I absolutely loved this book! I can't believe I waited so long to read it! Hewitt is a master of writing gripping historical fiction, and I found myself utterly immersed in the story. I now plan to read all of her back listed books! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and to review this book!

First rate storyteller Kate Hewitt is back with a heart-breaking, emotional and captivating historical novel that is absolutely fantastic: The Edelweiss Sisters.

In 1938 Salzburg, sisters Johanna, Birgit and Lotte Eder might live very quiet lives working in their father’s clock-making shop, however, even they are aware of the changes that are afoot that threaten to shake the foundations of their entire world. Johanna does not believe that the Nazis pose any real threat – until her father hires a Jewish man called Franz to work in his shop. As the two begin to get close, Johanna realizes that danger, peril and persecution dog her fellow countrymen’s steps because of their religion. Having fallen head over heels in love with Franz, Johanna is prepared to go to the ends of the earth for the man who has come to mean everything to her – and luckily for her, Birgit and Lotte are at hand to help her out in her hour of need.

As the three of them work together to get Franz to Switzerland and to safety, they find themselves risking everything. But with everything to lose and the stakes having never been higher, Johanna, Birgit and Lotte will find themselves tested by challenge after challenge as their quest takes them all the way to the devastating concertation camps of Ravensbruck and Mauthausen.

In an uncertain world where there is danger round every corner, will the three sisters manage to find a place of safety? Will a future be possible for the three of them? Or will war blight all of their hopes and dreams?

Kate Hewitt never ceases to move, delight and entertain her readers with her enthralling novels and in The Edelweiss Sisters, she has written yet another fantastic tale that is impossible to forget. A story about love, courage, loyalty and strength, The Edelweiss Sisters will move readers to tears as they will find themselves completely engrossed in this emotional and powerfully written historical novel.

Kate Hewitt’s name on a book cover is a surefire guarantee of first class storytelling and she has outdone herself yet again with her latest novel, The Edelweiss Sisters.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I loved the setting of the story the most and it caught my eye because sthe Edelweiss flower is so beautiful and mysterious. A good read but not one I would quickly pick up.

The Edelweiss Sisters features the Eder sisters - Johanna, Birgit, and Lotte. They all live together in the rooms above their father's clockmaking shop in Salzburg, Austria. The sisters' lives begin to change when their father brings in a Jewish man named Franz to serve as his apprentice. Johanna begins to fall in love with Franz, while Birgit (who had previously helped her father in his shop) has feelings of jealousy and resentment at being replaced as her father's assistant. As Anschluss, or the reunification of Austria and Germany under Nazi rule, begins to take place, the family's feelings of safety and comfort are further tested. All three sisters start to take a role in helping the Resistance. When the Nazis come looking for Franz, the sisters know they must help him escape to Switzerland.

I have read a lot of historical fiction books set during WWII. This book did not grab me as quickly as other books of this genre have grabbed me. However, once the decision to move Franz came along in the plot line, I found my interest peaked and I couldn't put the book down. I liked the small cameo appearances with Maria von Trapp and Betsie ten Boom (sister to Corrie ten Boom) in the book. After recently reading another concentration camp book recently, it was a relief that the prison camps did not take up a significant part of the plot line of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Salzburg in the 1930s. The three daughters of clockmaker Herr Eder are trying to find their role in life. But the shadow of the Nazis looms...
The Edelweiss Sisters is a linear historical novel starting in the mid 1930s and proceeding through the Nazis' invasion of Austria and the path to war. The events of the prologue set up our expectations for an emotional jounrey ahead...
Three sisters, each with a unique perspective on their family, lives and country. Birgit is plain and hopes to be apprenticed to her father's clockmaking business. Johanna dreams of secretarial school but is stuck at home being her mother's shadow as a homemaker. Pretty songbird Lotte attends music lessons but feels she has a religious vocation and wants to join a convent.
Love arrives for Johanna and Birgit but one man is Jewish and the other is a Nazi sympathiser. Meanwhile Lotte's love of God separates her from her family. There are important themes of love, loyalty, nationalism and faith which thread through the book.
The undercurrent of danger is present from the start as we know the Nazi invasion is imminent. Our own knowledge of Nazi atrocities and the vitriol they spouted ramps up the tension as we await the deterioration of the situation for the Eder family.
The Edelweiss Sisters is a compellingly emotive book which even features the Von Trapp family, made famous by the Sound of Music!

