Thanks net galley for letting me read this book.
The story of Margot and Jochen who were so much in love but in troubled Berlin in 1939 it was not a good place to live if you were married to a Jewish man as Margot was.
She would do anything for Jochen, even if it meant risking her own life for him,
The gestapo were treating them both very badly, they lost their jobs and their home and knew their lives were at risk, but love would conquer everything so they thought.
I found the story very repetitive and sometimes they were terribly ignorant about what was happening around them, and though they could carry on with their lives as usual. I

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This author always writes a good take, usually based upon a true event during WWII. This book was based upon the Rosenstrasse protest; this again was a story I had not heard of before. These women were so strong and actually caused the captors to release their husbands and loved ones. Well written book and lovely fictional story about true events.

Will look forward to more books by this author.

When you find a book that's based on true events, for me it makes them credible, and the characters become real people and not just names on a page.

This is the first of Ellie's books I've read and it made an interesting change to read the story from the perspective of a German couple.

It's certainly an emotional read and will give you all the feels for these women fighting to protect their loved ones.

So powerful, utterly compelling and an absolutely fantastic story of love, bravery and war.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend in a heartbeat.

Many thanks to Bookouture for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A wonderful historical fiction book where the author Ellie MidWood brings the fictional characters, Margot and Jochen's story inspired by real people who lived in Berlin during the Nazi Hitler rule. The novel shows how the hypocrisy of Nazi leadership, the bravery and selflessness of normal German citizens who would do anything to save their persecuted spouses. Outstanding research study conducted by Ellie can be seen through out the novel. Margot an Aryan woman was married to a Jew named Jochen in those days where Jews were not welcome in the new Germany as they were considered minorities. Everyone in Babelsberg knew Margot's husband was Jewish. Margot found it just fine, for the reason why right after the Nuremberg law had been passed, prohibiting all relationships between Aryans and Jews, just stopped short of dissolving existing marriages - they had changed her from Margot and replaced it with Rosenberg - Margot Rosenberg.

Anastacia, an artist, half Russian, half German who Margot's father had fallen in love with ten years ago became a mother figure to Margot, where she considered not having blood relation with her own mother from whom he had been estranged long before Anastacia. Anastacia knew what to say and how to make everything better. Margot had worked as a model for the Wertheim department and loses her job and becomes homeless because she remained married to a Jew and later to provide for the family she becomes a seamstress for private clients. Margot and Jochen struggled with reduced income and couldn't afford a decent home for themselves. Having married for ten years Margot couldn't imagine a life without Jochen. This novel is a must read - unimaginable bravery, sacrifices, heroism and fearlessness of women displayed through Margot in the midst of WW2 and the atrocities of Nazis towards Jews in the period of 1935- 1946 well portrayed.

I just reviewed, The Wife Who Risked Everything by Ellie MidWood. Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher Bookouture for an advance copy for my honest review.

I just finished reading The Wife who risked everything by Ellie Midwood and here is what I thought about it.

Margot falls madly in love with Jochen… Things should be perfect, but they live in Nazi Germany and he is a Jew. Their marriage is technically illegal and she is commiting a crime just for being in love.

People around her reject her and the choice she has made but she doesn't care. The nazi regime will not stand between her and the man she loves.
Even as things get more and more dangerous for them both, she never waivers. One day Jochen doesn’t come home and the reason shocks Margot to her core. He is supposed to be exempt from the camps as she is an aryan.
Instead of accepting her fate, Margot risks everything to stand outside the Gestapo headquarters with other wives and family members of the men being held. Defying the Nazis means death and when the truck is driving towards them and the guns are aimed at their heads… Margot has a choice to make, her life or her husbands?
Wow, just wow. This was such a beautiful and heartwarming read. How many of us can honestly say we would stand in front of guns and scream at Nazis to set our man free? Such a powerful and moving story and based on a real event too. I couldn’t imagine living during that time and being considered vermin for marrying the man I love because of his religion.
The book kept me gripped from start to finish. I felt like I was right there with Margot. I could feel the warmth of her dog goose… I could feel the agony she felt and the fear that drove her daily. The love came swimming off the page and I drank in every drop.
If you are a fan of historical fictions that are set during world war II you have to make this your next read!
5 stars! This book took my heart and a bucket full of tears!
Thank you Netgalley and bookouture for this beautiful read!

The Wife Who Risked Everything is another powerful and well written story by Ellie Midwood. It shows how in the face of evil - love is power, courage is infectious and the voices of many will not be silenced. These words sum up our main character Margot perfectly. Throughout this book she is a warrior and a strong courageous woman whose love for her husband knows no limits and she will do everything in her power to keep him safe. It was brilliant to see such a forceful and impressive female character who in the face of unthinkable cruelty and horrors remained steadfast and obstinate in her viewpoint and never once deviated from it. Based on a true story we follow Margot and her husband Jochen as they do their best to navigate their way through the war years in Berlin.

