Tag: Germany

Categories
Uncategorized

Bookouture Blog Tour for The First Spark of Fire by Marion Kummerow

About The Book–

Germany, 1938. ‘No,’ she cries out as she falls to the floor, fear clutching desperately at her chest, ‘They can’t have taken him, they can’t have taken my husband.’ As her tear-filled eyes dart wildly around the empty room, she realises she has no one to turn to. She is his only hope. But how can she possibly save him?

When shy, beautiful Edith first met Jewish-born Julius it was love at first sight. Julius swept her off her feet, whisking her from humble beginnings into the sparkling society and glittering ballrooms of Berlin’s powerful elite. It felt like all her dreams had come true.

But her perfect world begins to crack with rumblings of the Nazi party growing in power and influence. Every day there are new laws to strip Jews of their money and their freedom. And there are even more frightening rumours, of horrifying camps, and people disappearing in the night…

Then when Edith’s own brother Joseph enlists as an SS officer, and her whole family turn their backs on them, she knows that it is only a matter of time before they come for her husband. She pleads with Julius that their only chance is to run away and start again. Who cares about worldly possessions if they can still be together, their lives intact? But despite everything, he refuses to believe he is in danger.

Then one terrible night, the sounds of cries and breaking glass ring out across the city as the Nazis wreak their destruction. Edith’s worst fears have been realised— Julius has been taken.

For so long, Edith has led a sheltered life, secluded from the real world. But the only way to save her beloved husband is to defy the Nazis and put herself in grave danger. Can she draw on every bit of strength she has to fight for love and save him… or is she already too late?

A totally devastating, powerful, and ultimately uplifting story, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, My Name is Eva and Sold on a Monday.

My Thoughts

The author once again writes about her beloved Germany.
One thing I've noticed while reading this authors books, how impeccably researched they are.
This book is written in the time period preceding and during Hitler's rise to power. His followers were already rabidly devoted.
Set between 1923 and 1938 it follows the rise of Hitler and the Nazis and the escalation of the mistreatment of anyone with even a slight bit of Jewish blood. The Nazis want the women to divorce their Jewish husbands. What ensues is the women refusing and doing whatever it takes to save their men. These are women of bravery who would give up family relationships to stand by their man. Heartbreaking and realistic. A look at history we don't hear much about.
This is the first in the series and I look forward to reading more in this series to see what these brave women do next.

Pub Date: 11 Apr 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Visit other blogs on the tour

The Author

Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to “discover the world” and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she’s now living with her family.

Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.

https://kummerow.info/
https://www.facebook.com/AutorinKummerow/
https://www.instagram.com/marionkummerow/
https://twitter.com/MarionKummerow

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Marion Kummerow here: https://www.bookouture.com/marion-kummerow

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BSXTKG9Ksocial

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo

Have an amazing day and thanks for stopping in today.

Categories
Uncategorized

Bookouture Blog Tour for The Polish Wife by Gosia Nealon

A heart-breaking World War Two historical novel about one woman’s bravery and the face of grave danger…@Bookouture

About The Book

The Polish Wife  by Gosia Nealon

Germany, 1934. Surrounded by beautiful wedding china, we share our first dinner alone as husband and wife. But, instead of sharing affections, all he talks of is his admiration for Hitler. I force a smile, but my blood runs cold. How can I stay with him, now I know what he truly is?

Six years later. When Anna is approached by the Polish resistance while sheltering in Warsaw, she is eager for the chance to fight against German occupation. Managing a network of spies behind the façade of a café for enemy soldiers will mean risking everything. But, after fleeing her fanatical Nazi husband only for war to follow close behind, Anna can’t run any more.

Every conversation she overhears between the unsuspecting officers at the café brings back awful memories of the Nazi her husband became and makes her more determined to do what is right. Spending more time with the resistance behind the scenes, she grows close to them all—especially a brilliant young doctor with deep hazel eyes called Mateusz, who shows her a kindness she has never known.

As they work together, Anna can’t help imagining what life would be like with him, instead of the man she is tied to. But one day her dreams of a future with Mateusz, and freedom for her country, are shattered. Her husband has tracked her down.

Terrified, Anna knows that living as his wife again is her chance to gather information that could help end the war. But can she keep her nerve long enough to spy on her own husband? And with such a high-ranking enemy officer watching her every move, can she protect Mateusz, the man truly she loves, from the firing line?