A great story of the strength and passion of three sisters in Austria before and during WW2. The story had me enthralled from the beginning and it is definitely one of Kate Hewitt's best. I loved how she included the Von Trap family in the story as well, a book that will stay with you long after you have finished it

Three sisters during WWII Germany, each one dealing with troubles ranging from a Jewish boyfriend, a novice nun questioning her choices, and the last one working with the resistance against the Nazi regime…sensitive and well written.

Once again, Kate Hewitt has brought me to tears with her newest WWII release, The Edelweiss Sisters. This is a story not only steeped in sadness, tragedy, but a story filled with life, family, courage, love and faith.

Johanna, the eldest of the Eder sisters, wants more out of life than in becoming an exact replica of her mother by taking care of the home, cooking, cleaning and raising babies. She would love to go to school and become a secretary. Brigit, the middle child, often feels ignored and invisible and to stave off that feeling, she becomes an apprentice to her fathers clockmaking shop. Lotte, the baby of the trio is attending music school, but her passion is not in music it is with the church.

Trouble is brewing on the horizon with Hitler, but the sisters feel that a potential war will never touch them as far as they are in Austria. They were wrong. When Austia comes into power under Nazi rule, the sisters will band together in solidarity to protect those considered less than desirable under the Nazi regime. Franz Weber, an apprentice to the sisters’ father happens to be Jewish and Brigit, Lotte and Johanna will do everything in their power to make sure he reaches the safety of Switzerland.

The opening prologue really draws the reader in when a baby is left on the doorstep to an Abbey. Who is the mother of this child? Is it one of the three sisters? The story then winds back to the second half of the 1930’s and is told through alternating points of view between all three sisters. One can not help but find strength and courage within the sisters even when they feel hopeless and defeated. You can easily fall in love with each of the sisters and hope for the best for all three of them.

I do seem to read a lot of WWII stories and while many of them follow the same plot to a certain extent, Hewitt adds something fresh to The Edelweiss Sisters and it is in learning more about the resistance and how courageous many women were to help those less fortunate than themselves even at the cost of their own lives if they were caught. The resilience of these women is astounding.

If you love WWII stories or just love Kate Hewitt’s books in general, then you definitely WILL want to pick up a copy of this well written and fantastic five star read.

Salzburg, Austria, at the cusp of WWII.
Three sisters Johanna, Birgit and Lotte are as different from each other as can be, following varying paths in life and love but all enjoy their simple life, love their family, and are proud of their father and his clock making business.
Rumblings of Hitler's influence and plans reach the sisters, but none take it too seriously until it is happening and then each woman must decide what it is they are willing to do to stand up for what they believe in and what that will mean for their and their family's future...
I really enjoyed this novel, winding us through years of the sisters' lives. Each chapter is told through the eyes of one woman, and we learn about her sisters and their family through this too, but not always a full story so some parts are only realised by the reader as the chapters go on which works well in terms of the narrative.
I enjoy historical fiction in general and tend to gravitate to this sort of era, and this book especially really gave me pause for thought in terms of how it described the events at this time like, for example, Kristallnacht and how horrifying it was (obviously from a bystanders pov); Hewitt gets this across really well.
This is my first novel by Hewitt but will be checking out her multitude of other titles for sure.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the review copy of this title.

<i> “Hatred is a poison you drink,” Betsie had murmured then, her eyes fluttering closed. “And yet you expect someone else to die from it.” </i>


I am new to Kate Hewitt and her novels. After reading this one, I will be checking out more of her books. 3 1/2 stars

This a historical fiction set during WWII that follows three sisters through the changes happening is Salzburg, Austria leading up to and during the war. I liked how each sister was very different and each one had their lessons to learn throughout the story. I liked that it showed them wrestling with their beliefs and struggling to be brave at times.

This was a well-paced novel with plenty of excitement to keep me turning the pages and kept me from putting it down in order to get some needed sleep.

