Title: When We Were Brave
Author: Suzanne Kelman
Publish Date: February 24, 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Quote: "She needed everything in her life, including her history, to make sense."

In When We Were Brave, Suzanne Kelman takes us through a dual timeline.
She does a great job with the dual timelines. It didn't matter which timeline I was in, the past or the present, I felt like I was in that time.

In the present day, we are following Sophie, a woman who is dealing with the death of her daughter and her mother, as well as a boyfriend who has been cheating on her. Everybody handles grief in different ways. Sophie wants to be surrounded by reminders of her daughter, Emily. Matt wants to be surrounded by his female co-worker.

Sophie comes across a photograph with a woman in it, with a stance that resembles that of her family. She takes a picture of the photograph and sets off to visit her grandmother to find out if, by chance, this woman is kin to them. With reluctance, Sophie's grandmother tells her that it is her Great Aunt Vivienne, and that they do not talk about her. She also tells her that sometimes the past is better left right where it is. Sophie cannot just let the past stay in the past. She cannot stop thinking about the woman in the photograph and her story.

Quote:  "On some level she felt that is was no accident that the photograph had come into her life right now."

In the past, we follow Vivienne, a British spy in WWII. Or is she?

We jump back and forth as we follow Sophie trying to find the answer to that question.

In When We Were Brave, we go on a journey for the truth. Was Vivi really a spy for her country, or was she a traitor? Some things are not as they seem. There's always more to the story.

Quote:  "I'm a firm believer that the truth always comes out in the end."

How far will Sophie go to find answers?

Love. What will be sacrificed in the name of love?
War. What will be sacrificed for country?

Love.
War.
Grief.
Betrayal.
Loyalty.
Unlikely relationships.
Travel.

I highly recommend this book, if you enjoy any of the above. Oh, and remember the swallows...

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review When We Were Brave.