This one is for fans of the WWII novel. Felix survives the camps because he's determined to eventually be with the woman he met only once - a woman married to a Nazi. This is a bit different from other novels in the genre because it gives a glimpse of life after the war. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

What a truly heartbreaking and touching story this is. You can't even begin to imagine the horrors that people had to go through during WWII and all because they belonged to a religious group the Nazis deemed "unworthy".

This story is about two people, a man who works at a printers and who is Jewish and a girl who is part a family who belongs to the "party" and who is subsequently married off to an SS officer.

The story is cliche in that the two meet and are instantly attracted to each other but the rest and certainly the end of the story is anything but cliche. I was really rooting for these characters throughout the book and was incredibly invested in their lives.

Would definitely recommend to anyone as this is a fantastic historical fiction book with a romance angle but without the usual "you can see what is coming" ending.

I love a good historical fiction especially centring around WWII, add in a good romance and I am sold. Unfortunately this book didn't work for me.
I was very excited to have received this but the writing style didn't grip me and the characters were bland in my opinion. I couldnt relate to the characters or their feelings, some authors phrase the yearning and the tragedy in such a way that you can feel it, feel it in your bones but alas this wasn't what happened when I tried this. The writing was just dry so I couldnt even finish it

This book is beautiful, haunting and mesmerising, full of raw emotion, courage and meticulous historical detail which will keep you gripped and engaged from the first page. A definite must-read!!

Sorry I could not finish this book in time. I will get a copy and try to read. Thank you for the opportunity.

This is a spellbinding tale set in world war 2.
It didn’t follow the usual structure of such a novel. It also didn’t end at the end of the war.
Overall I enjoyed the writing style but at times I felt it was too cliched.
A good read

Germany, 1941. Felix Thalberg lives with his mother Kerstin and father Arno in Berlin. He’s a printer’s apprentice, his mother works as a midwife and his father isn’t working due to his metal state. Arno has three Jewish grandparents and he’s classed as a Jew, he’s forced to wear a yellow star and Felix is classed as a Mischling. They have to leave their apartment, move to a cheaper one in Wedding, and life for the Thalberg’s is getting harder.

Felix tries to stay hopeful, but it’s hard and he’s very worried about his father's health. One night he goes out to the Ballhaus, to dance and he meets a beautiful young woman called Hannah Huber. He’s totally infatuated by her, later he tries to find her and she’s disappeared. Felix assumes the worst, so many Jewish people are being arrested and maybe Hannah is one of them?

Felix’s luck runs out, he’s arrested and sent to a concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. Here, he’s working in barrack 18, he and other engravers are creating fake passports, identity papers and money for the German officers and doctors. When Felix becomes ill, he’s sent to the hospital, a dangerous place to be, Dr. Max Eichel's in charge and he has a reputation of killing his patients and not curing them.

One day Dr. Eichel brings his young wife Inge to tour the camp, in the hospital window, Felix is sure he sees Hannah and her arm is being held by the Max Eichel. Felix has no idea, Inge was forced by her parents to marry Dr. Max Eichel, the evening he met her at the dance, her friend Liesl Huber convinced her to enjoy one last night of freedom and Inge didn’t tell him her real name.

Felix is transferred to another camp, the conditions are much worse, he’s freezing, starving, and keeping him alive are his thoughts of Hannah and the letters he writes to her. Inge’s a prisoner in her marriage, her husband's controlling, threatens her, locks her in a room and physically harms her.

The Fortunate Ones takes you on a journey, from the inhumane concentration camps, to the ruins of Berlin, to Argentina where many who commited the crimes lived, and to the court rooms for the war crime trials. It's a story that will stay with you, a well written by Catherine Hokin and a very powerful one. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and five stars from me.

