I enjoyed this book. It had a good flow to it, it was hard to put down, and I read it quickly. Being a natural bookworm drew me to the title but the story kept me entertained

A historical novel with three intertwined stories. More suited for the romance readers than those interested in historical fiction. It's well suited for a book club.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow Publishing for this arc.

This book filled the two reasons why I love historical fiction so much. I love history and I love a great story within that history. The second reason, I was able to compare to what happened then to what is happening now when it comes to book banning and book banning,

In this book we follow 3 amazing women. We follow Viv, who is widowed when her husband is KIA while serving during WWII. We follow Hannah who is German and a Jew. We also follow Althea, who is a published author on an invite to Berlin by the Nazis.

Viv is fighting hard against Senator Taft's bill to ban certain books for soldiers overseas for the American Service Editions (ASEs) because of "propaganda." As Viv tries to fight against this, she goes the library of Burned Books to try and get some information and start to kill the bill that Senator Taft is trying to pass.

Hannah Brecht feels so much guilt for her brother going into a concentration camp, She is in Berlin along with Althea James during the book burnings. As they do form a romantic relationship, things get in the way and their relationship takes a turn for the worst.

As Hannah eventually moves to Paris to try to get away from the Anti-Semitism and Nazi sympathizers, its not so easy.

These three women have an amazing story to tell and this book is it,

I had a hard time getting through this book. It was not of interest to me.

Inspired by the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime--the WWII organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as "weapons in the war of ideas"--The Librarian of Burned Books is an unforgettable historical novel, a haunting love story, and a testament to the beauty, power, and goodness of the written word.

World War II is not a topic of interest to me. Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy for my review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

Reading this during Banned Book Week was fitting. This book is about book censorship during the 1930s and 40s. Many of the topics and reasons translate to what we are still discussing and debating today.

There is a dual timeline in the book, but it is easy to follow the timelines. I enjoyed how the author brought these two timelines together.

There were so many great quotes throughout this book describing the importance of reading. This will be a reread for me in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I was unable to download this before it archived. I will be looking for The Librarian of Burned Books at my local bookstore as I thought it sounded interesting!

Three separate women, three time periods, and three places, all connected. Althea, an American writer, is in Berlin 1933 in a cultural exchange. In 1936 Paris, Hannah has left her native Germany behind and works at the German Library of Burned Books. Vivian lives in New York and works getting Armed Service Editions books into the hands of the troops at war. She is fighting against a new law that will censor and control which books are acceptable. All three women learn about love, war, and the power of literature and ideas. Wonderful characters and a powerful story. This is a great one for book groups.

This book was phenomenal. I loved the interweaving stories and how effortlessly they fit together. The plot twists felt like an exciting puzzle as things were slowly revealed in the story. I was always eager to know what happened next. This book has real potential to become a favorite.

There is a lot of WWII historical fiction being published these days, but I thought this book stood out in a good way. I liked that it was divided into three timelines, 1933 Berlin, 1936 Paris, and 1944 NYC and followed three women on interconnected stories. I will admit that I did have difficulty separating the three timelines at first, especially because there is some character overlap, but once I got into it, the transitions were smooth and it was easy to follow.

In 1933, an American author, Althea James, gets invited to Berlin as a guest of the Third Reich. It appears glamorous and impressive until she meets Hannah, a Jewish woman who opens her eyes to a lot of the realities of Nazi Germany. By 1936, Hannah has fled Germany for Paris, where the Nazis are rapidly approaching. By 1944, the Americans are in the war too and a woman named Vivian is working with the Armed Service Editions, sending books to troops to keep up moral.

Their stories weave around each other and the war and offer many interesting perspectives. There is some romance in this story, but its primary genre is historical fiction.

This interesting historical fiction novel moves between three different years- 1933 Berlin, 1936 Paris, and 1944 NYC to tell the story of three different women living through the Holocaust and World War Two. In 1933, American author Althea James is invited to Berlin by Goebbels to be a guest of a culture exchange. She chooses to see what she wants to see- until she meets a woman who challenges her perceptions.
In 1936 Paris, Hannah Brecht has fled Berlin for Paris. She is working at the German Library of Burned Books. She thinks Paris will be much different from Berlin- until it isn't.
Lastly, Vivian Childs is volunteering with the Armed Service Editions in NYC after losing her husband in the war. She is waging a battle against censorship from a conservative senator. This story line reminded me (unfortunately) of battles we are waging today in libraries all across America. Sad and infuriating to realize certain people don't learn from history,
I really enjoyed this story. It was a compelling plot, and I got to learn more about certain aspects of the efforts to support books and the freedom to read during the Holocaust and WW2. I am glad I read it.