This is a totally inspiring and gripping page-turner that you will not be able to put down. Fans of The Alice Network, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and My Name is Eva will fall in love with this heartbreaking tale.

Buy the book: https://geni.us/B0BTTN7RXPsocial

My Thoughts

The Polish Wife is the second book in the Secret Resistance series by Gosia Nealon. The author writes a realistic book that draws you into the characters life, making you care what the outcome will be.


Main character Anna escapes pre-war Nazi Germany, with the help of her mother to get away from an abusive husband who supports the Nazis. Her mother understands her situation because her husband also supports the Nazis, and she doesn’t want her daughter to experience the same things she has.


Escaping to Warsaw she joins the resistance and opens a cafe as a front while hiding in plain sight hearing all the Germans are saying. When she falls in love with a kind doctor, he goes on the run to avoid going against his beliefs, will she follow? In the face of danger, she shows incredible bravery.


Fraught with danger, and a realistic story line I once again could not put down this book by one of my new favorite historical authors.

Pub Date 31 Mar 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Visit other blogs on the tour

About The Author

While Gosia Nealon is a proud New Yorker, she was born and raised in Poland. Her journey to the Big Apple revealed a wealth of cultural differences, but also the values that connect us all. Like the fierce desire to protect family, find love, and ultimately, discover who we are and why we’re here. 

Gosia’s award-winning short stories have always delved into life’s biggest questions, but it was the drama, sacrifice, and tragedy of WWII that led her to pen her debut novel, which won a gold medal in the 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY).

Growing up in Poland, Gosia heard many firsthand accounts of the war, told from a perspective rarely captured in mainstream literature. She was compelled to breathe life into two young people falling in love in the midst of the most terrifying conflict of our time.

When Gosia isn’t tapping away at her laptop, she’s often walking the streets of New York. With her husband and two young sons in tow, they search for the most succulent pierogi, transporting them back to the cobbled streets of her childhood.

Author social media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GosiaNealonHistoricalFiction

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GosiaNealon

Website: https://www.gosianealon.com/

Newsletter sign up: http://www.thread-books.com/sign-up/?source=endmatter&author=gosia-nealon-384

Thank you for stopping in and have a great weekend!

Categories
Uncategorized

Giveaway for Leslie Gould’s new book, A Brighter Dawn and Review

Publication date March 28,2023 Bethany House Publisher Print length 425 pages

About The Book

Ivy Zimmerman is successfully navigating her life as a young Mennonite woman, one generation removed from her parents’ Old Order Amish upbringing. But when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Ivy’s way of life is upended. As she deals with her grief, her younger sisters’ needs, the relationship with her boyfriend, and her Dawdi and Mammi’s strict rules, Ivy finds solace in both an upcoming trip to Germany for an international Mennonite youth gathering and in her great-great-aunt’s story about Clare Simons, another young woman who visited Germany in the late 1930s.

As Ivy grows suspicious that her parents’ deaths weren’t, in fact, an accident, she gains courage from what she learns of Clare’s time in pre-World War II Germany. With the encouragement and inspiration of the women who have gone before her, Ivy seeks justice for her parents, her sisters, and herself. –This text refers to the paperback edition.

My Thoughts

This is very different from any Amish/Mennonite book I have ever read. And right there I applaud this because with so many books out there it’s truly hard to stand out and be an original, but this book succeeds. I have read every Amish book that the author has put out and am very impressed. I have not read her contemporary books yet, but I am looking forward to doing so.
This book interestingly enough takes place during two time periods modern times and late 1930’s.
Anyone who has read enough of my reviews knows how appreciative I am of a very well researched book that I also learn things from. This book fits those criteria.

2014- Ivy Zimmerman, a young Mennonite woman is adjusting to life without her parents after a fatal car accident. She’s also a carer for her younger sisters’ needs and coping with the strictness of Dawdi and Mammi’s strict rules. She’s also trying to figure out if she feels comfortable continuing her relationship with her boyfriend.
To leave behind some stress she is looking forward to an upcoming trip to Germany for an international Mennonite youth gathering.

1930’s Germany- We find out about a family member’s story that happened during WWII. We also read some history of the Anabaptists, their persecution and the things they have gone through during this time period. The German’s quest to find the “perfect people” led to a lot of disgraceful experiments and eugenics. Though this is hard to read about it is an important thing to talk about and not forget. The book has many topics for discussion which adds to its interest. The flow between time periods is an easy transition. We see strong women in both time periods.

