By Kelly Bridgewater

About the Book:

Book: The Songbird and the Spy
Author: J’Nell Ciesielski
Genre: Clean Historical Romance
Release Date: Feb 19, 2019

As shells explode over Nazi-occupied France, American music student Claire Baudin is trapped behind enemy lines, struggling to protect her identity. Singing as a barmaid while she plans her escape, a handsome Third Reich captain threatens everything she knows to be true about the enemy.

Nazi Captain Michael Reiner isn't who he claims to be. A British language expert turned spy, he discovers the truth about Claire, but he knows the importance of a secret. Struggling to resist his
attraction to the songbird, he's determined to complete his assignment, no matter the cost. His cover is threatened when a ruthless female Gestapo officer arrives, hunting Resistance fighters. The raid forces Michael's hand: complete the mission or save Claire.

As the war threatens to tear them apart, they must rely on each other for survival. Is there hope—and a future—for an American songbird and a British spy?

From Goodreads

My Thoughts:

J'nell Ciesielski second novel showed the horrors of World War II wrapped in a love story and filled with history. With a number of research elements, Ciesielski crafted a story showing the highlights of spies during World War II. She does a wonderful job at bringing France during World War II to life. The romance between Michael and Claire moved into like quickly than jumped into love not long after. Claire is a strong heroine who just wants to travel home but accomplishes what she needs to survive. Michael is a strong hero who sacrifices his comforts and his identity to save the woman who has captured his heart. The only problem I had with the plot was the idea of taking Claire to Ireland and leaving her there while Michael returned to the front and continued the war work. It didn't seem to fit the novel storyline and appeared disjointed from the main plot up to the point in the story.

Overall, Songbird and The Spy by J'nell Ciesielski should thrill World War II fiction fans. With the amount of research, Ciesielski displayed a story worth devouring with a hint of romance and plenty of danger. I believe fans of Sarah Sundin, Tricia Goyer, and Jaqueline Winspear should pick up Songbird and the Spy.

I received a complimentary copy of Songbird and the Spy by J'nell Ciesielski from the Celebrate Lit tour program, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase Songbird and the Spy

About the Author:

From Amazon

Believing she was born in the wrong era, J'nell Ciesielski spends her days creating heart-stopping heroes, brave heroines, and adventurous exploits in times gone by. Winner of the Romance Through the Ages contest and Maggie Award, J'nell can often be found dreaming of a second home in Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. Born a Florida girl, she now calls Virginia home, along with her very understanding husband, young daughter, and one lazy beagle. Find out more at jnellciesielski.com. (Taken from Amazon.)

More from J'nell

The most popular question an author is asked is where did the inspiration come from. Most of the time, if not always, my inspiration comes from a trifecta of resources: movies, music, or books. A single song lyric, or secondary character, or novel setting can trigger a whole world of possibilities that has to be explored. In the case of Songbird and the Spy, it was a movie. A Quentin Tarantino movie to be exact set during WWII where one of the characters is a British officer posing as a Nazi meets up with other spies in a French bar. Another character was a Jewish woman posing as a theater owning Frenchwoman. My brain immediately tingled with ideas. What if identities were all in question? What if you fell in love with the wrong person? Not just the wrong person, but the enemy? The drama and tension in such a situation would be unbelievable!
And that is how Songbird was born.
Here are a few bits of trivia for you:

Songbird was originally titled Iron Shepherd for Michael’s call sign.
There have been three or four different endings written.
Michael Reiner was based off of Michael (see what I did there?!) Fassbender’s character in Inglorious Basterds. The actor was born in Germany to German and Irish parents, and later grew up in Ireland J Art imitating life.
Music always makes its way into my stories and here it takes center stage.
I’ve always wanted to write a USO story so the ending was my perfect chance to squeeze it in.
Ilsa von Ziegler was based off of Elsa Schneider from Indiana Jones.
There was a scene showing Michael at SOE training in Scotland, but it was later cut.
Nazi headquarters in Paris really was located on Foch Ave. The building is still there.
The molten lead that Michael’s new assistant talks about is a German New Year’s tradition to divine fortune in the coming year. A small bit of lead or tin is melted, and then dropped in water. The form created by the metal predicts the future.
Chanteuse is a female singer. Edith Piaf, the most famous French singer of all, was known as The Little Sparrow. Songbird and chanteuse are both used to reference Claire and pay homage to Piaf.