Orphans of St Agnes: Book 2
Publication Date: September 17, 2025
I look down at the baby abandoned on my doorstep this morning. This little one knows nothing yet of the hatred taking over Paris. My arms tighten around her. I will keep her safe, no matter what…
Paris, 1940. Lucie is the last child left at St Agnes’ Orphanage when the building is taken over by German soldiers. Forced to cook and clean for the men using her beloved home as their headquarters, she has stifled her instinct to rebel, instead scrubbing floors in the silent halls that were once filled with warmth and laughter. But when she finds a tiny baby bundled up in blankets on the front step, everything changes…
Desperate to protect the child, Lucie finds an unlikely ally in one of the officers living at the orphanage. From the moment he steps in to shield her from a group of soldiers threatening her on the street, she can tell that Klaus is different. There’s an unexpected warmth in his smile, and the quiet kindness he shows her and the baby is a world away from the cold indifference she is used to.
But Klaus has a secret. And when Lucie discovers that he has been helping the Parisian resistance efforts against the Nazis, her heart leaps at his bravery, but aches at the terrible danger he is in. Holding the baby close, they run for their lives in the dead of night, desperate to start a new life together. But before they reach safety, they hear shouts behind them… Will they make it to freedom? Or will their love story be stamped out before it’s even begun?
For fans of Roberta Kagan, Kristin Hannah and Kelly Rimmer comes an utterly heart-wrenching novel about incredible courage and love against the odds that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.
With the Germans occupying France, young Lucie finds herself a target in a personal vendetta orchestrated by a cunning German officer.
Author Jenna Ness delivers the second installment of the Orphans of St. Agnes series with The Last War Orphan. Having read the first story, I found this to be a seamless continuation.
With returning characters including Margot, Roger, and Josette, Lucie gets the spotlight. While she seemed somewhat headstrong initially, her character evolves into a brave young woman.
Her determination to care for abandoned babies leads her to form an unlikely alliance with a Nazi soldier hiding a secret of his own. The author weaves in heartbreaking twists to build the foundation for the final installment.
The Last War Orphan delivers a gripping story highlighting civilian bravery in World War II.
Jenna Ness’s debut historical novel, THE HOME FOR WAR ORPHANS, is the first in a World War II-set trilogy about orphan girls faced with a heartbreaking choice: will they surrender to the anguish of war, or courageously fight for themselves and those they love? Under a pseudonym, Jenna has also sold four million romance novels in twenty different languages and is a USA Today-bestselling author.
She lives in Idaho with her family and two dogs who follow her like ducklings from her desk to the fridge – Cosmo, a badly behaved Labrador-Collie mix, and Scootie, a chunky Chihuahua.
