The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

This is a cover buy and my first time to read a book from this author. In the first few pages of the book, My first thought was oh it’s just like The Nightingale. It starts with Eva Traube Abrams in 2005 thinking back to the events of WWII. She had to face her past. It also switches back between the past and the present.

Eva Traube’s father was taken with all the other Jews. Eva and her mom had to flee Paris and went to the free zone town of Aurignon. Eva is positive that they can get her father back but things turned to worse. She felt the calling to help other Jews. She is a talented artist and so she made fake documents to help children escape to Switzerland. Remy and Eva’s love story is different. With their job, they had to hide their identities but they couldn't help their growing feelings toward each other. It was cute but scary at the same time. I was suspicious of Joseph from the beginning. I can feel the tension, fear and uncertainty during those times. It’s sad they had to go through it.

Remy’s idea on the Fibonnaci sequence for the book is brilliant. The ending was romantic but kind of unrealistic. I’m glad it ended that way though. 4 stars

Thank you #netgalley and #Gallery Books for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a successful @netgalley request and I am so glad I asked because it is a surprisingly delightful #read. I can’t wait to read author @kristinharmel other novels based on #ww2. Focused on a French Jew who escaped the raid of the Marais district in Paris, this #historicalfiction is equal parts #romance and #history. Harmel’s research is detailed in the #authorsnote and provides resources to further delve into the role forgery had in the #frenchresistance. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read that everyone should put on their #summer2020 #toreadlist. 📚📚📚 #booklover #bookreview #bookrecommendations #netgalleyreview #bookoflostnames #simonandschuster

This is a well written book with deep character development. It tells a story of how far some people will go to help others. Definitely a must read!

Extraordinary historical novel. The best of the best because of the through research and fascinating topic of forging documents during occupied France. WWII is such a horrifying time, so any opportunity to learn about people resisting in a way that saved lives is priceless. Eva is an English doctorate student at the Sorbonne and born in France to Polish Jewish parents. As the Nazi’s take over Paris she is on the run with her mother after her father is arrested. Her father’s employer knowing of her artist talent gives her blank documents that she must use to forge in order for them to escape to the Vichy “free zone”. Once arriving in a small village she finds that most of the villagers are protecting secrets. But who can she trust? Trust with her life? Secrets that she quickly joins; forging documents for children, allied soldiers and resistance members needing new identities to escape to Switzerland. Her only condition is that she wants to keep track of all the real and forged names of each of the children. A coworker and emerging love interest helps her encode these names in a worn biblical hymnal. As the war heats up and the tide is turning against the Nazi’s the work becomes even more dangerous. Loving relationships are imperil and betrayal surrounds her. But her desire to do the right thing in all circumstances drives her, no matter the danger. The story toggles from past to present in this remarkable women’s life. This novel shows how hope is a driving motivation in life. What happens to the Book of Lost names? You will need to read this book to find out! I thank Netgally and Simon & Schuster publishers for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this extraordinary novel for an honest review.

Once again, Kristin Harmel brings focus to a little known aspect of the French Resistance during WWII - those women and men who created false documents to assist others to hide and escape from the Nazis. After her father is seized by the Nazis, Eva and her mother escape to "free' France in the south. There, Eva reluctantly joins a resistance group who need her artistic skills to recreate German documents.

I still don't tire of reading historical novels set during WW2. This one was a really good one about the young woman with the wonderful talent of forgery which enabled her to help Jewish people escape. It was a heart-rending read. I really admired the courage and their willingness to help others while risking their own lives. There were emotional moments which were to be expected. I was absorbed from start to finish. I really enjoyed reading this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

A compelling story about a young Jewish woman who ends up helping hundreds of Jewish children by forging documents that help them to safety. A fascinating part of World War II history that we don't always hear about.

Kristin Harmel's books never fail to hit me in the heart with wide-range of emotions. Again, she has struck gold with The Book of Lost Names.

The Book of Lost Names really kept my attention. I could not put it down. Having read many books on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust this was an area I knew very little about. I enjoyed the way it was written and will look to read other books by this author.

review // Last summer, after being approved for and reading an e-ARC of The Winemaker’s Wife, I quickly read everything by Kristin Harmel - and am so thankful to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for continuing that love, by granting me the e-ARC for her newest book, The Book of Lost Names.
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Things I Loved: The focus on forgers, who I don’t think get a lot of page-time in WWII fiction, and their role in the Resistance. Lost romance. Double-crossing. How a book and a secret code become so central to the story. The reluctant, but brave heroine.
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Will there every be a time when I don’t praise Kristin Harmel and her work? I think not. This has a little bit of everything I love in a good historical fiction: romance, resiliency and bravery during one of the most tragic times in history, an opportunity to learn something new about this time era, and a little bit of heartbreak. While it won’t be out until July 21, if you are a fan of WWII fiction, preorder this one or put it on hold at your library immediately! {5/5 stars}

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I almost always enjoy books set during World War II, but The Book of Lost Names introduced me to a new topic that I hadn't read about yet: how forgers played a role in the resistance. I thought the author did a good job of developing the characters and including the wide, often conflicting range of emotions that Jewish people and French citizens must have felt during this time. In particular, I was interested in Mamusia and would have liked to read more about her! I also LOVED the ending of the book, but I won't spoil it here. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially fiction set during WWII/the Holocaust.