There is a revelation of the truth, and it adds a vulnerability to this character which makes the book even more realistic.
There are ups and downs and many surprises in this story. I loved this story and kept me reading. My husband also read this story and enjoyed it as much as I did.
Make sure to read the author’s notes at the back of the book, informative and interesting.

Pub Date 28 Mar 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Giveaway

The author is generously giving one copy away. Sorry, USA residents only due to postage costs. Starts 3/31 ends 4/7 2023.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2f42aca11/?

The Author

Leslie Gould is the best-selling and award-winning author of over forty novels. She loves research, traveling, and church history. She and her husband live in Portland, Oregon and have four grown children and one grandchild. http://www.lesliegould.com/

Thank you for stopping in today. Have a wonderful day and good luck.

Categories
Uncategorized

Blog tour for The Last Letter from Paris by Kate Eastham

Book Description:


June 1940, Paris. For days she’s seen the flashes in the night sky. She’s heard the drone of planes and the thump of marching boots. Doors shut as the German flag billows over the Eiffel Tower. Leaving Cora just one last chance to get her letter out of Paris…

The Nazi occupation has begun, and soldiers stand guard on every corner. The terrifying threat of war hangs in the air, and whispers of an unimaginable death toll roll across Europe. But Cora Mayhew has come to Paris from America to search for her birth mother – a fine silver locket her only clue – and she refuses to give up now.

One winter day, the air thick with fog, Cora is on a train – praying that it will lead her to the mother she never knew. But when the train is struck by bombs, throwing her from her seat as the carriage lurches off the tracks, all she can think about is everything she’s left behind.

Bruised and gasping for air, Cora struggles to her feet, shaking glass from her hair. Surrounded by passengers taking their last breaths and crying out for their loved ones, Cora knows she must find a way to send a heart-wrenching letter she’s been carrying around for weeks and return to her dear adoptive family while she still can.

Staggering from the wreckage, Cora shelters in a nearby ditch. But as the cold sets into her bones and her fighting spirit slips away, a German soldier finds Cora and offers her a chance at escape… With golden-flecked hazel eyes, handsome Max Heller is everything a Nazi shouldn’t be: kind, good-humoured and selfless.

With Max’s help, Cora uncovers a devastating secret about her birth mother, which makes her even more determined to get home. The key to Cora’s safe journey lies in the letter she’s been trying desperately to get out of Paris. Now she is faced with a choice: place her trust in the hands of the enemy, or go it alone and risk never making it out alive?

A heart-breaking story of love, belonging, and resilience in Nazi-occupied Paris as one woman searches desperately for the truth in the face of grave danger. The perfect wartime read for fans of The Dressmaker’s Gift, The Lost Girls of Paris and The Nightingale.

My Thoughts

Historical fiction is my favorite genre to read. There is so much to learn from it, even the fictional stories contain some true facts and happenings.
The Last Letter from Paris by Kate Eastham is a wonderful book that I read in several hours.
A young American woman is in France, June 1940 living with her mother’s best friend for the sole purpose of finding out information about her birth. All she knows is she was found with a locket. It is her only clue. A capture turns the plot of the story into one filled with danger and intrigue. It is hard to put this one down.
The story is filled with strong women who must persevere, but my favorite is Cora who was found by and was raised by Eva.
As Cora is searching for her beginnings, she is befriended by German soldier Max but with a war going on can she trust him and can she trust herself with her growing feelings for him.
The Germans have invaded, and she helps with the resistance which throws her right into danger.
Full of power, courage, bravery, worry, strength and romance.
I enjoyed the author’s writing style and well-developed characters. I will be looking for more by this author.

Pub Date 07 Feb 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Author Bio:

A change in circumstance meant Kate Eastham made the shift from a career in nursing to being a carer for her partner. Determined to make the most of this new role ‘working from home’ and inspired by an in-depth study of the origins of nursing, she wrote her first novel at the kitchen table. Miss Nightingale’s Nurses was published by Penguin in 2018, closely followed by three more in the series. With her passion for history, Kate aims to make visible the lives of ordinary yet extraordinary women from the past. Her current historical fiction is set during the World Wars and will be published by Bookouture.

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Kate Eastham here: https://www.bookouture.com/kate-eastham

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BM9X7X58social

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo

Follow Bookouture on Facebook 
Follow Bookouture on Twitter 
Follow Bookouture on Instagram
Follow Bookouture on TikTok

If you’d like to sign up to our reviewer database you can sign up here! 

Thank you for stopping in today. May your day be joyful.