I received this book free from the publisher from a drawing from Little Free Library steward giveaway. It will now go into my LFL for someone else to enjoy.

1943. Lisbon, Portugal. A neutral country in WWII, but not a safe haven at all. The city teems with refugees, stateless people, spies, gestapo agents, and people trying to get out of Europe in any way possible. Exit visas are at a premium and living in the city means constant danger from sources sometimes unknown. Many countries ran spy operations from the city and also worked on preserving written materials the Nazis were determined to destroy.

Enter two friends who were librarians in Boston. One the member of an elite family and the other a quiet woman who has a photographic memory. They both enlisted in order to help with the tasks of preserving the endangered books and records and in order to do their part for the war effort.

After training at The Farm, the OSS facility, they’re both sent to Lisbon to work as librarians.

Unbeknownst to the other, they each have been recruited to other missions with their day jobs as covers for their respective missions.

And thus the adventures of this book are set in motion. Alternating chapters featuring each heroine, Selene and Bea, make the story move quickly.

I loved this book. The setting, the history, the danger the main characters were in and the overall plot were all well executed.

I recently read a biography of Josephine Baker which focused on her time as a WWII spy in Lisbon and Morocco and this novel read almost like that biography in many places. So very realistic. Clearly, the author did her research on the city and the era. It was definitely exciting and well-paced.

I highly recommend this one. Very well done.

BLURB:

n a glittering city of secrets and shadows, love is the most perilous gamble of all.

Lisbon 1943. As two American librarians are drawn into a city of dangerous subterfuge and unexpected love affairs, they are forced to choose between their missions and the men they love. Brimming with evocative writing and meticulous research, award-winning author Suzanne Nelson spins a web of secret aliases, sweeping romance, and great sacrifice. Inspired by real historical figures, this is the captivating story of two remarkable young women, their bravery and heartache, and a friendship that withstands the ravages of war.

With World War Two raging across Europe, best friends Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan are enlisted by the U.S. Intelligence Office and sent to Lisbon—a sparkling city and hotbed of trouble, harboring exiled royalty, hunted refugees, and spies trading double-edged secrets in seductively dark corners. In official capacity, librarians Selene and Bea have been recruited to catalog the vast mountain of information gathered by the Allies, but by night, both women are undercover agents tasked with infiltrating the Axis spy network.

Where Selene is confident and brash, Bea is bookish and careful. Selene longs to escape her family’s impossible expectations and embrace her independence, while all Bea wants is to heal from heartbreak and keep impulsive Selene out of trouble. But soon, both librarians are caught up in treacherous games of deception alongside two of Lisbon’s most notorious men—the outcast Portuguese baron, Luca Caldeira, and the lethal double-agent, Gable. As Selene charms her way through lavish ballrooms and fêtes with Luca, Bea is plunged into Gable’s shadowy underworld of informants. Victory depends upon the joint success of their missions, but when an unexpected betrayal throws a carefully spun web of lies into chaos, everything they’ve sacrificed is put at risk. As Selene and Bea are pushed to their breaking points can their friendship, and their hearts, survive the cost of war?