"Berlin Calling" by Kelly Durham is a wonderful, interesting historical fiction of an Irish woman, in Berlin, at the beginning of WWII, working for the propaganda office, reporting and broadcasting on the radio, suddenly disillusioned with her purpose. An unusual angel to viewing the war and many surprising duplicities in the characters, this book was quite fascinating. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was a little bit odd to me because the story was great, but the characters needed more development. I read a lot of World War II historical fiction, and this one was middle of the road for me.

Started to read this book and several chapters in, realised that i had already read it. All i can really remember is that it was an enjoyable read.

I really liked the subject material and the Point of View - not from Jewish perspective, however, I felt like something was just not connecting for me. Overall - a good read - but I think I wanted it to be great.

Good book. Good author. Loved the characters and the plot. Look forward to reading more of her work.

I love a good World War II story, and this book did not disappoint. Excellent character development and a unique view of a historical period we all feel we know so well.

This novel was difficult to rate because the storyline itself was really interesting but the characters fell rather flat for me.

I thought it was really interesting to tell a story about WWII from the point of a Nazi-sympathiser and not necessarily sympathetic character. Focusing on the everyday life of the people living in Berlin during the war instead of on the atrocities committed during this war gave the novel a more intimate scope and it was really chilling to realize how easy it was for Maggie to rationalize everything happening around her.

Unfortunately, Maggie is not really a well-rounded character and the supporting cast is barely fleshed out.

Overall, an interesting read but it would have been much better with greater character development.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and this book did not disappoint! The characters were interesting, especially the headstrong Maggie and the escape scenes were written in such a life-like, thrilling way. The German setting was described in a very detailed way and my favorite time frames is the WWII era. Perfect combination of history and imagination!

Thanks Lake Union Publishing and netgalley for this ARC.

A good story to pass a afternoon, but very quick.

Well researched and gripping historical fiction

Set in Nazi Berlin with a strong female lead this book tells the story of an Irish American woman who whilst in Germany gets a job working for German Radio. The story follows her disillusionment with the Nazis and subsequent work for OSS.

Kelly Durham has created a great character in Maggie O’Dea and has obviously researched the period well. Several actual historical characters make their appearance including Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels alongside fictional characters such “Lord Lyons” who appears to be based on Lord Haw Haw.

An entertaining, quite pacey historical read covering the interesting subject of collaboration.

A mixed entry into the genre of WWII fiction with the interesting twist of an American woman actually working for the Nazis as well as spying for the Allies. I didn't especially like Maggie, who is certainly a tangled creature, but I think that's part of the story. I know that we often only know what real mistakes we've made in retrospect but it seems to me she made some whoppers. Seriously, working for the Ministry of Propaganda? I know the idea is that we become sympathetic or at least understand how this happened but I can't help but be judgmental. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It is well written and I do think that it's interesting but I just couldn't get past the basic tenet of the plot.

I am quite a bit of a fan, when it comes to books about World War II, add women in it and I’m intrigued. That was what drew me to this book, a women figure in the context of war and not just women, a foreigner. The description above, describes this novel quite well. It started with very romantic notes, how Maggie met Kurt and how she ended up in Berlin landing a job in Propaganda House. Maggie is very interesting character in this book, and I really loved her in this novel. She is beautiful, pleasant to be around, incredibly hard working and independent. I’m kind of used to these disturbed characters which are used in most of the books, and it was very refreshing to read about one who is not mentally or emotionally messed up. Other characters were interesting to read about as well, and all of them where quite the personalities. I really enjoyed that author did not make this book from one characters perspective and included most of the characters by allowing them to speak. This made the book more pleasant to read and more interesting.
The plot of this book was really absorbing and different from most of the WWII books I read. Normally I encountered the books, which used to describe the tragedy of war such as concentration camps or Jew’s killings, and their fighting for survival. This book was softer on that part, it mentioned the cruelties’ which happened during the war, but never in so much detail to make it stomach turning. It was written more about the political aspects of it and how German propaganda was used to influence other country’s people. It’s been a while since I studied history of WWII, and I studied from different country’s perspective, so to see how it looked from Germany’s perspective was quite appealing. I think that author was trying to show, how Germans thought about this war and why most of them supported what Hitler was doing.
I am a big fan of short chapters, and this book didn’t disappoint me with that. The chapters were divided into smaller parts, which made it more pleasant to read, for me. Every chapter was quite detailed, but the meaning and the point of that chapter was very lovely opened and concluded for the reader. The story was flowing nicely and smoothly. I believe Author has a great personal knowledge about war and used it greatly in this book. There was a little bit of monotony while reading this book, and lack of twists and turns, that would’ve made it more exciting. The language used was not difficult and easy to read, but I had to look up some German terms used in this book as I’m not familiar with the language. The ending of the book was really entertaining but not complete. I wished more conclusion and to know what happened to Dieter. To conclude, it is a great book if you looking for World War II stories of war from German perspective, love, and survival.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

If you enjoy fun, historical fiction with a slightly different perspective on things, this is the book for you. The story was a fresh look, and for the most part kept me on my toes - with a slight lull in the middle due to its epic size and lack of some detail to fill in the gaps. My enjoyment of of this book primarily sat with the narrative, given the unique perspective of an Irish- American woman who gets wrapped up broadcasting propaganda in Berlin, after a period of study which landed her there in the late 1930s.

