I really enjoyed this one! The Cold War is not an era of historical fiction that I have read much of, but I really enjoyed learning more about a part of history I’m not familiar with. I love historical fiction because I think it serves as a pathway into understanding a part of history unlike your own and an opportunity to feel the unique experiences of people in that time.

This book set as a DUAL timeline/POV - one side is from a man behind the Iron Curtain of East Berlin during the 60s-80s and the other is his adult daughter living in America in 1989.
The beginning seems to build slowly, but by the middle of the book I was hooked. I respect the amount of historical research that must’ve been required to write such a richly detailed story. The characters were well developed and full; I felt the turmoil and the confusion alongside the main character as she finds out the truth about her family.

As I mentioned earlier, there were sections of the story that felt a little bogged down in historical details. It’s also very heavily narrated with little dialogue. I would have liked to see the romance aspect either removed or developed a bit more.

😇: no faith mentioned, other than general references to Catholicism; Harper Muse publisher
😍: no sexual content
🤐: very occasional mild language (h*ll, d*mn)

Thank you to Harper Muse & Netgalley for the complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

It’s weird to read about historical fiction events that you remember. I was a kid when the Berlin Wall came down and, at the time, I didn’t understand its significance. While I’ve read other Cold War novels, this is the first I’ve read that took place in East and West Germany. The dual narrative grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let go. The characters and the plot were well-developed with just enough mystery to keep me reading. It was truly hard to put down! This may be my favorite Katherine Reay book.

Fascinating story! History buffs will enjoy this novel of secret codes and messages taken place during the Cold War. Told in first person, Luisa, a code breaker in DC notices something familiar about a set of letters her co-worker share with her. Kept in the dark about her father, secrets begin to emerge. Haris, living in East Berlin has not seen his daughter still the Berlin War was being built. Caught up in a world of behind the Iron Curtain, Harris fights for his life while Luisa fights to release her father. Recommended!

Reading <i>The Berlin Letters</i> was like reading a historical novel and a mystery/suspense novel all in one. Honestly, it kind of reminded me of <i>The DaVinci Code</i>! The story takes place over two timelines that ended up merging into one by the end of the book. It's a story of a young girl, Luisa, who was born in Berlin just before the wall went up. Through a series of events, she ends up escaping just in time and being raised by her grandparents in the United States. Now as an adult, her career and her grandfather's recent death play a role in opening a Pandora's box of secrets, codes, and mystery that ultimately lead to a wild adventure back in Berlin in 1989.

This historical fiction is an interesting look at a period and events in history and how those on both sides not only interpreted the events as they were happening, but also came to see how they impacted people on a grander scale and what they meant for society and the human race as a whole. A fascinating and exciting read!

Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the ARC.

Publish Date: March 4, 2024

This book is a history lesson masterfully encased in a top-notch spy thriller. The story is told in a dual timeline. Haris Voekler's story begins in 1961 Berlin with the construction of the Berlin Wall. Luisa Voekler's story begins in 1989 in Washington D.C. I was hooked from the first page. The secrets, lies, snitches, secret codes, and tension of living in East Berlin under the watchful of the Stasi kept me reading way past my bedtime.

Katherine Reay is a new author to me. While I am waiting for next book, I will definitely check out her backlist. Thank you, Harper Muse and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

Excellent!!! I could not put it down. The Berlin Letters is a fantastic story of family, of separation, of secrets, a story of codebreakers and spies, of living in Berlin during the years when the Berlin Wall was up, a story of courage, hope, resourcefulness, with a dash of romance. I cannot recommend this story enough. It has everything I love reading about.

Side note-there is one real world event from 1981 that has a bombshell secret revealed about it that left me speechless. I was dumbfounded. I immediately googled it and sure enough, found the same facts that the author so flawlessly wrote about. I had not known! This is why I love historical fiction. Had I been able to learn history through story in high school, I would have learned so much more!

Thank you to Harper Muse and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early ecopy. All opinions are my own. I can't wait for my own copy to arrive for my keeper shelf.

The Berlin Letters
By: Katherine Reay
Review Score: 4 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•Reay really takes you into the time when the Berlin Wall went up, and how families struggled with that sudden and unexpected separation.

•I love the multiple points of view as the time jumps occur over the span of the Cold War.

•This book was so intense, and I could not wait to find out what was going to happen to Luisa and Haris.

•There are a few really great plot twists in the story (which also add to the fear and uncertainty in East Berlin during the Cold War).

————————————————

The Berlin Letters was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Harper Muse. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

Release Date: 3/5/24

Y’all. The Berlin Letters was such an intriguing story. It was so engrossing, trying to figure out what Luisa knows about her Opa and his history in code breaking, as well as trying to learn more about her parents and what happened to them when the Berlin Wall went up.

The story is full of suspense, which adds to the fear and paranoia of the time (I love how well the Cold War period was represented by Reay).

This book was high on my list of “Want to Read”, and I am happy to say it lived up to the hype.

