Loved this book! Clara Falkenburg is living under an assumed name. She is hiding because she is wanted as a war criminal by the Allies. She decides to return to her home and find her friend, Elisa, after the war. She returns to find her town is in ruins, and her friend is nowhere to be found. Her search puts her on a path to uncover the fate of those she previously knew, as well as reveal new friendships and secrets.

This book, The German Heiress, takes on a different perspective of WW2 and the Nazi Regime. What if you were German and caught between living and being part of the Nazi regime. The devastation that was left after WW2 is absolutely un-imaginable. It is quite frankly something I had never thought about. This book was eye opening and a sad reminder of how war can change your whole life. I very much enjoyed this book and felt so much or the characters. You so much wanted everyone to be found and you wanted the story to be wrapped up in the end with a big red bow and everyone be fine. While that wasn't exactly true, I still enjoyed the ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially with a strong female lead. I have so much respect for these individuals like Clara and Elisa and the strength of must have taken to get through this war. Special Thanks to The Early Book Club Girls Early Read Program, Harper Collins-William Morrow Publishers, and NetGalley for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion! You all are amazing!!

#TheGermanHeiress #NetGalley

A post WWII story written from the side of a German industrialist - her father's factory built things for the Nazis & used forced labor. Everyone knows the horrors & atrocities that occurred during the war. It's not touched on much, until the end of the book. I'm glad the author finally wrote something about what happened.

It's a well- written book. Easy read. Cleanish. Some romance that isn't fleshed out. ;) Really good story that I couldn't put down. I'm somewhat disappointed that the protagonist wasn't smarter. She was typical German of that time who didn't know what the Nazis were doing in the death camps. Or they turned a blind eye to what was going on.

I recommend reading this book. I received a digital advance readers copy of the book through a FB group - that did not influence my review.

This story takes place in Germany during the post World War II period of rebuilding. The black market is the only way to purchase most items and is one of the more lucrative jobs a man or woman can have except it is illegal. People are starving and homeless and yet surviving by their wits.

Clara Falkenberg, infamously known as ‘the iron Fräulein’, searches for her only friend, Elisa, and Elisa’s son. Clara had disappeared and gone into hiding just before the war was over and had deserted Elisa.

This World War II story is told from a very different view point. This is the first one that I’ve read that addressed the terrible conditions in Germany after the war. So many men were dead or imprisoned and that left the women, who had to find ways to survive during the occupation by England, America and Russia. In the midst of starvation there was still decadence, going to clubs to dance and perhaps forget for a few hours how difficult life had become.

The story started our slowly in the beginning but the more I came to know the characters the more interesting the story became. There are some dark secrets revealed and there are some strange alliances made. I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to The Book Club Girls and HarperCollins Publishers Inc. for an ebook ARC copy.

It is an interesting book on a different side of wwii then others I have read. I enjoyed the story and the unexpected twists, but the book was a slow read.

This was a different type of story in reference to the Nazi's, and the after effects of the war. I really did enjoy the way the story was told, and the development of the characters. It really made me think about people involved in the Nazi "regime," and how things aren't always what they seem. Similar to The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
The story follows Clara, who is on the run from the British, as they consider her to be a war criminal. Her father is being imprisoned as the same, and she struggles with the realization that he is not who she thought he was. She goes n search of her best friend Elisa, and her son Willy.
Throughout the story she comes into contact with many people, some good and some bad. One of the men she meets is a disabled veteran of the war, Jakob, who she creates a bond with that neither of them could have foreseen.
Like I previously mentioned, this book is not the normal historical fiction involving the Nazi's, and it gives you a different perspective, and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC of The German Heiress in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am rating this book 5 stars. I absolutely loved the crafted storytelling that Anika Scott weaved. I found myself being so intrigued by Clara and her backstory and how it eventually was fully revealed, crazy... I wasn’t ready for all the twists and turns to finding the truth she had to endure. I was also captivated by the cat and mouse game between Clara and Captain Fernshaw and their ultimate continuing relationship.