Jochen and Margot have been married for ten years and have a very strong and loving relationship. But all that is called into question when Hitler comes to power and with Jochen being Jewish his very existence is threatened on a daily basis. But Margot is steadfast in her love for him and she will do anything to prevent him being taken away. As more and more laws against Jews are introduced Jochen’s world shrinks and he loses his job as a set designer. It is Margot who must provide for them and stand against those in authority. There is a defiant streak in Margot and I loved this about her. She refused to bow down to pressure and abandon Jochen which would have meant her own life was safe and secure. She had been destined to be a star in the German film industry but with her marriage to Jochen now illegal she is reduced to being a seamstress. She suffers daily humiliations as does Jochen but she takes them on the chin and strives to make their world better in any small way she can. But knowing Jochen could have been taken from her at any point and with the sheer hatred, discrimination and persecution against the Jews only highly ramped up the more the war progresses she remains loyal and courageous in every thought and word and deed.

There is tension, unease and suspension with every turn of the page. You never know what fate has in store next for the couple and your heart is in your mouth that the worst will happen. Ellie Midwood skilfully builds up the overall picture of what the Jewish population of Berlin were enduring at the time but at the same time she showed how Margot’s family had the means to exist fairly well off during such troubling times. Her parents exist in a tricky situation in the fact they remain married but her father lives with his mistress, a Russian refugee with royal connections named Anastasia who at first I thought would bring nothing to the story. But in fact she goes on to play a very vital role. As their world shrinks around them Margot and Jochen cling to the love they have for each other and their strong bond is evident through all of Margot’s actions. It was unique to see the roles reversed and the woman defending the man and taking over his role in terms of being the provider for the house. It really was a case of stand by your man but it at all times felt genuine and real and never forced or contrived.

The book begins in 1935 and takes us all the way up to 1943. Seeing as it started several years before the actual outbreak of war the reader could see how life was once normal for the German population but through the rise to power of one madman that life for the Jewish population was forever altered. Jochen’s freedom was taken from him and all that he valued in the world apart from Margot of course was against the law. As their living situation changes and he is sent to work hard labour things get very tough for the pair but Margot was always on high alert, checking on him that he was making it through each day and could return safely to her. She was outspoken and refused to be helpless and she threaded a very thin line when it came to being out in the public. I feared that she would take one misstep and al her efforts would have been in vain.

The Wife Who Risked Everything is a quick read but it does convey its message very well. I felt the first half after the initial introduction of the characters and establishing their backgrounds and the situation in Germany things calmed down a bit and it was a bit slow just going through the years and the various laws that were introduced. Yes, we were shown how this impacted Jochen and Margot but I needed a little bit more to happen despite the tension that I did feel throughout. I wondered where was the book actually going and it’s when we reach the last quarter and a significant event occurs which was based on a true incident that the I thought the book got back on track again and Margot as a character showed her true worth and remarkable resilience and bravery. The Wife Who Risked Everything is a very good read and it makes a change to read a story that wasn’t set in a concentration camp as a light was shone on a new aspect of the war which I hadn’t heard about.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a fantastic read. Powerful, gripping, terrifying and upsetting. The characters were very believable, and to think that it's based on a true story. Harrowing but a must-read.

Ellie Midwood is a very popular author amongst fans of historical fiction fans, and this is my first by her but I can see why she is so well loved.
Whilst her writing is predominantly set in Nazi Germany, from what I have seen, she always seems to find a story that takes her readers through every emotion you can think of. Horror, love, heartbreak, resilience and a powerful story to portray them.
The start of the story felt somewhat tame to me, but I was soon swept along with the story and characters.
Midwood is a wonderful writer, with an excellent balance of characters and plot, so she is able to appeal to fans of both types.
I would recommend historical fiction fans read Ellie Midwood's books as I have no doubt she will become a new auto-buy author for them.

Berlin, 1943: The war rages on throughout Europe. Margot is a German seamstress and her husband Jochen is a Jewish artist. They are completely in love and all they have is each other. They were evicted from their home many times but they vowed to never leave each other. Soon Jochen is arrested by the SS along with so many others. Once Margot discovers where Jochen is being held, she joins forces with other women in the same situation, protesting outside the prison camp demanding the release of the men. The protests continued all day and all night for what seemed like eternity. The guards were becoming frustrated with the crowd, but the protesters are determined and are not going to give up. When Margo risks her life to now protest outside of the Gestapo Headquarters everything changes for her. But her love for her husband outweighs the risk of losing her own life.

Oh my goodness I almost don’t know where to begin explaining how phenomenal this story was. This utterly gripping historical fiction is heartbreaking and completely impossible to put down. I was totally captivated from the very first page to the last. This book hits all the feels and I was so emotional, tearing up and brokenhearted with the turn of the pages. Wow…what an absolute wonderfully written story with believable and relatable characters. So many lives changed forever and the courage that people found within themselves to survive is so inspiring. The unconditional love of a wife for her husband to risk everything she has for him is so inspirational. The fact that this book is based on a true story makes it even more heart-wrenching. I can’t recommend this incredible story enough, absolutely breathtaking. Must read it now.

