Published By: HarperCollins
Pages: 480
Released On: 06/10/2026
November 11th, 1918. As the guns of the Great War fall silent, two babies draw their first breath.
Eve is the daughter of an Earl. Adam, a shepherd’s son. Yet from their first meeting they form an extraordinary bond that neither privilege nor prejudice can break.
Then on a single September night in 1940, as Hitler prepares to invade the British Isles, their actions will change his mind. Determining not just their own futures but the fate of a nation.
They will show extraordinary courage. They will make unimaginable sacrifices. And the story of what they did will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This was another book I had pre-ordered but had to cancel due to money issues so was so exciting to receive an e-arc.
This is apparently Jeffrey’s final book – but it’s my first. And boy is it a long book to choose as my first one.
I can’t say how much is accurate and how much is artistic license has been used, but this is set around a period of WW2 I didn’t know much about and I love it when a novel – a piece of entertainment – teaches me something too.
There are quite a lot of names, and I’m not so great with names, so it did take me a wee while to settle on who was who.
I’ve never given it much thought what his books were like but I took them to be quite gritty crime thrillers. But this is not that. Obviously there is war, so you do get that grittiness, but it’s more a deep exploration of humanity. It was completely not what I expected in terms of plot. But it was an utterly joyous read – even if some of the themes aren’t joyous themselves.
There is a subplot with a character called Martin (that I won’t go into detail for fear of spoilers) but it was my least favourite storyline and I was quite glad when those scenes ended. Having said that, the ending of his subplot was very satisfying.
It is a long book and I generally don’t like long books. But I can’t really say there is anything specific he could have cut out without it being detrimental to the story. It’s about 150 pages longer than I like, but it just didn’t bother me because everything was fabulous, and I actually read it in just two days because it was so addictive.
I’m always impressed when an author writes a book around real historical events. Because we know what happened, so surely there won’t be any tension, unless they decide to completely change history, in which case I wonder why they’ve chosen to use an historical event. But even though this is based on a real event, it still manages to hold on to that mystery and excitement.
I don’t know what I was expecting but it beat my expectations. I may not have read his books before but I am aware of his success and popularity so I knew it would be a well written book. But I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. It’s so well written, the storytelling is first class, there’s layered characters, and an interesting plot – it’s got everything going for it and I think it’s a good way to bow out of his career. But it does mean I am going to have to read all of his other books now.
Books By Your Bedside 