Karen Robards has switched from contemporary romantic suspense to WWII novels. She has obviously done a great job with her research. All I knew of Guernica was from the painting by Picasso. This novel really illustrated how this war affected so many people. I don't think in present day we can understand what they went through. This was written very well and as a reader we could almost feel what the characters had to deal with. Great book.

I love reading historical fiction about events that I previously had no knowledge of. Set in Spain and Germany during World War II, this is the story of Sibil and her sisters who survive a secret attack on the small town of Guernica. What the Nazis don't want anyone to know...they were behind the attack, and only Sibil knows the truth. This was a really great read. Title and cover was changed prior to release: now titled Fire in the Sky.

Karen Robards will always be one of my favorite story tellers. Her characters are always above average and just feel so real. The storyline of this book was good and the beginning especially had me not wanting to put it down. I wanted to know what happened throughout the book. The historical events in both Spain and Germany were something I knew nothing about and that history increased my interest in the story.

This book was an absolute hit for me. I love historical fiction especially those set in the 1930s-1940s. However, I have not read many historical fiction books focused on the events in Spain during this time. This book was informative, eye opening, and riviting. You are hooked from the first few chapters. I love that the book is based on one of Picasso's most famous paintings but it gives you so much depth. Definitely will be recommending to other historical fiction lovers!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Master storyteller Karen Robards returns with a stunning historical novel that is simply first class: The Girl from Guernica.

One April day in 1937 in the Spanish town of Guernica, the skies open and a devastating attack is launched leaving a trail of devastation, death and mayhem behind. Seventeen-year-old Sibi and her family are caught up in the horror, but Sibi is rescued at the eleventh hour by an American military attaché called Griff, who will save her yet again in the span of a couple of hours. With Germany claiming no involvement in the attack, the blame is laid squarely on the Spanish republic and Griff guides Sibi and her sisters to lie to Nazi officials setting in motion a chain of events that will end up changing the young girl’s life forever.

With Europe at war, Sibi joins the Resistance and secretly exchanges information with Griff. However, as Germany’s thirst for power grows more maniacal with each passing day, Sibi finds herself treading a very thin line and maintaining the facade of a Nazi sympathizer beings to prove all the more difficult. As Sibi finds herself caught up in dangerous web of secrets, deception and treason, she must keep her wits about her, trust no one and find a way to outwit the enemy because if she fails her family will end up in mortal danger…

Karen Robards is a legendary author of popular fiction who has been a mainstay on the bestsellers list for decades and it’s not hard to see why. Similar to her previous releases, The Girl from Guernica is a brilliantly paced, wonderfully written and immensely engrossing tale with richly drawn characters, fabulously rendered period detail and a rattling good plot that keeps readers engrossed until the early hours of the morning.

A storyteller of substance whose name alone is a mark of quality, Karen Robards’ The Girl from Guernica is an outstanding historical novel.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a novel set in WWII with main character Sibi trying to protect her family in Spain. I enjoyed the historical facts in this novel as many novels don't have the perspective as told from a German living in Spain.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: WW2 fiction, strong characters!
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Sibi and her family are living in Guernica during the Spanish Civil War and the bombing of the city. This event changes her life forever!
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This book was action-packed and fast-paced. From Sibi’s experiences in the Spanish Civil War to life in Nazi Germany, I didn’t want to stop reading! I loved Sibi and was completely immersed in her experiences throughout the book. She was a smart and strong character who wants to take care of her family and her sisters.

What an interesting story! I had no knowledge of the battle that went on in 1937 in Spain. This is historical fiction at its finest. Griff, an American military attache, rescues Sibi and her siblings from the wreckage of the bombings by the Germans in the town of Guernica. The story eventually moves on to the beginning of WWII in Germany with Hitler's rise as Sibi and her siblings return to live with their father there. Griff moves in and out of Sibi's life as she joins the underground resistance. An outstanding novel of the power of women.

Great story. A little romance action and suspense. A, strong intelligent female character and an engaging and unpredictable story line. I overall really enjoyed reading this book. The book started fast and then slowed a little, but the great start helped get me engaged and want to keep reading. A enjoyable read, one caution would be there are some parts of the book that are intense and show the gruesomeness of war, so not for people who are sensitive to that.

