Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

“In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.”

It’s time for book number two in my 12 in 2025 reads! 🥳 My lovely bookstagram friend, Marianne (@addictedtobks) has been begging me to read this for so long and recommended it for one of my books this year – and I’m so glad she did!

The Nightingale is my first Kristin Hannah book and my god, my poor heart. To say I’d very rarely read historical fiction until last year (obviously must give a shoutout to my favourite book of 2024, The Betrayal of Thomas True) this is another book I’ve really enjoyed. (Marianne, you were RIGHT 😭) I’m so happy to be sharing my review of The Nightingale!

About the book

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

The beginning

WOW. Kristin Hannah can write! Gorgeous, vivid, colourful descriptions and beautiful language hit me straight away and I fell in love. There was something about it that completely captivated me, each and every word felt like such a treat to read. Everything quickly came to life and it was just utterly beautiful. After an intriguing first chapter set in 1995, we head further back in time to France in 1939, to the quiet little village of Carriveau. War is a taboo subject for Vianne Mauriac. But it would soon become very real indeed when her husband and childhood sweetheart, Antoine, is mobilized. He had to report for duty. God, placing myself in Vianne’s shoes, saying goodbye to my husband and not knowing whether I’d ever see him again was hard to envisage. Painful. But this was the reality for so many back then. We see how talk of war affects the household. How it affects their daughter, Sophie. Vianne was sure it wouldn’t come to this. That Antoine would protect them. But now, this. Life was about to turn upside down. A new way of living. They had no choice.

“Please, my beloved, don’t fret. Just stay strong and be there for me when the time comes for me to leave this cage. You are my sunlight in the dark and the ground beneath my feet. Because of you, I can survive.”

As well as Vianne, we also meet her younger sister, Isabelle. She wants to join the war. She wants to make herself useful, to make a difference, to help people. She doesn’t care how dangerous it is. She’s expelled from another school and is shipped back to her father, who soon ships her off again to her sister once the bombs start to drop. The author completely encapsulates that feeling of horror. The danger, the distressing moments of panic, the horrific aftermath. Such powerful descriptions broke my heart and brought a lump to my throat. Some of it churned my stomach but good god was it real and raw and heartwrenching. Vianne and Isabelle have such contrasting personalities, and I loved both of them in such strikingly different ways. When a German soldier is billeted in their home, teachers are removed from schools for being Jewish, food is rationed and their town taken over by German soldiers, I was completely mesmerised by their hardships. Such a difficult way of living which really puts things into perspective. Every intricate detail is explored and it was unlike anything I’ve read before. I was already emotionally spent!

The middle

With some bad news, trying to keep Isabelle under control and to keep life as normal and as safe as possible for Sophie, Vianne is under a lot of pressure and stress. Food is running out. Money is running out. The author makes it so easy to feel everything so deeply, each scene as powerful as the one before it. Isabelle’s passion for Free France takes her back to Paris, and she gets involved in dangerous, but extremely brave and selfless work. I admired her more and more as time went on, and we see her grow up from being a rebellious teenager to a young woman before our eyes. She helps British airmen back home, an arduous journey through the Pyrenees without being spotted. I felt so on edge for this journey, but something inside me knew she’d succeed, and that it would only spark her determination to help more people. The risks were high; if caught, the men would be shot. She would be sent to a concentration camp. It takes a certain kind of bravery to put yourself in such a situation, but Isabelle is one of a kind. Despite the book feeling really slow moving to me up to this point, it still felt so engaging and so easy to get lost in.

“These days, Paris was a woman screaming. Noise, noise, noise. Whistles blaring, shotguns firing, lorries rumbling, soldiers shouting. The tide of the war had shifted.”

The book takes an even more saddening turn. The horrific events of the war get worse; we see more death and destruction, the person Vianne was right now was nothing like the person she was at the start of the book. It seemed every chapter broke my heart a little more. Be warned, it is a lot. Reading this book made me feel really down and it actually affected my own life for a while. It took me longer to read than I wanted because I just didn’t want to feel that sadness every time I picked it up. That really is the sign of a powerful book, but I didn’t particularly enjoy that feeling. It was depressing. But then I always told myself that this was what so many people had to experience daily, something which is really hard to comprehend. There was some repetitiveness as the years pass (winter struggles, hot summers, queuing for the little food they could get) but even so, it was impactful. But Isabelle’s job had me coming back for more. I just loved her more and more as time went on. She risks her life every single day to help other people stay alive and it left me speechless.

The end

Captain Beck, the Nazi who’d been billeted at Vianne’s house, had always shown signs of not being like the others. He helped her as much as he could, even though he would be in trouble if anyone knew. He brought her extra food, medicine when Sophie was ill, papers, notes from her husband. He seemed genuine. And because of his kindness, Vianne and the Captain begin to get closer. Then there’s the gossip, that she’s messing around with a Nazi. There were so many complications with Vianne’s life these days but my god I was not prepared for how much worse things would get for her. It seemed they’d avoided death for so long. How much longer could they keep it up? With a new soldier keeping close tabs on Vianne and the Germans hunting down the Nightingale, I could sense more heartbreak and more distress before I was through with this book. The pacing was starting to quicken a little which had me holding on for dear life. The author consistently has you hoping and praying these characters you grow to love live to see another day. But my heart was about to be completely shattered in ways I didn’t expect.

“Wounds heal. Love lasts. We remain.”

The book forces you to think about love in so many forms. Isabelle’s love she always has to leave behind was completely gutting. When would she see him again? Was this time the last time? How could you make time for love when tomorrow isn’t promised? It was heartbreaking. An impossible situation. And then there was her relationships with Vianne and their father. All of it was so brilliantly explored and intertwined which made those ending chapters all the more upsetting for many, many reasons. The ending to this book was beyond perfection. There is so much grief to get your head around and my god, it was probably the most saddening book I’ve ever read. But the way this book ends is so powerful, emotion after emotion completely takes over. If you’ve read this, you’ll know exactly what I mean! Despite all the heartbreak and suffering over the years, there is a little bit of light, hope and happiness. I just loved it! This won’t be my last Kristin Hannah book, but I think I need a long, long break before I pick up another in fear of getting a broken heart all over again!

Overall thoughts

The Nightingale is a heartbreaking, moving story which shows the strength and resilience of two sisters living through World War II, the sacrifices they make for love and for life, the way they live in fear, of everything they must do to simply survive. It’s harrowing, exploring the horrific conditions the people of France had to endure during the years of the war, their whole lives torn apart. A living nightmare. The characters in this book are brilliantly developed, their stories will stick with you for a lifetime. I found some parts repetitive and slow moving, but it’s certainly a captivating read. You’ll definitely shed a tear reading this and it can get pretty depressing. It really makes you appreciate everything you have when these people had nothing left. This book will certainly leave its mark! Masterful, poignant and heartwrenching from start to finish. A must read! (Although I feel like I’ve read this one way too late, haha!)

You can grab your own copy of The Nightingale right now on Amazon or wherever you buy your books!

I have to say a huuuge thank you to Marianne for recommending The Nightingale as one of my 12 in 2025 reads! Marianne has THE prettiest Bookstagram account ever and she has also doubled my TBR pile since I’ve known her 😂 Please give her a follow for the best recs! – @addictedtobks

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