#bookstagram #books #readingnow #boogiereadsbooks #fivekeyfeels #audiobooks #audiobook #historicalfiction #arcreview #netgalley #boogiesbulletpoints #theberlinletters #katherinereay #harpermuse

The story of a family torn apart by the Soviet policies in East Berlin and the building of the wall between East and West Berlin. Luisa was smuggled out the day the wall went up, and was always told her parents were dead and raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather teaches her cryptology through games because he has his own secret life. Her journalist father is behind the wall, dealing with its oppressive policies, and longs to make contact with his daughter and the world.

What is not spoken between the members of this family becomes huge walls, separating them from truth and true contact. All the walls, both the mental and the physical are finally breached together.

The history of the wall, the culture of East Berlin behind the wall is detailed and really interesting. Great blend of history and story.

Katherine Reay whisks to life behind the wall. Compelling, heart wrenching, humbling, leaves you that much more thankful for freedom.

A special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the honor of reading an ARC.

Terrific story based on real history! A page turner, especially towards the end as the tension escalates and lives are at stake. History buffs and fans of spy stories will want to grab this one.

Covering the Cold War era in Berlin from 1961, when the Berlin Wall was erected, to its demise in 1989, it brought back memories from news stories of the time, with names of political leaders and events that rocked the world. A good look at the effects of strict communism on the culture and lives of people under its control.
Well-written and researched, perfectly paced, with just a touch of clean romantic interest towards the end. Highly recommend!
5 stars!

Considering when Luisa’s part of the story takes place, I wondered if the author might utilize one of the most notable events in Berlin history. She did and did so quite effectively. I enjoyed the discussion of the secret codes and code breaking, especially the complexity of the codes and how multiple codes were utilized together. The story focuses on one family and how events in Berlin separated them and later brought them partially back together, as well as the uncovering of numerous family secrets. I liked how the author used secret codes/ciphers to link Luisa, her father (Haris) (whom she has been told is dead) and Walther (her grandfather/opa), and how Walther, through the cryptography games he played with Luisa as a child, was preparing her what she might learn in the future.

The story is very creative in terms of the family secrets, who knew what, and the information that one or more members thought they had kept secret from others but which the others knew or guessed. The author does a good job at portraying the paranoia and suspicion infused in East Germany through the Stasi and snitches, and how that sense of fear and mistrust becomes imbedded in people even when they are safely removed from the environment.

The discussion of Ostpunk and how the subversive nature of the punk scene was utilized to help undermine the East German government was interesting.

I read a lot of historical fiction but this period of time and set in East Berlin is new to me and I loved it. Katherine Reay managed to evoke the terror and confusion of Berliners the day the wall went up. It is extraordinary how the GDR managed to project manage that task so quietly! The image of the little boy trapped on the wrong side from his parents will stay with me for a long time.
I always love a dual timeline and thought she did a great job of giving them a distinct voice. The history felt part of the narrative rather than added information which can happen when an author needs to include all their research and lose the story.
And I really liked that this book wasn’t bogged down in romantic love. This was about the love a father has for his daughter, and family love that becomes distorted by the past. It shows the reality of how hard it is to move forward from such trauma and how that impacts the next generation.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a period of history that I did not know a lot about and it made this book SUPER interesting. I really enjoyed the dual timelines, they synched up well and filled out the story.

I thought the repeated scene at the end from each POV didn't fit as well and there was zero need for a romance thread.

A compelling and gripping story about the hardships of living in East Berlin during the Cold War and the measures that the Stasi took to keep the people suppressed and surveilled. One daughter's perseverance to save her father from a lifetime in prison goes above any concern for her own survival. This is a must read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

"I have found over the years that I fare better being surprised by hope rather than being fooled by reality."

I've unwittingly taken a hiatus from Katherine Reay's books and am so glad that I'm back to reading them again. Katherine Reay has a magical way of transporting the reader to wherever and whenever her characters are. The "past" component of the beautiful story starts in 1961 East Berlin and quickly makes its way to 1989. The "present" component of the plot takes place in one week of November 1989. The past is narrated in third person whereas the present is in first person and I loved how Haris and Luisa's voices mingled together to create a rich and complex tale of sacrifice, loss, regret, betrayal, secrets, and power of love.
I had not given much thought previously to how East Berlin functioned after WWII and during the Cold War years. The vivid descriptions of the conditions were eye-opening and heart-breaking. The codebreaking was truly fascinating and I loved how Luisa's mind worked. How the past collided into the present in the end was masterfully done and I'm still mulling over the details of the story a week after I've finished it.

It's an adrenaline and intrigue-infused race against time to find the truth and save a life - a fast-paced historical fiction that will have you thinking about the Berlin Wall in a new way. I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Harper Muse via NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.

Wow. Just wow. This book sucked me in and wouldn’t let go. I was a teenager in the 80s and grew up during the later years of the Cold War. This book took me back to that time period and all the things that I’ve heard and read about happening in Berlin came to life in its pages. It has it all— secrets, intrigue, healing, hope. Can’t recommend it enough.

