I was fortunate to receive a free ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
The narration Tamsin Kennard did an excellent job of keeping your attention in telling the story.

Mia lost her parents very early in her life and her grandma Ilse raised her in England and then Ilse left Mia to return to her homeland in Poland.
Ilse fell and landed in the hospital and was asking for someone named Szymna. Who is this person Grandma is asking for?
Mia starts looking for clues in the apartment and finds a stack of postcards that possibly can explain the mystery of Ilse’s life.
Discovering Ilse isn’t just suffering from her fall but has a life threatening illness Mia starts knocking on doors and discovers a life her grandma had as a young girl that was privileged and basically on the other side of the bridge.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of this. I enjoyed the narrator. The storyline is good but choppy as jumps from one perspective to the next. I got frustrated when it jumped from perspectives but the main story being told, they kept passing it to the next person to tell Mia. It was drawn out too long for a predictable semi dull build up. The author does a good job capturing the era and what it was like during ww2. I just think overall feel it was flat for me with main concept of the book. Too predictable?

A heartwrenching story of love and grief in Germany during World War II. Shared in dual timelines, the story starts with Mia in 1999 as her grandmother Ilse, the woman who raised her, is taken to the hospital. Mia learns her grandmother is dying, but when she’s briefly conscious and asks for someone Mia has never heard of, she returns back to Ilse’s house for clues and discovers a stack of postcards, taking her back to the start of the war nearly 60 years before. As the novel goes back to that time on the eve of the Second World War, it goes from childhood friendship to young love and hardship, as Isle works to save the man she loves from the Nazis, and the resulting fallout of the war and grief. This is based on a true story.
It’s a beautiful wartime story full of heartbreak, though I did find it hard to follow at times with some of the back and forth between characters and whose perspective we were getting at the moment.
Tamsin Kennard narrates this novel beautifully though, bringing the stories to life.
Thank you to Dreamscape Select for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This is out now.

The story of love lost and family connections is beautifully written. The audio version was hard for me to follow at times due to the accent of the narrator. However, it did add a special element to the story. If you like historical fiction and WW2 books, this is a great book for you.

Thank you to Dreamscape Select and Netgalley for the ARC audio. These are my own opinions.  This story is told through multiple POVs and also has flashbacks to the past.  The narrator, Tamsin Kennard, was wonderful and brought a lot of emotion to the story.  The story follows Mia, Ilse (her grandmother), Marlena, Szymon and Tadeuz. Mia finds out her grandmother is put in the hospital and she goes to Germany to be with her.  After all she is the woman who raised her after her parents died in an accident.  When her grandmother calls out for someone that Mia does not know, she becomes curious about what her grandmother could be hiding.  When she goes to her grandmother's flat she stumbles upon postcards with the same name, she is then taken on a journey back to WW2 with the help from Marlena (her grandmother's best friend), Tadeusz (a grumpy neighbor) and her grandmother.  This is definitely a story of forgiveness and things that are left unsaid.  The characters are not only looking for forgiveness from others but are learning to forgive themselves for the decisions that they had to make,  both in the past and present. There were definitely things that were left unsaid between each other's characters.  It makes you realize that life is short and we should tell people we love that we love them. We should also tell people the truth about why certain decisions were made before it is too late. I loved the multiple POVs when they were telling the story of what happened during WW2.  It helped me see the story from all angles.  It helped show why the character did what they did. With each character telling their own story.  The characters were well thought out and relatable. You couldn't help hoping that each character finds peace and forgiveness. This story had my heart firmly gripped in it's grasp and wouldn't let go. Finding out that it is based on a true story made me want to learn more.  I will definitely be reading more from this author.  4 stars!

