered by the norms of society at the time. She had moved to Paris while young to be with a man but when the relationship ended had stayed there and established herself to the point where she felt Paris was more her home than England. As war loomed she delayed making a decision to return to safety in England until it was too late. In a desperate last minute effort to evacuate she was exposed to the realities of war and all it's horror and ultimately stayed to fight and do her bit for the resistance in France.

As the story begins Georgie loses her husband, an older man that she had married when the man she really loved married someone else. Georgie loved her husband but was never in love with him and discovers that in reality this was not enough for him leaving her with a burden of guilt. When she reconnects with her original love and begins a relationship with him (in spite of the fact he is still married) she also throws aside convention to be with him whenever she can. Her home is taken over for war purposes and she moves back to be closer to family and friends of the past. When her lover goes overseas in a secret capacity, she waits and worries and wonders what will happen to him. Then news arrives.

The last character is Beth, who was orphaned and basically raised by others who loved her and treated her as one of their own. She meets a young pilot, falls in love, marries and is quickly pregnant. She still wants to do her part in winning the war and works in London until her pregnancy makes it too difficult to continue. When word comes that her husband is missing and eventually declared dead she has choices to make.

The story of these women and how they became involved in war efforts was an interesting one but didn't grab me as much as some of the other books that I have read by Rosie Clark. Again, I wonder if it would be different if I had read the first two books and really felt like I had gotten to know the characters.

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hetty’s Secret War by Rosie Clarke is the final installment in Women at War Trilogy. It is early summer in 1939 in Yorkshire when Georgie Bridges receives the news that her husband, Arthur is ill and will soon pass away. Georgie has had a good life with Arthur, and she will miss him when he is gone. However, she has never stopped loving Ben Tarleton who is training for a special war mission. Georgie is happy to reconnect with Ben, but their time is short. Ben is soon sent overseas, and Georgie may never see him again.

Beth Rawlings is nineteen and has just finished her secretarial courses. Annabel offers her a job at Rowntree House Hotel, but Beth would like to spread her wings and help the war efforts. She meets Captain Drew Bryant on the train and falls head over heels in love. When they receive word, that Drew is being deployed, they quickly marry. Beth keeps busy at her job with Arnold Pearson, but she soon discovers that she is with child. Just before Beth is due, she receives a telegram that Drew is missing in action. Will Drew be found, or will Beth become a war widow?

Hetty Tarleton has been living in Paris for ten years when war breaks out. She is a free spirit and artist. Her friends encourage her to return to England, but Hetty does not wish to leave. With the Germans about to enter France, Hetty departs in her car where she navigates roads clogged with people trying to get out of France before it is too late. After a horrific incident, Hetty meets Pierre de Faubourg who takes her to his family’s home, Chateau de Faubourg. Hetty becomes close with Pierre’s mother, Adele. She joins the resistance where she meets the enigmatic Stefan Lefarge. On one mission Hetty encounters the last person she expected to find in France. Hetty takes great risks fighting the German invaders. Will she make it through the war alive? Join Hetty, Beth, and Georgie as they struggle to survive World War II in Hetty’s Secret War.

Hetty’s Secret War can be read as a standalone, but you will find it confusing in the beginning. I suggest you read Jessie’s Promise and The Runaway Wife before embarking on Hetty’s Secret War. You will have a better understanding of the characters and their situations. I have always found World War II a fascinating time period (I would not have wanted to experience it though). Women were encouraged to work outside the home and take on tasks that were previously done by men. It was a difficult time, but people rallied together for the war effort. This is what we see in Hetty’s Secret War. I found the story nicely written with a variety of characters in different situations. There is foul language and intimate scenes included in the book (fair warning). While the book focused on Hetty, Beth and Georgie, we also catch up with Annabel. I like how the separate characters stories intertwined to create one charming book. They face losses and experience heartache, but there is joy as well. Hetty experiences danger and life threatening situations. Despite the hardships, they continued to have hope and faith as well as the comfort of family and friends. The ending had me smiling. Hetty’s Secret War is an emotional novel that will touch your heart.

