I enjoyed this book written about an area of the world I've never read about before. While this was a story of Jewish trauma and survival, it took place in Latvia, and then later Soviet Latvia. Two different POVs, Sarah in 1976 who starts learning about her hidden past after her tight lipped mother passes away. She finally gets to know her grandmother Miriam who's story takes place around the second world war. The story was a bit slow to get into it, and I feel like some loose ends didn't quite get wrapped up, Sarah's travels to the USSR in 1976 were very interesting however. The story is based on true events and was based on some of her own family's history.

This book definitely falls into my favorite type of historical fiction, the dual timeline. There is just something about reading about what a character went through in the past and how it affects them or their family in the present. Every decision has actions and consequences even though those aren’t always clear and can reverberate down family lines.
The story of this book made my heart hurt, which to be honest, the majority of books from this time do. What Miriam finds out from her grandmother is devastating.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of her book provided by NetGalley.

Miriam Talan’s whole world is changed in a blink of an eye. She just had a new baby, Max and the Soviets invade Latvia and because the Talan’s are Jewish, they lose everything. After the Soviet’s come through the Nazi’s come next. Right away Miriam’s husband is killed and she must make very difficult decisions. Miriam asks her house keeper to take her newborn and her young daughter and keep them safe until the war ends. Three decades later, in Chicago Sarah Byrne is mourning the loss of her mother Iliana. Sarah’s estranged grandmother Miriam, attends the funeral and ends up in the hospital. Delirious with fever, Miriam starts to tell Sarah secrets she can’t comprehend. She is so overwhelmed with the news but she must investigate it. She heads back to Latvia to search for Miriam’s son. With the help of Russian professor named Roger, the secrets start to unfold and Sarah has a very hard time keeping it together. This was such a gripping story. With all the hurt and devastation, people can really rise above it. When forced to make decisions for their loved ones, people can do amazing things. This was a four star read for me. I really enjoyed it, I could Harold put it down. It’s such a delight to find a read like this. I want to thank Netgalley and Shelly Sanders for my copy of Daughter’s of the Occupation, for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this one. I am a fiction lover and this did not disappoint. Enjoy!!!

A historical fiction fan, I find myself drawn to stories that take place during WWII. Daughters of the Occupation by Shelly Sanders, is a heartbreaking story inspired by true events surrounding the atrocities that occurred in Latvia during WW2. While it’s refreshing to learn something new from a topic that is set in a much written about time period, I felt tremendous sadness for the suffering the Latvians Jews endured at the hands of the Soviet’s and Nazis and anger and resentment over the tortured history of the Latvian collaboration and the resistance to acknowledge it for yours.

Told in dual time periods (WW2 and 1976), across two countries (the US and Latvia) and from the perspectives of granddaughter and her grandmother, the story shed light on one of the most overlooked tragedies of WW2, a perspective I have read little about. I was deeply moved by Mariam’s strength and courage in making such heartbreaking choices to keep her children alive and could appreciate the generational trauma that ensued. While I typically enjoy the historical thread in a dual timeline story, I felt that the author wove together equally compelling past and present plotlines with this one.

The authors notes and personal insight at the end of the novel was moving and truly appreciated.

Thank you to Shelly Sanders for writing a story bringing this part of history alive, to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for publishing it, and to NetGalley for making it available to me. This one will stay with me for a very long time.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and Netgalley for an ebook of Daughters of the Occupation. Set in dual timelines we follow Sarah in the 70s as she begins to find secrets about her family following the death of her mother and Miriam in the 40s during occupied Latvia. Between both timelines we start to discover the heartbreaking secrets Miriam kept from her family. This was a well written novel that set you right back in time with this family. Shelly Sanders created a great story and dove into some WWII history that was hard to read at times, but brought you right into the middle of what too many humans had to go through. Though I love reading and learning more about WWII, most historical fiction centers around the same topics. This novel was a bit different and allowed me to learn something new about Latvia and the Soviet Union. Daughters of the Occupation is an absolutely heartbreaking, but beautiful tale.

This was a very compelling dual narrative historical fiction novel. I’ve read many WWII books focused on the the experiences of Jews in Western Europe, but this is the first I’ve read of Eastern Europe/Baltics/Russia. Miriam’s narrative was absolutely haunting, and Sarah’s quest to learn the truth was a nail biter. It did feel like the end was a bit rushed to wrap things up, I would have enjoyed a bit more there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

I love historical fiction based on true stories and that is what this book is. Three generations of very strong women starting in WWII, Latvia. This story is full of heartbreak, resilience, sacrifice, and what are you willing to do to survive.

