THE BERLIN ZOOKEEPER by ANNA STUART is a WW11 novel with a difference.
The story starts in 1943 and shows us the horrific time the ordinary citizens of Berlin went through due to Hitler's madness, and how the arrival of the brutal Russian soldiers in 1945 made things even worse.
To Katharina and Oskar Heinroth, who had no children of their own, the zoo was their baby. We see how they and the other members of the "zoofamilie" looked after the animals, especially after the zoo was practically destroyed by bombs. They ended up all living in an underground bunker as the bombs fell around them.
Katharina was mother to the children and was especially close to Adelaide who is still alive when Bethan Taylor starts work as a vet at the zoo in 2019. Will she be lucid enough to help Bethan and Max Fermer, the primate keeper, solve the mystery surrounding Bethan's grandmother's birth?
The story is well told and the characters, including the animals, are unforgettable. It is altogether an excellent book and one I can highly recommend.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bookouture. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

What a lovely book! I was lucky enough to be given an advanced copy of this book by @netgalley
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This book just hits all the right notes for me:
Historical fiction - WW2 setting
Berlin Zoo
Discovering Family History
A little bit of Romance
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I found the book to be well paced & heartwarming. The story is split into two timelines & told from two perspectives. Bethan in Modern day Berlin & Katharina in Berlin in 1944. The story takes you on a journey of not only Bethan’s self discovery as she realises what isn’t right for her but also helps uncover her family history
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I honestly felt like I couldn’t read this book fast enough & the setting of Berlin Zoo was just magical. I love a trip to a zoo & would love nothing more to visit this particular zoo in future
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Book pairing: if you loved the Dressmakers Gift by Fiona Valpy, then this book is for you!
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P.S I spotted that the e-book is available for pre-order on Amazon for 99p. Don’t miss out!

First off I want to say a huge thank you to the publisher Bookouture , the author Anna Stuart , and to NetGalley for inviting me to join the blog tour for this book as well as letting me read and review it. Wow what an emotional read , right from the very start the author was pulling at my heart strings and my emotions, there was times I had to put down my kindle because I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't hardly see to read, and that's when I knew this was going to be a five star read for me as well as a new favorite of mine. See I tend to read a lot of historical fiction and those include historical fiction WW 2 , and I know I've said this in the past and on other reviews and I'll keep saying but when it comes to this types of stores especially the ones based on true stories or about a actual person that lived doing that time there's a few things that I look for , and they are:

1: author has done their research



2: they bring their characters and their settings to life



3: they make you feel everything that the characters feel



4: and by the end of the book your a emotional wreck , and this author has done that , she had me right from the very start hooked and crying, in just a few pages, the way she described the animals, the zoo , the bombings and the struggles of her characters and the struggles they went though to keep their beloved animals as well as themselves safe , and the way its told bright this story to life. Its a story that needed to be told, and it was doing in a way that it bright that part of history to life, as well as the man and women who lived though it and the ones that didn't make it. Its part of history that should never be forgotten. Its a story that needs to be read and I hope you will pick it and read it.

The Zookeeper's Daughter is an excellent work of historical fiction focusing on the story of the workers in Berlin's zoo during the carnage and destruction of World War II. The heroine is a young woman who is serving in the Berline Zoo during the present day. She has been drawn there in search of her real ancestors. Her mother, it seems was gifted to her grandparents in the aftermath of World War II and the heroine in the story only found this out after her own mother's death and search for her biological family. The story covers an amazing time in the history of Germany thru the eyes of the zookeeper and the workers there. Babies abound in the story and it is a matter of finding which one was the family of the current woman working with her beloved animals in this decade. The story is also a romance. Sparks fly with the main character and another worker at the zoo, but are they enough to end her current romance? This is a well-researched story with a well-developed plot and characters from the present and the past. For lovers of historical fiction, romance, and animals this is a must-read and a five-star available in May. Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review #NetGalley#TheZookeeper'sDaughter.

What a brilliant read, loved this book, so much so I was there with all the characters and felt what they were feeling, wonderfully written and it draws you in, hankies at the ready cos you will need them, heart breaking story of not only the people of Germany but also how the animals at the zoo were affected too

A book that took me by storm right from the beginning. Here is a book about WWII from different points of view.

Loved every bit of the book. The flashbacks to wartime and Berlin, it made me sad to think how it affected each one of the lives. The book manages to paint vivid images of war stricken Berlin during WWII...it’s rise and its fall and the suffering of its people...and of course animals. A War can be devastating and at the same time it can bring in people some sort of strength determination and the ability of women. There is value in these stories and lessons to be learnt. no wonder even today, such stories are of inspiration.

I thought the book was well written because it managed to stir up emotions, yet didnt make me way too teary eyed.

Do I recommend it? Yes! If you love all things about WWII. Go for it!

