By Kelly Bridgewater

About the Book:

Title: The Socialite
Author: J'Nell Ciesielski
Genre: Historical Romance
Publication Date: April 14, 2020

Glamour, treachery, and espionage collide when an English socialite rushes to save her sister from the Nazis.

As the daughter of Sir Alfred Whitford, Kat has a certain set of responsibilities. But chasing her wayward sister, Ellie, to Nazi-occupied Paris was never supposed to be one of them. Now accustomed to the luxurious lifestyle that her Nazi boyfriend provides, Ellie has no intention of going back to the shackled life their parents dictate for them—but Kat will stop at nothing to bring her sister home.

Arrested for simply trying to defend himself against a drunken bully, Barrett Anderson is given the option of going to jail or serving out his sentence by training Resistance fighters in Paris. A bar owner serves as the perfect disguise to entertain Nazis at night while training fighters right below their jackboots during the day. Being assigned to watch over two English debutantes is the last thing he needs, but a payout from their father is too tempting to resist. Can Barrett and Kat trust each other long enough to survive, or will their hearts prove more traitorous than the dangers waiting around the corner?

From Goodreads

My Thoughts:

The cover is the most wonderful aspect of this novel that attracted me to the story. I have read J'nell Ciesielski's previous two novels, so I am knowledgeable about her writing style. She does a fabulous job at crafting a deep dimensional characters that carry around their share of burdens. Kate is a complex character who will do anything, literally, to rescue her sister, Ellie, from the hands of the Nazi's. While Barrett, the hero, sacrifices himself and rescues Kate and Ellie too many times to count. The plot gave me mixed feelings. It has been done before. Who didn't try to escape the Nazi's during World War II? But it had the feeling of being a slight different with the sister coming to rescue her sister who was in a current relationship with a high ranking Nazi officer. The romance between Kate and Barrett at times seemed a little out of place. I didn't really buy that they liked each other as much as Ciesielski lead on. Yes, there is the happily-ever-after moment for fans who have to have those moments in every story. Overall, J'nell Ciesielski has captured an essence of World War II played out by deeply wounded characters who wants their families whole again. Fans of Melanie Dobson or Sarah Sundin might enjoy this novel. I did.

I received a complimentary copy of The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski from Thomas Nelson Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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About the Author

From Celebrate Lit.

With a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories, J’nell Ciesielski weaves fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. Winner of the Romance Through the Ages Award and the Maggie Award, she is a Florida native who now lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle. Learn more at www.jnellciesielski.com.

More from J’Nell

I blame Pinterest. Too many hours are spent chasing rabbit holes of glorious pictures of fashion from eras gone by, Highlanders in kilts, WWI ambulances, and fairytale castles. One day I was browsing something super important (or possibly escaping from the actual work I was supposed to be doing, er, we’ll never know) and stumbled across a black and white picture of six beautiful girls. Who are these lovely ladies? I wondered. A quick search brought up the Mitford sisters. Six gorgeous daughters born into an aristocratic English family, each girl with a different passion: Diana the fascist, Jessica the communist, Unity the Hitler lover, Nancy the novelist, Deborah the duchess, and Pamela the poultry connoisseur. Whoa. You know dinner time around their family table was interesting. How could such different personalities belong in the same family? What would you do if your sister got moon-eyed over Hitler??

Bam. An idea was born.

In the beginning, my little rebel Ellie was going to be a full-fledged Nazi ideology lover, but she quickly informed me that it wasn’t so much the Nazis or their crazy ideas she loved, but one man in particular. One twisted Nazi who had fallen completely under her spell, and she under his. The ideas of love can often be more difficult to break as Kat finds out when she tries to rescue her naïve sister. Luckily, she has a hunky Sottish bartender to help her while providing a few romantic intentions of his own. With everyone hiding past hurts and true identities, how will they ever hope to find the love they each long for when war rages under the bright lights of Paris? Guess you’ll have to read to find out