Today Sophia Rose reviews, The Lisbon Affair, a WWII novel, #1 in Cat Gardiner's Flying With the Swallows duology
Enjoy!
The Lisbon Affair – A WWII Novel: Flying With Swallows
Volume One by Cat Gardiner
Historical Fiction
Publisher: Unionport
Hill Books
Published: 4.2.24
Pages: 335
Rating: 5 stars
Format: eARC
Source: author
Sellers: Amazon
ADD TO: GoodReads
GoodReads Synopsis:
Volume One in the Flying with the
Swallows duology
New York City, 1943: War widow and Best Society’s darling
Mrs. Evelyn (Evie) Rousseau Somerset is five months into mourning her
husband’s death when her family insists on an untenable plan for her future.
Desolate and disenchanted with life, she’s determined to remake herself and
prove she’s something more than a useless socialite—regardless of what her
senator brother and domineering mother demand of her.
A previous clandestine job at a newspaper provides the
escape she’s looking for: a trip to Lisbon, the spy capital of the world, to
rescue a family of German Jews stranded in neutral Portugal. While crossing the
Atlantic to Lisbon, she meets handsome and enigmatic Carl Wilson, the
cocksure, ill-mannered American musician with an agenda and secrets of his own.
Armed only with sophistication and moxie, Evelyn
reluctantly welcomes Carl’s invitation to a new world—one that ultimately lands
her as a secret agent for His Majesty’s government.
Sophia Rose's Review:
An American socialite recently widowed
by the war is determined not to stifle under family duty and expectations, but
soar. A newspaper assignment, a special
mission, a sea voyage, a charismatic clarinet player, a city full of
international intrigue, and nobody being exactly who they say they are had me
hooked. The Lisbon Affair, Cat Gardiner’s latest WWII fiction effort
promised big and was a stupendous hit.
The
Lisbon Affair is the first half of a duology that takes place during
WWII. Most of the narration is from
young, glamorous, but relatively naïve widow, Evie Somerset. Evie grew up under the stifling and rigid
rules of her mother who was all about family wealth and pedigree showing well
before their equals in NYC society. Evie
escaped to a certain extent through marriage, but more so through her secretive
job as a newspaper women’s feature journalist.
But, her life changes when her
husband’s navy ship goes down. Evie
won’t go back to her mother or follow her powerful senator brother’s
demands. She blazes her own path by
demanding her newspaper editor give her a big assignment. He comes through with an exclusive interview
with the former King of Romania’s mistress.
The catch is the interview must be chased down in Lisbon and he begs her
to do a side task of finding and spiriting out of Portugal his Jewish relations
who escaped Germany, but now are stuck.
The
Lisbon Affair was layered with colorful and accurate historical background,
vibrant period dialogue, music, and characters, and, of course, at the heart of
it all was the story of a woman coming into her own and a suspenseful spy caper
with a sizzling low-burn romance. Evie
captured my interest from the start as did that charmer, Carl. I’ve always wanted more stories like Casablanca and got one served up on a
silver platter.
Cat Gardiner has a gift for keeping
the story in the lighter tones while writing about dark days and
desperation. I appreciate how
emotionally-engaging this story was without getting overly dramatic. Evie has a huge learning curve to beat, but
the woman reaches deep. Her high society
education and polish served her well as did her command of languages, but her
guts served her best when she tangled with a crossroads of international
espionage and power there in Lisbon
The
Lisbon Affair ended on a high note, but showed where Evie will go next and
I, for one, can’t wait to get my passport stamped and tag along on her
journey. I’ll be hearing swing music and
thinking Portuguese poetry for a bit.
Fans of light WWII spy romances should definitely add The Lisbon Affair to their reading
stacks.
Author Bio:
Cat Gardiner loves romance and happy endings, history, and
comedy. A member of the esteemed National League of American Pen Women, she
enjoys writing across the spectrum of the romance genre from Contemporary to
Chick-Lit Romantic Comedy, 20th Century Historical Fiction, and Pride and
Prejudice-inspired.
Apart from her husband, her greatest passion is writing Historical Fiction,
WWII-era. Her debut novel in this genre, A Moment Forever, was a 2017 Next
Generation Indie Book Award Romance Finalist. Her newest WWII release is up for
presale and will be available on April 2, 2024.
NOW ON PREORDER, AVAILABLE APRIL 2, 2024
** FLYING WITH THE SWALLOWS duology **
The Lisbon Affair, Volume One
Rendezvous in Berlin, Volume Two
WW2 Historical Fiction, Romance, Saga
*An Unforgettable Journey*
Add to your "Want to Read" shelf!
Between writing and WWII home front re-enacting, Cat takes her readers on a
swell 1940s journey at The 1940s Experience blog and gallery at
cgardiner1940s.com
Connect with Cat here:
cgardiner1940s.com
facebook.com/cat.t.gardiner
Sophia’s
Bio:
Sophia
is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing,
piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments,
restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible
man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes
Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and
Chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that
Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a
prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many
wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading
tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and
romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose
Ending up being a spy had to be exciting and scary.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I think so, too. The second half of the duology gets more into that part. Intense!
DeleteAfter tasting freedom from a domineering family I wouldn't want to go back either! Sounds like an exciting read! I think I'd enjoy this one. Wonderful review, Sophia!
ReplyDeleteYou said it, Rachel! :)
DeleteSounds like my type of novel. Shame about the spoiler? Ending up being a ***
ReplyDeleteSorry if it seems a spoiler. The second book blurb would tell you that so I didn't think it was a big secret.
DeleteGlad you like the sound of this one and hope you can pick it up. :)