The Color of Courage

Codename Odile - Based On A True Story

Two women. Two timelines. One story of resistance, art, and courage in the face of tyranny.

Marseille, August 2004

When Sil Anderson arrives in Marseille to attend the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, her only goal is to heal through painting. But when she finds a vintage suitcase in her new flat, filled with wartime letters and sketches, everything changes. The letters belonged to Lise de Baissac, a real-life SOE agent in Nazi-occupied France, whose legacy has long been forgotten.

Through Lise’s eyes, Sil is swept into the world of WWII female spies, French Resistance missions, and the impossible choices faced by those who dared to fight. From Poitiers to D-Day drop zones in Normandy, Lise’s bravery unfolds in bold strokes. Determined to honor her, Sil paints a mural across the heart of Cours Julien—The Color of Courage—blending Lise’s story into Marseille’s modern graffiti scene.

But art isn’t the only thing echoing across time. As Sil’s connection to her mysterious landlord, Justin Bellamare, deepens, she begins to see her own choices reflected in Lise’s story. Both women fought in different eras—for freedom, for love, for a voice.

The Color of Courage: Codename Odile is a dual timeline WWII historical fiction novel inspired by the real-life heroine Lise de Baissac, perfect for fans of clean romance, spy fiction, and strong female leads in Kindle Unlimited.

Courageous acts during World War Ii

I liked the awareness it gave me of the sacrifices and struggles of many people.

The AI reading unfortunate

The novel could’ve been enjoyed more, had not been for the AI voice reading by non-human existed here. The English version was stilted and had no change in tone or excitement. The foreign language speaking’s were painful to the ears. It deeply distracted from what an otherwise informative and enjoyable book that I am sure this could have been. Use real human voices.

I like the story. I like the author.

The narration was awful. I could only listen a little at a time. Monotone narration. It was like the person reading the book was in elementary school. Painful to listen to this book.

How bad the voice was. Even basic French words were mispronounced.

The performance was very bad. Even basic French words were mispronounced. The cadence was stilted and without emotion. It ruined what could have been a good book.

Great story

Virtual voice was terrible. Stilted language, bad French. Difficult to follow when punctuation was off or lacking.