I really enjoyed this book.! Unlike most WWII historical fiction, this book is the story of a SS wife and her husband. Well told and researched story from the Holocaust. Interesting perspectives from the German side in various characters, a doctor at Dachau, a prisoner there, and the German wife caught in the middle. Intriguing as real people were used for some of the characters.
A story of love and survival.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

The German Wife was a thought provoking and emotional story. I enjoyed listening to it and found it quite addictive.

The.German Wife is a novel that encompasses two time periods. It is a WWII Historical Fiction book. I was hooked right from the beginning and could not wait to see what was going to happen throughout. I throughly enjoyed this story. It was filled with impossible life choices/decisions. Heartwarming.

Thank you NetGalley and Debbie Rix for the ARC of The German Wife. This is a story of how the hidden horrors performed by the SS at Dachau impacted the wife of one of those SS Doctors. When the doctor arranges for a handsome inmate to be their gardener, the wife hears first hand of the terrible treatment and a love triangle develops with long lasting consequences.

A really enjoyable thought provoking listen. A Story of a German woman who Marries for love and then WW2 begins which totally transformed her life. I have not read any books on WW2 told from the Germans POV so this was a real eye opener for me on how much the German people were controlled and how propaganda played a huge part.

The narrator made this a really easy listen and differentiated between characters

I have nothing but praise for the author and narrator of The German Wife. They both really know to tell a story. The characters, settings, tension and suspense captured my attention throughout. None of it disappointed, in fact, it’s my favourite audiobook this year.

This is an unforgettable story of ordinary people fighting for survival in a very dark time in history. In Germany, in `1939, Annaliese is trapped in a loveless marriage as her husband has changed so much since he started his new job as a Doctor at Dachau. HIs family are strong supporters of the Nazi regime, and he feels that this job steppingstone up in the party. Annaliese shivers at the sight of her husband leaving for work each day in his SS uniform. A handsome Russian prisoner named Alexander is sent from Dachau to work in their large garden. Annaliese works out in the garden with him and finds herself drawn to him as they work with the plants together. He tells her the shocking truth about the camp. She vows to protect him. She is horrified to find out that the experiments that her husband says are to help mankind, are in fact horrible experiments on humans that result in pain, illness and death. This is an incredible story of a dark time in the history of the world.

This novel is inspired by true events. Annaliese is the daughter of a grocer and after her father’s death decides to sell up. She catches the eye of Hans Vogel, a doctor, who courts her. His mother is singularly unimpressed with his choice of lowly girlfriend but they nevertheless marry as the thunderclouds of WW2 start to build.

He is keen to find a cure for malaria and jumps at the opportunity to work at Dachau, where he understands his work will be valued. But he is required to administer experiments that are very different from those he anticipated and finds himself navigating a very precarious path between his own survival and heinous work he is expected to do. He observes terrible things at the camp and they prey upon him and gradually he withdraws into himself.

Annaliese is kept in the dark about his work and, given her husband’s increasingly dolorous disposition, soon finds herself drawn to the gardener, whom her husband has rescued from terrible experiments in Dachau. He is a sensitive architect from Russia and is at the Vogel home in a capacity of ‘slave’ – he is to be fed and watered minimally and then has to return to Dachau in the evening.

As a reader, their affair is outlined in the content summary and at first it feels a little disappointing to know so much about the essence of the story. However, as the narrative progresses there is increasing depth and the story develops well, with plenty of detail of the era (several visits to Munich’s iconic Café Luitpold in the Briennerstrasse) and the author conjures up a real sense of foreboding.

I felt the whole construct was sensitively handled and made for an engaging and often gripping read.

I listened to this on audiobook, and it was another great example of historical fiction shedding light on the ugly/horrific realities of WWII. Based on a real doctor in one of the concentration camps, I found this story even more interesting.
The audiobook is long, but I never lost interest in what would happen next with Annaliese, Hans, and Alexander. It's another great glimpse into the stark difference of how people survived during the war, and how the survivors took the tragedy of war with them, the burden weighing on them the rest of their lives.
I commend the author for the research she had to do, and I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy!

would like to thank Debbie Rix, Bookotoure and NetGallfor this audiobook review copy.

