Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

She stood at a crossroads, half-aware that her choice would send her down a path from which there could be no turning back. But instead of two choices, she saw only one—because it was all she really wanted to see… 

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, one million children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed…

My Thoughts...I want to be very careful with my review here. I don't want to giveaway any spoilers. The story mainly focus on Emmy Downtree's life. Before the war, she was so anxious to grow up and prove herself, during the war doing whatever she could to survive the loss which had befallen her, and of course her survival. I was engrossed with Secrets of a Charmed Life from page one. I will say, the novel moves in such a way you can slowly guess what will happen to Emmy. I had to put the book down. I didn't want to read. I knew to some extent what was to come and my heart was already aching for her. I knew if I picked it up and read my heart would break, but it also demanded to be read. I couldn't put the novel down. I knew nothing of what was to come.

Meissner's storytelling made me breathless. Absolutely beautiful. There were points in the story my heart broke over and over again. A captivating read. You don't have to love historical fiction to love Secrets of a Charmed Life. I absolutely loved this novel! Highly recommending!