An intriguing premise and evocative character development, paired with a diabolical plot, equals a must-read book for fans of intelligently-written stories with a wicked twist. A woman's explorations into her mother's past and the heritage she left behind lead her to revelations she may wish she'd never known. A tale definitely worth reading!

*My sincerest thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing an ARC at no charge.*

An amazing thriller! Had a couple of red herrings that I tried to follow, plus a surprise ending. Highly recommended!

Harlie did a thing. She read a historical fiction book and will review it on the blog. There is a touch of romance but it is very little. What this book is a wonderful historical fiction book set during World War II and secrets that could make or break a family apart. Let me tell you some of the things that I really liked about it.

The modern characters of Anna and Peter. Anna and Peter are old childhood friends from a time that Anna doesn’t remember much of anymore. She was born in Germany but moved to the United States before she was 10 years old and really connect back to the old country. Peter is the person that is helping her on her discovery of her family secrets and to why she moved.
The Germany setting of old. Quite fascinating the way that Ms. Naidoo describes Germany right after World War I and right up to after the Second World War. She doesn’t hold back on the plight of the every day German who is just trying to work and raise their family.
Ms. Naido uses the journals that Anna has been left from her grandmother, Martha, as the chapters to read. Very easy to read and follow along. Keep in mind that there are two storylines going on the book but trust me, you will not get lost at all. It’s just engrossing how she managed to weave both stories together.
Martha, Anna’s grandmother and the true protagonist of the story. Wow, just wow. There wasn’t much that she didn’t endure with her husband (grrr), her children and the ravages of war. Did I agree with all of her decisions? No, but I understood them.
The non-romance in the book. We kinda sorta get one with Peter and Anna. I thought it was very rushed in the end but their friendship will always be there regardless of what happens after the book.
The pacing of the book is fantastic. I read this book in just two settings and that’s only because I had to go to sleep. I literally couldn’t put it down, it was that good. I just HAD to know what was going on.
So there you have it. Harlie did a thing and she is a very happy girl because of it. I will tell you that there are some intense parts to the book in Martha’s time but that is to be expected. I’m sure that I missed some small details in my first reading so I will definitely re-read this one again. Yes, it was that good.

<b> “With every labored step, she vowed to never put her faith and fate into anyone else’s hands again.” </b>

With a nice premise and interesting characters, this book kept me hooked from the very start. The action started right on the first page: no introductory (and usually boring) chapters, just Anna receiving a voice-mail that “knocks her world off its axis”, sending her on what turns out to be a very eventful trip to Germany to discover her family’s hidden secrets. She returns to her hometown, which she hasn’t visited since her childhood and ends up reading four notebooks that her grandmother Martha left her. Those notebooks contain a detailed description of the most part of her grandmother’s difficult life, they contain secrets that Anna knows were the cause of a major fallout between her mother and her grandmother.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first parts of the story – finding out about Martha’s life was interesting, since the beginning of her adulthood coincided with a very rough period in German History – the period between the two World Wars. Her story was heart-breaking, yet it was also a tale of resistance and defiance. Her actions were often morally grey: hardened by the events that shaped her life, she was often faced with tough decisions and her choices didn’t always seem like the right ones, yet they were understandable.

In my opinion, the part of the plot that took part in the present wasn’t as intriguing. The romance felt a bit forced, and at a certain point too many coincidences started happening and the book lost part of its credibility. Furthermore, the fact that Anna, who was supposedly born in Germany, had German parents and lived in Germany for 5 years, was incredibly ignorant when it came to basic knowledge such as how the EU borders work or the fact that German men shake hands when they meet sounded ridiculous to me.

The writing was an issue as well: there was nothing remarkable about it and the author constantly used too many exclamation and rhetorical questions. There were also some sentences and thoughts that felt childish coming from 30/ 40-year olds.

That being said, this was a fun and beguiling read, which I would recommend to those who like mysterious stories that span several decades.

<i> I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

This is a new to me author and I always love to read their work, and this one was fantastic. Every page added something new to the story and the surprises the twist the unexpected happened chapter after chapter. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!