Jerusalem, 1947: Judith is a young Jewish survivor of the concentration camp at Dachau, she’s been living in various displaced persons camps since it was liberated and she catches a boat to Palestine and hoping to miss the British patrols. Her only surviving relative is an uncle living in Jerusalem, when she arrives at his apartment his kindly neighbour informs her that he’s passed away.

Judith is sick from being thrown into the ocean and she gives up hope. Judith wakes up in Hadassah Hospital to discover Hana a Muslim Arab trainee nurse donated her own blood to save her life and the two women feel a connection.

Judith has left behind years of conflict in Europe and to be caught up in another and she decides to join the Zionist’s a nationalist movement in Israel. Hana’s parents are putting pressure on her to finalize her arranged marriage and she wants to finish her nursing training. David Cohen is a Jewish American doctor and he and Hana develop feelings for each other but how can a Muslim woman and a Jewish man have a romantic relationship.

The story is told from the four main characters points of view, Judith Wertheimer, Hana Khalidy, David Cohen and Uri Rabinovich who's at first a Zionist and then a member of the Israeli army. The political situation worsens in May 1948 when the British withdraw from Palestine and the Arab and Israeli war breaks out.

I received a copy of Where the Desert Meets the Sea by Werner Sonne from NetGalley and Amazon Crossing in exchange for an honest review. The narrative is about the challenges the characters face before and during the war and acts of terror, violence and massacres committed by both sides and how their friendship, love and futures are tested by politics and war.

Three and a half stars from me, this land is still being fought over today and has been for centuries and no lessons have been learnt from the past and I kept thinking of this the whole time I was reading the novel and it’s so sad. This book was originally published in 2008 and I believe I read a translation and this might have been why I felt the pace of the story-line was a little disjointed at times.

A big emotional saga set in post WWII Palestine. Sonne does his best to present balanced views of the political and religious tensions in the region. The characters are good, the story gripping.

This novel was just okay for me. I found the history interesting but the characters not so much. I found they were not likable nor realistic. Overall it fell flat.

While I learned a lot, I didn't connect to the characters or enjoy my time reading Where the Desert Meets the Sea.

I expected a lot from this novel as the sitting and timing is really interesting but unfortunately the characters , plot and writing style weren't that good .

The book begins in early 1947, with Judith Wertheimer arriving on the shores of TelAviv on an ship from Cyprus. She survived the horrors of the concentration camp Dachau, had lost her entire family to the war, and had her only surviving relative's address on a post card he had sent her from Israel before the war inviting her to join him in Jerusalem. She just had to hold on a little longer.....

Hana Khalidy, was a muslim, working as a nurse at Hadassah Hospital on Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem. She loved her work and the hospital, that employed and helped people of every faith. Her family had a prearranged marriage organized for her, but it was not on her to do list. She only wanted to continue working at the hospital, especially because she was captivated by David Cohen, a Jewish American doctor, but her family was becoming impatient with her, and so was her fiancé, Youssef Hamoud.

Finally there is Uri Rabinovitch, an immigrant to Israel from Lviv, who is fighting with the Hagannah, for Israel's complete Independence from British Occupation and the ever present Arab threat.

The book carries these characters through to the creation of the state of Israel, in 1948, which, according to the author Werner Sonne, was probably the most tumultuous period in the history of Israel/Palestine. To be able to get the whole period expressed in 250 pages is a feat, in and of itself. That is why, perhaps, some may argue that the book does not give the appropriate consideration to the immensity of the topic. But, one could flip that around, and say, that only because Sonne is so well versed in the politics of this tiny corner of the world, he was able to weave the politics into a tight knit story, that gives the reader a perspective on all the participants in this sensitive and complicated conflict. It is for this reason that I am impressed with Sonne's book, #wherethedesertmeetsthesea, and I was even more impressed when I read the Author's Note at the end, where he explains why he wrote the book. If you are looking to learn about this period of time, 71 years ago, I recommend this book. Thank you #netgalley for letting me read this e-ARC of #wherethedesertmeetsthesea. 5 stars. Available June 17, 2019.

This is a beautiful book about two jewish women. It will transport you to a different time and place.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Where the Desert Meets the Sea is a great historical fiction novel. The characters are well developed and the book is well written.

Although I found some of the characters to be compelling, I would say that this book is an average read. It's at least a quick read, and it's clear that Sonne did a good bit of research in writing this novel. However, for a historical fiction novel, it never got to the point where I didn't want to put the book down. I felt that a lot of the storytelling was flat, especially some moments that could have been so much more well-written. I also struggled with the way that relationships worked in this story. We did not get to see how so many of these relationships were built. It seemed like characters spoke once and then were lovers or best friends.

Sonne's attention to bringing out the humanity of the individuals works well at some points, and it's clear that he feels compassion for everybody affected by this conflict. However, it's not as great as it could have been.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Werner Somme for giving me the opportunity to read and provide feedback on #WhereTheDesertMeetsTheSea.

The author did a brilliant job of capturing the time period in this novel. The characters and plot were also well written. This was a great piece of historical fiction!