Shelly Sanders has beautifully portrayed this real family in such a way that you live the moments with them. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Thank you to #netgalley and #harperperennialandharperpaperbacks for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

What a story. This is definitely in my top five favorite books I have read this year. It’s uncommon for me to come across a WWII historical fiction novel set outside England or France. Let alone depicting the Holocaust outside of Germany or Poland. This telling of Soviet and Nazi takeover in Latvia was fascinating and absolutely heartbreaking.

This dual timeline novel flips back and forth between Miriam in 1940 Riga, Latvia and her granddaughter, Sarah, in 1975 Chicago. The story begins with the sudden loss of Sarah’s mother, Ilana, leaving her with a lot of unanswered questions about her family history. Unsure why her grandmother and mother strained their relationship growing up, Sarah pursues rekindling her relationship with her grandmother, Miriam, in order to find answers to their past. As each chapter unfolds, we discover the gripping story of how Miriam and Ilana’s experiences shaped them into new people post war.

I felt very connected to Miriam and Sarah through the descriptions written in this book. Miriam’s chapters were definitely difficult to read at times, but so tastefully composed in illustrating the realities what Jews faced during that time that is absolutely emotionally gut-wrenching. These historically true accounts should never be forgotten.

Ultimately, this novel is a story of survival with underlying themes of loss, sacrifice, hope, family and generational heritage. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time that will definitely stick with me.

1940
While Max and Miriam Talan welcome their second son Max into the world the Soviets invade the Baltic state of Latvia and occupy the capital city of Riga. Because they are Jewish the Soviets confiscate their business, the family home and bank accounts leaving them with nothing.

Then, the Nazis arrive. They kill Max and begin to round up Jews. Fearing for her newborn son and her young daughter, Ilana, Miriam asks her loyal housekeeper to hide them and conceal their Jewish roots to keep them safe until the savagery ends.

Three decades later
While attending the funeral for her mother's death, twenty four year old Sarah Byrne's estranged grandmother Miriam opens the door to shocking family secrets. Sarah probes Miriam for information about the past, but it is only when Miriam is in the hospital, delirious with fever, that she begs Sarah to find the son she left behind in Latvia.

With the help of Roger, a charismatic Russian speaking professor, Sarah travels to the Soviet satellite state, and begins her search. But as they come closer to the truth, she realizes her quest may have disastrous consequences.

This was such a beautiful story, devastating but descriptive. It has two timelines: the 1940s and the 70s. The story is told in a way that connects the reader to the main characters Sarah and Miriam all the while building suspense for the plot. Miriam was a strong and resilient character but I found myself rooting for both characters. Being able to read about the past and following along as Sarah discovers the truth is quite the combination. The emotions from both timelines are heartbreaking. A wonderful story with descriptive writing that brings a time many may not know about to life right before your eyes0!

Thank you to Harper Paperbacks and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's not very well written; the characters are bland and if they have a personality, they're unlikeable; it's trauma porn and it seems to be written for the purpose of giving Sanders a sense of victimhood that she wasn't raised Jewish, disconnected from her family ancestry (which, of course, is a shame but IMO this was written from a place of white tears).

On the other hand, it's an important story/perspective to tell. While I hardly read Shoah fiction because it profits off our trauma, the stories of Latvian Jews during the Shoah hardly get told. And that's important.

In the end, I don't recommend this book from a literary sense. But if you want to read it, sure.

“You can’t always control what happens. It’s how you react that matters.”

Written in dual timeline, Daughters of the occupation, is a true story about the occupation of the Baltic state of Latvia by the Soviets and the Nazis.
It begins with Miriam giving birth to her daughter the day the Soviets take over Latvia. What begins as a happy occasion for Miriam, slowly and steadily turns into her worst nightmare.
On the other hand, Miriam’s grand-daughter knows nothing about her ancestry and is keen to learn more from her grandmother but faces backlash. She goes on to visit the present day (late 1970s) Latvia only to find that conditions there are still stringent and unfavourable for the citizens.
There are many countries, whose stories are still unheard of, Latvia was one of them for me. Not only did the author manage to share about the Nazi occupation of the country but also of the Soviet occupation, another occupation which I am sure many haven’t heard about in depth, yet.
There are a few graphic scenes which might be disturbing for some, but was the reality of the country at that time. It breaks my heart that a lot of our world history consists of violence. This book is an eye-opener, an emotional read, but worth picking up.