This dual timeline story is based on a true story which took place in the Berlin Zoo starting in 1943 when the zookeepers were trying to protect the animals from the bombings of WWII. The second part of the timeline takes place at the same Zoo in 2019 when Vet Bethan Taylor goes to work at the zoo for a year to get some experience working with zoo animals.

Bethan's mother, Jana, died when Bethan was just a young girl and Bethan found a list of women's names in a jewelry box that belonged to her mother. Her father does eventually admitted to Bethan that the woman she grew up knowing as her grandmother was really not her mother's mother. This sets Bethan on a quest to find out who her real grandmother is and once she begins working at the zoo, she feels that there is a connection. Bethan begins to dig for clues while being helped by her co-worker Max Femer.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting book which I found to be delightful with its zoo setting. I really enjoyed this book.

Anna Stuart’s The Zookeeper’s Daughter is a heartbreaking tale of loss and resilience. In modern-day Berlin, Bethan Taylor has just started her new job at the Berlin Zoo. She’s excited not only for the opportunity to learn & work with the zoo’s animals, but also to uncover a secret her mother’s been hiding for years. The grandmother that Bethan thinks is hers, really isn’t. And the trail starts at the Berlin Zoo at the end of the war.

The Zookeeper’s Daughter is told in two timelines – one during the tail end of WWII as Berlin is bombed and bombarded, the other in Bethan’s current-day perspective. Stuart deftly weaves present and past as Bethan finds clues to her mother’s origins. The characters in the part of the story that’s set in WWII Berlin are brave and loyal (almost to a fault). There is so much love and compassion for each other and for the animals in their care, and I appreciated this look at Berliners as humans first and foremost. Much of the WWII media I consume (movies, books, articles, etc.) are told from the viewpoint that the Germans were Nazis and therefore bad. And that’s not true of all Germans.

Bethan’s current-day life was a bit meh for me, especially compared to Katharina et al’s colorful, vibrant depictions. I had no patience for her slow realization that her current beau was not worth the effort of a relationship, and I still don’t understand why her father is so resistant to her wanting or needing to know her past. I’ll admit the former is probably from my own lived experiences. After all, who hasn’t yelled at a character to snap out of it already, whether when reading a book or watching a show?

Regardless, I enjoyed The Zookeeper’s Daughter for its look at people’s lives at the tail end of a long war, and the decisions they make in their attempts to save each other.

drey’s rating: Pick it up!

This is a dual timeline novel set at the zoo in Berlin, Germany. In one era, the zookeepers struggle to keep the animals safe during the devastating bombing during WW2. In the modern time, a vet at the zoo tries to uncover a family mystery. This novel is full of the necessity of wartime secrets, the power of love, and the strength of women.

The descriptions of the zoo and its animals amidst the wreckage of bombing raids is wonderfully written, set against the terror of the zookeepers hiding in a bunker together beneath the zoo. They are all zoofamilie, fighting as much to save each other as they are to save the animals. Katharina Heinroth is indomitable as she becomes the driving force behind the preservation of the zoo's family, animal and human. Her heartbreaks and joys echoed with me.

The modern vet, Bethan, takes a job at the Berlin Zoo because she knows it was special to her mother. And Bethan has a secret to discover. She also has a boyfriend she's losing interest in and a new colleague that intrigues her. The character is written with empathy so that I was rooting for her from the first moment I met her.

This book is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys stories of the real people caught up in WW2.
Thank you to NetGalley for an early review copy of this book.

With thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest opinion
First time reading this author and quite a poignant story unfolds before us. I can highly recommend this book

Inspired by a true story, Anna Stuart’s “The Zookeeper’s Daughter,” tells of an orphaned girl, a wartime secret and the power of unconditional love. It features an amazingly strong and courageous woman who fights for the survival of not only herself and loved ones, but of her beloved zoo and its animals.
Written in dual timeline, 1943 and 2019, we follow Katharina Heinroth, the first female zoo director in Germany and Bethan Taylor, a veterinarian in the Berlin Zoo.
Bethan, 11 years old and hiding in her parent’s room after her mom dies, discovers her mother’s jewellery box containing a hippopotamus brooch pinned onto a handwritten list of names. After showing it to her father and sensing that he doesn’t want to talk about it, she pockets both, determined to find out why her mother had hidden it and who the people were on the list. When she accepts a veterinary job at the Berlin Zoo, she leaves behind her boyfriend, Callum, and brings the brooch and attached list with her in hopes of finding answers. The family mystery will propel you forward as, like me, you’ll want to find out why the names are recorded and how they link to Bethan. While Bethan is intuitive, respectful and determined, you’ll grow to dislike her boyfriend and quickly read over the sections in which he appears. The job in Berlin offers her perspective and an opportunity to make changes should she want her life to take a different direction.
Kathrine heroically manages the zoo during wartime and manages to save a few of the animals. While the enemy is approaching, she hides friends and loved ones beneath the animal enclosures and in nearby air raid shelters. Childless herself, she loves the orphaned children like they were her own and when the Russians recede, she is faced with the task of rebuilding the zoo and re-homing the children.