All in all, the multiple storylines were very well-developed and held my interest, I couldn’t put the book down.

I was not impressed with this book. At first I thought it was going to be a pro-Nazi book, but that did not turn out to be true. I only read about a quarter of the book because it was so slow. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers. All options expressed are my own.

I loved this book. Story was just as good as her previous books. I have to say the book left me confused in the beginning. I couldn’t follow it and did not feel the flow. After reading a chapter, things got better and i was hooked. I couldn’t put it down. Flow for the rest was excellent and easy to follow. There was definitely suspense and the outcome was not immediately apparent. The setting is of a time and place that I was unfamiliar with. I had not read any other books from a similar time or place in history. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading historical fiction.

Joyce S

This book kept me guessing the entire time I was reading. Loved how Anika wrote Clara and loved her story. This will be a book that I’ll recommend to friends and family.

This book truly took you on an adventure! You thought you knew what was coming next but it would always take a twist. I loved Clara and her strong sense of self. She knew what she had to do during the war and accepted the changes post war. She stayed strong and that’s what made her such a wonderful character to read about. I loved the character Jakob who you admired for his passion and his confidence. I can not wait to read more from this author! Definitely 5 stars!

The German Heiress by Anika Scott is a gripping post WWII historical fiction centered in Germany 1946. While the country lay in ruins and chaos, many were trying to create a sense of order and justice against the mayhem. This book centers around 31 year old Clara Falkenberg, the only daughter of an aristocratic and wealthy family that rose to high ranks through industrialism, slave labor, and important connections with the Fascists during WWII. While Clara herself did not believe in “the cause” and, in her own way, tried to help the suffering of her workers as much as she thought that she could, was still thrust into the evil workings of her corrupt parents until the war ended, and not in their favor.
After fleeing, a cascade of incidents and consequences occur that alters many lives forever.

This is a story about finding oneself, about acceptance, forgiveness, justice, redemption, love, family, and loyalty. It is a story about overcoming odds and changing oneself for the better.

I liked Clara. I liked the positive changes that she went through despite the adversity and blows handed to her throughout the story. I also liked the chemistry of Jakob and Clara and how by being together, each one brought out the best in each other. I also enjoyed the surprise ending. It was the best part of all.

Excellent book. 5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Unfortunately, I found this book very hard to follow, and I wasn't very interested in the plot or the characters. I think this mostly stems from me greatly disliking Clara as a main character, which made it difficult for me to read her POV. The main plot, Clara trying to find her friend Elisa and Elisa's son, reminded me a lot of the plot of The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, where the main character, Charlie, is trying to find her cousin Rose after WWII. I might have enjoyed the similarity if I had liked any of the characters, but I didn't, so the plot felt very boring and uninteresting to me. Although I will say I like the concept of a character like Clara, whose family supported the Nazis during the war, being a POV character; unfortunately, this book was just not for me.

I immediately felt drawn into the story of fraulein Müller. The life she lived in a time when things were beyond difficult. Feeling responsible for her actions while trying to be a better person. Very well written.

An interesting take on World War 2 fiction. After the war people are of course still struggling and coming to terms with what they had to do to survive in Germany. What they do to protect their family leads to betrayal but then understanding.

If you are a WWII book lover you’re going to want to read The German Heiress! Clara Falkenberg runs and operates her family’s ironwork business, despite not believing in industrialism or the Nazi cause. She arrives back home after the war is over to find the city destroyed and her friend missing, all while dodging the officer trying to charge her with war crimes. The German Heiress is a story about overcoming odds, all while learning and making changes for the better. This book will keep you turning the pages until the very end, and just wait for the surprise ending. I loved it!

What a great book! I literally could not put it down. The characters seemed so real and I was so interested in what was going to happen to them all. The ending was WOW. Thank you netgalley for this ARC. One of the best I have read.