A heart wrenching, gripping story. I was riveted from the first chapter. It depicts what happened in Latvia during WWII and a family torn apart. A granddaughter travels to Riga in the mid 1970s to find answers. All of the scenes were very realistic and accurately described.
This is historical fiction at its best.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 3, 2022
Miriam Talan’s life is completely turned upside down one day in 1940, when the Soviet Union invades Latvia. Her husband, Max, is shot dead in front of her and her children and her parents are shot for simply walking too slowly on the street. Now alone, with two young mouths to feed, Miriam sees no choice but to abandon her children to her close neighbours who can raise them as non-Jews, sacrificing their religion in exchange for their lives. Miriam hopes to return to them one day, and instead sets out on her own, searching for freedom…..
In 1970s Chicago, Sarah is mourning the death of her mother, Illana. Illana kept many secrets, including the fact that Sarah had a grandmother she never knew about. When Sarah seeks out Miriam, she is rejected and it is only through constant persistence that she is able to meet her grandmother, face-to-face. But Miriam, too, is secretive, and soon Sarah is traveling to the Latvian city of Riva, in order to unearth family secrets that may put her life at risk.
Shelly Sanders is a Canadian journalist and author, and “Daughters of the Occupation” is not her first novel about the Holocaust and the enslavement of Jews. It is however, a terrifyingly realistic view of intergenerational trauma, and the devastating effects of war and displacement.
Perhaps this novel affected me more now, given current events, but I was completely pulled into this novel right from the first page. Miriam and Sarah are powerful and brave characters, each with their own history that has forever changed their lives, and I rooted for both of them.
The novel is told in two time frames (1940s and 1970s), across two countries (generally) and from the perspective of two characters (Sarah and Miriam). The novel written in this way helped to form a strong bond with both characters right away, and built up the tension for the plot, as the devastating events from the 1940s affected Sarah’s life in the 1970s.
“Daughters of the Occupation” is based on true events, but what makes it unique is the description of World War Two from Latvia’s perspective. A country completely overcome by Soviet rule, yet it is often not discussed prominently in literature. Sanders’ depiction of a Soviet-ruled, Communist country was well-researched and devastatingly honest, making me grateful for all of my small freedoms.
I felt every range of emotion in “Daughters”, and although it isn’t a light read, it pulled me in. This is one of those novels that I would recommend to any World War Two fiction reader, with its combination of reality and emotionally heartbreaking events, it won’t easily be forgotten.

Daughters of the Occupation is a historical novel set in 2 timelines. Miriam is a young Jewish wife and mother in Riga, Latvia, and Sarah is her granddaughter in 1970s Chicago, learning about her family's history after her mother, Miriam's daughter, has died suddenly.

I learned a lot about the Latvian Holocaust from this book. The Soviets kept this chapter of history well hidden and there were so few survivors that I'm glad to know more about it. It was extremely brutal, even compared to books set in Germany and Poland during the Holocaust. The book was written well, and easy to read, but at times this lighter writing style was a jarring contrast to the atrocities committed in the story. When Sarah goes to Riga, it was really interesting to see past connect with present, and pretty shocking to see how American tourists were treated under the Iron Curtain.

I would recommend this book, but definitely be prepared for some very dark scenes. You know Miriam will survive, because you meet her older self early in the book, but almost no one else does, which lines up with the historical record. This book does not sugarcoat history.

Dangerous Times

A heartbreaking story of the occupation of Latvia first by the Soviets, then by the German Nazi's. How the Jewish people were treated horribly by both regimes. The mass murders the concentration camps and the ghettos. Much is written about Poland and Germany but this is the first book I have read about the genocide in Latvia. To tell you the truth I never knew this country existed before reading this book. Although it is a book of historical fiction, the events written about actually happened.

This is a dual timeline story telling the story of Miriam a young Jewish woman in Latvia under first Soviet, then German occupation. It was not a good time to be Jewish, but Miriam was on her way to the hospital for the birth of her second child a son, Monya. They already have a daughter Ilana.
It is also the story of Sarah the daughter of Ilana and granddaughter of Miriam. How she struggles with the loss of her mother and reconnects with her grandmother at her mother's funeral.

Alternating back and forth the story is told of Miriam's time in Latvia under both occupations. The cruel treatment of the Jewish under both regimes. It tells how one woman must give up her children to keep them safe and her quest to find them after she miraculously survives sudden death at the hands of the Nazi's. How one child is lost to her and she never forgets him. It goes then to the story of Sarah, reconnecting with her Grandmother after her mother's death and how she goes on a dangerous quest to the Soviet Union to find Monya for her Grandmother and may not make it out alive.

The story is interesting, historical, very very sad and heartbreaking and sometimes hard to read. It was interesting to me to know that the facts of this genocide of the Jewish in Latvia is not well known and as far as I know not well published at all. A part of history lost forever and forgotten but should never be. It should never have happened and it must never happen again.

