Where to start? On a positive note, this novel did have a few compelling moments, hence three stars rather than two. That being said, I have so many issues with the story. It opens with Madeleine being stripped naked and humiliated in a "test" meant to prepare her potential torture and execution should she be captured by the Nazis in her role as a British agent in occupied France. But, after a bit of pampering, Madeleine is absolutely fine and up to flirting with the man to orchestrated the entire episode: the narrator of this novel, one Matt Hammond. As the novel is narrated from Matt perspective, the book title should really have been Matt's War, not Madeleine's War. In short order, Matt and Madeleine become involved, even as Madeleine leaves for occupied France ahead of the D-Day invasion. Left to his own devices, Matt starts suspect Madeleine could have been a German spy (so much for love, I guess) and then gets himself sent to France to kill a Resistance fighter on Churchill's orders. The last is a bit that could have been left out of the book entirely, and left me with a very negative view of Matt as a person. Overall, I kept wondering what the author wanted the reader to take away from this book: was I supposed to like or have sympathy for the narrator Matt (who I rather despise by the end)? Was there supposed to be some kind of theme about how war compromises everyone's morality? Was I supposed to feel attached to the characters (I didn't mind in the least when several died towards the end)? I'm not sure and I don't know that I could recommend this novel when I've encountered so many WWII-era novels that are just better stories. ( )

A compelling mix of fact and fiction, "Madeleine's War" is a well-written, intriguing historical romance. Author Peter Watson beautifully captures the atmosphere of the World War II Era, giving readers an intimate look at the resistance fighters who bravely infiltrated enemy lines and all too often made the ultimate sacrifice. After losing a lung to a shrapnel wound, British military officer Matthew Hammond is unable to serve in combat, but he returns to England to train new recruits for resistance missions. Among those under his tutelage is Madeleine Dirac, a stunning, auburn-haired, French-Canadian woman who has her own battles to fight. Although romance is forbidden by military conventions, love and passion will have their way, and Matt and Madeleine become deeply involved. Their affair must take second place to their commitment to the cause, and both of them know their moments together are precious. When the time comes for Madeleine to begin her mission, Matt must let her go, and she takes a piece of his heart along with her as she makes her way into Nazi territory. Will the knowledge and survival skills he has imparted be enough to keep her safe? Author Peter Watson brings into focus the contributions made by female resistance fighters, and he based his story line on fascinating historical facts, including the SOE--the Special Operations Executive created by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. "Madeleine's War" is recommended for lovers of World War II heart-stirring romantic suspense.

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Matt Hammond is a recruiter for the fictional (but fact-based) "SC2," an espionage organization in World War 2 that parachutes its agents behind enemy lines to aid the French Resistance. The eponymous Madeleine is a recruit with whom he, you guessed it, falls in love. Historical detail about the espionage missions is really interesting, but the characters are too under-developed to care about, and the dialogue reads like a history textbook.

Matt, the first-person narrator, seems to exist only to train, fall for, sleep with, worry about, and all but worship Madeleine (you'll be thinking, if he compares the color of her eyes to burnished whiskey one more time ... and then he will). When one of her messages to SC2 is cut off and followed by complete silence, Matt takes it upon himself to worry some more and at last go into France after her. On the plus side, he does this under orders rather than going rogue to save his girl. On the minus side, his search isn't nearly as interesting as what's been happening to Madeleine while he searches for her--something we don't learn until the final twenty pages of the book, when a secondary character spouts lots of exposition at Matt about where his lost love has been all this time.

It's not just the choice of narrator that damages the book, though. The fiction craft doesn't work on any level. Despite being written in first person, the book lacks any real point of view. "Talking heads" fill these pages, and most of the dialogue is informational. None of the characters have a unique voice (unless we're counting the way Watson hyphenates Madeleine's words whenever she's impressed by something: it's not "amazing," it's "a-maz-ing" ... sigh).

Part of what drew me to choose this book for review was the blurb's description of Matt. Injured in the war, lost a lung, barely escaped with his life, determined to keep fighting for the cause although he can't be in the field anymore. I expected to live this reality with him, to see his struggle and frustration and see him rise above those things as he works with the recruits. There are a few cursory mentions in dialogue that "yes, I lost a lung, yes, it's painful, yes, I'm not supposed to smoke anymore but I still do," but it isn't part of Matt's life because the author never puts his reader into Matt's head. Never lets us experience the world around him through his senses. Matt occasionally tells us "I was beside myself with worry," "I felt pretty glum," etc., but the author never shows us Matt's heart and never lets us feel anything with him at all.

