Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing, December 27th, 2022

Format: ebook

Pages: 464

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Inspired by a real-life female spy, a WWII-set novel about a woman challenging convention and boundaries to help win a war, no matter the cost.

“A gripping, fascinating read.” —Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Warsaw Orphan

1944, Rome. Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy’s capital. One of the OSS’s few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she’s tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of enemy soldiers.

Despite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others—now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau—find success, forming a bond amid the cobblestoned streets and storied villas of the newly liberated city. But her work is also a way to escape devastating truths about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia and a future with her controlling American husband.

As the war drags on and the pressure intensifies, Niki begins to question the rules she’s been instructed to follow, and a colleague unexpectedly captures her heart. But one step out of line, one mistake, could mean life or death…

My Review:

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: WW2 stories, women’s involvement in the war.
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Based on true events, the book follows Nikki, a woman from Czechoslovakia, who married an American and immigrated to the states. There she is sought out due to her language skills and she ends up working for the OSS in Italy during the war. I really liked reading about her involvement in the war and her work with propaganda. She was a smart and innovative character who was not only fighting for the allies but for her family as well! Overall I liked the story!