****Publishing March 5, 2024****

From the writing to the characters to the story, this book will captivate you from the start!

In Katherine Reay’s latest book, The Berlin Letters, this dual timeline book is from the point of view of Luisa parents, during the era of the Berlin Wall and Luisa during the end of the Cold War in 1989. Luisa is a CIA code breaker, and she is assigned to the Berlin Letters Project where she makes discoveries about her own mother and father, whom she never really knew, since she was raised by her grandparents. She even finds matching letters written by her father and grandfather at her grandmother’s house where she lives. When she learns her father is alive and in prison, can she save him in time? How will she react? What will she discover? How will this change her life?

Katherine Reay is one of my favorite authors because you can tell she meticulously researches her books, which turns into a fascinating and well told story that is informative and entertaining! Katherine Reay perfectly captures the emotions and hardships of the time period. If you love Historical Fiction, then this is one to add to your TBR list!

Thanks to Harper Muse, I was provided an ARC of The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #TheBerlinLetters

This book immediately caught my eye. The cover is spot on, the author is one of my favorites, and the topic is not one I know much about. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy. I am so glad that I did. I knew nothing about the Berlin Wall. What lead up to it, who put it up, and the big questions...why? I am going to age myself and say that I remember President Regan saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." After The Berlin Letter, I am a little bit clearer on the topic, as usual I am still craving more knowledge. This book is phenomenal. You can feel the history oozing out of the pages and through the cover. I feel in love with the characters and the way in which Katherine Reay develops them, made me tear through the pages. I love a book that circles around a family and their complex histories. This one blew me away.

Luisa Voekler has led an astonishing life already. Born in Berlin, German during a volatile time. Luisa and her mother, Monika visit her grandparents. Easily making their way between east and west Berlin. This all changes in a blink of an eye. Overnight a wall is erected and no one can pass. Keeping families, friends, businesses, everything separate. Monika has a gut feeling to throw young Luisa over the wall and into her father's waiting arms. He catches her and makes his way away from the police and from Monika's watchful eye. Did she make the right decision? The book is told in a dual timeline when the wall is erected and until a few days before it comes down. Luisa is now a CIA Code Breaker. Thanks to her grandfather's entertaining codes that he always sets up for Luisa on special occasions. He always kept her on her toes, thinking, learning, and looking for differences in the most minuscule ways. When one of her coworkers brings her a stack of letters to help her break the code. Luisa has a feeling that she has seen that infinity symbol before. Could these letters somehow be connected to her grandfather? As Luisa digs deeper into her grandfather's past. She is met with a realization that her life and what she was told was not what happened. She is left with more questions, than answers. She decides the only way to move forward, is to go back to where it all started...Berlin.

I was completely absorbed and enraptured by this story from the beginning. Code breaking, spies, the Berlin Wall, all of it. I have not read much about this time and I am now determined to find more books centering around this moment in history. Thank you to Katherine Reay and Harper Muse for this phenomenal read!

This well written, thoughtfully plotted dual timeline story of a father and a daughter will keep you reading late into the night. For those of us who grew up during the Cold War, this is a reminder of our freedoms and the ensuing protection of NATO. For this who learn about the Cold War in history class, this is eye opening and a wake up call to value democracy and our freedoms. I will be purchasing this for my high school library.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Berlin Letters
By: Katherine Reay

Genre:
Adult Historical Fiction, WWII,

Red Flags:
War, Grief, Abandonment, Violence, Death

Favorite Quote:
“Yet in all her strength and fury, in all the sickness and waste that came after, she never regretted breaking her own heart. Or mine.”

“Glaring Mistakes can be made in any job, I suppose. Sorting them out is often the bigger problem. Correcting them, too, is challenging. Are you right? It’s hard to ask oneself that question. But one must if one wants to grow.”

“I refuse to die in the waiting room of the future.”

Summary:
The Fall of the Berlin Wall- 1989
Killed in a car accident, that is what Luisa Voekler has been told all her life when asking about her parents. Luisa, a CIA cryptographer, is working on decoding a message when she recognizes a symbol from her childhood. This symbol begins a long, adventurous journey. As she searches for answers, Luisa’s past collides with her present. In Berlin, Haris has lost all that is beloved to him, and has so many life regrets, but he had no choice, or did he…

Review:
This is a touching, bittersweet novel told from two different perspectives. The historical time period of the Fall of the Berlin Wall is fascinating. I did struggle with the middle of the novel as the transitions into Germany, with new characters, and a different plotline, confused me. However, the themes of family secrets, loss, love, and forgiveness, engaged and enticed me to hold on through the bumpy parts of the book. The end was worth the wait, and it was unexpected. These reasons are a reflection of my rating.

Thank you to Katherine Reay, Harper Muse, and NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#KatherineReay
#netgalley #netgalleyreads
#Theberlinletters
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