Madeleine is a Mary Sue as well: redhead, best in her class of recruits, lovely sotto voice, sexy accent, and of course, eyes like burnished whiskey. Still, I kept wishing I could see the story through her eyes. Maybe there was more to her if I could get away from Matt's over-idealized view. Most of the plot elements happen to her, and certainly the story of her and Philippe is more compelling than the story of her and Matt (again, something we're finally told in the last twenty pages of the book).

This is one of those novels that makes me wish it had been written by a novelist, not a historian. Fiction requires more than accurate historical details to make it compelling. It requires deep point of view that immerses us in the thoughts and senses and motivations of that character; dialogue that sounds like human speech, not like a textbook; real-time scenes that focus on the emotional high points rather than the historically important ones.

MADELEINE'S WAR falls flat because its characters are not people. They're cardboard props for the history taking place around them. ( )

This is one of the most captivating novels of historical fiction that's set during WWII that I've read. Once I started reading, I didn't want to put it down. The well-developed main characters and plot with its various twists compelled me to read every minute I could find. The text seemed well-researched so it was a very believable novel. I was so tempted to turn to the end of the novel to see Madeline's fate, but gladly I resisted the temptation. Whether you are a fan of WWII historical fiction, I strongly recommend reading this novel. ( )

Ever since I first learned about this book last October, I was PSYCHED beyond measure. I always love a good spy thriller – occupied France story, and this one had the added bonus of the woman-going-in-and-man-left-behind feature that I found intriguing by itself. So, when I saw this title was being offered on NetGalley, let’s just say cheers rang throughout the Sarah household. What I got was, for the most part, exactly what I wanted.

I was initially a bit thrown off when I learned that the story is told entirely through Matt’s eyes; I went in thinking it would be from both his and Madeleine’s POV. However, once the story got rolling, I got pulled in more and more into Matt’s story: his starting to fall in love with a woman he shouldn't, his desperate struggle to keep optimistic about her chances, his frantic search for clues to her whereabouts post-liberation. The author does a fantastic job in creating within this man a very emotional being while still keeping him strongly based as a strong leader and spy. That’s a very delicate balance that Peter Watson is able to create with aplomb.

There were times, though, where I wish I might have had some scenes from Madeleine's POV. We only really get to know her through Matt's eyes, and we only know of her exploits in France after the fact in told scenes. At times, she almost felt like a prop for Matt's characterization rather than actually being her own individual.

The author achieved a delicate balance just as well with his storytelling and its dramatic emotional pull. The reader is kept engaged by the vivid interweaving of post-liberation French politics, an assassination plot, the struggle to find double agents within the circuits of agents and the SC2 (the body standing in for the real SOE) itself, and trying to learn the fates of those sent into danger as spies and saboteurs. The evidence of the author’s vast research and knowledge of this area of history shined through in little details of the SC2 operation and the situations in Nazi and liberated France.

Peter Watson is able to handle the emotional connection with his readers just as deftly. The desperation Matt feels as he worries for Madeleine and his efforts to scour for any news of her kept me spellbound. The scene where he’s haunting the teleprinter, hoping beyond hope for any news of her that never comes actually left me in tears. I also don’t think I’ll be able to look at moonlight the same way again either, without thinking of the fates of these two lovers and their romance.

Despite these fantastic qualities, this book did have a few issues other than Madeleine's shallow characterization that either left me scratching my head or just left me a bit flabbergasted. The way that Madeleine is accepted into the SC2, how quickly it occurred and the amount of information she was given prior to entry, made me raise my eyebrow. The amount of information Matt discloses to parties outside the organization in his struggle to locate Madeleine also rose eyebrows. It left me thinking no wonder they had such a double agent problem…

The book also suffered from excessive dialogue in the beginning of the novel; this was especially evident during the training in Scotland in the classrooms. I felt like I was in a lecture hall in college. While this is the setting for the beginning of the novel in essence, it’s still not a great way to grab your readers and keep them engaged as you launch the story.

Despite these flaws in the way the book was started, the excessive disclosure of information that could have gotten these agents killed in so many ways, and Madeleine's characterization, I still felt that this is a fantastic and solid novel. The author drew me in with his skills at scene setting, dramatic storytelling, and characters I could love. In the end, I do still feel that my anticipation for the novel’s release paid off with a intriguing book I know I’ll re-reading.

Note: Book was an ARC received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )