This story has two timelines - Clara searching for information about her father, and Clara's parents in Germany at the start of World War 2. Although I liked the more modern timeline, I was most interested in the war timeline, probably because I was interested in knowing what happened. Plus, I really loved artist Bettina and architect Max.

This is excellent historical fiction about World War II, and I recommend it!

The Porcelain Maker A Novel by Sarah Freethy is Historical Fiction. Survival, tragedy and love in WWII Germany. Set in the time periods of 1929 Germany to 1993 America. Freethys characters' emotions, thoughts, and traumatic experiences come alive to the reader. The settings, culture, places, people with the history of the time are so real one feels like you have lived in this era.
Sarah Freethy is a very talented new author and I will look forward to every book she writes. Well done!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book.
5 Stars

Thank you to Net Galley for this e-copy of The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy in exchange for a honest review..This is a very enlightening, and tragic account of 2 lovers Max and Bettina who meet in 1925 and embark on a love affair.Max, an architect soon sees his job and career disappear after the rise of the Nazi party..Bettina a painter produces a famous painting of the Viking which is the prototype for the Aryan male that the Nazis have Max produce in porcelain during his imprisonment in Dachau.Little do the Nazis know that Max , a Jew is the pro type for the Viking.During his imprisonment, Max suffers deplorable conditions and is soon relegated to only producing porcelain animals .When Bettina finds herself pregnant, she has to make difficult decisions.This story is told in 2 time periods -in the 1920s-40s and in 1993 when Bettina’s daughter Clara after her mother’s death seeks to find the identity of her father.A very well written and historically factual story.

A WWII Love Story

In 1929 Bettina, an artist, and Max, and architect, meet and fall in love. Although Bettina is German, and Max, Jewish, they plan to spend their lives together. It is not to be. With the advent of the Nazis, Max is sent to a concentration camp. He is a skilled artist and ends up at the porcelain factory at Dachau, a special project of Himmler.

In 1993, Clara Vogel is looking for the father she never. With her mother’s death, she feels its time to find out about her family. Buying some porcelain pieces at an auction, she traces their origin back to the porcelain factory at Dachau. Following the history of the figurines Clara begins to unravel her parent’s tragic story.

This is a beautifully written, if tragic story. Max and Bettina are wonderful characters. You can’t help admiring their courage under terrible circumstances. Clara is also likable for the dogged ways she pursues her quest to learn about the father she never knew.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was learning about the porcelain factory at Dachau. I knew nothing about the factory before reading the book. The author did an outstanding job of making it come to life in vivid detail. This is a sad story, but so beautifully told, I couldn’t put it down.

I received this review copy from Net Galley and the publisher.

Max Ehrlich risked everything to study architecture and Bettina was a talented painter. Art was not the only thing they shared, eventually they shared a love affair.I am a lover of art and enjoyed their story.

Bettina and Max lived through fear and the prosecution in order for them to live together. Bettiina’s work was labeled “Struggle for art”, all modern art” considered to be aesthetic violence, a plot against the Jews and the communist against Germany. Max and Bettia were eventually separated and he was arrested, and he was sent to the camps. Later, Max created porcelain pieces, which were approved and these pieces saved his life.

My only regret is that the book did not contain illustrations.There was so much to explore while reading this incredible novel. I read the novel twice because there was so much content that made up the story.

Thank you, Sarah Freethy, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this outstanding novel.

A few years after the death of her mother Bettina, Clara is trying solve the mystery of who her father is. She knows that it is not the German officer that her mother was married to during WW II, but she has determined that some Nazi porcelain figurines are a clue. With the help of her daughter Lotte, she conducts research and finds more clues. The story jumps between 1993 and the past from 1925 through the war. This is a well written story that depicts a terrible time in human history and the sacrifices that people made for loved ones.

The Porcelain Maker is a heartbreaking dual timeline novel set in both World War II era Germany and in the U.S., 1994. In Germany, Bettina is a German artist and Max is a Jewish architecture student. They fall in love, but with the rise of the Nazi party, their relationship and very lives are threatened. Max ends up in the Dachau concentration camp and is forced to work in the Allach Porcelain factory run by the S.S. In 1994, Clara is trying to find out the name of her father and is searching for clues, including special porcelain pieces made at the Allach porcelain factory.

The story is so sad throughout, and is a more realistic look at WWII Germany. Anyone looking for a completely happy ending will not find one, but that makes this version a bit truer than some of the other WWII fiction out there. The audiobook is well narrated by Kristin Atherton.

Readers of WWII fiction will appreciate this look into the sad history of the very real Allach Porzellanmanufaktur.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from St. Martin's Press. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

The love story of Max and Bettina plays out during WWII Germany where Bettina's art is deemed offensive and Max must deal with being a Jew at this time in history. Max is sent to Dachau while Bettina searches for him. The dual timeline also provides a link to the past through porcelain figurines made at the concentration camp. Well written historical fiction.

