This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

I absolutely devoured this historical fiction in two sittings. Betty's life in Berlin with her mother and sister is hard and its beyond thinkable what they go through. Her father is away fighting in WWII. They disguise Betty as a young boy to save her from the Russian soldier's attentions. Some others are not so lucky. When her sister goes missing she has to go and get help and ends up in the UK with her father, who was a prisoner of war and decided to stay there. They are strangers.

She meets John at the inaugural meeting of the CND and starts a relationship of sorts. They are connected in ways you couldn't imagine.... An absolutely meticulously researched book which I cannot recommend highly enough.

An immersive novel that flits between war's end in 1945 Berlin and London and the Home Counties in the late 1950s. It's a novel about the trauma of war, memory, guilt and grief. We're near the beginning of the Cold War and West / East relations are at their most paranoid.

There's a lot packed into this novel, but it's done with great sensitivity. The characters really do come alive although I did find John terribly spineless. And is he to be trusted?

The novel contains lots of nice detail that brings 1950s Britain to life - the crocheted antimacassar, the Ewbank carpet sweeper, etc. Small details like this help bring a setting to life.

No author setting their novel in 1945 Berlin can do so without reading the anonymous memoir, 'Woman in Berlin', or viewing the 2008 film based on that book. And indeed, the author acknowledges both.

Such a sad story! The descriptions of life in war-torn Berlin were harrowing. How the author wove the lives of the main characters was intriguing. I liked how you were left to imagine your own happy ending if you chose.

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

Historical fiction set in Berlin and post war England. Difficult to follow in parts; it was unclear if events were actually happening or delusions.

London 1958. Twenty-six-year-old Betty Fisher is one of the first to join the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and attend its inaugural meeting, where she meets John Harris. Posted to Berlin towards the end of the war, John has been left traumatised by his experiences in Germany. And, as his initial admiration for Betty shifts into an overwhelming need to protect her, he is plagued by flashbacks and fantasies. John’s increasing fragility brings to the surface Betty's own memories. And soon her past, too, begins to unravel…
This was a magical book! I loved every minute of it and wanted to crawl inside and stay there. It was so warm and cosy like a fuzzy scarf and mittens.

This is a complex book about two main characters Betty and John whose lives meet on more than one level and time scale. As many such works the book is told from two different points inplace and history, the 1980s London and mid 1940s in Berlin. As you may imagine, the series of each character in the past is told separately but at the later date, they come together. It has elements of a love story but is also deeply disturbing and somewhat distressing. No doubt it is not based on truth as it is rather far fetched but I can see that research and care has been taken to include reasonably accurate historical facts. I didn't really enjoy the book but it is a good work if you're up for the challenge.

An amazing eye opener. A look at the last days of WWII through the yes of a German child. Hard to read because it is so harrowing, but you will not want to put it down. Bette is trying to survive the best way she can in July 1945. All around her is devastation. The Russian men have taken control and law and order is non existent. John, a young English man is also in Berlin, fast forward to 1958 and John and Bette meet. At first it looks like a match made in heaven, but both their pasts are about to catch up with them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oneworld for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I truly loved the premise of this book. With so many World War Two novels focusing on the conflict itself, it was refreshing to see a book looking at the aftermath of the War. This book was excellent at doing so. Britain and Germany in the aftermath of World War Two were handled brilliantly by the author.

The author never shied away from what happened to German women and the Cold War conflict which seemed to start up almost immediately after the war. The inclusion of the Soviets is something that I haven’t seen done as well as it was here. However, the Soviets are put in an extremely bad light. While yes, there was things the Soviets did which were not right, there were some good Soviet people as well. Yet this is never mentioned. But I do applaud the author for dealing with these difficult topics with such integrity.

Another issue I had with this book was that I didn’t feel emotionally attached to any of the characters. There seemed to be a disconnect between the reader and the characters. However, I would highly recommend this book, especially to gain an insight into the life of those who survived one of the worst conflicts humanity has ever seen.

Forgotten is possibly the best historical fiction I have read this year. Set in both Berlin at the end of WW2 and London in 1958 we learn of the trauma experienced by Betty, a German schoolgirl, and John, a young British man who works as a translator in the army.

Essentially this is part spy, part love story, with gripping descriptions of the life experienced by Berliners who lived in the east sector and are subject to roaming Russian soldiers known as 'Ivans'; and also the grim life in post-war London where Betty and John meet at meetings of CND.

It is a slow burner but by halfway through the narrative is gripping and the ending excellent. Who can Betty trust as she tries to make a new life for herself in Britain? Highly recommended for anyone who likes stories about the impact of WW2 on everyday people. This one is different and well worth the read.

The Forgotten by Mary Chamberlain is a fascinating, unique, and addictive historical fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is the first book that I have read by Ms. Chamberlain and I have to say I am now a fan. This book is so complex and beautifully written. It interweaves between the years of WWII and post-war to unravel a story and reveal mysteries, secrets, and the true nature of the characters involved.

This book shows, amongst many things, what extraordinary, and sometimes mundane, things and situations people had to do and were placed in during wartime. The espionage, the lies, the secrets, the sacrifices, the emotional and physical trauma…they were all experienced by what had been “ordinary” citizens before the war.

That is all well and good, but what happens to these individuals afterwards, the citizens that are still alive? What happens to fractured families? The survivors of tragedies, losses, and injuries? How do they pick up the pieces and try to find a life afterwards? A life that cannot go back to how it was before knowing what they know now? How can they, should they, move on?

That is what I feel this book covers with the narrative of these main characters. Nothing is what it seemed. This is a darker, more introspective look at the years after the war and happened at least to this particular character cast with these challenges.

I really enjoyed it.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and OneWorld Publications for this wonderful 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 (as of 6/23/21 no BB listing has been created ) and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

This was an incredibly interesting premise with an equally as exciting plot. I enjoyed jumping back and forth between the war and the post-war, slowly learning more about our main characters and how their lives intertwined. I thought it was very well written and well paced. The only thing I struggled with was the characters themselves, while they were interesting, I felt no emotional connection to them. I wanted to feel something for them, but I finished the novel feeling almost underwhelmed in terms of my emotions for them. However, it was still a solid historical fiction that had me interested throughout.