It's Not Always Better To Have Loved: The Celebrate Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway of the Socialite

About the Book

Book: The Socialite
Author: J’nell Ciesielski
Genre: Historical Romance
Release 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?

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Book Review

The Socialite is officially going in the top five list of my favorite World War II novels, of which I have read quite a few. I enjoyed pretty much everything about the book-from the characters, to the time period, to the setting, and the overall general plotline. And while the faith aspect of the book is lacking, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Kat is sent to Paris by her father, a powerful man in England with powerful connections, to save her sister, Ellie, from the clutches of her Nazi boyfriend. Ellie had run away from home, seeking freedom and ran into the arms of a Nazi man. She believes him to be the love of her life and throws everything else away to be with him. Barrett is also sent by Kat’s father to watch over the two girls and bring them home safely. He and Kat confide in one another and only have each other. They walk a very fine line as they act in front of the Germans so that they can bring Ellie back. As the two work together, feelings start to grow between them.

This book is filled with drama, unexpected twists and turns, and the frightening experiences that the second world war brought. I especially felt for Ellie. She was naïve and truly believed that she and her boyfriend, Eric, were meant to be together. It was sad to watch her go through the experience, knowing the truth.

I would highly recommend this book. As I said before, there isn’t really a lot of Christian faith in the book, but it still is overall a good story.

I had received a copy of this book as part of the Celebrate Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review.

About the Author

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 ;)