The Soldier's Girl: A gripping, heart-breaking World War 2 historical novel Kindle Edition

I have just finished reading this extraordinary story of a young English girl who spent much of her childhood on a vineyard in Alsace, then France. Some years later, as a young adult and after Nazi Germany has annexed Alsace, she returns as a spy.This is not at all what I expected from a WWII spy novel. It it so much more as it describes the beautiful location and details the impact of war on the ground. I was unaware of the forced 'Germanization' of the citizenry or the politics and importance of this region of France. It boggles the mind the extent to which Hitler's maniacal plans to take over were executed with such thorough precision.The character Sibyl takes on three personnas in her role as spy. The author does an extraordinary job as she takes us through the various roles and the mindset of a young woman under varying and extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances. The conflicting emotions from the outset of Sibyl's parachute drop into annexed Alsace, up and through the time she meets the German major, and onto the finale are palpable. I was stunned by the end.This is book worth reading. Historical fiction readers, especially with interest in WWII, might like it as much as I did. This was a history lesson I'll not likely forget. It is a heartbreaker on many levels.

I couldn't wait to read this book. WWII in occupied France is one of my favorite eras to read about, but this story was just too full of cliches and astounding coincidences. The descriptions of the beautiful scenery along with the devastation of war were quite good, but the way the characters " just happened to interact" was predictable. The character of the German Officer, Wolfgang, was simply too good to be true; the other German officers were caricatures of brutishness. In an effort to portray von Haagen as a good guy it seemed as if the author had a list of the requisite sterling character traits, and made sure they were all checked off.There was entirely too much dialogue driving the story line, and the man/woman dialogue was almost humorous it was so unreal. It came off as though the men had a script to follow, and spoke the words that women wished their men would say.I was disappointed; gave it 3 instead of 2 stars simply because of the accurate depiction of life under the brutal Nazi regime which was endured in occupied areas.

I don't usually like to be negative but I have to comment on this book. It is NOT gripping, nor is it heart wrenching. It is dull and tiresome. Very wordy and absolutely no 'meat'. If you are a true historical fiction buff, as I am, you will be disappointed

This book starts out in Colmar, France in 1929 when Kathleen Lake brings her two daughters, Sibyl and Elena to stay with her friend, Margaux and her children after the suicide of Kathleen's husband, Mervyn. In 1935, Kathleen accepts a marriage proposal from a co-worker who is transferred to England so she and her daughters move back to England. Sibyl eventually becomes a nurse and nurses the war wounded. As World War II escalates, she joins the French Resistance and returns to France as a spy. Sibyl meets a German soldier, Wolfgang von Haagen, who takes a liking to her which complicates her life as her heart belongs to her childhood sweetheart Jacques, a neighbor of Margaux. Sibyl, whose name now is Jeanne Dauguet, is a cobbler's assistant with an "uncle" who is also in the Resistance. As Sibyl dates Woolfgang, he tells her secrets that she passes along. I really enjoyed this book and all of the characters. What an exciting book with many twists and turns. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and it was hard to put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this very interesting book and review it.

Having read my fair share of war fiction, I really enjoyed this story. It was very relatable with the crisis of moral values. However, the ending was somewhat disappointing. I really hated what happened to Wolfgang. I know that he was a German officer, but I thought he had a lot of promise. He seemed to have genuine feelings Sybil.

The Soldier's Girl is by Sharon Maas. This book is set in Alsace, France during its occupation by the Nazis during World War II. It deals with the Resistance and its association with SOE. What decision can a young girl make when she is sent to lead the Resistance in Alsace. Can she keep her character straight when coming face to face with evilSibyl was just nine when her Father committed suicide and left the family totally broke. Her Mother took Sibyl and her sister Emily to France to stay with her Mother's friend. They lived in her chateau and went to school with the other kids until Sibyl was fifteen. Sibyl and her sister became fluent in German, English, French, and Alsasian. Their Mother took them back to England when she remarried and Sibyl had to readapt to her new world. She became a translator and was doing fairly well for herself when she was recruited by the SOE to train as a spy and go to Alsace and lead the Resistance groups in that area. The resistance groups were small and with no way to communicate with each other, they were not well organized and needed weapons and money. Sibyl was to go in as their leader, take them weapons and teach them how to use them and coordinate their activities as well as keep in touch with England. The first person she saw as she parachuted in was an old friend from her school days in Alsace, Jacques.How was she going to be accepted by these men who had been fighting alone all this time Would she be able to learn to really lead or would she give in to Jacques and let a ¨man¨ lead. How would she handle the attention she receives from a Nazi officer.

This was more than just another romance novel revolving around WWII. It had full richly detailed characters, set in the Alsace region of France which coincidentally is the home of my ancestors! That made it an even better read but the depth of the story line and the writing truly made this a very good book.