It was quite a surprise to learn that this is the first novel for Sarah Freethy since this is a historical fiction of WWII. Yet the author manages to cover another timeline of 1993 as a daughter searches for her actual father. Her mother and father were both artistic and while one was Jewish and one was not, they could not be legally wed in Germany. While the father is taken by the Germans to Dachau, he is part of the slave labor that is sent during the day to the Allach Porcelain Factory. The daughter’s mother is an artist yet her style of painting has fallen out of favor by the Reich. Unlikely friendship develops at the porcelain factory and eventually her mother manages to gain entry to the factory to help prepare for a showing of the porcelain. A powerful story of crisscrossed lovers and later the dedication of their daughter to forge for the discovery of her father. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book; this is my honest opinion of the book.

3.5

This was a pretty solid debut dealing with a lesser known part of the war, the Porzellan Manufaktur Allach. While the characters and storyline were fictional, the Allach Porcelain Manufacture was a real part of the war. After finishing the novel I read up on the history of the manufacturing of Allach porcelain and its importance to the Reich. Himmler had a great appreciation for the figurines produced, and helped fund the acquisition of PMA in 1936. I do wish the novel had given a little more info on all of this, as it was a bigger focus of the story.

While I normally enjoy dual timelines, I was a little frustrated with this one. I enjoyed Max and Bettina's parts, but I felt Clara's was lacking. She is on a search to find her father, and it seems to go from no leads and information to everything just falling into her lap. Everything came together way too easily and quickly to be believable, and at the same time there was a lot of missing information. The same can be said for Max and Bettina's parts, such as how she ended up in London and how she left Italy. There are a lot of loose threads that could have been tied up better.

I did enjoy the discussion of art, and how Bettina went from being a "degenerate" artist to one highly prized by the Nazis. The portions dealing with Max and the porcelain were also interesting, as he was a Jew crafting something that was very popular with the Nazis as well. I do think Clara could have been fleshed out a little better; her character and story were lacking and dragged a bit in places. Max and Bettina had better characterizations and storylines, just with the loose threads mentioned earlier.

I think this novel would have worked better as a single timeline, with Clara's parts being cut, or at least her parts being reworked to give the novel better flow throughout. It is still an enjoyable novel overall; it could just use a bit of polishing up.

Even though I’ve been feeling a little burned out by WWII novels, I will read one if there’s something in the blurb that I haven’t seen done before. As the granddaughter of a veteran who was there when Dachau was liberated, as soon as I saw that this book took place there, I had to read it.
The Porcelain Maker is first and foremost a love story. While I suppose it is technically historical fiction, it didn’t make me feel like I was transported back in time. You could pick up the main characters and plop them in a modern setting and it wouldn’t change much.

A dual timeline between 1993 and the 1930’s/1940’s, this historical fiction read explores the lives of Max, an architect and a Jew from Germany and his wife, Bettina, an artist and not a Jew. While their love was forbidden at that time, they each had to learn to move on, or find each other again. Clara, Bettina’s daughter, in 1993 is on a search to find out who her father was and during this search, unravels an entire history she didn’t know about. I did enjoy the cast of characters as I thought they were all well thought out. The writing flowed effortlessly through the descriptions of each scene and was evenly paced. As tough as it is to read about WWII stories right now because of the current climate, this one was story based and was not difficult to get through. This was a fantastic debut, and I can’t wait to see what Freethy comes up with next.

Readers who enjoy to read historical fiction that is focused on the Holocaust will like this story. I enjoyed reading Clara's journey to seek information about her father more than the back story about her mother and father. Readers who love art will like the historical information about porcelain. Not a favorite.

I think the market may have finally become saturated with historical fiction taking place leading up to and during World War II. The Allach porcelain created in a factory owned by the SS by prisoners at Dachau was something I did not know, but the restrictions on artists deemed degenerate and unacceptable was not, nor were the horrors of the concentration camps. The story is told across two time periods: Max and Bettina’s story that begins in pre-war Germany and Bettina’s daughter Clara’s story in the early 1990’s as she searches to learn the identity of the father Bettina never told her about.

The Porcelain Maker is very well researched and the portions about the art world are informative and interesting. What the story lacks, however, is heart and hope. When we are first introduced to Max and Bettina they are not presented as likeable or relatable. Their love story does not have any spirit to it and almost from the beginning they and most of the people around them are bitter, resentful, depressed and full of despair. Yes, the times were horrific and unimaginable, but the author doesn’t give you much to connect with. It is more you wonder why they are together because there is no vibrancy in their relationship except what we are told; we don’t see it in the behavior of the characters. Clara is grieving both the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother. It was only then she received a tiny clue to the possible identity of her father. She is hurt by her mother withholding such important info and her quest to locate as much of the Allach porcelain as she can is not a joyous journey but a slog to discover the truth. Unfortunately for the reader, we are able to guess pretty quickly who Clara’s father is so there is no mystery to the story. It seems both of her parents gave up on life in different ways, leaving Clara hurt, wondering and disconnected from her aloof mother most of her own life. As already noted, the story is meticulously researched and full of facts, but it is slow-paced and makes you wish it would move along, until the ending, which is a bit rushed and feels like Clara may have closure but not real comfort.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Publishing Group for providing an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy

In the 1990s, Clara is looking for her biological father who was known as the Porcelain Maker of Dachau in the 1940s. Her mother Bettina is mute on the subject.