Amazing from the first page. This characters in this book were extremely well developed as I felt every emotion they felt throughout the book. It was fascinating to learn about this element of the Holocaust resistance. The plot was anything but predictable as the book kept me engaged beyond the last page. I couldn't wait to read the author's notes and learn more. A must read!

Eva Traube is startled into remembering her life in occupied France when she sees the news article about the small book in the Berlin Library. Only she knows of her personal connection to the historical religious text and the more recent historical role is played in saving the lives of Jewish children. During the war, Eva used her art skills to forge documents and serve a role in the Resistance movement. Older Eva travels to Berlin to reconnect with the book and share the secret to the code hidden within while younger Eva struggles to survive the war with her mourning mother, friends new and old, and her dangerous work.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

The Book of Lost Names
by Kristin Harmel
Gallery Books
Historical Fiction | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 21 Jul 2020 | Archive Date 21 Jul 2020

One of my all-time favorite historical fiction books!! I can't wait to recommend this to our readers!! Strong storyline and I learned a lot about forgery.
Thanks to Net Galley and Gallery books for this ARC. I will not forget Eva anytime soon.

Did you know the importance that forger's had as part of the resistance during WWII? I definitely did not. This book was as educational for me as it was a for pleasure read. However, this book did not spark my interest as much until later in the plot I think because I had just read "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah that seemed similar. The ending got me though, like ugly tears but happy tears, which made the whole book come together and I loved it. Now I really want to read more by this author!

The story of Eva was a tragic but heroic one. One of great bravery and great loss. Living in war torn France during WWII she had to make a new identity for herself and her mother to escape the punishment that was for being a Jew. While running for her life she happened to come upon a mountain town in which she discovers her talent for forgery. There she joins the resistance and begins forging false documents to save children and allow them to flee to free Switzerland. In doing so she records the original names of the children in The Book of Lost Names so that they will never be erased as the Germans want them to be. When this book shows up at a library in Germany many years later Eva makes the journey to go uncover what she has left behind.

This was a wonderful WWII historical fiction book. This is the story of Eva who at the age of 86 sees a story about a book that includes markings that no one can decipher. She decides to travel to Berlin to be reunited with her book. We learn of Eva’s life during the war and how being a Jew in Paris changed her family forever. She begins working with the Resistance as a forger of documents that help fellow Jews escape to Switzerland to freedom. Her choices change the lives of all those around her. This is the kind of book that stays with you for a long time. I found myself thinking about Eva and other characters long after I finished the book. Thank you NetGalley for a wonderful ARC.

Another EXCELLENT 5 star WW2 Historical Fiction novel!!! If you liked Beneath a Scarlett Sky, Daughter of the Reich, and Miss Graham's Cold War Cook Book, you will love this book. This is the story of 86 year old librarian Eva Traube , who was shelving books one day and spots a, picture of a book in a paper that she has not seen in 60 years....The Book of Lost Names. Eva wants to travel to Germany against her son's wishes to obtain the book. The story then goes back to 1942 as Eva's father is captured by the Nazis as her and her mother are out. They in turn escape to the Free Zone where Eva's services are requested by a priest to forge false travel documents to help children escape over the border to new families all the while why Eva still tries to locate her father and move children. I really enjoyed this book.

The Book of Lost Names was easily the number one book I have read so far this year. It is rich in historical accuracy and character development, well-researched, and brings a shining light to a somewhat unknown part of WWII history through the eyes of a Jewish woman; student librarian-turned forger, in the midst of the German takeover of France.

From the beginning of the book I was invested in Eva Traube. When a photo of a very old book catches her eye in a magazine, she is immediately thrown back 65 years to the last time she saw the book, in the midst of WWII ravaged France, working for the Resistance protecting children by giving them new identities as they escape France for neighboring Switzerland.

Moving seamlessly between present day and war time, from the first page to the last, this book was riveting all along the way through. I have no shame in admitting this book kept me awake until the wee hours of the morning and I finished it in just two sittings.

This is the third book I’ve read by the author and they are all fabulous. I was quickly turning pages and didn’t want to get anything done except read this book. Characters that will tug on your heart strings; pages that will cause you to shed a tear, pages that will make you smile! I absolutely loved every single page and didn’t want it to end. There are two early books by the author I haven’t read and plan to read them soon. If you haven’t picked up one of these books, don’t delay! You are definitely miSsing superb historical fiction.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC