The Songbird and the Spy Review and Giveaway

by | Apr 5, 2019 | Uncategorized | 12 comments

The-Songbird-and-the-Spy-FB-Banner

Tour page on Celebrate Lit

About the Book

 

Book: The Songbird and the SpyThe-Songbird-and-the-Spy-200x300

Author: J’Nell Ciesielski

Genre: Clean historical romance

Release Date: Feb 19, 2019

As shells explode over Nazi-occupied France, American music student Claire Baudin is trapped behind enemy lines, struggling to protect her identity. Singing as a barmaid while she plans her escape, a handsome Third Reich captain threatens everything she knows to be true about the enemy.

Nazi Captain Michael Reiner isn’t who he claims to be. A British language expert turned spy, he discovers the truth about Claire, but he knows the importance of a secret. Struggling to resist his attraction to the songbird, he’s determined to complete his assignment, no matter the cost. His cover is threatened when a ruthless female Gestapo officer arrives hunting Resistance fighters. The raid forces Michael’s hand: complete the mission or save Claire.

As the war threatens to tear them apart, they must rely on each other for survival. Is there hope—and a future—for an American songbird and a British spy?

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Believing she was born in the wrong era, J’nell Ciesielski spends her days creating heart-Jnell-Ciesielski--169x300stopping heroes, brave heroines, and adventurous exploits in times gone by. Winner of the Romance Through the Ages contest and Maggie Award, J’nell can often be found dreaming of a second home in Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. Born a Florida girl, she now calls Virginia home, along with her very understanding husband, young daughter, and one lazy beagle. Find out more at www.jnellciesielski.com.

More from J’nell

The most popular question an author is asked is where did the inspiration come from. Most of the time, if not always, my inspiration comes from a trifecta of resources: movies, music, or books. A single song lyric, or secondary character, or novel setting can trigger a whole world of possibilities that has to be explored. In the case of Songbird and the Spy, it was a movie. A Quentin Tarantino movie to be exact set during WWII where one of the characters is a British officer posing as a Nazi meets up with other spies in a French bar. Another character was a Jewish woman posing as a theater owning Frenchwoman. My brain immediately tingled with ideas. What if identities were all in question? What if you fell in love with the wrong person? Not just the wrong person, but the enemy? The drama and tension in such a situation would be unbelievable!

And that is how Songbird was born.

Here are a few bits of trivia for you:

  • Songbird was originally titled Iron Shepherd for Michael’s call sign.
  • There have been three or four different endings written.
  • Michael Reiner was based off of Michael (see what I did there?!) Fassbender’s character in Inglorious Basterds. The actor was born in Germany to German and Irish parents, and later grew up in Ireland J Art imitating life.
  • Music always makes its way into my stories and here it takes center stage.
  • I’ve always wanted to write a USO story so the ending was my perfect chance to squeeze it in.
  • Ilsa von Ziegler was based off of Elsa Schneider from Indiana Jones.
  • There was a scene showing Michael at SOE training in Scotland, but it was later cut.
  • Nazi headquarters in Paris really was located on Foch Ave. The building is still there.
  • The molten lead that Michael’s new assistant talks about is a German New Year’s tradition to divine fortune in the coming year. A small bit of lead or tin is melted, and then dropped in water. The form created by the metal predicts the future.
  • Chanteuse is a female singer. Edith Piaf, the most famous French singer of all, was known as The Little Sparrow. Songbird and chanteuse are both used to reference Claire and pay homage to Piaf.

My Review

World War II, occupied France, Nazi, undercover operators. I’ve never understood how anyone escaped occupied France. Just like in the French Revolution, so many died with little provocation. So many innocent lives lost and dreams smothered.

Claire Baudin thinks she is about to spend an exciting time with her extended family in France. Little did she know her days will turn to turmoil, fear, and abandonment. She has no idea how she will return to America. Her life hangs on how she handles every day in the Nazi infested region.

Michael Reiner has extreme talent with languages and customs that Britain wants him on the Special Operations team. He poses as a Nazi Captain with the mission to expose and intercept Nazi messages and maneuvers. Espionage.

I loved the history, intrigue, and constant drama. How does anyone escape the clutches of those in control in occupied France? Thank you, J’nell Ciesielski for another great read.

Blog Stops

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 2

For Him and My FamilyApril 2

Among the Reads, April 3

Where Faith and Books Meet, April 3

Wishful Endings, April 4

Carpe Diem, April 4

Connect in Fiction, April 5

Emily Yager, April 5

Through the Fire Blogs, April 6

The Christian Fiction Girl, April 6

Hallie Reads, April 7

Lis Loves Reading, April 7

Babbling Becky’s Book Impressions, April 8

Genesis 5020, April 8

All-of-a-kind Mom, April 9

Godly Book Reviews, April 9

Stories By GinaApril 10

Maureen’s Musings, April 10

Carla Loves To Read, April 11

Mary Hake, April 11

Inklings and notionsApril 11

Inspired by Fiction, April 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 12

BigreadersiteApril 13

As He Leads is Joy, April 13

Texas Book-aholic, April 14

The Becca Files, April 14

janicesbookreviews, April 15

A Reader’s Brain, April 15

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, J’nell is giving away a grand prize of a print copy of Songbird and $25 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/dfe9/the-songbird-and-the-spy-celebration-tour-giveaway

I hope you will leave a comment on this blog.

12 Comments

  1. wevegotpockets

    Oh goody, it’s one of my top one hundred sub-genres. WWII spy adventure.

    Reply
  2. Rita Wray

    Sounds like a good read.

    Reply
  3. Emilee Douglas

    Nice review. I love this one along with Ciesielski’s Among the Poppies. The history is fascinating and the romance is dreamy. It is clean. There is no “Christian” content per say. But I still loved both books!

    Reply
  4. Debbie P

    This book sounds like a very intriguing read.

    Reply
  5. James Robert

    I appreciate you taking the time to give us a great book description and giveaway as well. Thank you so much!

    Reply
  6. Calvin

    Nicely done, cheers on the review, tour, and giveaway.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, Sylvan Musings, where I share insight and updates of my writing journey, inspiration, and tidbits about life as well as new releases and works in progress information, and more.

Entertain. Encourage. Educate. My motto encompasses what I hope to pass on to my readers through my novels and those of other authors. Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Blessings,

Marguerite

Subscribe to Blog Posts

Enter your email address to subscribe to future posts by email.

Blog Archives

Instagram

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$timestamp in /home/margueritegray/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-facebook-likebox/instagram/frontend/views/feed.php on line 186 Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$id in /home/margueritegray/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-facebook-likebox/instagram/frontend/views/feed.php on line 187 Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$timestamp in /home/margueritegray/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-facebook-likebox/instagram/frontend/views/feed.php on line 188 Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$caption in /home/margueritegray/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-facebook-likebox/instagram/frontend/views/feed.php on line 192 Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$media_type in /home/margueritegray/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-facebook-likebox/instagram/frontend/views/feed.php on line 207 Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$media_url in /home/margueritegray/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-facebook-likebox/instagram/frontend/views/feed.php on line 221 Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$media_url in /home/margueritegray/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-facebook-likebox/instagram/frontend/views/templates/template-grid.php on line 10

Currently Reading