The Girl from the Channel Islands

Trigger warnings: antisemitism, animal slaughter, war

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Hedy flees Austria ahead of the Nazis only to be trapped under Nazi occupation on the island of Jersey.

Hedy Bercu's mother's name is Goldberg, and her Romanian stepfather is Jewish. She flees her native Austria for the island of Jersey when she is unable to escape to England. To Hedy's horror, the Nazis invade Jersey in 1940 and she finds herself cornered once again.

She is branded by the Nazis as a Jew when they don't accept her farce about not being Jewish by blood, but by marriage. Despite the red "J" stamped on her identity card, she lands a job as a translator for the Germans. Her proximity to the Nazis has a surprising result -- she begins a relationship with Nazi officer Kurt Neumann.

Hedy promises her friend Anton that she will look after his wife Dorathea when he is sent into service, and Hedy visits her to listen to the BBC radio broadcast. As the war progresses, Hedy finds herself leaning on both Kurt and Dorathea to survive.

Deryn Edwards gives Hedy's dialogue an Austrian accent and reads the narration with an English one.

Recommended for fans of World War II fiction. Those who enjoyed the small island setting of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will enjoy the novel's environment of Jersey.

Jenny Lecoat is an actress, author, and journalist. She was raised in the Channel Islands before moving to England.

Publisher: Graydon House (print); Harlequin Audio

Narrator: Deryn Edwards

Running Time: 9 hours, 47 minutes

Length: 304 pages

Release Date: February 2, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I also received a digital audio recording of this title from the publisher through Libro.fm as a librarian review copy. I read the latter edition. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.