I will also say that the dialogue and language in which this book is written is ridiculous. It’s kitschy in the WWII sections for sure and, throughout the whole book and both times periods, way too formal. I understand that for most of the book the characters are speaking in French but, as someone who speaks French, I also know how to translate it to English. The tone was just all wrong and way too off-putting. You may be right. It's only coffee. So let's also talk about forged identity papers. Based on this book I'd assume 90% of citizens in France during the war had forged papers. Need new papers? Your local aristocrat can have them whipped up overnight! Don't know any aristocrats? Head to the nearest cottage; the peasantry can meet the same deadline for half the price! (I am assuming on the price thing; money is never mentioned and it's never hard for anyone to obtain anything in this book.) Sebastian's family had some connection to Emilie's chateau and vineyard, and the winemakers on the estate knew what that connection was. The account of the important family connection is revealed through Constance's life during WWII and her connection to the de la Martinieries' family. But, did Sebastian suddenly appear and help Emilie because of the family connection or because he was interested in the valuable paintings inside her estates and most of all her family inheritance?

This story, of epic proportions, is a must-read. Both set in France and England, it is a heartfelt story that will pull at your heartstrings and often confound you. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic whether a fan of Lucinda Riley's or not. The Light Behind The Window: A breathtaking story of love and war from the bestselling author of The Seven Sisters seriesIn collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised and wrote a series of books for children called The Guardian Angels. I know this is fiction and heaven knows I am not a very big fan of "gritty" realism, but there does have to be some detail to evoke a sense of reality and place. I can't find any of that here. The author tosses in a few names of some actual people from SOE, but that's where it stops. Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written. I don't understand why so many people seem to want to write books about women in SOE that in fact aren't about what women in SOE did. Or at least, I thought this would be about a woman in SOE (along with a related story set in the more or less present day), but apparently it wanted to be a soapy drama. Which could have been okay, except that it was so clunky and flat.

This is by far my favorite Lucinda Riley book. I loved her detail about the French and English countryside and absolutely loved the specifics of the ancestry of Emilee's family. Digging into a family's history is my favorite historical thing to do. The ending is wonderful.Booklist A fast-paced, suspenseful story flitting between the present day and World War II . . . Riley expertly weaves Emilie's story into a dual narrative . . . A real old-fashioned romance which manages to have a compelling narrative as well as something of a history lesson in the Special Operations Executive. Brilliant escapism Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella Prize, the Lovely Books Award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum Award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year – a prize last won by J. K. Rowling for Harry Potter.