Who to trust

The German Heiress takes place at the very end of WWII. The British are hunting and arresting the Nazis' and those German’s closely associated with them.

One British captain “captain Fenshaw” was especially focused on finding “Clara Falkenberg” , once a famous heiress to the German steel factory empire and the daughter of a known Nazi sympathizer.

This is the story of Clara, her memories of happy times before the war, during and after. It is also the story of her best friend Elisa, her mother Anna, her ex boyfriend Max, Elsa’s son Willy and his canary Gertrude, and Clara’s new friend Jakob.

It is not only the struggle to survive the war, or Clara’s many escapes from Captain Fenshaw, but a struggle within minds as to how they allowed the atrocities of the war to take place around them without doing something to stop them. It’s about choosing family or country. It’s about guilt and remorse for their own part in the war. It’s hard to know how one will react when faced with impossible choices.

This book focuses on the feelings of the characters. They search for truth and honesty, but feel they can trust no one. It is in an atmosphere where you could be betrayed for a loaf of bread. Buildings are shells with people living in cellars, food is scarce and people are desperate.

There are sad parts, exciting parts, tragic parts and some smidgen of human kindness. It was a good read and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Anika Scott, Harper Collins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of the book.

An intriguing premise—Germany in 1946 from the POV of a German woman who ran a munitions plant and is therefore wanted as a war criminal—that doesn't shy away from big questions about guilt and culpability. It was a bit too black-and-white for my tastes, though. Yes, Clara ran an iron plant for the Nazis, but only because she had to, y'see, and she tried to make life better for the Eastern prisoners forced to work for her. She never subscribed to the whole Nazi philosophy, don't you know, unlike her mother and her ex-sweetheart. I guess we're supposed to sympathize with her (imo, feeble) efforts to help the prisoners and with her prickling conscience, but I got a sense of "she doth protest too much" from both the writer and the character. I loved the character of Jakob, however, and the writing and pacing flowed. I just wish there had been more depth and complexity.

Thank you, HarperCollins/William Morris and NetGalley, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

These days I’m usually not tempted by World War II-era historical fiction. It’s a crowded subgenre and most of it is historical romance... not my cup of tea. However, The German Heiress intrigued me because, as the name implies, it presents a German perspective, which is uncommon.

Despite its unconventional approach, this book definitely suffered from comparison. I’ve read many truly spectacular WWII books; next to them, The German Heiress was good, but not great. It didn’t pack the emotional punch I expected, although it had its moments. It was an enjoyable reading experience, and well-paced; when I sat down to read the book, I was surprised by how fast I flew through it.

For the first half of the book, Anika Scott went out of her way to establish Clara as unequivocally “good,” a woman with virtuous beliefs who tried to do the right thing. Not only did I find this boring and flat, I also wasn’t buying it. Clara’s moral righteousness seemed all talk and little action. She was also surprisingly naive, considering who she was and her experience during the war, and acted recklessly for a woman on the run. This version of Clara was nothing like the calculating, morally gray, iron-willed woman I expected based on the book’s synopsis.

Starting at around the halfway point, Clara finally begins to question the morality of her family’s actions during the war and grapples with feelings of guilt and regret. While this was a refreshing change of pace, it happened so abruptly it didn’t seem believable. The book had a few well-developed side characters - Jakob, in particular, was wonderfully complex and realistic - and I would have been more invested in the story if they had played a more prominent role from the beginning. The romance was better than most, which coming from me (a heartless cynic) is a significant compliment.

The plot was interesting, and probably the highlight of the book. There were several narrative threads that Scott wove together seamlessly. She wrote from a third person point-of-view following three main characters: Clara, Jakob, and a third whose identity you’ll discover partway through the book. Each of these characters had multiple goals they were working toward, and there was even an element of mystery as Clara and Jakob searched for Elisa and Clara uncovered secrets about her family. The ending was perfect.

If you go into this book knowing what to expect, I think you’ll enjoy it.