I absolutely love historical fiction and that goes double for WWII historical fiction so I knew this book was right up my alley. It is written from a different perspective than most WWII novel as it is from the perspective of a SS Nazi doctor’s wife. It is a dual timeline that ranges from 1939 to 1989. Annalisa is the wife of Hans Vogal who is a doctor that works for Hitler. He gets caught up in medical experimentation on prisoners, at first he has a conscience, but we see that quickly fades as him wanting to further his career and prestige take precedence. I don’t want to give too much away but we see that Annalisa is a majorly flawed character. She chooses to turn a blind eye to what her husband does. And she ends up having an affair with the gardener who is actually a prisoner of war. The story goes on and it is a tangled web. The characters are flawed in so many ways but the ending of the story turns out beautiful.

I gave this story 5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.

The German wife is set in two timelines- one in the 80s/90s and one in the 40s, throughout and just after WW2.

This was a very interesting read for me as Annalisa was a wife of an SS doctor working in Dachau. I haven't read many of these stories where you have a pov from the Germans let alone one who was a wife of an SS doctor.

Anna wasn't a member of the National socialism party and didn't really believe in anything that they stood for. Her husband Hanz equally didn't really believe in what they stood for however was raised by parents who were both in the party and he thought it was best for his career that he join.
He thought that by being a doctor in Dachau he would be able to help the world by finding a cure for malaria. However he soon finds that the Nazis will do these experiments on the prisoners and don't much care for their welfare or if they die in the experiments. Essentially treating them like animals.

In the meantime we see how Anna lives in wartime Germany as a well off wife. Not really realising the extent of what the Nazis are doing and how prisoners and other Germans are surviving the war.

When Hanz brings home a prisoner to become their gardener (yes that's how unaware she is) she starts to fall for him.

This was a really interesting read and kept me hooked the whole time I was reading it.
I listened to the audiobook of this and it was really good. The narrator did an excellent job of varying her accent for each character. The story as a whole was great and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction specifically set in WW2

To be honest: WWII fiction is not really my belovest genre. I am not sure why but I wanted to give this story a try. And I have to admit it worked out for me. For me the dual time- lines made it an enjoyable read/listening.
The first timeline starts in 1939: Annaliese is a doctor’s wife, living in Germany. The two of them are well off. Her husband Hans starts working at the labour camp. But he didn't expect how this would turn out. Not at all: all this horror that some people are capable of. And soon Annaliese will realize that war changes people as it does with Hans. When she meets their new "gardener" Alexander, who is sent over from the labour camp she gets to know the other side of the story. Further the two of them grow closer and closer.
The second timeline is in 1989: Annaliese is now living in America and tries to forget about the horrors she faced in her past. She tries to avoid taling about her past of Hans at all. Although her son wants to know about his dad. But a newspaper articel lets all these memories come back and she realizes that she can't just erase the past.
In this story you can find a lot of deep human emotions that can help us to gather a bit of the situation people before and during WWII found themselves in.
I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook. Not too over the top but not without any emotions!
Thanks a lot #NetGalley #Bookouture Audio for an advanced listening copy of the German Wife

Not too sure what to say about this book, that will not come out into a garbled mess, except to say that this book had me tightly into it's firm grasp, the more i read, the more I wanted to read.
Such a great story, and it reeled me in, I cared about the charecters and enjoy the prose.

This is the tale of love, passion, betrayal, cruelty and survival.
This book sets itself before WW2 where the main progtagonists fell in love, married and honeymooned in Paris, they were happy until Hanz ( the husband) joined the SS and he was posted to a POW camp, naively he thought he was going to continue with his medical reserach, but was forced into doing things he did not want to do.
Hanz was a gentle soul and a good husband i thought even though the wives actions lead him to choose difficult and life changing decisions.

I have been particularly vague, because i want you to deep dive into this book, like i did.
Totally recommed this book, if you want to read about real charecters, historical events and the breakdown of humanity as the war grinds on.

I will definatly be reading more from this author, excited to as well!

The German Wife may be one of my favorite historical fiction books this year. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys WWII fiction with a little romance, family issues, and drama. While the book takes place during WWII and I was a little skeptical regarding the topics in the description I found this book enjoyable and a great read.