“Books are a way we leave a mark on the world, aren’t they? They say we were here, we loved and we grieved and we laughed and we made mistakes and we existed.”

This novel is one of the best historical fiction books published so far this year. Labuskes draws from her background in thrillers to make this a page turning historical debut that you cannot put down. Her three main narrators drive the story with ease, managing incredible character arcs in the process.

“History is built on moments that feel insignificant…”

This book is eerily timely in terms of its publication. We are living in a world where books are confusing to be banned, the history of Black people in America is being removed from books in certain states and entire communities are under fire for who they love or for the choices they make with their bodies. The difference is in 2023 burning a book doesn’t remove it from our society. In the 1930’s when the librarian of burned books takes place, book burnings erase entire schools of thought and decades of research. This novel was haunting with its prose, and many of its quotes will stay with me for a long time.

If you are a lover of historical fiction pick this one up, you will not be disappointed.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of the librarian of burned books. I love any book about books and I love historical fiction. This was fantastic thank you.

Wow this booook!! I’ve always loved World War II books, partially because my grandpa fought in it and it therefore felt like accessible historical fiction, but after studying genocide in college it’s become far more meaningful to me, particularly now. First off, the characters in this book were dynamite. The pacing and staggering between the different time periods was expertly done, and it made the final twist all the more satisfying. The ending was stupendous as well; it’s hard to make big dramatic speeches feel genuine without ranging into overbearing territory in books like this, but this was well done, The only thing I didn’t like was that it was very hard to for me to get into this book in the beginning! It took me a bit before I felt invested in these characters and bought into the need to POV and time hop.

Representation: queer characters, jewish protagonist(s)

spice level: none

tw: on page violence, discussion of murder, discussion of suicide, death of a character, discussion of genocide, discussion of the Holocaust

Haven’t fully finished reading it yet due to an unexpected move, but I am loving it so far! Will post full review as soon as I’m finished.

In The Librarian of Burned Books, Labuskes brings the 1930s and 1940s and their complexities to life. Following Hannah, Vivian, and Althea, Labuskes explores the darkness and challenges of 1930s Germany during the early years of the Nazis’ political power and the 1940s home front in the United States. Vivian is a war widow running the ASE to supply soldiers with books during the war, while Althea is an up-and-coming writer visiting Germany and Hannah is a fledgling resistance fighter and lesbian. Through a series of tragedies, misunderstandings, and World War II, the three women cross paths as Vivian tries to get around ASE censors and fight against Senator Taft. Labuskes’ diverse characters and her compelling story immerse the reader into the world and Vivian, Althea, and Hannah’s lives. Labuskes highlights the lesser-known stories of lesbian women in the early twentieth century, particularly in Nazi Germany, and the various morale initiatives chaired and created by women on the home front. Labuskes’ prose and narrative skills are powerful and moving, all of which makes her story and her characters vibrant and lifelike. The novel creates a powerful commentary on censorship and the ambiguous complexities of wartime.

A slow start for me but this ended up being a very interesting read that I think a lot of historical fiction fans will like!

Not sure why some folks are saying they have a hard time following this book because of the timelines. I think to be able to tell the story, the author wrote it well and we as readers got to experience past, middle, present and the epilogue, future. I loved this story. Never new about the Taft bill about banning books. How apropos to write a novel around book banning and fascism, similar to what is happening now in some politics. How history repeats itself! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Loved this book!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

This book follows three very different women during three timelines occurring right before and during WWII. Their lives eventually intersect and they have a profound effect on each other. Vivian Childs's timeline starts in 1944. She has lost her husband and is working to provide Armed Services Editions to men and women oversees while fighting censorship at home. Althea James's timeline starts in 1932. She is a successfully American author who was asked to visit Germany by the Nazi party to see and experience the new Germany. Hannah Brecht's timeline starts in 1936. She is living in Paris after escaping Germany but finds that she doesn't really feel safe anywhere. She works at the Library of Burned Books.

I enjoyed this book but sometimes found it a bit confusing. The timelines switched often and I found myself going back to the start of the chapters several times to see what year I was reading about. Two of the main characters met and interacted in an frequently in an earlier timeline which I think added to my confusion. I would recommend this book to others who enjoy historical fiction especially about WWII.

A phenomenal piece of historical fiction! I highly enjoyed the multiple timelines and could not put it down! It really sucked me into the time period and I would recommend this book to multiple patrons.