Some readers may enjoy seeing known figures show up in this book, such as Maria Von Trapp, Betsy Ten Boom, and Corrie Ten Boom.

The only criticism I have is that I thought that when two of the sisters fall in love, it was too immediate. Readers that dislike “instalove” may not enjoy the romance aspect. However, I will say I became more invested in the couples and how their stories would end as the book went on.

I would also have liked to have seen a longer afterword with more information about some of the real life characters in the novel and information about the camps mentioned in the novel. I like to learn something new when I read a historical fiction.


Thank-you to Kate Hewitt, Bookouture, and Netgalley for providing this free arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story set before and during the Second World War, one of resilience and courage in the midst of unimaginable horrors. Love and hope are at its centre, even when they seem far away.

Events begin with a baby being left outside a convent in early 1945. We don't know who she is or the identity of the woman who leaves her, but this is revealed by the narrative that follows.

The Eder sisters - Johanna, Birgit, and Lotte - live with their parents in Salzburg during the rise of fascism and the subsequent invasion of Austria by Nazi Germany. Each of the sisters has her own particular story in relation to the overarching narrative, and all are required to show great courage as events unfold.

Johanna assists her mother with the housekeeping and cooking, Birgit assists her father with his clockmaking and repairing business in the family shop, and Lotte is a talented singer who decides to become a nun.

When Franz Weber arrives one day, it sets in motion a chain of events that lead all three sisters into danger. Franz is a Jew and eventually the family has to find a way of getting him out of Salzburg and to safety. Attempting to do so places all the sisters at great risk.

This is not an easy read because of the subject matter, for instance mentioning conditions in labour camps where people were brutally treated; however, it also shows that not all Nazis are inhuman and lacking in compassion - for instance, Werner Haas, who falls in love with Birgit, and Oskar, one of the guards at Ravensbruck concentration camp where female prisoners are taken.

Some characters - Maria von Trapp, of Sound of Music fame, and the deeply religious ten Boom sisters, Corrie and Betsie - are people who really existed, which help add to the narrative's authenticity.

This story touched me on many levels, not just because of the way the narrative unfolded, but also the courage and love that shines through. Lotte enters the convent, little realising that her real vocation will lie outside its walls. The nuns shelter Jews from the Nazis, placing themselves at great risk but disregarding this because they know they must help those who are in danger.

Kate Hewitt has written an exceptional book - despite its difficult subject matter - and I look forward to reading more by her.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Bookouture, in return for an honest appraisal.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

A different take on the now common WW2 books; this one set in Austria...with a cameo appearance from the Von Trapp family!! Heartbreaking!!

This book is a wonderful story of the women and sisters that gave so much to stand for their beliefs that were instilled in them by their parents. The Edelweiss sisters begins at a music festival with 3 young sisters singing together and making harmony to be beaten by the Von Trapp family. The young sisters are trying to find their way in life as war breaks out and the terrors of Hitler and the Gestapo are being reigned down on Austria. The time has come to determine if they will be complacent to the edicts of the dictator or stand for their beliefs.

The sisters show strength of not only mind, body but also character. The book is written where the reader is encapsulated in the story and every page is devoured in the pursuit of what happens to the likeable characters. The reader becomes invested in the characters and the story flipping through the pages to reveal the fate of the beloved sisters.

Well done to the author in creating a story of strength, loss and showing of moral character during times of crisis. Standing together albeit alone the sisters have captured the hearts of many.

Thank you to Kate Hewitt in writing a strong story and to the publisher, Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Johanna, Birgit and Lotte are three sisters that a reader won’t forget after they read this book. Individual yet drawn together and the harrowing of times. This book serves as an amazing account of what was going on during the war and what people chose to do. I don’t want to say too much. I want people to read this book!!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley. And will be purchasing my own copy.

It was hard to start this review because I could not think of strong enough, beautiful enough words to describe it....
The Edelweiss Sisters deserves 5 stars and to be widely recognized, Kate Hewitt has created a book that breathes and draws you in. You live every part of it from the family life to romance to the soul searing tragedy that was created by the Nazi's in WWII. If a reader actually happens upon my review: Please read The Edelweiss Sisters. Their story will stay in your heart always.