I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Annaliese has been on her own since a young age, and just doing her best to stay out of trouble and get by. She likes Hans when they meet, and with him being a doctor, she trusts him and loves the fact he wants to look after her. They marry and life looks good. However times are changing in Germany and Hans is not able to progress with his work unless he joins the SS and then does his work at Dachau. He does not know what this means until he goes there, and then it is too late. He keeps all of this from Annaliese. She lives in her own little world, dealing with shortages and the fact they do not seem to be able to have children. One day Hans meets a Russian prisoner and decides to help him the only way he can, by making him his gardener. Alex and Annaliese are driven together although he does not tell her what Dachau is really like and she still lives in her gentile little bubble. This is not the story of the horrors of Dachau or Nazi Germany. This is the story of a wife who tries to play by the rules, and is only later in life confronted with what was happening all around her. She is naive, and innocent, and so she is never a hero or a victim. She is just in her own world. A really different perspective to the likes of other books set around this time.

Debbie Rix’s “The German Wife” (ISBN-13 9781800195486) is an evocatively told tale. I read the entire book in one sitting. Five Stars.

This well-researched story is set in the Second World War and its aftermath. It was a time that forced millions to fight for personal and national survival. The story begins in 1939 in Germany, when the protagonist Annaliese begins to build her adult life. When she and her father visit her mother’s grave, she notices Dr Hans Vogel and his mother at another grave. Following the death of her father, her sole remaining parent, she begins her adult life. Later, Hans and she met coincidentally and from that point, their relationship builds until they are married.

Hans is a physician, and their life together begins well enough. However, to advance his career from general practitioner to medical researcher, he joins the Schutzstaffel (SS), which sponsors medical research using prisoners. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler notes Hans’ research interests and assigns him to the Dachau concentration camp, initially to study malaria prevention but ultimately, he is involved in far more. This growing involvement further alienates him from his family, which activities he hides from Annaliese.

Due to able-bodied German men being in military service, Hans brings a Russian prisoner named Alexander home to serve as a slave labor gardener. Annaliese’s husband’s increasing alienation and her interests in gardening put her in daily contact with the handsome and intelligent Alexander, resulting in a love that ultimately takes all on an international path that extends over generations and creates various dangers, great human emotion, plot twists, and a complex love story. Ultimately, it takes world events, the Cold War, realpolitik, and another generation reaching adulthood to bring the tale to closure.

It is a beautifully crafted story, a historically accurate novel, that takes the reader on a ride with layers of nuance that many may have not considered. In the end, the reader turns the last page, fully satisfied by the brilliantly told tale.

Thanks to the publisher, Storyfire, Ltd., for granting this writer the opportunity to read this deftly crafted work prior to publication, and thanks to NetGalley for helping to make that possible.

I’ve said it before but I’m quite picky when it comes to Narrators. It can make or break an audiobook for me. Tansin Kennard soothing voice provided a wonderful narration and really brought the characters to life.

Set during WWII this story follows Annaliese, young wife to Hans, an aspiring research doctor. Hans realizes that in order for him to continue his research he must become an SS officer as the Reich is the only place he will be able to further his studies. What he doesn’t realize is all that will be at stake once he accepts a job as a doctor at Dashau concentration camp. Hans quickly finds out that Dashau is not the job he has been dreaming of but at this point in the war it is too late. He is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Seeing and being a part of the atrocities that happened day in and day out at the camp he soon realizes that there is no way out. You can’t just decide to leave the Reich and hope to stay alive.
Hans not only is feeling pressure to test research on human subjects but he is also feeling the heat from his commanding chain because he and Annaliese are yet to produce any children. The Reich is very adamant that officers produce as many pure children for the fatherland as possible and so far Hans and Annaliese have yet to have any.

This story was definitely a different take on WWII historical fiction. Seeing the story from the German side of things and what it was like to be part of the Reich’s inner circle was definitely disturbing.

The story kept me engaged wondering what was going to happen next. I did find the middle was kind of dragging on and maybe some parts could have been omitted but it does make sense when you hear the whole story together.

All in all a good read!

