Once We Were Sisters: Totally heartbreaking and page-turning World War 2 fiction

By Ann Bennett

Elise isn't the same as her father. She's like a sister to us. She'll know what to do to keep us safe. She would never betray us... Paris, 1940. Shops are being boarded up, Jewish children are loaded onto buses and eighteen-year-old Elise's heart beats hard as she runs down the cobbled streets under the shadow of swastikas. She hates her father with all her heart: he is working with the Nazis and has forbidden her to be friends with Myriam and Salom , the Goldman sisters who are closer to her than her own family. Elise will do anything to help the girls she loves as sisters, including sharing her father's secret business. Every day she creeps out to their apartment, avoiding the cold-eyed soldiers who stalk the streets. But in trying to save them, will she bring terrible danger to their door? Years later, newly pregnant Jeanne stares at the photograph of three young girls on the beach. She recognises her mother Elise in the centre of the picture, but who does her mother have her arms around? Jeanne feels such love for the tiny new life inside her and feels desperate to connect with the mother who has always shut her out. Could finding these lost sisters, laughing and vibrant in the crumpled black and white photo, help Jeanne understand her mother and lay the ghosts of the past to rest? A beautiful and deeply moving story about love and friendship and the bond between women in a time of fear and darkness. Fans of The Midwife of Auschwitz and The Nightingale will fall in love with this heartbreaking, hopeful read. What everyone is saying about Once We Were Sisters: 'OMG this book is fabulous Utterly heartbreaking... I could not put this book down; my eyes were literally glued to the pages... I loved it.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Took me into its pages and wouldn't let me go... this was a read I couldn't put down for a second... it held both my attention and heart in its grip.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Heart-wrenching... unforgettable... Powerful... Heartbreaking, hopeful, and impossible to put down, this novel will stay with you long after the final page.' Ashlireads2, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Heartbreaking, hopeful, and from the first page to the last you are drawn into the drama.... not to be missed.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book. I was not going to bed until I finished this book. The twists just kept coming, and I never saw most of them until they hit You will not be able to put it down... definitely kept me glued to the pages.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Incredible... This heart-wrenching story is beautifully told and is a must-read.' Christian Novel Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Wow, what a read ... I just didn't want it to end, and what an ending it was. Loved it, recommend.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1805501720
• ISBN13: 9781805501725
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Bookouture
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.8"