It took me a long time to read this book and I missed the deadline for publication, , but I didn’t want to rush read.
Robards explores the Spanish Civil War and Germany’s role in it, intermeshing it with Germany’s fledgling rocket program.
I had not read much historical fiction about either so I found the interesectionality of it quite interesting.
Admittedly I did skim over all the rocket, physics talk because I don’t that appealing to read.
It’s a very heavy, serious read with appalling occurrences.
My hero was Griff. The man was seriously the best operative, smooth, calm, collected, and could fly anything. Sigh 😍

Oh my gosh. This book. This book had my attention fully rapt. When I was in high school and college, I was devoted to Spanish studies. I studied art and literature. As an art student, we had to choose an artist’s style to emulate in a self-portrait, and I chose Picasso. My painting left much to be desired, but my connection to the artist and his work never waned. One of my favorite more recent experiences was traveling to Barcelona and visiting the Picasso museum. I am familiar with Guernica, arguably his most famous work.

This book, The Girl from Guernica, was inspired by the painting and the true life events of April 1937 when the town of Guernica was bombed. The opening chapters of this story are so harrowing and completely gripping, I was up late reading out of concern for the characters. Sibi, 17 years old, and her three sisters and mother, are living in Guernica when the bombing happens. Rescued from the rubble of a bombing, where will the girls go and what will happen to them? The journey ahead was more intriguing than I could have imagined.

The Girl from Guernica is chock full of well-developed characters and a highly nuanced and complex plot. Well-paced, well-written to keep that pace flowing, inspiring, captivating, thrilling and chilling, this book is THAT good and is a must-read for all hist fic fans.

I received a gifted copy.

The Girl From Guernica by Karen Robards was a riveting historical fiction novel that was based on true events. Until reading The Girl From Guernica, I am embarrassed to say that I had no prior knowledge about the atrocities that occurred in Guernica. I have read so many books about World War II but there have been few if any books that have focused on Spain and this particular air attack. Nazi planes came in fast and furious one day in April of 1937 and shot down so many innocent, ordinary and defenseless people of Guernica. Those same planes, with their Nazi insignias, dropped countless bombs upon the Spanish city and pulverized its buildings. So many defenseless people were buried under the rubble. The Nazis officials denied all responsibility for this devastating attack and tried and pin it on the Spanish Republic. One young seventeen year old girl knew the truth. Would she be able to tell the world what really happened that nightmarish day?

Karen Robards expertly shifted the attention away from Spain to Nazi Germany. The Ministry of Propaganda continued to make sure that the world went on believing that the Nazis had nothing to do with Guernica. Nazi propaganda was amplified even more after Picasso’s painting of Guernica was presented to the world to see. At the same time, German scientists were working hard on the Nazi rocket program. Its location eventually shifted from Berlin to Peenemunde. She also included references to Nazi top secret operations including Eureka, where the Nazis were targeting the leaders of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union. The Nazis had somehow learned that the leaders of these countries were scheduled to meet in person. One Nazi rocket, targeted on their meeting location, could eliminate the leaders of these three enemy countries and almost guaranteed a Nazi victory. Fortunately, the Allies learned about the Nazi’s intentions and made the necessary changes. She also included details about Operation Hydra, the allied attack on the research center at Peenemunde. Could Sibi’s acts of bravery and determination get these crucial pieces of information to Griff and the Allies to help them win the war and in the process save herself and her family?

Karen Robards‘s research for this book was impeccable and her storytelling was masterful. With the help of strong and believable characters, Karen Robards brought this bit of history to life. The strong female protagonist, Sibi, and her savior and hero, Griff, captured my heart from the start. The Girl From Guernica was about family, trust, hope, loss, determination, courage, causing deceptions, bravery, patience, faith and love. It was one of the best books I have read this year. The Girl From Guernica was the second book I had read by Karen Robards. I had previously read The Black Swan of Paris and also enjoyed it very much. I look forward to reading more books by this author. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Mira Publishing for allowing me to read this advanced copy of The Girl From Guernica by Karen Robards through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

One minute sixteen-year-old Sibi was contemplating being asked out for the first time by a boy she liked, the next minute she looks up at the sky and sees a plane dropping three bombs over a nearby plaza. Then another plane. And another. And more bombs. What of her mother? What of her sisters? Sibi has taken shelter, but even that gets hit by the bombs. It takes a while, but she is eventually rescued into a world that is on fire, Filled with sheer terror. All Sibi could see is devastation.