Thanks to Bookouture Audio and Net Galley for the advanced copy.

The German Wife was a nicely written upsetting story about the unfortunate events that took place during WWII. Annalise and Hans were happily married however, this changed as soon as he became a physician doing research for Hitler. Annalise was extremely naive throughout this entire book until the truth was out on what his "research" really entailed testing on humans. This was a great book from the start the narrator really help capture the visual aspect of the book for me as well!

Thank you NetGalley for the approval.

Wow this book was brilliant.  I knew from the very start that I was going to love this amazing WWII book. There isn't that many historical fiction books out there looking at the war from the German side and even though it was a work of fiction it felt so real. There were so many twists and turns it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The emotions I went through while reading this story was immense. You really got to feel for the characters and were sat hoping that things will work out for the best in the end. But will they?
I just loved the sense of atmosphere and tension held within this books pages. This made the book a real page turner.
I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was perfect for this book.  It really gave me so much more enjoyment listening to it. I loved the theme of this book adding in elements of medical research and science. It made the book all the most fascinating and was rather shocked by it aswell.i really can't recommend this book enough it was so wonderful to read and such a unique story-line. And the ending was amazing, it finished off the story perfectly and made it feel complete.
So much praise goes out the the author and publishers for creating this stunning read that you will find yourself totally engrossed in from beginning to end. 
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-german-wife-by-debbie-rix-bookouture-audio-5-stars
Under either names ladyreading365 or lady Reading365

This book is beautifully narrated by Tamsin Kennard – her voice drew me in right from the start and made the characters, and the story come alive. The book is set in Nazi Germany and follows Anneliese’s life up until the outbreak of WWII, followed by the fall-out, and eventually her emigrating to the United States.

The reader meets Anneliese as a young woman attending her father’s funeral in Munich in the year of 1932. At the cemetery she notices a man with an older woman, presumably his mother, visiting their departed relative. The man keeps looking over at Anneliese.

Two years later, Anneliese works as a secretary, when she meets Hans, an affluent doctor of medicine. It turns out that Hans is the man from the cemetery. They soon start courting – Hans is her first boyfriend and she is very naïve. Soon, the couple are engaged and married. Hans is devoted to his job, he is interested in finding cure for malaria and other tropical diseases.

However, in order to prosper in the Nazi Germany, he must join the SS… Anneliese fully supports Hans’s decision to join in, especially as Hans assures her that, in his opinion, Hitler is a ‘thug’, and he doesn’t agree with him.

Soon, Hans meet Himmler, who demands that Hans accepts a new job at the labour camp Dachau. Himmler wants Hans to be in charge of a new research facility at the camp. There is a price that must be paid – the subjects of Hans’s experiments will be prisoners, which is against medical ethics. Himmler tells him that Hans has no other option, but to obey his orders. Anneliese is pleased for Hans, however, she doesn’t know that her husband will be experimenting on people.

Few years go by, and Anneliese and Hans are still childless, much to Himmler’s disdain. He starts pressuring Hans to comply with Fuhrer’s orders to have a perfect Aryan family consisting of at least four children. What Himmler doesn’t know is that Hans’s and Anneliese’s marriage is far from happy.

Desperate times call for desperate measures… Anneliese has been asking to find a new gardener for ages, so Hans employs a Russian prisoner of war, Alexander Kosomov. Alexander is tall and blonde, and speaks perfect German. Soon, Anneliese and Alexander become very close, and she finds out the truth about her husband. What will she do?

I really enjoyed this book. Anneliese was very naïve, and at times, she could have been annoying, however, having read accounts from people living in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, they really had no idea what was going on right underneath their noses. The propaganda was so rife and anyone who tried to step out of line was prosecuted. Anneliese, as a character, grows and matures into an incredibly strong and resourceful woman. I really liked her in the end.

I struggled with Hans, to be honest – he wanted to do good in the world and claimed he was only following orders, but he could have left Germany like some people did. He morphed into someone totally unrecognisable, and the reader could really sense his discomfort.

This is a sad, heart-breaking story, yet it must be read (or listened to). This was my first book by this author but it won’t be my last.

I definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Bookouture for approving my NetGalley request. It’s much appreciated.