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Occupying Love
With the Nazis poised to invade Guernsey in 1939, feisty student Lydia Le Page returns from England on the day the island is devastated by the first bombing of the war on British soil.
Trapped on the German occupied island, two men enter Lydia's Martin Martell, the handsome but mysterious rector and Major Otto Kruger, the ruthless German Kommandant who falls under her spell.
When Martin disappears, Lydia discovers a secret from her past that threatens her future. Will she be able to keep it from the enemy? And will she choose love or duty? This heartbreaking decision is one only she can make.
Trapped on the German occupied island, two men enter Lydia's Martin Martell, the handsome but mysterious rector and Major Otto Kruger, the ruthless German Kommandant who falls under her spell.
When Martin disappears, Lydia discovers a secret from her past that threatens her future. Will she be able to keep it from the enemy? And will she choose love or duty? This heartbreaking decision is one only she can make.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 24, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 21, 2017
Great book, really enjoyed it, a book of hardship, anger, yet love was the winner, a girl who was very focused
On her believes with one common goal to win the war and all the hardships that come with this. A must read love story
On her believes with one common goal to win the war and all the hardships that come with this. A must read love story
March 12, 2017
Real life during the occupation
This is a good story allowing you to get a feeling of what life was like during the German occupation of Guernsey.
This is a good story allowing you to get a feeling of what life was like during the German occupation of Guernsey.
November 4, 2016
Ever since reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer I have been intrigued by all things connected to Guernsey during the German occupation of the second world war. In Occupying Love, we meet Lydia La Page who arrives back on Guernsey the day it is bombed by the Germans and is soon occupied. Lydia however does not take this lying down. She is proud and she is apparently quite fearless in her resolve to help in the war effort and rid her beloved island of the enemy.
Lydia soon meets and is inexplicably drawn to the rector of the island, Martin Martell, who himself wants to get rid of the occupying forces. Martin runs a 'prayer group' that is not all that it seems and soon Lydia finds herself in a position of danger in an attempt to help The Resistance. She must befriend the Kommandant Otto Krueger in an attempt to find out what Hitler has in mind for Guernsey. Throughout it all, Lydia must keep many secrets, even from her own family and best friend. She must do things she had never dreamed of and put her own happiness on the line. Feeling like the rest of Britain has forgotten about them, the islanders must survive against all the odds. As Lydia battles to discover secrets about the enemy, she finds out some secrets about her own family that take her into a completely different battle. One between her heart and her head.
Occupying Love was a brilliant book. Marilyn Chapman has painted an extraordinarily bleak picture of what life must have been like on occupied Guernsey. This book has many really interesting and complex characters, the most complex I felt being Martin Martell. He is an extremely stubborn man and at times I wanted to bang his and Lydia's heads together! What comes across in the book is how bravery and heroism is portrayed in a myriad of ways and isn't always obvious. Throughout the horrendous time the islanders endured, the stiff upper lip was always there, with sacrifices and loss and grief evident throughout. A sense of pride for their heritage and love for one another gives them all a strength that is stronger than any invading army. A great book and highly recommended. I'd love to see another book written about one or two of the other characters, such as Maggie or Arthur.
Lydia soon meets and is inexplicably drawn to the rector of the island, Martin Martell, who himself wants to get rid of the occupying forces. Martin runs a 'prayer group' that is not all that it seems and soon Lydia finds herself in a position of danger in an attempt to help The Resistance. She must befriend the Kommandant Otto Krueger in an attempt to find out what Hitler has in mind for Guernsey. Throughout it all, Lydia must keep many secrets, even from her own family and best friend. She must do things she had never dreamed of and put her own happiness on the line. Feeling like the rest of Britain has forgotten about them, the islanders must survive against all the odds. As Lydia battles to discover secrets about the enemy, she finds out some secrets about her own family that take her into a completely different battle. One between her heart and her head.
Occupying Love was a brilliant book. Marilyn Chapman has painted an extraordinarily bleak picture of what life must have been like on occupied Guernsey. This book has many really interesting and complex characters, the most complex I felt being Martin Martell. He is an extremely stubborn man and at times I wanted to bang his and Lydia's heads together! What comes across in the book is how bravery and heroism is portrayed in a myriad of ways and isn't always obvious. Throughout the horrendous time the islanders endured, the stiff upper lip was always there, with sacrifices and loss and grief evident throughout. A sense of pride for their heritage and love for one another gives them all a strength that is stronger than any invading army. A great book and highly recommended. I'd love to see another book written about one or two of the other characters, such as Maggie or Arthur.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews