Today I am reviewing Until Our Time Comes by Nicole M. Miller out next Tuesday.
Book Description:
American horse trainer Adia Kensington is living her dream of working at the famous Janów Podlaski stables in Poland, where they breed the best Arabian horses in the world. But her plans to bring the priceless stallion Lubor to the US are derailed when the German army storms into her adopted country in 1939. Little does she know this is just the beginning of six long years of occupation that will threaten her beloved horses at every turn.
Major Bret Conway is at Janów Podlaski under the guise of a news reporter, but his true mission is intelligence gathering for the British. That and keeping Adia safe, which is harder and harder to do as she insists they must evacuate 250 horses to save them from being stolen, sold, or eaten by the invading forces. What follows will test their physical, mental, and emotional strength, as well as their faith in God, humankind, and each other.
Drawn from true events of World War II, this epic story of escape, capture, resistance, and love from debut novelist Nicole M. Miller will thunder into your heart like a herd of beautiful horses across a raging river.
My Review:
Thanks to Net Galley for my review copy.
This is a debut book for Nicole M Miller and well worth the read. This book is set in Poland at the outbreak of WW2. It covers the hardships and horrors of war without being graphic or excessive. The story of the Poland Arabian horses and what happened to them was gripping. I hadn’t heard of this story and actually did look it up to find more details. While some of the characters are fiction there is elements of what actually happened and how. I didn’t want to put this book down as I just needed to see what would happen.
The book starts with Bret who is a British spy, catches a young orphan boy Ewan pickpocketing. Adia a horse trainer at the Arabian horse stud steps in front to protect him. They are meant to have dinner but due to unforeseen circumstances Bret doesn’t show up. The next time they meet is at the Horse stud where Adia wants to protect the horses from the Nazi’s. The manager of the stud asks Bret to keep her safe. There are side characters including young Ewan who does tend to do more than pickpocket he steals scenes.
This is one book that as I was reading I could see as a movie or mini series. It doesn’t always happen when I read but maybe because of the subject I could picture what was happening. There were times I could feel what the characters felt. As the book is set in Poland we see how many of the civilians suffered during the war.
I wish I could share more about this book there is so much to unpack. But then you wouldn’t need to read it and would miss out on one of my top reads of the year. I would love to be in a book club discussing this book. While I know the book did end well I hope there will be a follow up as I would love to read more of this author.
Hi Jenny, Thanks for sharing your insightful review. This book is on my want-to-read wish list and I’m bumping it up higher after hearing your thoughts on the story. The story premise with the Arabian horses in Poland is fascinating. I love learning about history via reading fiction and WW2 is one of my favourites. 😊