Thanks to Shelly Sanders for writing a story bringing this part of history alive, to Harper Perennial and paperbacks for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

“We can always hope for a miracle, we just can’t rely on one.”

This book broke my heart but in the most beautifully written way. Often times I feel like books about the Holocaust can be either very graphic or have a strange feeling of romanticism, but this book had neither. I have never heard of Latavia before or the struggles that the Jews there faced, so this was an eye opening read. It was perfect to have the duality of the stories to show the difference between the generations and their relationship to the horrors of war. As we learned more about Miriam’s past at the same time Sarah does, it created such a powerful combination about understanding the past and how generational trauma is real but in some ways necessary to give exposure to what those have gone through before. I think this is a must read.

I loved this book. WWII is one of my favorite things to read about. The author did her research on this story. I’ve never learned about the Holocaust and discrimination against the Jews in the Soviet Union before and it was an eye opener. The author went into such great detail I felt like I was living in the moment. I love when there’s different POV and this book had that in different time periods.
Miriam was such a strong woman. From the start of the war until the end. Sarah herself was brave and strong for trying to bring closure to her grandmother.
Even though this was just a story, what happened in the book really could have happened to someone. I will be thinking about this books for a long time

This was a departure from the regular WWII historical fiction books I usually read. I very much liked the change of scene in this one, set in Latvia, first during the Russian occupation and then the Nazis, this story was quite the eye-opener.
Mariam is a young housewife in Latvia when the Russians invade and occupy the country. Everything Miriam knows changes with this occupation. Thinking it can get no worse and looking towards the Germans for salvation, their relief when the Nazis overtake the country is short-lived. The laws forbidding Jewish people simple human rights spring up everywhere and when personal tragedy strikes, Miriam is left to survive in a world that wants her and her"type" dead.
This is a dual timeline novel, Miriam's granddaughter Sarah travels back to Latvia seeking answers to questions about her grandmother and mother's history after her mother dies suddenly of a heart attack.
This novel is well researched and finely written. The reader connects with the characters, you can't help but feel for all Mariam must endure. I felt her fear, and her unrelenting determination to survive. I hadn't known anything about the Russian occupation prior to the Nazis arrival, so this was a new area for me to learn about.
Whenever a novel sparks interest and has me doing further research on a subject I am reading about then I consider it a job well done. This one did it, I am now off and running reading about the Soviet occupation and everything it meant to the people of the occupied territories!
I would recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers, especially those wishing to broaden their knowledge of Russian and Nazi occupation during WWII.
Thank you to the publishers at Harper Perennial and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

Once I turned the cover on this read, I was not going to put it down, and the pages flew. Yes, we know the story, but the author does a wonderful job of putting faces on these people that were condemned for their religion.
This is Miriam’s story, and we follow her from Latvia to Chicago, and then her Granddaughter Sarah back to Latvia.
We are gifted a time split, from the 1930’s in Latvia with first Russian occupation and then German. You, will find some of this hard to read, and yes, what happened is true. Miriam is a strong woman and her will to survive is strong, and she does the ultimate for her children.
The story does flip back to 1976 and being reunited with Miriam and her Granddaughter Sarah who takes on a journey to Communist Latvia in search of an unknown Uncle.
This read was so good, and yet, so sad, how people can have so little regard for human life, but through the words of the author we put faces on these people and quickly care about them.
Be sure to read the author’s note, we find out how Miriam gets to Chicago and other facts! Thank You!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harper Perennial, and was not required to give a positive review.

WWII fiction fans looking for an different perspective on the war, this is one to not be missed. For the inhabitants of Latvia…life would never be the same for many years to come. For those that were Jewish…their lives would be haunted from the memories.

It’s 1975 and sarah has unexpectedly lost her mother to a heart attack. They had a strained relationship but sarah never really knew why or understood why her mother seemed so aloof. When her somewhat estranged grandmother, Miriam, shows up at the funeral…Sarah discovers that her life up until now has been nothing but secrets and lies. As we jumped back in time to the war years, we begin to see Miriam’s struggle to survive and what she gave up in order to do so.

This story is an incredible history lesson. While the characters are fictional, the happenings of the time are very real. I am unfamiliar with Latvia’s place in WWII going back and forth between a Soviet and a German occupation and back to a Soviet one. It was overwhelming but I’m grateful to have learned something I knew nothing of before. I do, however, wish that Sarah’s mother Ilana was more defined. I was left wanting to know more about her but came up empty handed. This story will tug at your heartstrings, overwhelm you, frighten you and teach you. Definitely add it to your TBR list.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Shelly Sanders for early access to this page turner