Both rebels in their own way, Josie and Jerry Patterson must figure out how to keep the other’s love…and keep the German enemy at bay. She has two loves—her skating and Jerry, her husband. But when he returns home looking like a skeleton trying to return to life, she’s scared. What happened in Germany to change a man so much? Has another woman captured his heart? Jerry has vowed to let Josie … vowed to let Josie live her own glamorous life…especially after what happened in Germany. But when his wife’s life is threatened, Jerry realizes he can’t stand by and do nothing. Jerry has to risk all for the very soul and life of himself—Josie.
These two damaged, rebellious people learn the hard way that leaning on God instead of their own selves and abilities is the only true way to love and happiness.
more
This is a wonderful romantic suspense novel written in the WW2 era, which always intrigues me. Jerry and Josie could never have imagined anything that could threaten their love. Then came the war.
Confident and capable, Jerry becomes a spy in Germany. Then everything goes wrong. He returns a different man. But the war isn’t finished with him. Enemies within and without follow him home. Josie, a free-spirited newlywed, must grow up quickly to deal with the heart-breaking and dangerous world her husband brings back from Germany.
I loved the array of characters author Carole Brown brought to this story – each so vivid and individual. Filled with family affection as well as danger and romance, this sweet story kept calling me away from my chores. Nicely done!
This is the first book by Carole Brown that I have read and it was quite enjoyable. I hadn’t expected such intrigue and suspense in a historical novel set during WWII, especially since most of the book takes place on US soil (Cincinnati, to be precise). The plot is engaging and the twists and turns in the storyline with the intricacies of espionage make the novel a page-turning journey. This is the second book in the Spies of World War II series; I didn’t read the first book (With Music in Their Hearts) and I wish I had read it prior to this one. The first book may have given more pertinent background information to Josie’s family dynamics as well as to Josie herself.
Faith is a central component of most of the secondary characters’ lives but not in Josie and Jerry’s lives at the beginning. Their walk toward God is slow and anguished but totally understandable. Josie and Jerry both mature as the book progresses and their relationship turns from superficial and shallow infatuation to deep abiding love.
I’ll now need to read the first book in the series (With Music In Their Hearts) to catch up on Josie’s older sister’s life prior to this book.
I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher via Celebrate Lit Tour. I was not required to give a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
One of my favorite time periods is in the 1940’s. The author brings this era to life with details that make readers feel like they have traveled back in time. The details of the war were realistic and reminded us of how devastating it was. I was very excited to read about Josie and Jerry. They were young and in love. It seemed they had everything they needed for happiness. Unfortunately, Jerry is whisked away to serve his country. I could feel the anguish Josie experienced when the love of her life is gone shortly after getting married.
It was fascinating to read about her rise to fame as a skater. The author does a great job of showing Josie putting everything she had into skating, then slowly start to unravel . I thought the pressure was to much for her and I cringed when she started drinking . Everyone has flaws and breaking points. Josie is strong willed but the longer Jerry is away, the more uncertain Josie becomes about her future. When she plays her flute she was poised and oozed with confidence, It was a joy to read about her starting to find her way again and bring happiness to others with her sweet gift of comforting melodies on the flute.
Jerry is a very complicated person to understand. I had a hard time relating to him and found his injury during the war to be more of an excuse not to want to be with Josie. Little did I know that Jerry was hiding a deep secret from Josie. All his actions started to make sense. I wanted to scream at him to tell Josie the truth instead of making her feel unwanted by him.
The story is captivating and at times very intriguing. It is a race against time for Jerry to keep his wife safe from someone he encountered during the war. I loved the way the author showed us how far Jerry and Josie will go to protect each other. The ending is suspenseful and full of intense danger. Can Jerry carry his mission out without causing harm to Josie or others? Will Josie interfere and endanger herself when she becomes to curious? The story is not just about a war, but about trust and unconditional love. It is a saga where characters are diversified and at times quite complicated. The war changed Jerry and now he needs to find his way back to those who love him.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
A Flute in the Willows #2 The Spies of World War ll by Carole Brown
Josie and Jerry Patterson have many struggles and challenges to overcome, some of their own making and others that they have no control over. Jerry faced some daunting experiences while at war along with the injury he sustained. His feelings and struggles as he tries to overcome his experiences once he is home again is clear (PTSD as it is now called); I could feel his struggles. Will he ever recover from that injury and the memories and be the man he once was or will he leave all that is dear to him? There is a mysterious stranger that has charmed Josie and turned her head a bit. I wanted to tell her to watch herself and be more careful as she goes about town. There is danger lurking but will they see it in time before destruction falls? An intriguing story.
~I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher (no monetary gain were exchanged), this is my honest review~
My review is 3.5 Stars
“we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.”
psalm 137:2
This is the theme verse of the book, though, in our story, Josie’s harp is a flute, and thus the title. I enjoyed reading the authors thoughts on this and how the name came about.
Seeing the long list of 1940s slang at the beginning, I had a moment of concern that it was going to be overused in the book, but happily discovered that the terms were discretely sprinkled through the story in a way that seemed natural and added to the historical feeling.
The plot was interesting, starting with Jerry parachuting into Germany to steal State secrets. His daring escape and the tragedy that ensued made for a good beginning and set the stage well for the rest of the story. Having the bulk of the story take place in Cincinnati, of all places, was a nice touch, as I don’t normally think about the battle that was fought here on our shores during World War II.
Jerry and Josie both had encounters with God in the book that were more hinted at, not overt. I would consider this story more Inspirational Fiction than Christian Fiction.
It felt like some of the issues were not really resolved, and a few things didn’t get explained in such a way that made sense. There were some turns of phrases that were awkward, but not so much to make me dislike the book. Overall, though, I did like the book and am glad I read it.
As the second book in the series, there were allusions to events from the first book, With Music in Their Hearts, including the fact that Jerry and Josie had eloped. While it was not entirely necessary to read both books, I recommend that these books be read together.
This review was originally posted on AmongTheReads.net
Be sure to read Carole’s guest post at AmongTheReads.net
I would like to thank Celebrate Lit for giving me this item. My opinion and review were not influenced by this gift.