It is a similar devastation that I felt as I was reading this utterly impactful book by Karen Robards. If I didn't have tears streaming from my eyes, I sat with a huge lump in my throat. The tense darkness that Sibi found herself in, while being trapped and even afterward, felt utterly real, especially as she was desperate for news of her family. While this was a sad and emotional read, there was a sliver of hope that was shining through.

Karen Robards has delivered this compassionate and addictive story with pure poetic style. The way she forms each word, each sentence, each paragraph, is nothing less that sheer beauty. Anyone that picks up this book will be truly drawn in. The stories are pivotal, and are based on true historical events. In fact, one of Picasso's famous paintings is name "Guernica". No doubt that painting has that same level of power, of connectiveness to tragedies of so long ago.

Many thanks to MIRA and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Girl From Guernica

Author: Karen Robards

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Spanish characters and Spanish/German MC and characters

Recommended For...: historical fiction, War World II, Spain, Nazi Germany

Publication Date: September 6, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age Relevance: 16+ (war, rape, violence, gore, animal death, animal gore, bombing, religion, death, grief, PTSD, antisemitism, nazism, abelism, bullying, romance, cursing, animal injury)

Explanation of Above: The book revolves around the whole of World War II and there are some bombings shown in the book. There is a lot of violence with guns and bombs and gore involving blood. There is death and grief shown in the book. There is some animal death and gore mentioned with dogs and sheep. There are also a couple of animal injuries to a dog shown as well. The Catholic religion is referenced and shown a couple of times. The book shows PTSD and abelism, as well as antisemitism and nazism involving Aryan ideals and Nazis. There is some bullying and some cursing in the book. There is also a slight romance in the book.

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 464

Synopsis: On an April day in 1937, the sky opens and fire rains down upon the small Spanish town of Guernica. Seventeen-year-old Sibi and her family are caught up in the horror. Griff, an American military attaché, pulls Sibi from the wreckage, and it’s only the first time he saves her life in a span of hours. When Germany claims no involvement in the attack, insisting the Spanish Republic was responsible, Griff guides Sibi to lie to Nazi officials. If she or her sisters reveal that they saw planes bearing swastikas, the gestapo will silence them—by any means necessary.

As war begins to rage across Europe, Sibi joins the underground resistance, secretly exchanging information with Griff. But as the scope of Germany’s ambitions becomes clear, maintaining the facade of a Nazi-sympathizer becomes ever more difficult. And as Sibi is drawn deeper into a web of secrets, she must find a way to outwit an enemy that threatens to decimate her family once and for all.

Masterfully rendered and vividly capturing one of the most notorious episodes in history, The Girl from Guernica is an unforgettable testament to the bonds of family and the courage of women in wartime.

Review: I found this book to be very informative and eye opening. The book starts with the bombing of Guernica, which was done at the behest of the Nationalist faction by Nazi Germany forces. The incident was horrifically detailed in the book and it helped set the tone for the novel as Nazi Germany denied and continued to deny their involvement in the incident. The MC was compelling and while we all know what the true solution was for her predicament, her dilemma was understandable and it makes the reader empathetic to the plight of Germans who were caught in the middle of the War. The book was written beautifully and the book was fairly accurate from what I know and briefly researched about the incident. The book did well for character development and world building. I also thought the pacing was well done.

The only issue I had with the book is that I felt like the horrors of what Nazi Germany was truly doing wasn’t discussed in the book well. I would have liked to see that in the book more.

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!

Would highly recommend this. Seeing atrocities through the eyes of victims and bystanders and how they are affected by these, hopefully once in a lifetime events, brought the story vividly to life for me. Being familiar with the painting and having a picture of it in my mind while reading the descriptions of the bombing and it's aftermath really enriched the story. Reading of the suddenness of the destruction on an otherwise "normal" day in the lives of those in Guernica drew a parallel for me with the bombings we hear about today in far off places and are all but numb to given their frequency. With the stories of the various characters Robards does a great job of illustrating in personal terms how such devastation affected their lives not just in the immediate aftermath, but for many years to come.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction war novels, so when I saw this offered on NetGalley, I jumped to request a copy to review.

