*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the Sisters Of The Resistance blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.
Title: Sisters Of The Resistance
Author: Jina Bacarr
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★
Paris,
1942: Two sisters in Paris had their lives torn apart. Now they must choose –
save themselves, or fight the Nazis to the very end…
I’d given up everything to fight for the Resistance.
But nothing prepared me for discovering my sister was a traitor. Kept by a Nazi
SS officer, outwardly she barely resembles my beloved Justine anymore.
But I guessed her secret. About her beautiful,
fragile little child. The baby she’ll do anything to protect. And I believe
that deep down she still knows what is right.
As the Nazis threaten everything we ever held dear,
I know I have one chance. I must convince her to betray the evil she seems to
have chosen. I need her to find her true self once more.
Because I need her to join the fight…
Could
you choose your country – and what is right – over the person you once loved
more than anyone in the world?
Unmissable,
heartbreaking, gripping WW2 fiction, perfect for fans of Soraya M. Lane, Ellie
Midwood and Jean Grainger.
Sisters of the
Resistance is the latest novel from historical fiction author Jina
Bacarr and the gripping finale to her Wartime Paris Sisters
series. This is an incredibly powerful and hard-hitting story about sexual
violence during the Second World War, set in Nazi-occupied Paris.
I had the privilege
of taking part in the blog tour for the first book in the series Sisters At
War back in 2023 (click here to read my review) and it was one of my
standout reads from the year so I had high hopes for this second and final
instalment and it certainly did not disappoint.
Although this is the
second book in a duology, you don’t need to have read Sisters At War to
be able to follow the story. Jina Bacarr has done a wonderful job of starting
this book in a way which reintroduces the story to previous readers and brings
new readers up to speed on the heartbreaking experiences of the Beaufort
sisters. I’ve never before seen a sequel open in a way which recaps the earlier
events in such a thorough yet captivating way, starting exactly where the previous
story finished; it was a brilliant start to the book. Whilst this book can be
read as a standalone, I would still highly highly recommend reading Sisters
At War too to experience this heartbreaking story in it’s entirety.
Sisters of the
Resistance is told through a dual POV narrative, sharing the perspectives
of both Justine and Eve. The plot was perfectly paced and gripping from the
very beginning. Jina Bacarr writes tension beautifully and takes the reader on
an emotional journey through so many twists and turns. I read the majority of
the book in a single sitting as I just couldn’t put it down.
Justine and Eve
were fantastic strong female protagonists with so much depth to them. They both
really mature over the course of the two books, but particularly within this
one. It’s heartbreaking that they, like millions of other young adults impacted
by the Second World War, were forced to grow up far too quickly due to their
horrific wartime experiences. The sisters are both so courageous and I really
enjoyed the historical romance plots they each hand.
As the focus of Sisters
of the Resistance (and the earlier book Sisters At War) is the
horrific experiences of sexual violence and rape that was the reality for so
many women in Nazi-occupied countries, it is an incredibly hard-hitting story.
It’s very clear throughout (and explored in the author’s afterword) that Jina
Bacarr has drawn on her own traumatic experiences in writing Justine’s story and
this has created a very raw and powerful narrative which brought tears to my
eyes on several occasions. In Sisters of the Resistance we see Justine beginning to
overcome the shame and fear she had experienced since she was first raped and
this was particularly powerful, especially towards the end of the book when she
begins to use her experiences to support other women.
Overall, Sisters
of the Resistance is yet another really powerful story from Jina
Bacarr and a brilliant ending to the gut-wrenching series. This is a truly
must-read novel for Second World War historical fiction readers.
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