BLOG TOUR : The Girl From Berlin @author_kate @bookuture #WW2 #Germany @absltmom

Liesel Scholz, a young German girl living in Berlin with her family, is unaccustomed to want and need. Her father is well connected in the soon to be Nazi government and Liesel is about to realize that her simple aversion to the Nazis is about to become one of hatred and contempt. The family is well to do and has a housekeeper and her daughter Rosa, who Liesel tries to befriend. However, Rosa seems standoffish and as Liesel learns more about these two people, she finds out they are Jewish. As the winds of war spread, Liesel witnesses the might of the German military, the hobnobbing with the elite of the Nazi Party, and the treatment of the Jews. She recognizes the Party for what it is and feels for Rosa as her father eventually terminates the employment of his Jewish staff. Meanwhile in the streets of Berlin, Liesel witnesses the inhuman treatment of the Jews from the beatings, the rounding up of the Jews, and the eventual sights of Auschwitz. She is appalled and learns too, that her mother is repelled by the Nazis. Both realize that they can help especially when poor Rosa comes to them for help. Secretly, they decide to hide Jewish people in their home as it becomes a transport on the secret journey these people take to escape the relocation and camps. Her father, becomes more entrenched in the goings on of the Party, and it is Liesel and her mother who play a very dangerous and life-threatening game. Eventually, Liesel’s crippled brother becomes involved as he too, formerly a fervent child follower of the Party, looks upon the Party with disgust and revulsion. For a time, this ploy works, but their father let into their doings alerts the SS when Liesel hides Rosa and her mother. At this point Liesel has nothing but hostility for a father she once adored as the two Hews are led away. When the war comes to its conclusion a young American captain Sam Houghton, is set to interrogate well placed Nazis especially those involved as chemists. He hires a very quiet secretive German girl to help him with the job he has been assigned and he finds himself attracted to her. He feels there is something about the enigmatic Anna, and as he comes to know her, the attraction turns stronger. But there are secrets that Anna hides and as the story continues to its fine conclusion, Sam learns of the way in which the war has treated and left Anna. This story was a skillful look into how some German citizens viewed the war. It is a story that focuses on the brutality of the Nazis while also highlighting the courage and strength of those who never fell under the spell the Nazis seemed to weave for so many German citizens. This was an enjoyable story, though the characters were totally fictitious, the events portrayed have been documented by history. This was a time that will unequivocally live-in infamy. Thank you to Kate Hewitt, Bookouture, and NetGalley for a copy of this intriguing story due to be published February 25, 2021. and here’s the author:

Kate is the USA Today-best selling author of many books of both historical and contemporary fiction. Under the name Katharine Swartz, she is the author of the Tales from Goswell books, a series of time-slip novels set in the village of Goswell.

She likes to read women’s fiction, mystery and thrillers, as well as historical novels. She particularly enjoys reading about well-drawn characters and avoids high-concept plots.

Having lived in both New York City and a tiny village on the windswept northwest coast of England, she now resides in a market town in Wales with her husband, five children, and two Golden Retrievers.

Thank you to Sarah Hardy who invited me onto my first blog tour with such a wonderful book!