The majority of wartime novels I’ve read focus on the German combat and resistance while neglecting to portray the human suffering and daily life of its citizens. Stuart revealed not only the effects of the war on humans, but on the animals. She captured the agonizing loss and heartbreak as well as the strength and determination of the women hiding in the zoo.

Thank you to Anna Stuart, Bookouture and NetGalley for the FANTASTIC advance copy. I received it free and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I have to admit that my knowledge of what happened to the ordinary citizens of Berlin during the war. At school, we covered plenty about what happened in Britain, but very little outside of that and certainly not what happened in Germany. It's still in many ways a contentious subject. Even so, it's hard not to feel for the people left behind to try and keep the zoo together that we learn about in this book.
The whole story is told both during the second world war and in modern-day Berlin. Although the realities are very different for the characters of the two stories, it is clear that there are links between the two. I enjoyed the way that the story switched back and forth. The modern-day storyline helped to soften some of the horrors of what they faced back at the tail end of the war. I think that had it just focused on this period, it would have been a harder read. Instead, the human interest element of Bethan attempting to find out her mother's history helped bring the rest of the story to life.
I really enjoyed this book, particularly the sections that dealt with Katharina Heinroth. I'd never heard of her, but she sounds like a fascinating character. I have to admit that the book left me wanting to know more about her and wanting to be able to visit the Berlin Zoo when such things are possible once again.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was gripped and enthralled by The Zookeepers Daughter from the moment it appeared on my kindle. I didn’t merely “read” Bethan’s story, but became invested and involved in her quest to discover more about the ladies on her list. It is difficult to write a review of a book I thoroughly enjoyed without giving any spoilers, my only advice would be to buy Anna’s book, because you won’t be disappointed!

Thus book was heart breaking but amazing! I was gripped from the very beginning and honestly I didn't wasn't this book to end! The writing was just fabulous loved it!

The Zookeeper's Daughter is based on real people and true events during the war. I loved reading about Katharina Heinroth and the strength and loyalty she showed not only her friends and husband, but also to the animals she considered family. Katharina's story is not one I was previously familiar with and found myself researching more about this amazing woman after I finished the story.

I do usually enjoy a family mystery, however I found the transition between timelines a little jarring. The story is told over two timelines, one from the perspective of Katharina during the war, and another from Bethan in the present day. In one chapter I was reading about the horrors of the war and young women facing death either from bombs or from childbirth. In the next I was reading about Bethan grumbling about her boyfriend. The sections set in 1940s were moving and poignant and I loved the camaraderie and bravery shown from the members of the zoofamilie. In contrast I found Bethan's problem's rather insignificant and I struggled to become emotionally invested in any of her relationships. It was hard to care about her petty romantic issues when a few pages earlier I was reading about women putting their lives at risk to protect those they love.

I would have preferred the story to be told in a more linear format, and to have just focused on the events in the 1940s. I appreciate that the author is trying to show what happened to the baby that went on to be Bethan's mother, but I just didn't find the switching of timelines worked as well as it should have. I much preferred the chapters written from Katharina's point of view, and I loved the sisterhood and strong friendships between the women left behind.

Having said all that, I am glad I read the book. Katharina Heinroth was an amazing woman and it has inspired me to want to visit Berlin Zoo myself. I just would have preferred more Katharina, and less Bethan!

You can find my full review at https://mmbbookblog.com/the-zookeepers-daughter-book-review/

This book grabbed me from the very beginning. And it started with the title. As an animal person and someone with an interest in learning about WWII from different points of view...this book was a home run.

Bethan was just 11 years old when her mother died. To escape a house filled with people expressing their condolences...Beth escape to the comfort of the empty space beneath her parents bed with her mother’s jewelry box. In it, she found a hippo brooch and a list of names. Her curiosity got the best of her and when she approached her grieving father, he was furious and threw the list away. But...Beth plucked it out of the trash and carried it with her all the way to Berlin, where as an adult, she was hired as a veterinarian at the zoo. Approaching the subject again...Beth learns a secret that had been kept under lock and key at her mother’s request...her mother was adopted and the grandmother she knew and loved wasn’t her biological grandmother. List in hand, she sets off on a quest to find her true grandmother and in return, she reevaluates her life and who she wants to be and where she wants to go.

Again, I loved every page of this book. I love the flashbacks to wartime Berlin because I think one of the major missing figures in wartime history teachings is how it effected the every day citizens. This book, though fictional, still paints a portrait of Berlin during WWII...it’s rise and its fall and the suffering of its people...and its animals. I think it’s also important to note that WWII really brings to light the strength, determination and the ability of women. Those women paved the way for the strong women of today and that’s definitely something of great value in this story as it jumps back and forth between eras.

Thank you so much to Anna Stuart and NetGalley for a chance to read this before it’s release. It’s terrific!!