I liked the first book in the series quite a bit, but it was quite cheesy at times and I thought the dialogue was a little clunky. This one though, I absolutely loved it! I read it in less than a day!
We follow Annie, who is Emma’s aunt, as she tries to fill in all the gaps in her past. We learned in the first book that her mother, Amelia, never shared details of her survival story and Annie grew up only knowing bits and pieces of how she came to be and the truth about her family. She uncovers them all in this book in the most heartbreaking, yet spectacular way.
The things I loved the most about this book?
Annie and Fisher! What a sweet romance! Together through thick and thin and always showing the utmost respect and adoration for each other.
The symbolism with the butterfly was also so sweet.
Dual timelines in a historical fiction are probably my favorite thing.
The EMOTIONS in this book were so raw and real. This was probably the strongest part of the novel. Really top notch.

CW: anti-semitism, loss of child, grief, racism, death

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing mix of facts and story...w/a wonderful message

I read Last Words and then this one, & highly recommend them both, as great stories with powerful meaning :)

"I believe those we lost will return in our lifetime in one form or another to let us know they are okay, and hopefully they are getting another chance to experience what they should have. When you see a new life, and feel a connection, consider the deeper meaning."

I can't think of a better quote from this powerful & riveting story of family secrets, deep hurt and trauma. We have to be willing to find the joy in our circumstances, it's there if we look hard enough. Life can be so unfair at times, cruel even, but we can rise above all that. We can come out on the other side!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Prison Child is book 2 in the series and is no less heartbreaking than The Girl with the Diary. The story is told from when Annie is a teenager and during the present day. We discover her struggles of dealing with who she really is after she found out, inadvertently that she didn't 'belong' to her parents. "Butterflies often appear when missing loved ones are near". I read this in one sitting and I was captivated from beginning to end.

Sweet little Annie was twelve years old when she began doubting her identity. She and her family were living in New York and had been since she was only a baby, but the discovery of fragmented information, which she overheard as her mother was unwilling to share anything about their past, caused her heartache and the knowledge that she didn’t fit in. She was twenty when she finally went back to Prague, telling her sister Clara, but not her mother or father as she was sure they would forbid her to go.

Annie had been communicating with Fisher in Prague, who was a support person for missing children from the war years. Their letter writing had been going on for almost two years and finally Annie would get to meet him. She would go to Theresienstadt concentration camp where she’d been born and where she’d escaped with her life when she was around one year old. Annie would also try to find out what her birth name was, and who her birth parents were…

Annie’s beloved mother, Amelia, had suffered a stroke. Now in her nineties, Annie and Clara were terrified they’d lose her, but Annie also realized she needed the answers she’d shelved all those years ago. When she and Fisher decided to head back to Prague, she wasn’t sure what to expect. But she wondered – would she find her birth father?

The Prison Child (previously published as The Other Blue Sky) is the 2nd in Last Words series by Shari J. Ryan and it’s an excellent follow on from The Girl with the Diary. I thoroughly enjoyed Annie’s story and am looking forward to The Soldier's Letters, #3 in the series, and Charlie’s story. I must say, the butterfly on the cover has great significance. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow…wow…wow! This amazing read made me so thankful to be living the life I have, I did not realize that this is the second book in a series but I am definitely planning on reading the first just as soon as I read the third, The Soldier’s Letters. I fell in love with these characters, most especially Fisher. Annie’s life has been and continued to be full of questions about her past. Her sleuthing brought her a few snippets of information, but led her to Fisher. My heart was in my throat throughout much of this book. I felt deeply for Annie and her family, especially Sky. It is the true sign of a gifted author when you are enveloped in the lives of the characters they bring to life on the pages of a book.
Annie’s journal entry at the end had the most moving profound sentiments I have read in many years.
My extreme gratitude for introducing me to these very special people Shari Ryan. Many thanks to you, Bookouture, and NetGalley for affording me the amazing opportunity to read an arc of this incredible story, to be published May 24th. I am a huge fan of your talent Shari J. Ryan! Don’t miss out on this gem of a book.

Not what I had hoped for🙁

2.5🌟 stars
I loved the preceding book, The Girl with the Diary, but this story, though connected, just fell far short of my expectations. Way too much philosophizing and I did not like Annie, the main character.