Salzburg. Ah..that enchanting city of The Sound of Music fame! The city of Mozart. As I started reading The Edelweiss Sisters, set in Salzburg, pleasant memories of our (family’s) visit to this beautiful city in the winter of 2013 filled me with nostalgia.

The story recounts the lives of three sisters together with their parents in Salzburg starting from the mid 1930’s. Music (playing the piano and singing) was so much a part of their close-knit family life. The city was relatively serene and peaceful then as was the time we visited. But rumblings of war and rumours of Nazi invasion of Austria threatened to shatter that peace and the close family bond.

Johanna, Birgit and Lotte are daughters of Manfred Eder, a clockmaker and Hedwig Eder, a homemaker. They live quiet lives in the house filled with music above their dad’s clockmaking shop. Manfred calls them the Edelweiss Sisters after a flower that is found in the mountains when they join a singing competition.

Johanna, the oldest and strongest, spends her time helping her mom in the kitchen, but she dislikes the drudgery of kitchen work and dreams of attending a secretarial school in order to have a life of her own. Although her mom initially objects to her plan, she later relents. Johanna is to realise later how useful her typewriting skills will become.

Birgit, who is quite unremarkable in looks and talents, helps her dad repair clocks and is pretty good at it but only because she worked hard to make her mark. As dad’s apprentice she gets his attention but this soon changes when he takes on Franz as his new apprentice. Feeling disgruntled, Birgit gets herself drawn into the Resistance movement and falls in love with a soldier with Nazi sympathies.

Lotte, the youngest and prettiest, is musically talented. Having high hopes of her becoming a musician, her dad enrols her in a music academy. But she realizes that she isn’t talented enough to be a musician. She likes peace and solitude which she believes will give her happiness. After a chance visit to the Nonnberg Abbey, she decides to become a nun, much to her parents’ dismay. It is a decision that will have far-reaching implications.

Franz becomes part of the family. Johanna falls for him but Birgit thinks he is the usurper of her dad’s attention. When Franz reveals that he is a Jew from Vienna seeking shelter in their home, danger lurks and safety becomes their main concern - for Franz’s life and theirs.

Months after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 and took over the government, tensions in the home heightens. The Nazis are taking over businesses owned by Jews and seeking out Jews to arrest. Knowing that Franz isn’t safe anymore, Joahanna enlists the help of Birgit and Lotte to help Franz flee to the safety of Switzerland. In doing so the three sisters know that they are putting their own lives at risk but at that time they don’t know what unimaginable horrors await them and what sacrifices they have to make.

I always enjoy stories of heroism, triumph and faith amidst the sufferings and adversity faced during wartime. The Edelweiss Sisters by Kate Hewitt certainly does not disappoint one bit as it has all these elements and more.

It is a powerful, gut-wrenching and tear-jerking read filled with tensions, ghastly displays of human wickedness, tragedy but also love and faith in divine power. I love how the author skillfully interweaves the story with real-life characters like the von Trapp family (of The Sound of Music) and Corrie and Betsie ten Boom (of The Hiding Place) who were incarcerated in the Ravensbruck concentration camp. These characters lend magical realism and inspiration to the story.

I also love the way the story concludes. Despite the tragedy endured by the Eder Family, there is birth of a new life, and love found and restored.

The Edelweiss Sisters is definitely one of the best books of this genre I've read in recent years. New readers to Hewitt's books, as I am, will find it a worthwhile read indeed. I definitely want to read another one of her books.

My thanks to Bookouture, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me a free copy of the e-ARC. My review is given voluntarily.

The Edelweiss Sisters was a beautifully written story about three sisters who will risk everything to stand for what they believe.
Johanna, Birgit, and Lotte Eder have happy lives, thriving and making choices for their futures. Johanna is the eldest and such a help to her mother. Birgit is her fathers apprentice in his clock shop with hopes to one day take over the family business. Sweet Lotte is in school with child like hopes and dreams.
The girls have noticed things are changing and people are becoming fearful. Birgit is speechless when a young man shows up and claims to be her fathers new apprentice. How can that be? Franz is kind and smart and Birgit can’t help but to like him. Caring for Franz comes easy but having him at the shop will put her whole family in danger.

