I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Kelly Durham, and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

This was an excellent historical novel, told from a rather unique perspective. Maggie O'Dea, an Irish American, is taking classes in Heidelberg, Germany in July of 1938. Because her father was heavily involved in the failed Irish rebellion in 1916, he had to flee Ireland for political asylum in America, and his wife and daughter were able to follow a year or two later. Consequently, Maggie truly hates the British. But she falls in love with Germany and - hard - for a young German soldier, Kurt Engel, on leave in his hometown of Heidelberg.

They meet later in Berlin, where with Kurt's help, Maggie is able to get her student visa changed into a work visa, and finds a job with the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda's Broadcasting Division, where the official German version of affairs are transmitted to all corners of the world in various languages. Maggie is a hard worker, and enjoys her work. She is naive enough believe what she is told are the true facts in the news, and very good at scripting radio programs that employ that Germanic slant without being preachy.

And the news unfolds as time goes by. Austria. Czechoslovakia. Poland. Returning ethnic Germans who's communities were awarded to other countries at the end of the first war. Not aggression, but reunification. But then the Nordic countries begin to fall. Much harder for Maggie to legitimatize, much harder to rationalize. And Maggie is left with a big choice to make - who's side is she really on? And how can she best help the good guys win? Where will she most effectively make a difference in the outcome of the war?

Maggie is an American in Berlin during WWII, working for the Nazi Ministry of Information. She's the producer of a nightly program aptly named "Berlin Calling" which is broadcast to London audiences. The publicized intent is to keep Londoners apprised of details in Germany as the War continues.

But, it is PROPAGANDA, pure and simple. The novel is superb in its depiction of the twisting of truth to put the Nazi war machine always in the best possible light -- even as they incur heavy casualties and begin to lose the war.

I read this EARC courtesy of Lake Union,NG and Edelweiss. pub date 02/14/17

Berlin Calling tells the story of an American girl of Irish descent, Maggie O'Dea, who is studying in Berlin just as WWII is starting. She meets a German boy (soon to be a Nazi soldier) and decides to stay, and ends up working in the Nazi broadcasting propaganda department. She is anti-English and anti-war, and it takes her a while to realize she has been slowly tricked by the Nazis. She meets a fellow American, Erich, who is secretly working for the OSS, and he finally talks her into providing secret information to the Americans.

I enjoyed the book very much. Maggie is definitely a reluctant spy, and she sees the Germans she knows as people she likes, not as Nazis, until she starts hearing about some of the atrocities committed during the war. I liked the descriptions of wartime Berlin, and I will look for other books by Kelly Durham.

I would like to thank NetGalley, and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of "Berlin Calling" by Kelly Durham. The genre of this book is historical fiction. The author writes about a different aspect of World War Two in Germany. One of his main characters Maggie O'Dea, is an Irish descent American citizen studying abroad in Germany. Maggie is extremely naive, and falls in love with a handsome German soldier. Her soldier convinces her to follow him to Berlin, and gets a job for Maggie in the Propaganda Ministry. There, Maggie works in writing and broadcasting as "Betty". As nationalism picks up in Germany, Maggie goes with the flow, and feels justified in supporting Germany in broadcasts to England.
Maggie's boyfriend is away at the front, and she meets many intriguing characters. She meets journalists in Germany also from America, that warn her of the dangers ahead. As Germany starts invading other countries,Maggie makes excuses and becomes extremely conflicted. Maggie has met Joseph Goebbel and others in his circle.
Some of the journalists provide horrific details that are occurring throughout the world. Maggie is approached to give any information that she hears, which can put her life in danger. Now she is broadcasting to America convincing the Americans that German has weapons of mass destruction. Maggie has many doubts of the propaganda that she has been told to report.
It is difficult to believe that an American living in Germany could play such a part in the war. The author writes that this novel was based on an American student who did actually work for the German Propaganda Ministry, and this was his motivation for his story.
The author discusses the horrific, appalling and deplorable conditions of war and its effects on people, families and countries. I find that Kelly Durham describes a cast of characters, each with major conflicts, and shows the effects of war on their personalities. I also reflected how journalists faced dangers reporting the news during this time. In addition journalism and propaganda had a major influence on the war. I would recommend this book for people who like to read historical fiction during the World War Two timeline.

I enjoy reading historical fiction about WWII, and this one was a great book!
The book was told from a female radio broadcaster view and was quite interesting. Looking forward to reading more books by Kelly Durham.

First, this book is a well-written WWII spy thriller. Second, this book shows how easy it is to be fooled by a dictator--and how difficult it is to stop shilling for the dictator even when his true colors are revealed. This book opens in Germany in 1938--when not many thought there was going to be a war. Irish-American Maggie O'Dea is young, speaks fluent German and gets her first job rewriting the news for Hitler's Propaganda Ministry. Her job was to prepare news for broadcast to England, appealing to English mothers, sisters and sweethearts not send their men to fight and not to put up a fight. To do so would expose their country to the destruction and the loss of life that a German invasion would bring.
How seductive those ideas must have seemed during The Blitz.
But, let's not forget that this book is a spy thriller. Erich Greinke (passport control officer at the American Embassy in Berlin) is a spy for the other side (the U.S.).
The story unfolds beautifully. Thank you Kelly Durham.

I loved this book! Such an interesting story of Maggie. The characters really came to life for me. I would have liked an epilogue to really finish the book on a good note!

It took a few moments to get into this book, but once I did, it was amazing.