I was perturbed at first that I could not find the protagonist sympathetic - especially considering her lack of loyalty and her choices in romantic relationships AND nationalistic efforts. But I realized by the end of the book that my continued push to like her was futile anyway and that the story could still be enjoyed without agreeing with, or even liking our main gal. It was particularly intriguing to find actual historical figures surrounding her in this fictionalized imagining of Nazi Berlin.

Pick this up for a vacation read (especially if you're a quick reader - there is a lot of ground covered in this book!) and don't think too hard about historical details or facts - the enjoyment lies in the escape.

ok, but not really believable which made it hard to follow

Berlin Calling is a book with a different subject matter on WWII. It tells about an American girl getting a job putting out propaganda to the English and Americans during the war. Its and exciting book as the girl begins to realize that the Nazis are not as good as she thought. She is then drawn into helping the Americans by becoming a spy. The book is full of suspense and romance and kept me turning pages to see what the outcome would be. I really enjoyed reading this book. It kept me up past my bedtime when things started to climax to a great ending. Thanks Net Galley for a great read.

Germany 1938 Irish American Maggie is studying abroad when she meets German soldier, Kurt. Enamored by his Aryan looks, Maggie impulsively decides to stay in Germany and follow her lover to Berlin. Kurt uses his connections and manages to help Maggie find a job- working as a journalist in the propaganda ministry.

Maggie, unlike other WWII female protagonists in the vast majority of historical fiction books doesn't act towards the Nazis with contempt or see them as oppressors. No, in fact, Maggie holds admiration and respect for the German people and doesn't appear to have much of a problem with Nazi policies. For most of the novel Maggie is caught up in her own little universe. Lots of boy drama as every man whether he's a regular soldier, Gestapo, alcoholic Brit,colleague, spy etc wants her in his bed. Neither anti-Semitic messages or marching into other European countries appears to bother our dear little Maggie in the slightest. Maggie is the perfect candidate to work in propaganda because she believes in it- 100%.

If it sounds like I didn't care much for the main character, I don't. But I will say that in the beginning of the story that I was able to make peace with that. I said "Hmmm, Mr Kelly Durham, you've got my attention." After all, resistance, sabotage espionage, and Rosie the Riveter are all great stories, but there were many more people( in and out of Germany) at that time that agreed with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi government. So, I resolved that Durham was going to show another side to the war. Interesting twist to make that character an American girl.

What does upset me is the turn around Maggie makes half way through the story. Mostly because her actions were rather shallow and based more on her own survival. Those last few chapters drove me crazy ! I literally felt no connection as she talked about "her suffering" As a reader, I felt manipulated by Durham who was trying to make his character into something that felt more forced than authentic.

All in all, this book failed to connect with me, but the concept is intriguing enough to give it 3 stars.

Maggie is an American of Irish descent, who hates the British, and so when she is in Germany in 1938 she falls in love with the country and the people, especially Kurt! When the war starts she decides to stay and with Kurt's help gets a job in the propaganda department, where she very naively believes everything that she is told!

Eventually she realises that all is not as it seems and she has to make a decision - continue as she is or pass information on to the Americans.

I enjoyed this book particularly because of the different slant of having the main character of Irish descent and not British which gave her a very different aspect - especially as her own family in Ireland had suffered at the hands of the British and so she didn't have the same affinity - even so she was still incredibly naïve to believe all that she was told!

This was a very interesting and intriguing book that takes place in Berlin at the beginning and height of World War 2. The main character Maggie is an American who at the beginning does not see the truth so much so that she even falls in love with a Nazi. As she learns the truth of what Hitler is doing she has to come to terms with it. It was interesting book but a lot of romance with unnecessary sexual bits in it. So it was not for me.

Sadly this book did not meet my expectations. Poorly written and thought out. I cannot recommend.

Germany 1938. While young and old are captivated by the country’s rapid ascent under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, naive Maggie O’Dea, an American studying abroad, finds her own fortunes turning after falling in love with a handsome soldier and landing a job with the Propaganda Ministry. Embodying the infectious spirit of nationalism sweeping the country, her powerful dispatches launch her broadcasting career as a champion of the Fatherland.

But as Germany invades one peaceful neighbor after another and the wheels of World War II are set in motion, Maggie starts opening her eyes to the grim reality of Hitler’s intentions. Torn between her successful career rooted in the allegiance to her adopted land and a growing dread over her role in a tyrant’s ruthless reign, Maggie—supported by a new love—must fight her own war of conscience. Will she survive a conflict threatening the world…and her own life?

A good book but some parts of history were glossed over and Maggie seemed to have too easy a time. The story needed a bit more omph and grit.