I have read a lot of World War II novels, but this story took a completely different spin. You see travesties from not only the Polish view, but also the German view and the German citizens who attempted to help the innocent victims. Mia, the main character, finds her dying grandmother’s postcards and the story unfolds from there. As you become engrossed in the reading of the postcards, you can unfold the mystery of the grandmother’s childhood and why she seems to be a cold and distant guardian to Mia. You see present and past as the author melds both into a heartbreaking but redemptive story. As you learn about each character, the author did a wonderful job of showing their present-day personality and why each character has regrets that have affected the rest of their lives.
I have never read a novel by Carly Schabowski, so I was introduced to her beautiful and poetic writing. She wrote each character in a way that shows their humanity of having faults and selfishness that was realistic.
I listened to this book as an audiobook and the British narrator had a wonderful, smooth voice that was relaxing and enjoyable. She changed each character’s voice in a way that was easy to tell who was speaking.
Thank you Dreamscape Select for allowing me to enjoy this book through Net Galley.

I'm really not sure what to make of this one! I usually love WWII fiction, but this felt very light on the actual history of the time period and was very focused on a love triangle (square?). There was a lot going on. The story was well written, but just really wasn't my cup of tea. I got lost a few times throughout and there were just so many twists and turns I had a hard time keeping up with all of them. I'm also not sure I recognized a resolution for all of them at the end of the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy to reveiw!

This is a story that will tug on your heartstrings. It is set in dual timelines: WW2 and the late 90’s.
Mia’s grandmother Ilse is dying. While Mia is visiting the hospital, her grandmother asks for Szymon. Who is Szymon? This sets the story in motion.
While Mia is trying to find out who Szymon is, she comes across a suitcase at her grandmother’s apartment. In the suitcase she finds postcards signed by Szymon. Through those postcards and a journal Ilse is writing, we find out what happened.
Ilse and Marlena are two best friends who live in Görlitz, a German town on the border to Poland. One day they meet Szymon and his cousin Tadeusz, who are from Zgorzelec, the bordering Polish town. The four become inseparable until Isle’s family move to Berlin.
This story is full of heartbreak, young love, and a lot of regrets. It keeps you in captivated, wanting to find out what happened to all the friends.

I listened to the audio version and enjoyed it. The reader did a good job of creating unique voices for each character. It was an immersive listening experience.

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

A dual timeline World War II novel. This was my first Carly Schabowski book and I enjoyed this emotional novel.

Holding the faded postcard in her trembling hands, Mia begins to read the one story her grandmother could never tell her, revealing a secret that will change her own life forever…

When her beloved grandmother, Ilse , is taken into hospital, Mia drops everything to travel to Germany and care for the woman who raised her. But when her grandmother briefly wakes up and asks for a man called Szymon , Mia is confused. Who is he? And why does her grandmother need to see him so desperately?

Later that night, Mia returns to her grandmother’s apartment to search for clues. She soon discovers a small parcel hidden inside one of Ilse’s suitcases. When she removes the wrapping, she finds a stack of faded postcards neatly bound together, signed with a name that makes her heart stop in her Szymon .

Desperate to find Szymon before it is too late, Mia unearths a story her grandmother never told of childhood friendship and heartbreaking young love on the eve of the Second World War, and of a plan to rescue a young man imprisoned by the Nazis. Mia can’t quite believe her grandmother was so brave, and risked so much to save this man’s life… But did she succeed?

As the final pieces of the past come together, Mia realizes that she is about to find out what really happened to her grandmother during the war. But she doesn’t expect to uncover a secret that will change everything…

Based on a true story, this page-turning and emotional wartime novel follows one woman’s brave decision to save the man she loves from the Nazis.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read "The Postcard" in exchange for my honest review.

yeah…call me insensitive but i didn’t care much for those characters or the story. i called the plot twist on the grandpa super early on (it was a obvious as a nose on a face) and although i liked mia, her grandma’s flashbacks showed a very annoying and spoiled young woman. i know the point was that she would be unlikeable and selfish but she didn’t have any redeeming qualities either, her best friend was much more enjoyable and i couldn’t care less about those 2 guys. also, the “current time” chapters were set in 1999 and mia’s storyline, which i found more interesting than the grandma’s btw, were also way too modern for almost 24 years ago. her abusive relationship wouldn’t have been labeled that and the way it was dealt with was a very modern approach to the whole thing. not sure gym memberships were that big of thing at that time either and you probably would’ve tried to lose weight another way (you get my meaning, it’s the 90s/00s). anyway, this was marketed as an emotional read and i felt nothing at all. 2⭐️

