American Smile

In the lead-up to the celebrations for the 65th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings, Emma Rowland is getting over a breakup and enjoying being in the heart of her family again. But then her mother decides to do one of those DNA tests and suddenly everything is up in the air. Is Emma’s beloved grandfather really her grandfather? Is that framed family tree on the wall true, or is it based on lies?
It’s 1944 and American-born Joe gets shipped across the Atlantic and stationed in Devon to be ready for the D-Day Landings. There he meets Vera, a take-no-prisoners type of a girl. She’s working in the NAAFI, supplying hot drinks and little comforts to the troops. She’s seen more soldiers than she can remember and she’s too savvy to get involved with Joe.
But he’s persistent. And he does have a really nice smile...
Sixty-five years later, Emma decides she must uncover the truth. Her new boyfriend, Tyler, a ’sweet-but-shy’ aircraft mechanic from the local airbase, promises to help her solve the wartime puzzle. Together they follow the trail blazed by a reckless GI and his outspoken blonde girlfriend, hoping to get the full story at last. But it soon becomes clear that Tyler knows more about this mystery than he’s prepared to tell, and he’s been hiding some secrets of his own.
The path to true love is notoriously bumpy. Will these two lovers make it to Paris, like the brave American soldiers who went before, or will their love story end before it’s begun?

Cody Young has a Ph.D in History from the University of Auckland. She has won various awards for her historical research including the Keith Sinclair Memorial Scholarship. Her debut novel ’American Smile’ is her first foray into historical fiction. She was inspired to write the book when she discovered that her grandfather was American. Cody lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband and her children. She loves writing romantic fiction because of her fascination with how and why people fall in love.