Thank you Ellie Midwood for such an amazing historical fiction novel. I absolutely loved everything about this book. I highly recommend it.

Another fine book by author Ellie Midwood. German Margot and her Jewish husband, Joshen, suffer together as the Nazi rules and brutality escalate in Berlin. She finds herself demonized for the marriage with more and more taken away from them. She must stand up for him as well as herself against the tightening noose. Well written and recommended reading.

I found this to be a very emotional book that will tug at your heart strings. Margot is german but is married to a jew and so is shunned by the german people, her mother also who is constantly telling her to divorce him. When her husband Jochren is taken she will stop at nothing to get him back.This story shows how love will overcome and endure anything that is thrown at it.
I really liked the way it was written with a lot of thought and feeling gone into it.

Just WOW!! Ellie Midwood did it again! An incredible WWII story about strength in the face of terror. The power of love and bravery. The tears definitely were flowing in this book!

The story follows a Jewish man, jochen and his German wife, Margot, during the Nazi invasion. They are a wealthy Berlin couple who end up at fighting for Jochen’s life and freedom. The life and freedoms that Margot gives up for her husband, shows you the power of love.

Thank you Netgalley for your advanced reader copy!

Ellie Midwood wrote about the siege of humankind by Hitler from a different angle. Margot is married to Jochen, a Jew. The couple is part of the creative community of Berlin in the late thirties. As they get the message that the brown shirts despise Jews, life becomes professionally challenging for Jochen. The stakes for their marriage get worse month by month. And this novel becomes a suspenseful thriller where I had little hope either of the young lovers would survive.

I am so glad I read this skillfully written fiction of historical importance. The fascinating characters in Margot's circle of family and friends helped them and doomed their existence in similar ways. As always, I wanted to reach into the narrative and demand that Jochen left the country in 1938 when visas were readily available. It was painful to read but so worthwhile to know that bravery and courage existed in the hearts of many souls who lived through the nightmare of Hitler. I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this e-ARC in exchange for a recommendation.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this powerful story

where is your husband? the ss man shouted at margot her jewish husband the one that the germans were always telling her to get divorced from

these were terrible times for the jewish people in germany as they saw their family and friends arrested and taken away some never to be seen again...

friends and neighbours turned on them as their lives got smaller and smaller, no help was coming from anywhere

and the day the men were rounded up and taken away was the day that margot and her fellow german wives who were married to jewish men stood up and made their feelings known....

what a storyline based on a true story, its shocking and powerful at its best and you cant stop reading it and neither can you put it down as it dawns on you that this truly happened and should not be forgotten, but its a story about love and how it can overcome most things

Ellie does it again!
My favourite WWII historical fiction author.
This story is a quiet one in the sense that it does not take place in the concentration camps but rather the persecution of the inter-marriages between Germans and Jews.
Wow, the power of Margot and Jochen's commitment to one another was a sight to behold and I am so touched after reading this. I have no words. It's brilliant and any fan of WWII historical fiction should read this author!

Amazing!

This book, based on a true story, was simply amazing. It is a heartbreaking account of the atrocities committed against Jews during Hilter's reign of terror. Margot was a brave German woman, married to a Jewish man, who she never stopped loving or defending despite the Nazi's commands. She and Jochen never had children, but they were very happily in love.

Despite all odds, Margot's actions, and those of many other brave women, stood firm against the Nazi's actions. They lost homes, apartments, belongings and in many cases, their loved ones and even their pets. But they stood brave until they didn't have to any longer.

Highly recommend for lovers of historical fiction.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, so I knew I was going to love this book. The story line was gripping and I was absolutely hooked from the beginning.

Midwood writes a very powerful story about a woman who refused to give in to Nazi thugs. It meant the Loss of her career, home, and friends, but not her dignity and courage. Margot refused to capitulate to intense state pressure and divorce her husband, Joachim, who is classified as Jewish.
I love Margot’s moxie, drive, determination, and spunk.
My favorite character was Anastasia, someone who had witnessed and endured similar trials herself.
The lesson of the story is never give up or give in because then oppression wins.

This is one of the most heartbreaking WW2 books I have ever read which is a true-story based and Ellie Midwood is now my favourite historical fiction author.

I read few WW2 historical fictions but normally based in Poland and Hungary. The Wife Who Risked Everything brought us back to Berlin in 1935. The German actress Margot was happily married to Jochen who was a Jewish before the unthinkable dark time. The cruel laws in Nazi Germany made Jochen became unemployed. No one would like to be in touch with them, even Margot's parents.

What will you do if you were Margot?

Under Ellie's pen here, Margot was a devoted, steadfast, loyal and smart woman. Her priority was to keep her husband safe, whatever happened. Ellie allows us to follow from the beginning for event, the helpless moments and the love between Margot and Jochen under this tyrannical regime period.

If you ask me to recommend only one WW2 book, The Wife Who Risked Everything by Ellie Midwood is my recommendation.

What a great love story! When life gets tough for a woman married to a Jewish man, instead of giving up, she goes all out.