The Nazis and Holocaust are presented as absolute villains, as they should be. Max, a Jew, is taken to the death camp and leads a better life than some due to his artistic talents making porcelain figurines. Bettina, a non-Jew and also an artist, is Max’s lover. The side stories are well incorporated, as this tale is woven together between the decades.

This is a good, solid, four star story offered by St Martin’s Press and NetGalley as an ARC for this review. It would be of interest to lovers of historical fiction and many, like myself, who find there’s always something to learn about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.

Even though I have read many novels based on World War II and the Holocaust, I continue to discover new aspects of that time period. Sarah Freethy's debut novel The Porcelain Maker certainly added to my knowledge. Combining a love story with the brutal details of that time period produced a book that will continue to linger in my mind. I have come to appreciate the use of dual timelines because the contemporary perspective provides much-needed breaks from the horrors of the war story. I loved getting to know Bettina and Max and would have liked to learn a bit more about Clara's growing=up years. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an advance copy to read and review.

The synopsis of The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy intrigued me, as I am often drawn to WWII fiction novels. Inspired by an actual porcelain factory in Dachau, this sweeping tale held me captive from the very first page.

The story begins in America, 1993 where Clara, Bettina’s daughter, searches for clues about her father. She follows the sales of unique pieces of porcelain. From the very first pages, I was transported and whisked away to Germany, 1929.

In Germany, we meet Bettina, a painter, and Max, a skilled Jewish architect. Theirs is a whirlwind romance, and I enjoyed the art scene, romance and their young marriage. It’s a dangerous time and soon Max is arrested. They took him to the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau.

As Clara learns more about her parents, we spend time with both Max and Bettina. Max creates exquisite porcelain figures for the Germans and Bettina risks everything to save him. Bettina’s story tugged at my heartstrings even as I admired how brave she was.

The tale that unfolds was beautiful, sad, heartbreaking, and enlightening. I am always amazed how, during the darkest of times, light emerges. The blending of fiction and history was exquisitely done. I researched off page as the author piqued my curiosity.

If you, like me, enjoy historical fiction/romance steeped in history, particularly WWII, you won’t want to miss The Porcelain Maker. It’s one of my favorite historical reads this year.

The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy is a story of love, betrayal and art inspired by the actual porcelain factory in Dachau. From the horrors of World War II to America, two lovers are caught at the crossroads of history and a daughter’s search for the truth. In 1929, Germany, Max, a skilled Jewish architect, and Bettina, an avant-garde German painter, met and the sparks were immediate. Their whirlwind romance takes them to the dazzling lights of Berlin but they are met with the darkness as Nazism becomes the rising threat to all they love and hold dear. When Max is arrested and sent to the Dachau concentration camp, Bettina is determined to rescue him and escape Germany. In 1993, Clara, Bettina’s daughter, is on a journey to discover the identity of her father, a second her mother took to her grave. As she traces her mother’s past, Clara is left with questions as to why her mother fought so hard to keep her past hidden.
While I have a bit of World War II fatigue with the ever growing number of books which feature World War II, I was intrigued by a story I haven’t heard before. I was hooked in by the opening chapter as Clara is tracing down porcelain figures linked to her mother. I loved the electric and flirtatious meeting between Max and Bettina. However, the book fell fast. I was confused by the back and forth in time and places. Who’s who and how they all fit into the story of the concentration camp and the porcelain factory. Sadly, even the emotional moments that should have been more powerful and poignant fell flat. I didn’t care for Bettina or even Clara as she is on this journey. Max was a decent character. Overall, I appreciate the author’s desire to bring the story of Dachau to light, but The Porcelain Maker was uninteresting and too drawn out. However, if you enjoy World War II stories, you may enjoy The Porcelain Maker.

The Porcelain Maker is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Sarah Freethy's THE PORCELAIN MAKER wonderfully intertwines the stories of the tough choices made, the secrets kept, promises broken, lives changed forever in 1940s war time and 1990s peace time trying to understand family history and uncover the truth. I have to admit that I was dubious about the merits of yet another book about WWII, love, and family secrets, but this one blew up doubts and totally engaged me from the first pages. The relationships felt wrenching, involving, and believable and the entire story was full-on immersion. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Poignant ww2 historical romance

This is a beautifully written and engaging ww2 historical romance. It is dual timeline, set in the 1990 and 1930-1940 timeframes about a daughter seeking the truth about her mother's background and trying to find her father. The story is woven around pieces of porcelain made in a factory near Dachau, owned by the SS and using the father's slave labor, as well as paintings done by the mother. This is definitely a must read by a new author. I really liked this book!!!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me an e-arc via Netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.