I really enjoyed this holocaust novel as it was definitely different to others that I have read. It follows the stories of Felix and Inge but the aspect that I really liked was that it continued after the war and so you got to find out what happened to them when they tried to rebuild their lives

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Good writing and a good book

A chance meeting really can change your life forever. That's what happens to Felix and Inge at the start of World War II in Berlin. Inge from an upper-class German family and Felix is a mixed-race painter. They meet one day at a club before an air raid and wonder about each other throughout the entire war and even afterwards. They have a single chance meeting at Sachsenhausen where her husband is a doctor. Inge manages to save Felix from her husband's hands but after that things get worse. Hokin brings the past to present as she shows the life of Inge a forced young German woman and the toll the war takes on her. She is married to a member of the SS who is emotional, psychologically and sometimes physically abusive but she has nowhere to go as her family has brought into this. She shows the life of Felix, a mixed-race young man who is trying to be German but in the end loses everything because of his race, sent to Sachsenhausen and becomes a counterfeit money maker in order to save his life. She also shows us their life after the war which many historical authors stop at the end of the war or liberation of the camps, this adds a unique tale to it. The writing is smooth and easy to follow even though we are jumping characters and time but the book follows a sequential order. It's easy to recommend to anyone who loves reading historical novels or isn't really looking for a love story.

This historical fiction is heartbreaking. An interesting story for lovers of romance and this type of novel of the Second World War.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Catherine Hokin's The Fortunate Ones is a stunning war time novel. If you enjoy historical fiction, you will love this one.
I was riveted throughout, as the two main characters traverse a harrowing path. I love, love, love the way it ends. Instead of wrapping things up in a pretty bow, the author instead gifts the reader with a realistic ending.
A chance meetings changes the future for both main characters. After their brief meeting, they are swept up in trying to survive the war, horrible marriages, and more.
It's an impressive read and I highly recommend it.

Received an copy from NetGalley for my review.

This is another war torn story with a love connection. It tells heavily of war and and is light on the romance. Definitely pulled me in.

Such an amazing heartfelt story, very enjoyable and heart-wrenching.
Definitely recommend! The characters were a delight to follow and the plot was very interesting.

Beautiful and heartbreaking. This story of love and perseverance was so hard to put down. I really enjoyed getting to watch Felix grow throughout World War II - A new favorite for my historical fiction lovers!

This historical fiction was hard to put down. It has everything from heartache to hope. I would recommend this book to fans of WWII historical fiction.

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.

** spoiler alert **

Well... this book wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought there was going to be a little more romance in it judging by the cover. Instead you get only 3 meetings between the main characters.... then nothing for most of the book.

Two of those meeting weren’t even that long. The last meeting was just them seeing each other. Then you go on a journey of both of their lives. Felix trying to stay alive and Inge trying to be the perfect wife to a high ranking officer.

The chance meeting between Felix and Inge Should’ve never happened. Inge was letting loose before her big wedding and Felix just happened to be there to get away for a bit. That one moment on the dance door had them yearning for each other for years.

AND I MEAN YEARS!!!!!!

I knew going into this book it’s was going to be heavily about the war. But I was expecting a little more romance to balance it out.
Felix was 21 when he met Inge. And Inge was 16- 17. The first 2 times they met in person was the first day they met. And A coffee date the next day.

Then she see him again in passing when she was 19-20. So 2 or 3 years later! I’m 80% into this book and now she’s 33 and they still haven’t seen each other. I’m not feeling Inge character at all. This book is really slow for me. The love story is unbelievable to me. She’s still married to her horrible husband. I’m not feeling her little son either. He doesn’t seem to like her. I hated reading about Felix getting married.

I mean... I just wanted more Felix and Inge. That doesn’t happen until 93% in! And it isn’t all sunshine and roses. Inge wasn’t telling Felix the whole truth about herself. And who she was married to. Felix found out by accident.

The ending was not satisfying either. After everything they both went through. Felix ends up going back to his wife. And the wife knows he had an affair with Inge. And Inge doesn’t get her son back. He’s still with her husband in some mountain in Argentina.

This book was seriously disappointing. The only thing I liked about this book was the cover.

*ARC provided by Bookouture via Netgalley*

I am a huge fan of Historical fiction, especially the ones set during the WWI or WWII period. These stories, the hurt, the pain , the struggle be it emotional, physical, or mental is just unbelievable. This story was nothing less. I just loved it and would totally recommend to anybody who likes reading historical fiction.

. I can be a bit skeptical about WWII fiction especially if it deals with the Holocaust but I thought it was well done especially in how it captures that chaos of post war Berlin and you could tell the author had actually researched her stuff rather than just making it up to fit the story. The depiction of sachsenhausen is particularly well done too.

This was such a fantastic read . I love books set in this era and this one was no exception. Such a super read,