[Gaele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told in four different perspectives from four women joined by marriage or family, the story focuses on the changes and challenges brought on by separations and deprivations of war. Hetty, the namesake for the title ran off to Paris at 17 full of dreams of an artistic life with her new (and significantly older) lover. When that romance failed, it left her cynical and wholly untrusting of men – but utterly in love with Paris and France. The younger sister of twins Annabel and Ben, she’d left leaving Paris until it was too late – caught in the southbound traffic leaving the city she was spirited off into a chateau, with the ‘man of the house’ soon to leave as he worked for the resistance. Meanwhile, her brother Ben – now a playwright of some renown has signed on to the war effort and was recruited by the SOE, mainly for his familiarity with an area that the Brits were helping locals on the ground. Years before he married a woman he didn’t love, leaving behind one he did – his sister Annabel’s best friend Grace. Grace had gone on to marry Arthur, even though it wasn’t a love match, and never forgot about Ben. These two manage to find one another again and reaffirm feelings and hopes for a future together. Lastly there is Annabel – mother figure to Beth who has been raised by Annabel at her small inn in Cornwall – loved and supported, Beth is feeling the need to do something different – and a chance encounter with a soldier place her in a position of driver/secretary to a man at the ministry of defense – while she waits for her husband to return after the war.

At first, there was so much going on and lots of information – all making it a bit longer to truly dive into the story. But, it wasn’t long before personalities, relationships and tendencies came clear – and the true magic of their interactions develops in front of your eyes. From Hetty’s anger to Grace’s worries, Beth’s growing up and Annabel’s fingers trying to gently (or not so) push people toward situations and connections she thinks will work well for them. A bit of her gentle persuasion, more backbone from characters than they had previously shown (by their own admission) and a clear sense of the family connections and affections – both biological and constructed. One thing that held true in this book (and I’m told from relations who share stories) is the hope for better and the determination to move forward and onward – because that is what is done. I think readers are best served by reading the earlier books in this series – and I’ve read a few others of this author’s titles and she does manage to create a real and palpable sense of friendship, affection and the time. Characters are plausible and distinct, never perfect but always easy to recognize and appreciate.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at I am, Indeed

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge Rosie Clarke fan so was delighted to be asked to review Hetty’s War after I love the previous book in this series The Runaway Wife. Despite being the third book in the series it can eaily be read as a standalone as Rosie Clarke has given enough details at the beginning to come up to date with the story.
In this book the focus has moved on from Annabelle to her younger sister Hetty. In the previous book Hetty ran away to Paris to be with her artist lover, which is where we find her at the beginning of this book. No longer with her lover Hetty’s found herself working in a fashion house and loving her life in Paris, so much so that when news of war breaks out, she refuses to go home to England. Remaining in Paris despite good advice from her friends shows that Hetty’s still young and naïve like she came across in the previous book. Eventually Hetty’s makes her way out of Paris and finds herself at the Chateau de Fauberg where she becomes part of the French Resistance with the gorgeous Stefan, a man Hetty seems drawn despite all the warning signs that it will all end in tear.
Although Hetty’s story is the most prominent in this book she is not the only woman who we read about. Georgie has recently lost her husband Arthur and is struggling with the guilt that maybe if she’s loved him more, he’d still be alive. The story follows Georgie on an emotional rollercoaster as she once again meets up with the love of her life and experiences true happiness if only for a short time.
The third woman’s story is Beth’s, a young girl who was taken in by Annabelle in the previous book when her mother dies. Feeling indebted to Annabelle Beth feels she must stay and help in her hotel, but she longs to go out into the world and experience new things. A chance meeting with a young solider provides Beth with a new job and the possibility of romance.
I loved all three of these stories, each of these women experience a lot of heartache throughout this book and its wonderful to watch them grow and become stronger because of it. Hetty was a real revelation as initially she comes across as just a spoilt child, but she really shows a strength of character and kindness when she’s pushed to her limits.
I really enjoyed reading Hetty’s Secret War, having known very little about the French Resistance it was fascinating to read about the secret missions and hideaways. Rosie Clarke really seems to have captured the uneasy and dangerous atmosphere surrounding the missions. I think this has been balanced out perfectly with romance throughout the book and made Hetty’s Secret War a book which was very difficult to put down.
Thank you so much to the publishers for sending a copy for me to review via Netgalley and inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

[Mystica · Rating 5 out of 5]

WWI and II both fascinate me. The stories thrown up are intense and emotional - always. Survival in the face of hardship, persecution, then the separation sometimes temporary most often permanent from loved ones, the fear of the unknown, the missing. Then you get immense stories of courage of ordinary men and particularly women who took up the challenge at every level. The stories are never dull

This was another good one.

Three separate people linked by the War. Georgie the only man she loved gone on a secret mission as a spy. Will he ever return? It seems so sad that after waiting so long for happiness that it is snatched away from her. We have Beth on the threshold of being a young woman. In love and marrying in such haste. Her husband in France. Every time the bell goes she is in suspense whether it is for her with the dreaded news. When it does come she has to face it head on with a baby on the way. Then we have Hetty who went away to France impetuously. Fled with a French lover, disillusioned by love and men, now caught in a no mans land with no way to return.

