No Neutral Ground
Book 2 of Promise For Tomorrow
Terri Wangard
WWII Historical Fiction
2016 Hope Springs Books
About the Book
After his father divorces his mother because of her Jewish
ancestry, Rafe and the rest of his family flee Germany. As a B-17 navigator, he
returns to Europe. On the ocean voyage, he meets Jennie, an artist journeying
to Sweden to work with the OSS. Flying missions against his former homeland
arouses emotions that surprise Rafe. Despite being rejected, he is troubled by
the destruction of Germany and his heart still cries for his father’s love.
Sweden may be neutral, but it’s full of intrigue. Jennie assists the OSS at the
American legation in Sweden. She thought she’d be doing passive,
behind-the-scenes work. Instead, she’s pushed into an active role to gain
intelligence and frustrate the Germans. How can Rafe and Jennie succeed in
their dangerous roles when they are so conflicted?
My Review
After a year and a half delay, I finally got back to Terri
Wangard’s very nice and beautifully researched World War II historical
romances. This second story is set for the most part in Sweden, a country that
attempted to remain neutral during World War II. Our romantic couple meet on
the Queen Mary as they are on their way to England from the States at the early
stages of the war. Rafe is a German ex-patriate whose Jewish-ancestry mother
fled with Rafe and his siblings to the US just before the outbreak of war. Rafe
grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where his mother, divorced, remarried. Rafe
then joined the US Air Force as a flight navigator, still fighting his demons
of abandonment and love for his homeland, friends and family still there,
against whom he now is at war.
Jenny is thoroughly American, and follows her father, a lieutenant
in the military intelligence, to Sweden, where he and her mother live in
Stockholm. Her father’s work is with military personnel who are interred in
Sweden, and Jenny’s job is she uses her artistic talent to do whatever it takes
to harass the German military, whether to create false rumors or anti-propaganda
posters. When Rafe’s damaged plane seeks asylum in Sweden, he and Jenny
reunite.
Their developing relationship is never a secret nor in
doubt, nor even conflicted. It’s Rafe who must overcome the wounds of both
childhood and what the war is doing to his family and his beloved homeland.
While he works through fighting Nazis, not Germans, with the support of Jenny,
the war grinds on, eventually to a close, allowing the healing to begin.
About the Author
Terri Wangard's first Girl Scout badge was the Writer. These
days she is writing historical fiction, and won the 2013 Writers on the Storm
contest and 2013 First Impressions of the American Christian Fiction Writers,
as well as being a 2012 Genesis finalist. Holder of a bachelor's degree in
history and a master's degree in library science, she lives in Wisconsin. Her
research included going for a ride in a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.