The Girl from Guernica is based on a true event, an aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during war.

The character of Sibi is beautifully written. When she becomes a spy and risks her life for those of her family, country band friends, I became totally invested in the story. It is amazing to realize that stories like this contain more fact than fiction and that events portrayed in the novel actually happened.

Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I could not put this book down! It's engrossing, fascinating, beautifully written. Sibi is a young woman with a Spanish mother and a German father. She is in Guernica when the Nazi's destroy the town of Guernica, and kill her mother and one sister. Sibi provides a first hand account of the attack to a local reporter, not realizing what the effect of that could be . Sibi and her youngest sister are saved from death by a mysterious American named Griff. Sibi ultimately decides she and her sister would be safer returning to Germany to be with her father, a rocket scientist. But as the story of Guernica leaks out, including the account Sibi gave to the reporter in Spain, the Nazi's become determined to convince the world that they weren't behind the attack, and they go all out to find out who provided the information to the reporter. Once they learn that it's Sibi, she is forced to become a mouthpiece for their propaganda, or her father and sister are in jeopardy. Strangely enough, Griff appears in Germany, and Sibi becomes determined to fight the Nazi's in any way she can. The result is a hugely suspenseful and satisfying story that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

The Girl from Guernica is based on a true event, an aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe. The town was being used as a communications centre by Republican forces just behind the front line, and the raid was intended to destroy bridges and roads, so Franco could capture Bilbao, in northern Spain.

This book centers on Sibi, a sixteen year old girl whose mother is Basque and her father is German. Sibi and her three sisters live in Guernica with their mother who is estranged from their father. With the Spanish Revolution raging around them, Sibi wants to return to Germany, but her mother wants to stay. On that April day, Sibi's life changes forever. Her sister Luiza is gunned down in the streets, her mother dies in the bombing of the bakery and her sister Jo receives serious facial burns. Sibi is pulled from the wreckage of a bomb shelter by Griff, an American military attaché as well as her youngest sister, Margrit. Sibi knows it was German planes that bombed and strafed the streets, but Griff convinces her that she must lie to protect her family. The three girls are sent to their father in Germany, but their problems are not finished. Sibi must make decisions to save her family, while working with Griff and the resistance against the Nazis.

Before I even finished this book, I was googling Guernica, and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade that went to Spain to support the government before it collapsed and fascism took over the country. Sibi's story was so realistic, I was choked up while reading much of it. This young girl experienced so much in her life and has so much pressure on her to save her sisters. Her courage, intelligence, resilience and loyalty often put her in danger, but also save her while she is working against the Nazis and sharing information with Griff. Griff is also a great character, doing what he needs to do for the war effort, but also protecting Sibi and her sister. There is a lot of chemistry between them, but they don't act on it, especially with the age difference, but also the danger. My heart broke constantly for Sibi and her two sisters, who were so relatable. I don't want to give away anymore of this story, so I will stop there. This is one of the best historical fiction books I have read this year, it is extremely well researched, sharing events that I knew nothing about previously. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction.

Book Review…The Girl from Guernica by Karen Robards

This was a riveting story full of history, suspense, mystery, espionage, romance, loss and family!

As war begins to rage across Europe, Sibi joins the underground resistance. But as Germany’s ambitions become clear, maintaining the facade becomes ever more difficult. As Sibi is drawn into a web of secrets, she must find a way to outwit an enemy that threatens to decimate her family once and for all.

This was a fantastic story! I loved the historical facts throughout the book! I've always enjoyed a book that could entertain and teach me something at the same time! Sibi’s is a wonderful character! She is strong, brave and so young but honestly her age just made me even more interested and invested in her. Karen Robards is an amazing storyteller. I found myself swept up in the story from the first chapter which made me stay up well past my bedtime but it was worth it! It's an emotional and suspenseful story that will have you glued to the pages till the very end! Thank you Htp Books and Karen Robards for sharing this wonderful book with me!

Set during the Spanish Civil War and WWII. A wonderful historical fiction story of war and espionage, Karen Robards is a great author and this story really moved me. Loved the characters and the story.