Another great WWII historical fiction novel is added to the ever-growing book pile with "The Violin Maker's Daughter." Captivating writing, right from the start, and an engaging story line from start to finish.

Can’t Get Enough Historical Fiction…
So for the past eight months or so, I’ve been on a bit of a historical fiction kick. Basically every other novel I would check out from my local public library—was historical fiction. Much of it had been based in, Stalin’s Soviet Union. Often the in the ‘40s. But I wanted to enjoy a story from another part of Europe in that era.

Hence when I was given the opportunity to read an advance copy of, Sharon Maas’s newest historical fiction novel—The Violin Maker’s Daughter—I jumped at the chance to be the bee that did the review. It was very exciting getting the early copy, and checking out a new author (to me). Maas, has penned over ten other novels before this one. Her previous being, The Soldier’s Girl, another WWII historical fiction piece.

I couldn’t wait to have at this novel. Even with my crazy busy work schedule, I found time to read it. No matter if it was in bed before going to sleep after an insane shift. Multi-tasking while taking care of personal business. I was thrilled to read this. And I really couldn’t stop. It was almost an addiction.

But, some of that was because I was hoping for more drama and suspense. Which often wasn’t the case. At times the characters and story line development seemed rather rushed. Now I’m not knocking this novel, I did think it was enjoyable enough. Still, there was a great deal I found myself in the end wishing it had more of.

Premise
As for the main character, Sarah, she is a great protagonist. While her family’s name sounded christian, she is actually a Jewish teen from Alasce. Her father is a violin maker, and she is his apprentice. When the German’s annexed the formerly French region and forced it into German culture. The family made adjustments to blend in and not stand out to the occupiers. However they predictably are ratted out to the Nazis and forced to produce evidence of their Aryan ancestry or else.

The family plans to escape in groups. Sending their oldest, Sarah, off first. She is rather sheltered and immature. So this story quickly is a “coming of age” type of story. As the novel progresses, you still see Sarah’s struggle to grow up fast enough for sometime. But she does so more as the story moves along.

Early on in her passage to safety from the Germans, Sarah and her escort are caught in the forest by two German soldiers. I won’t give you any spoilers, but this is how she first meets (and we’re introduced) to her love interest of, Ralf (or is it Karl?). Their journey into Paris as two different types of fugitives from the Nazis (Ralf, is not Jewish), and then their desire to be together again is the real driving force to this story line.

Eventually the story probably spends it’s largest amount of time, where Sarah becomes the live-in nanny for a wealthy family of French “collaborateurs”. There we see a relationship between the sister of the parents, Monique, and Sarah. There was no character I had more of a love hate relationship with in this story than, Monique. In the end, it felt rather predictable how it ends between the two. Whilst the maid was painfully underused in this section of the story.

Ultimately, towards the end—Sarah becomes a very strong hero. And finally has grown up, whilst still rather young. But this too seems to be very rushed and lacking in more details of development.

I understand this also might not be the doing of the author. As it can be difficult to convince a publisher to print an extremely long novel—unless you have made a small fortune as a New York Times best seller. Sadly in this industry, very few are given this sort of creative freedom. And even some of those abuse that privilege and give us novels with 150 pages of needless details that could have been cut. So it is a fine line.

Worth A Read
So I don’t want to sound like I’m dumping on this novel. It’s not bad at all—it also was not the greatest historical fiction novel. I found it to be good enough to finish in a timely manner. But leaving me wishing it was so much more. The cover proclaims it’s an, “Absolutely heartbreaking World War 2 historical fiction”. But I didn’t find myself that moved to be heartbroken. I never once cried reading this.

And that was what I was hoping for from what the previews had given me. I wanted to be moved that I would cry (my membership to the, Macho Mens Club of America, has just been revoked). But I’m not an emotionless droid of a man. I read another historical fiction novel earlier this year, that made me cry several times. Once to the point I ugly cried for probably five minutes. That novel also had more details and development, and I think it would have behooved this novel to have that. The premise of this novel ought to be heartbreaking, it’s the second World War and Jewish people are major characters. But I never found myself teary eyed.

Still, I did have points where I could not put this down. Perhaps the section where, Sarah and Ralf are on the run, gives the best suspense in the novel. Which does move the pace along quickly. The book is good enough that I did add the author’s previous historical fiction to my “want to read list” on Goodreads. And if you’re a fan of this type of story, I do recommend giving, The Violin Maker’s Daughter, a read.

I think it’s fair to say this was a three out of five star book. And it will be on-sale starting, July 19th, 2019. You can get it on paperback or on Kindle.

