Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Secret Librarian

August 27, 2025

TITLE: The Secret Librarian (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): New York, 1942: Avery is engaged to be married. Longing for adventure instead, she jumps at an unexpected offer to trade her library job for undercover intelligence-gathering in Portugal. But her new life in Lisbon, known as the Capital of Espionage, challenges everything she thought she knew about herself.

Local bookshop owner Camille, a French widow with access to the enemy newspapers and magazines Avery needs, befriends her. But are the rumors that swirl around Camille true—does she really have a Nazi boyfriend? And what secrets did she bring with her when she fled France? Avery must decide—fast—if she can fully trust Camille. Millions of lives depend on it.

As Avery discovers more about Camille’s world, she realizes that living in a city of spies will take all her courage. With suspicions growing, they are both playing a terrifyingly dangerous game. And not everyone will live to tell their story. Can Avery and Camille stay far enough ahead of their enemies to survive?

Threaded through with daring, sacrifice and love, this is the inspirational story of two women prepared to risk everything to help others survive the horrors of World War II.

REVIEW: If you've read most of my reviews, then you already know that adding "librarian" to any title piques my interest, and I'm all in. Add a World War II setting, and I'm definitely going to read it. This is a beautiful story of two admirable women from very different backgrounds who form a close bond while trying to help Jewish refugees during wartime. Some of the situations and outcomes were predictable, but it still held my attention from beginning to end, which is a big plus for me. If I could go back and change one thing, I would read the print book or digital book instead of listening to the audiobook. The narrator was good, but her voice is very breathy (if that's a word) and dramatic, which unfortunately distracted me most of the time. I don't really know how to describe it, but on a positive note her accents are lovely. I would recommend the print and digital versions of this book to all, especially World War II historical fiction lovers like myself.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own).