Fantastic story and fantastic writing! Although this is loosely based on a real life couple, told to the author from a third party, the author did an amazing job with her research of what POW must have endured.
Izzy and Bill meet while he's one of the prisoners working on her parent's farm. After a whirlwind, secretive romance, they wed without her mother's knowledge) and set out to find her father and brother. With Bill being an escaped prisoner, and Izzy dressed as a boy, they are eventually caught and brought to a POW camp. There, they meet my favorite characters... Ralph, Max, and Scotty, the fellow POW men who befriend them and guard the secret of Izzy's gender.
It's a typical gut-wrenching depiction of the realities of war, the horrors of POW camps, and the Nazi destruction to humanity. But it's more than "typical." It's a story I know I will read again and highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Although I received this book through NetGalley, it's a book I'm purchasing for myself so I can read it again.
Reading this story during the COVIE-19 pandemic hits home even more. Stuck at home with plenty of food to eat, the freedom to walk outside, heat, air conditioning... is far from the true suffering of people during the war.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this amazing story! ( )

Bill is a British POW who quickly falls in love with the family's daughter while assigned to a Czechoslovakian farm. Izzy, convinced that she will always love Bill more than anyone else, finds a priest willing to secretly marry them. With the Red Army on their way, Bill and Izzy have a tough decision to make. If he leaves her behind, she'll have no protection from the Russians but if she comes with back with him to the camp, she has no protection under the Geneva Convention either. Izzy decides to enter the camp, assuming an identity as a shell-shocked, mute POW named Cousins. It's not too long before Bill discovers he cannot keep Izzy 's secret alone and after consulting a trusted block master, a few men are enlisted to help the couple. They make sure she is never left alone with a guard, they shield her as much as possible in the latrine and they shave their own beards so that her hairless chin does not make her conspicuous. In return, Izzy is fiercely loyal to her protectors, encouraging their spirits, tending to their wounds and searching out provisions. While on assignment at a quarry, Izzy and these men become family and their bond is further tested during a grueling forced march back to Germany ahead of the Russians.
Though the fine details have been made up for the book, the story of Bill and Izzy is a true one - told to the author by a man who heard about them in the camp. I have read a lot of WWII books, many inspired by true stories, but I've never read one about a woman passing in a man's camp. I enjoyed Izzy quite a bit. She's young and naive and has to grow up quickly but she's also practical in a farm-girl way. I liked how at times she would really lean-in to her alter-ego Cousins, and trying to act like she thought that he would act gave her the strength to keep going. ( )

Izabela, a Czech farm girl, falls for the British prisoner of war soldier tasked with working at her farm. Together, they hatch a crazy plan to marry, disguise Izabela as a boy and escape through the countryside. When the pair are captured, they do everything they can to maintain Izabela's disguise.

This book was hard to put down. It was a very interesting and compelling story. The only criticism I have is that the book needed an epilogue. It is very frustrating to get so involved with characters and then have the story abruptly end. Despite this, criticism, I enjoyed the story and would definitely read more from this author. 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

Izzy lives on a farm in Czechoslovakia with her mother and brother. Life on the farm has been very difficult since her father and brother left to join the resistance. Izzy feels that her life is drifting along with no friends or fun. The German Army in the area agrees to send some English prisoners of war to the farm to help out. One of the men who came to help was Bill, an English prisoner of war. When Izzy and Bill make eye contact, there are interested in each other and over time they fall in love. They decide to escape and get married. Izzy dresses like a man to help hide her identity but it doesn't take long before they are captured and sent to a work camp. Despite the difficulty, Izzy continues her male impersonation so that she and Bill can stay together. A group of prisoners in their group become friends and Bill tells that the situation and they help protect Izzy and help keep her secret. As the conditions in the camp continue to get worse and Bill begins to wonder if they will survive they begin hearing rumors that the American and Russian armies are getting close. To hide what they've done, the Germans who are left make the prisoners walk hundreds of miles in horrible conditions to stay ahead of the Russian Army. When Izzy and Billl are separated on the march, she knows that she'll never see him again. Will their love survive all of the punishment and pain that they've been through?

This is a different look at WWII and a unique story. The author did a tremendous amount of research to make sure that her story matches the history of the time. I loved both of the main characters and was on the edge of my seat hoping for their survival against the darkest odds. ( )

Another WWII historical fiction novel that is based on a real story. At the heart of the story are Bill and Izzy who fall in love quickly during unusual circumstances. They spend their "honeymoon" on the run with Izzy dressed as a man. They meet and befriend others who help them thru difficult times.

I continue to be absolutely in awe of the strength and resiliency displayed by many during such awful times. ( )