Copenhagen, 1940
When the Germans march into Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt exchanges his nobility for anonymity, assuming a new identity so he can secretly row messages for the Danish Resistance across the waters to Sweden. American physicist Dr. Else Jensen refuses to leave Copenhagen and abandon her research--her life's dream--and makes the dangerous decision to print resistance newspapers.
As Else hears rumors of the movement's legendary Havmand--the merman--she also becomes intrigued by the mysterious and silent shipyard worker living in the same boardinghouse. Henrik makes every effort to conceal his noble upbringing, but he is torn between the façade he must maintain and the woman he is beginning to fall in love with.
When the Occupation cracks down on the Danes, these two passionate people will discover if there is more power in speech . . . or in silence.
My Thoughts
Else was extremely smart and talented but she also had a humility and kindness to her that was admirable. She was willing to take risks to help others with little thought to her own safety.
Henrik was a little bit of a puzzle, he had an attitude and persona before the war that seemed to just magically do a 180 when the story picked back up and it would have been nice to see the progression a little more. He also played his role as the simple minded worker a little too well and that’s kind of the impression he left in my brain overall rather than the educated aristocrat he was. I did like his character though and admired all that he did and gave up for the resistance.
I didn’t mind the romance between Else and Henrik but it wasn’t my favorite and felt a bit forced into the story at times.
It was interesting to see the war from the Danish perspective, which isn’t seen as much in WWII fiction (though all the Danish names, places, and terms were hard to pronounce and took me out of the story a bit) and was very fascinating to this history nerd.
So while this wasn’t my favorite Sundin novel I did still enjoy several aspects of it and I’m looking forward to reading what she writes next!
Meet the Author
Sarah Sundin is the aww bestselling author of When Twilight Breaks, Until Leaves Fall in Paris,and the popular WWII series Sunrise at Normandy, among others. She is a Christy Award finalist and a Carol Award winner, and her novels have received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, and have appeared on Booklist's "101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years." Sarah lives in California. Visit www.sarahsundin.com for more information.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