The violin Maker’s Daughter has so much potential to be a great WWII read. The reader can tell that the author Sharon Moss did a lot of research; however, the writing was not consistent. I think the beginning of the book showed so much promise. The Violin Maker, Josef Mayer, is a non-practicing Jew. He and his wife have five daughter’s and they need to escape Alsace before being taken by the German’s. Sarah, the oldest daughter, is sent on her own. Her journey is fraught with dangers and we see her immaturity. She falls in love with a German soldier, Ralf, who saves her from being raped. He was forced into being a soldier. From here, the story ihas several writing problems.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really good WWII genre novel. At times I did like the secondary characters better than the main character Sarah. I will say she redeemed herself by the end of the book.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me an advance copy of The Violin Maker’s Daughter by Sharon Maas to read. What follows is my honest review.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the wonderful cover art which caught my attention and let me know that the book was set in the time of World War 2 - a time I am always fascinated to read about.

The story begins in Colmar, a city in the north-eastern region of France located in what was known as Alsace, a region which was sometimes a part of France and sometimes a part of Germany. Many residents could speak both languages. In November of 1940 it has once again been taken over by the Germans, but this time they are the Nazi’s and life is about to change drastically for local violin maker Josef and his family. They have never been practicing Jews and in fact Josef’s wife is not a Jew. When the Jewish citizens of Colmar are forced to register as such, Josef chooses not to register, hoping that they have safely blended into their surroundings and that those few who know will keep their secret. Life is harder though as no one has money to spend on high quality musical instruments.
Josef has been warned that he should try and move his family away, but it is a hard and scary decision to make and so they do nothing.

One year later, their secret gets out and it becomes clear that Josef and his wife must make the difficult choice to send their children away starting with their eldest daughter Sarah, who at 17, is a violin maker in her own right. Sarah is still a teenager though, and in many respects so sheltered from what is going on in the world that she seems younger than her actual age. She fights against the decision and refuses to pack until it is brought home to her that time is running out and that she must go. Her journey will be a long one, fraught with danger and many difficulties along the way. The first challenge comes as Sarah, her chaperone and her guide are attempting to cross through an area where it is known German soldiers are likely to be around. An accident to her chaperone makes it so that Sarah must continue on alone with her guide. Sadly, they do not take enough care and are accosted by German soldiers, leading to a scene of great violence that alters the whole trajectory of Sarah’s life.

Sarah has been taught that there are no good Germans at all. They are all Nazi’s, and now she is forced to depend on one for her life. As a young and rather immature girl, she longs for someone to love her a care for her and is very dependant on others to fill her emotional needs. This leads to some extreme problems throughout her journey to safety. By the end of the book Sarah has matured somewhat even to the point where she has become involved with the Resistance. There is a surprise twist which I will not divulge.

I really enjoyed the basic story line of the book but there were a few things I struggled with. The author chose to write the story in the present tense at times and I always find this distracting. I also felt that the immaturity that Sarah showed was perhaps a little extreme – especially after some of the things that she experienced. She couldn’t seem to take the need for security seriously which led to problems which had some dire consequences. I found it hard to believe that she wouldn’t have learned discretion way earlier on. Having said that, if you like historical fiction set in WW2 you will likely enjoy this book. It definitely shows the hardships of war both for the Jewish people and the Germans who are forced to fight on the side of evil even when they would prefer not to.


I would give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I absolutely loved this book. I cried, I smiled, I felt the intenseness of love and grief. It truly was just filled with ALL the emotions.
Perfectly written and a gripping read. I would highly recommend!

If only I could give this book 100 stars rather than 5!
This book captivated me right from the start.
This book is epic, a mesmerizing book of strength through unimaginable losses.
A forbidden love but will it be enough to overcome the pressure around them?
Heartbreaking and beautifully written this gripping tale of bravery and standing up for what you believe in despite the odds being against you.
One of the best and most memorable historical books I've ever read!
Expected publication: July 19th 2019 by Bookouture.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

WW2 based story told from the perspective of a violin maker's daughter. Her father did not evacuate his Jewish family from Alsace when he should have, so when he finally realized what was happening, he sent his oldest daughter first with the Resistance workers. The travel was dangerous and rigorous for the 17 year old. She ended up getting work as a nanny in a safe area, because she could speak both French and German, and could play the violin. The family wanted her to teach their children both. The family were collaborators. The young woman left before she could be betrayed, and joined the Resistance, going back into Germany to spy. There is so much more to this story - you just have to read it.

The market of late has been flooded with WWII books and in particular the setting is usually France, Germany or both. While historical fiction is my favorite genre and I usually gravitate to WWII, some of these novels are better than others. Some of these books are difficult to read, others not. The story of how 17 year old Sarah escapes from occupied France is not one of the easier ones, yet it grabbed me emotionally I have never read the works of Sharon Maas and look forward to more of her books.

My thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. .

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Violin Maker's Daughter has a protagonist, Sarah, who is sheltered and immature. Her family, her parents and four younger sisters, live in the Alsace region of France which has been annexed by the Germans. The family is of non-practicing Jewish heritage and they initially ignore the call for all Jews to register and then be deported. Eventually, however, the father decides that they can no longer rely on the sympathy and understanding of friends and neighbors; they must evacuate to a safer place.