The Edelweis Sisters by Kate Hewitt follows the story of the three Eder girls, Johanna, Birgit, and Lotte. Each one very differnt in their own ways, they’ve lived a relatively peacful and normal life until World War II approaches their doorstep. The invasion of Austria is swift and mostly non-violent, and suddenly life is drastically different.

Lotte – the youngest believes she will find peach at the convent through a vocation. Birgit finds herself falling for a soldier, and Johanna falls in love with her father’s apprentice, a Jewish man. The story of each sister wraps its way around the others – showing how connected the three are even when physical distance separates them. Each story is uplifting and heartbreaking its own way, and none of them end quite the way I expected.

The Edelweis sisters really highlighted how the lives of everyday people were altered by the war – and not everyone made it out alive, healthy, or able to return to life as it was before. Work camps, interrogations, worrying about those you care for the most, and trying to find a way to do what you think is right all take a toll on the girls, and the toll was a real one.

Kate Hewitt did not shy away from the horrors of the Nazi regime, but she did find the very delicate balance between showing what happened and being too graphic for many readers. So many very heavy topics were addressed beautifully and in a manner that really showcased how life during war might have been.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

The Edelweiss Sisters is yet another stunning, poignant read by Kate Hewitt.

This is a story of three sisters, Johanna being the eldest. She is always by her mother’s side taking care of their household. It seems that is the plan that her parents have for her life. However, Johanna has different plans and ambitions that do not involve spending her life in a kitchen. Her plans drastically changes though when she meets her father’s new apprentice, Franz.

Birgit is the second sister in the Eder’s family. She spends her days working with her father in the family’s clockmaking business. Birgit is content with her role but that soon changes when her father takes on a new apprentice. Lotte is the youngest sister. She is beautiful, talented and full of life. Her parents have big ambitions for her but she instead yearns for a much more quiet, serene life. These three are the Edelweiss sisters. The normalcy of their lives, dreams and ambitions was soon shattered by the influence of Nazism in Austria.

The story is narrated through three POVs alternating between the sisters. At first, the narratives were separate as each sister had her own life and ambitions. With the Nazis coming though, the stories began to merge. Each of the POVs was captivating. The three characters were so well developed with very interesting stories that I did not favor any over the others.

This was a unique, poignant read. I have read plenty of stories about World War 2 with Germany and France being the setting. However, this is the first story that I have read set in Austria. It illustrates how the Austrians were affected by Nazism. The Eder family was so endearing and I enjoyed meeting other characters such as Franz and Weber through this family.

This is undoubtedly a heartbreaking read. It is quite well -written and utterly captivating. Despite the heavy themes, I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I highly recommend The Edelweiss Sisters by Kate Hewitt to all fans of historical fiction.

The Edelweiss Sisters by Kate Hewitt is a World War II novel with a little different slant. We are in the household of a happy family in Salzburg, Austria, comprised of a father, Madfred Eder, his wife, Hedwig, and adult daughters, Joanna, Birgit, and Lotte. Joanna works in the house with her mother, Birgit in the clack shop with her father, and Lotte is in school. The rumbling of the German takeover of Europe abound, but have not yet affected this city. Slowly things, change. Men come into the lives of a couple of the sisters. Lotte becomes a nun. Birgit falls in love with an Austrian soldier, who eventually is forced to become a Nazi soldier. Joanna falls in love with her father's apprentice, with secrets of his own. This is a heart-breaking as well as heart-warming story of the war years for this small family.

Watching these women grow and mature over the 4-5 years of the war is a touching experience. They share family ties, but are each so different, with their reactions and behaviors. Joanna is so sturdy and solid; she can't imagine veering from the path. Birgit is so turn between her beliefs, her friends, and the man she loves. Lotte found her true vocation when she entered into religious orders. Parents, have to watch, and love. It is their lot in life. The war affected everyone is Europe and beyond, not just those in the camps. We tend to forget that sometimes. Reading novels like this one tend to put that into perspective. Waiting at home can be as bad as being in the thick of things. Resisting, in any small way, can become its own vocation. This was a touching and wonderful book which put much into perspective, war or not. Hewitt hit it out of the park. Read it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of the Edelweiss Sisters by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mind. #netgalley #theedelweissisters