Annie gave me so many problems. She's secretive as a child, refusing to go to her parents with her anxiety and problems. Luckily, through a totally unrealistic trip to Prague, she meets a great guy. But it seems that's not enough to give her peace and she continues to inwardly bemoan what she does not know or have rather than focusing on all the love and gifts she's been given. She's like an adopted child desperate to find her biological family but dialled up ten times in intensity.
She was only an infant when rescued from the concentration camp so really can't remember that life but she pushes and pushes against the hardship of being a child that survived. When she finally confronts the very person who can fill in the blanks of her birth family she barely asks any questions? And the inward dialogue and philosophical discussions with Fisher just did not resonate with me. But Fisher I liked. Despite his background, he was such a positive person and loving influence. He who truly had lost everything and everyone in the war and looked ahead to better times (and copious helpings of meatloaf!) without complaint.

Annie's trip to Prague as a young woman did not compute with any kind of realism. Czechoslovakia was part of the Communist bloc, behind the Iron Curtain, and she just shows up. There is no way she would not have gone through passport controls both entering and before she left. And the whole story of how Fisher ended up in the States is passed over. That bothered me as well.

The most touching part of the book had nothing to do with the Holocaust and everything to do with the happy life she was living as a young mother with her beautiful boy Sky.

Despite my lackluster reaction to this story, I intend to continue this saga with the third book, The Soldier's Letters, because I want to learn more about Charlie, the man who risked his life and freedom by saving Annie from the camp.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

This is the second book in the trilogy. It focuses on Annie, aka Lucie, who inadvertently heard the truth about herself as a teenager. Through her own research she was able to assemble the truth of her original identity.
I think the second book fits perfectly where the forest book left off. Annie has a lot to grapple and instead of being angry or bitter about all,the lies she was told, she tried to discover the truth about her origins.
I liked her cleverness and her resourcefulness.

This book was a really goos book. The author told a wonderful story but i found that the pace of the story was slow going. Towards the end of the book is when i wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. What happened to the children during that time in history is heart breaking. Learning that some of them have lived prosperous yet mentally challenging lives should make everyone greatful for what they have.

#netgalley #theprisonchild publication date 24 May 2022
This story is absolutely heartbreaking so you'll need the tissues ready, it is very emotional and a wonderful read and so well written, I love Shari J. Ryan books and this one doesn't disappoint. 4/5 stars

Wow, heartbreaking is the best way to describe this book. A dual time line It starts off in the concentration camp with a baby girl being born.
Then we start reading Annie’s story where she listening to her parents speaking about her heads to her doubting her identity.

During Annie’s journey to uncover the truth she meets Fisher who has suffered a similar experience which draws them together.
Annie keeps a journal which gives insight into why she did some things and how she uncovers the facts. There are thing that Annie needs to find out to discover peace but also others that she knows but has to learn to let go. How one person can suffer so much and yet survive.

A truly remarkable story! Loved it.

By: Shari J Ryan

Have a healthy supply of kleenex at the ready before you read this book.

Annie is a woman searching for her true identity. As a young girl, she overhears an argument between her mother and father where she learns she is not their biological child. Her quest to find out who she truly is leads her to Prague where, at a concentration camp, she began her life.

Over the years, she picks up bits and pieces which leads her to finally confront her mother, begging her to reveal secrets long hidden. Aided by her husband, another Holocaust survivor baby, Annie is able to put the puzzles pieces of her life to create a bigger picture full of love, bravery and loss.

This story was pretty magical for me. Every time I though this would be it, there was another chapter and another chapter. Beautifully written, the story flips back and forth between the present and the past as we watch Annie discover who she really is.

Annie is a wonderful character. Full of flaws, anger, loss, pain, triumphs and love. We meet her at a pivotal time as she decides to let her Mom know she knows she’s not her real child. She lets her in on years of research and we’re treated to the unfolding of this stunning relationship between her and mother.

Relationships are a huge theme in this book. Annie’s quest affects everyone around her. It’s not just about her and her mother but more about who she is in relationship to her family, including her husband. I loved how delicately this was handled in this story. Nothing was overdone but nothing was missed. Annie’s relationship with her mother does change, and then it changes again. Over and over, we watch it evolve as Annie grows up and gets closer to finding out who she really is.