Each story was intense and Hetty's one though more dramatic than the other two all were equally emotional. The losses which each woman faced in turn were really sad. Each waited for happiness, each was given it for a short time, then it was lost. The fact that they continued to live with faith and hope and finally found comfort and love was enlightening.

Beautifully told the three women were individually strong characters who grew with the story. Descriptive of both England and France at the time in 1939 it brought everything alive.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the ‘Women at War’ series, for those readers, like me who haven’t read the previous two books, there is a comprehensive summary at the beginning of the book, with character details and significant events explained and noted.

The story reads well as a standalone, but the characters are complex and the previous storylines intriguing, so that I wish I’d read the whole series. There is a distinctive writing style, in keeping with the time period and some of the dialogue seems a little stilted, but you get used to this, as the characters are believable and easy to like and the plot has many twists.

There is a satisfying balance of action, angst, historical detail and surprisingly sensual romance in this story. Focused primarily on Hetty as she fights a secret war in occupied France, the story also features, Georgie, Beth and to a lesser extent Annabel and Jessie, characters featured in more detail in previous books. Hetty’s story is exciting and shows her character development well.

The plot is interesting and well-paced and the characters are authentic to the time period but endear themselves quickly to the reader, so you become absorbed in their stories and want them to find happiness and peace as World War Two draws to a close.

An enjoyable, historical read, with notable characters and an intriguing plot.

I received a copy of this book from Aria Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh sigh. Three women, all dealing with the pain of losing a loved one to WWII. Georgie, Hetty, and Beth are very different but each of them is coping with tragedy. Georgie's husband has died but she's reunited with her earlier love- and then he heads overseas. Beth's pregnant and her husband, a pilot, has gone missing. Hetty - oh Hetty- she went to France as a young woman and now that she's stuck there she's working with the Resistance. Clarke weaves together these three women in a way that might not surprise you but will keep you reading. This notes that it's the third in a series but read it as a standalone as it's meant to be linked but not successive of the others. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. Fans of this genre will enjoy it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I hadn’t read the previous two but that wasn’t a problem.

It is set across the UK and France and mainly focused on Hetty, Georgie & Beth’s lives.

It was well-written and unpredictable in parts. I would also love to read he first books as I really felt drawn to these strong female characters & would love to know more about their lives before WW2.

[Eileen James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series.

Having read all five books in this series l thoroughly enjoyed reading them you are on a par with Catherine Cookson looking forward to reading my next book. Thank you, hope you keep safe.

[margaret a adamsonpenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another really good read, the last in the series all of which have been very good. I really like Rosie’s books especially the series with lots of books to continue the stories. Would definitely recommend, just started another series

[Mrs Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!!

I love Rosie's stories!! This one is so lovely! I have only been to Paris so I really enjoyed reading about Paris and the French countryside, chateaus etc. The story of Hetty and her friends and family was a lovely read. Thank you again Rosie. XX

[Kathy E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have now read all three books in this series. I enjoyed it but it was not as good as the two previous books. To me this is not the best book by Rosie Clarke.

[Mrs Diane Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all of Rosie Clarke's books I can't put them down don't know what I am going to read now loved Hetty's secret war

[Helen campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hettys war

another thrilling and intriguing look at life during the war by rosie was heartstopping and heartbreaking rolled into one hope there is more to come from this family

[Audrelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book. I love this genre and Rosie Clark is a beautiful storyteller. I was hooked from the first page and read it in one weekend....I can’t wait for her next book.

[J.J. JOHNSTONE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Another great Rosie Clarke book. I Thoroughly enjoyed this book and would not hesitate in recommending it to anyone who enjoys reading.

[Miss Lorraine Draper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

This series of books had me enthralled from start to finish Rosie Clarke is my favourite author and I can't wait to read her other books in the future

[marilyn goldthorp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hettys Secret War

Another great read so interesting I couldn't put it down it is so interesting and makes you feel you are living through it.

[Rhona Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a good read.

Looking forward saw a new Mulberry Lane book out next year. 😀 But this was good featuring characters from previous two in this series.

[Christine Leake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

A most intriguing read of love and heartbreak add in bravery and the woman at war are resourceful and courageous another great read

[Elizabeth Pickford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good read and certainly I had very little idea of what went on in France during world war 2 until I read this. So educational as well, but not quite as good as books 1 and 2 in the same series.