When We Were Enemies by Emily Bleeker

Two women, generations apart, in the spotlight. A powerful novel about family secrets, devastating choices, and hope for the future.

Camera-shy Elise Branson is different from the other women in her matriline. Her mother is an award-winning actress. Her late grandmother, Vivian Snow, is a beloved Hollywood icon. But when Elise’s upcoming wedding coincides with a documentary being made about Vivian, Elise can’t escape the camera’s gaze. And even in death, neither can her grandmother.

It’s 1943 when Vivian, a small-town Indiana girl, lends her homefront support to the war effort. As a translator in the nearby Italian POW camp, she’s invaluable. As a celebrated singer for the USO, she lifts men’s spirits and falls in love with a soldier. But behind this all-American love story is a shocking secret—one vital to keep buried if Vivian is to achieve the fame and fortune, she covets.

For Elise and Vivian, what’s hidden—and what’s exposed—threatens to unravel their lives. The heart-wrenching choices they must make will change them both forever.

“As a novelist, Emily Bleeker has a genuinely impressive, narrative driven, and distinctive storytelling style that fully engages her readers from first page to last. Her latest novel, When We Were Enemies will have a special appeal to readers with in interest in comparative generational historical fiction at its very best. A memorable read throughout, When We Were Enemies is a highly recommended pick…” —Midwest Book Review