I love how the identity crisis, if you will, was handled here. Even though Annie is intent on her true identity and knows how much that causes pain to the mother who raised her. She is always grateful and loves her mother fiercely and tells her often. I really loved that.

Annie’s own experience with loss has a huge profound effect on her, causing her to fall in the most heartbreaking way. But there again, love lifts her up and her family unit is strong enough to withstand.

I highly recommend this book. It’s just simply stunning.

Having recently read on of Shari Ryan other novels I was delighted to read this one. Again it did not disappoint. Everyone in schools should be encouraged to read books like this
This novel is set in Czechoslovakia in 1943. A baby girl is born and over a decade later, secrets are about to be revealed.
Definitely read this wonderful novel

This is the book 2 of the Last Word series.

Warning:- It is better if you read the book 1 The Girl with the Diary before you start to read this book.

The story starts with Annie, who is determined to find out the truth about her real identity--from the book 1, we know her name is Lucie and she was born in a concentration camp. But Annie knew that she was different and vowed to find the truth abotu her biological family. The story changes back and forth to the present day and the time when Annie was in her younger days and how she was able to find her real family and at the same time overcoming emotions and hearbreaks.

Just like book 1, this was such a heartbreaking tale. It was truly emotional too and there were some parts in the story that will make you cry. This time, the story is told from Annie's perspective--from the time she was born, to her childhood days in New York, to her college days when she went to Prague to find answers and meet the love of her life Fisher and to the present. The author has done tremendous research and history and made the story as realistic as possible and at the same time, done a good job of captivating readers like I am. I actually really enjoyed reading Annie's version of the story.

Now, I can't wait to start reading the Book 3, the final book of the Last Words series to read Charlie's version!

Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Such a beautiful book darting between the present day, Annie’s birth and what growing up with an uncertain past and a fake birth certificate means in the States in the aftermath of the Second World War. The story doesn’t cover the war years but how not knowing your roots, your birth parents impacts everything you want to do. College, work, even getting married is all off the cards legally if you don’t have your real birth certificate. The practicalities are dealt with well, as is the raw emotional pain of all the unknown on Annie, and the life she builds, has broken and then builds up again with help from her family.

This was an incredible, eye-opening book full of heartbreak and finding who you are. It pulled on emotions I didn’t know existed. Annie was so real and raw that at times I forget I was reading fiction. You could feel the emotions and voice coming through the pages, making me tear up (and I never cry when I’m reading!)

I really recommend this book. It’s hard to write a review without giving away spoilers, but it isn’t one to miss! Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for a chance to read and review this book.

This is the second book in the trilogy, based around survivors of the Holocaust. It would work as a standalone novel, but I definitely recommend reading the first in the series.

Annie overhears her parents talking on her 12th birthday - and she realises that she is not who she thinks she is. Can she find out the truth, and accept her background?

An interesting story based on the lost children of the Holocaust, I really enjoyed the dual timeline aspect and the weaving in of Annie's modern life with her early days.

This book had so many great things going for it, it was amazing. The author took a terrible sad topic as the Holocaust and shows that there were good people during that time, and also shows a glimmer of hope. The book starts off with our main character Annie finding out that she is in fact not the biological daughter of her parents like she had originally thought. It is then that she sets out to find who she really is and where she belongs in this world. The book also does a time jump and focuses on Annie's mother as she is living in Nazi run Czechoslovakia. It is there that she finds a baby and risks everything in order to save it from certain death. I do think that this book would have made a little bit more sense to me if I had read the first book in the series first however this was still one that I couldn't put down and I was still very fascinated in learning about the characters and what was going on. I don't think that this is a series that you have to read from the beginning and I think that you can start wherever and you will still get a great story and a read that doesn't leave you scrambling. This powerful story will have you gasping for air as you get hit with such intense emotion. It was a great read and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to check it out.

This is book number two in the Last Words series, it can be read as a standalone but I definitely recommend reading the first book, The girl with the Diary for the background story before reading this.

This is another compelling, emotional read following the story of Amelia and Annie who are both holocaust survivors. It is a story of family, love, protection and secrets and I highly recommend it!

A sad but uplifting story of a baby that is born during WW2 whilst the mother is in a concentration camp. It really tugs at your emotions, one minute I was breathless with anticipation, the next I had tears running down my face…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️