Oh my goodness, what a book. Started fairly slowly, descriptions of Sibyl's childhood in Alsace, setting the scene for the rest of the book. Sibyl then returns to England before the start of WWII. Once the war breaks out Sibyl is working at a hospital treating the wounded of many nationalities including German, where she realises it's the human condition that she treats rather than who the soldiers are fighting for. She then gets the opportunity to return to Alsace in the role of an SOE agent, due to her unique language skills.Once in Alsace, Sibyl meets again her childhood friend Jacques, now a Resistance fighter. This is where the book starts to get interesting. Having trained and supplied the Resistance with weapons, Sibyl moves on to her next role, a cobbler's assistant in Colmar. On arriving in Colmar, Sibyl catches the eye of Major Wolfgang von Haagen, the Commandant of the Colmar region. The Major pursues Sibyl, showing more and more of his human side as the chapters go on. We get to know how he ticks and an insight into how a German soldier might think.With two men now in her life, which will Sibyl chose. I won't spoil the ending but I have to say that I was rooting for the German, who came across as a lovely character. We hardly got to know Jacques, who was no doubt also worthy. But the very interesting thing about this book is that it makes you think about how a German soldier may think about the war. Wolf comes across very upright and confident, arrogant in fact at the start. As the months go by and Germany starts to lose the war, we get to see how he feels, his worry about what will happen to him, his panic at his beloved Germany losing, about his dreams for survival after the war. In most of the WWII films we see, German soldiers come across as without feeling, arrogant and singleminded. British soldiers by contrast have the feelings. It was good to read a book representing them as the same, just on the other side.All in all, a fabulous book, and I have to say I keep thinking about Wolfgang, what a great character!

I really enjoyed this exciting war story with a difference, once the action moved to beautiful Alsace and I was plummeted into occupied territory. I visit this area each year, a curious region of France, almost Germanic, with its fairy tale architecture and special, guttural French and I've always wondered about the Occupation in this region, being so close to the German border.The writing really came into its own once Part 2 was underway and I was taken into occupied territory and the fighting. I appreciate why the author wanted to introduce us to her characters in peace time - to strengthen their motives, later on, behind their fight for freedom, but the tension and reading experience was stronger as the war story unfolded.It was fascinating and refreshing to see into the heroine 's mind: working as an undercover agent, and despite her training (albeit brief...), the way she struggles with her conscience and personal feelings. This seemed very real to me; we have many stories packed with derring-do in war novels, but Maas skilfully works this raw nerve in our heroine to great effect. Her German soldier is kind, sentimental, shaped by a philosophy he is beginning to doubt himself; a real person, not just the enemy. I was really convinced by all this.This spring, when we make our annual visit to Riquewihr and the surrounding villages nestled in the vineyards, I shall look with new eyes to this beautiful area and remind myself of a period that should never be forgotten. Behind the chocolate-box images, there are many stories that need to be recorded. Thank you Ms Maas for transporting me there. I'm now off to look up your other titles.

The Soldier’s Girl is a wartime historical fiction. I bought this book after reading a glowing review of it on another book blog. I enjoy this genre, especially the intense fear and danger that resistance members and agents put themselves under.The story beings in the pre-war years from 1929. Recently widowed, Sibyl’s mother takes her two young daughters to Alsace, France, where they can heal from the horrors of a father who left them with little financial support. They stay with her mother’s school friend at a vineyard for five years until the threat of war draws near.By 1938, Sibyl is training as a nurse in England. Fluent in French, German and Alsatian, a local French dialect, she is identified as someone who could be trained as a secret agent. The story then takes us to 1943, when Sibyl is given a new identity as well as her own spy circuit. She’s dropped into the isolated Alsace area to meet with, and help coordinate, the local resistance fighters.I enjoyed learning about the historical fight for ownership of the Alsace region between Germany and France. I was unaware that during the war, Germany claimed the area as its own, forcing the people to rename their streets, towns and even their family names with German ones. I also liked the parts of the book set around the vineyard; they felt very genuine and idyllically French.Much of the writing is dialogue-led and although it is used to move the story forward, great chunks of detail in dialogue format are never my favourite style of storytelling.  I found Sibyl a disappointment; wartimes spies were extraordinarily careful and professional, as they knew that their work was a matter of life and death. However, reacquainted with Jacques, a childhood friend from the vineyard, she breaks her strict training rules of secrecy. Her radio messaging is unrealistic; everything should be in code, but Sibyl speaks to her contact as if she is using the telephone. And I’m afraid I couldn't believe that her high-ranking German officer 'sweetheart' would be so easily led into gossiping and the divulging of intelligence details to a local girl. This could have been so much darker and more edgy.Overall, the setting was a delight, but the secret agent aspect was let down by unbelievable actions and it weakened the storyline.

I really loved this book. When I began to read it, I thought it started quite slowly, with the descriptions of Alsace and its vineyards and harvests dragging on a bit, before getting into the main crux of the story; however, once the war had begun, it became very interesting. I really liked all the main characters very much indeed. At first I wasn't too keen on Wolfgang but as the story developed he became much more human and likeable and towards the end I loved him to bits and sympathised with him very much, although I still really liked Jacques too! I could hardly put the book down as I couldn't wait for the outcome and wondered which of her two men Sybil would finally choose at the end of the war. No spoilers, though - I highly recommend that people read it and find out for themselves.

A Brilliant story by Sharon Maas, Who I have not read her books before, but i was not disappointed, in this tale of The S O E, agent, Sibyl Lake, and how she was prepared & trained for her drop into France. Sibyl loved France as she had spent her younger days growing up there with her Mother Kathleen, & sister Elena, staying with their Mothers friend Margaux.But the day comes when they return to England & ww11 starts. Sibyl works in an office & it does not go unnoticed that she speak fluent french & German, It is while she is an agent in France that we see how she becomes friendly with a German officer, & the tension builds up, wondering how she is going to get out of some of the situations she gets into, You will not be disappointed with this story , It was the best I have read for a while.