Of course by now such an evacuation involves a much more involved and dangerous journey. As the oldest, Sarah at seventeen must depart alone to make the journey to safety with a series of underground contacts. Numerous times Sarah endangers herself and those helping her by her impetuous and childish behavior. Repeatedly warned, Sarah progresses through the underground system while falling in love with a German deserter who had saved her life. The suddenness of her love appears almost like infatuation since she is so inexperienced and childish. Her emotional outbursts and sudden honesty about her heritage to just about anyone who will listen makes her a rather unrealistic and unappealing character.

DNF. I didn’t realize before starting that The Violin Maker’s Daughter is narrated in third-person limited, my least favorite narration style. I got about 15% of the way in, and I just can’t do anymore. The descriptions are lovely, but I just can’t truly identify with Sarah, a sheltered agnostic/non-practicing Jew. Plus, the title is annoying. Why must all these books identify a female protagonist via a man: “The Violin Maker’s Daughter,” “The Banker’s Wife,” “The Mapmaker’s Daughter,” etc.

This book was okay, it wasn't my favorite. The characters seemed to just be there and didn't seem to move the plot forward all that much. It was okay, it has a beautiful cover. Someone else may enjoy it more than I did.

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.

This is a good interesting read. The historical detail was good and educational. I felt though that the story lacked depth.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Sarah Mayer is the eldest of 5 daughters of luthier Josef and Leah Mayer, nonsecular Jews in France 1940. When the Germans invade France and start deporting the Jews, Josef decides to send his family to a safer place via the underground and Sarah is the first to leave. This is the very well-written story of her flight to freedom and the various people she encounters, some trusting and others not so. I really enjoyed this book; however, I really disliked the character of Sarah who came across as a spoiled brat and put other people in danger because she did not want to follow the instructions given to her. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this page-turner in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Sarah and how she escaped from Nazi-occupied France during WW2. It tells of her many hardships along the way as she traversed dangerous territory in both her physical situation and having to grow up faster than she would have liked. It depicted the realness of war from the perspective of a 17 year old girl. A fairly quick and easy read. Enjoyable from beginning to end.

Her childhood has been idyllic and then the war which was getting closer by the day. Sarah was being sent away by her parents - being sent to safety as they were Jews. While there were other family members that also had to seek safety she was the first to go as it was easier to get one or two people safe, than a family of seven. We travel with Sarah on her journy, not only to safety, but from a somewhat feather-brained teen to a young woman with resolve to help defeat the Nazis. Quite them moving story.

Any story which has a WWII background whether it is from any country involved in the war is poignant and very emotional. This one is no different.
Even when the Nazis walk into Colmar Josef a secular Jew believes he will be safe. He produces beautiful violins for a living and thinks that it is all a question of too much hype. When the actual situation dawns on him it is very late, and he has to think of a way to get his children away. He succeeds with his eldest sent at the age of 17 from an extremely protected background to one where subterfuge and lies becomes a way of life.

Sarah's painful and difficult journey across France from being a Jew to being a German from Alsace with a change of name and personality to match her goal is Poitiers. It is not smooth the journey and meeting Ralf who saves her from rape, and then becomes a deserter from the German army is not going to help matters at all. Germans are the enemy and having Ralf as a protector is not helping at all.

Love and loyalty, a lot of sacrifice and plenty of betrayal make this a wonderful story for lovers of historical fiction.

The story is set during World War II in France occupied by Germany. The book follows the story of Sarah who is a Violin maker daughter. As the family has Jewish ancestry, Sarah was the first one from her family to flee across the mountings to be safe in Spain. In her way, she met Ralph, a German soldier deserter and from there the adventure starts.
I must say I did not connect with Sarah, she was extremely immature, always making the wrong decisions., but as the story goes on we can see how she grows up, and realize that War is dangerous and not a game.
Easy reading, some chapters quite interesting and get you trapped until the end.
Nice work.
release date: 19 July 2019
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC

I’m a huge fan of historical fiction and this one didn’t disappoint. I felt it was a good book about the horrors of wartime France
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

An emotional story of forbidden love and family devastation against the backdrop of World
War II Alsace. Sarah, eldest daughter of violin maker Josef, must make her way across German occupied France to freedom, hoping, believing, her family will be able to follow her. But when her escape is cut off she must attempt to hide in plain sight, no longer a French Jew but a German speaking villager. Thrown into peril by the turbulence of wartime, she finds herself forced into the company of a German deserter, and a reluctant partnership essential for the survival of both of them is formed.

The detail of village life and wartime chaos is very real, the gradual development of Sarah from a naive teen to strong and determined opponent is well realized. By turns heart warming and heart wrenching, The Violin Maker's Daughter can take its place as a strong exemplar of the current boom for heroic young women in popular wartime fiction. A gripping drama of love and destruction.