The Postcard by Carly Schabowski is a story of WWII and the far-reaching effects that it had on the people who lived through it. Isla is an old woman now and she has lived with the regrets of her decisions so many years ago. Mia is her granddaughter who is living through her own trauma. When Mia discovers that her grandma is dying, she comes to her side, only to discover that there was so much more to the woman who raised her than she ever knew. A story of loss and love and forgiveness, you won't want to miss this one!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. The narrator did an excellent job, as well.

Drama: 5/5
Romance: 0/5
Chemistry: 0/5
Spice: 1/5
Humor: 1/5
Cry factor: 2/5
Suspense: 3/5
Angst: 2/5

I listened to the audio for this book and the narrator was wonderful to listen to. There was some spoken German and it sounded good (I'm not German, so I have no idea, but it sounded great). The narrator did all characters tons with excellent finesse. Even young and old Elsa were different. 5 stars for the audio.
This is definitely a heart wrenching story of how a group of friends survived during the 2nd wold war.
If you want to know how the Polish suffered during the war, this is the book to read. And yes in the middle of all the chaos and terror, there are many love stories to enjoy, betrayal, and most of all, forgiveness. Remembering is an awful thing, but it it also liberating and a journey to forgive.

Tropes:
- World War II
- Historical
- Selfish heroin
- Terror from war
- Prisoner camps
- Secrets
- Learning to forgive
- Poland

#ThePostcard is a wonderful story following one woman’s youth before, during, and after Nazi Germany in a town that borders Poland. It gives you all the feels while being multiple point of view. This story is about a German girl, youth, and love only lightly touching on the brutality of the war.

Mia's beloved grandmother, the woman who raised her, is dying and Mia's rushes to Germany to spend her grandmother's last days with her. As her grandmother, Ilse, awakens in the hospital, she asks for someone named Szymon. Who is this person that Ilse seems so intent on seeing?

Mia returns to her grandmother's apartment and piqued by her grandmother's calls for Szymon, she decides to look for clues to his or her identity. Upon coming across a pack of postcards hidden away, Mia is flabbergasted when she finds the cards signed by Szymon.

Intrigued by this, Mia investigates and finds a world centered on the war, and a man Ilse is determined to rescue. He had been captured by the Nazis and Mia thinks he might still be alive. Turning over clues, she finds out some details about her grandmother's past, of how brave and courageous Ilse had been and how she was determined to rescue the person she loved.

Does she succeed? It is now 1999 so is this phantom person still alive? The intrigue and danger Ilse faces is the gist of this emotional and brave tale that brings a grandmother that Mia loved into a new light.

Of all the regrets one has in their lives, is this one that Mia might help fixing for Ilse.?

Thank you to Carly Schabowski, Dreamscape Media, narrated by Tamsin Kennard, and NetGalley for the ability to listen to this worthwhile tale some of which was based on fact.

A heartbreaking story of war love birth death and friendship. Just listened to this in 2 days. The characters jump out at you and become part of your life. Would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the other side of war b

The Postcard by Carly Schabowski
Narrated by Tamsin Kennard

1999 - Görlitz, Germany - Mia was raised by her grandmother, Ilse, in England, after her parents died. They spent all their time together until the last several years, when Ilse had moved back to Görlitz, her hometown, where her best and only friend still lived. Mia would visit but as she always was, Ilse was stern, stoic, not at all one to share feelings or memories with Mia. It is only when Mia is summoned to Ilse's deathbed that she finds Ilse ready to tell Mia about her past, her regrets and all the ways guilt has weighed her down in life. Also sharing a past full of regrets and guilt is a surly old man who lives below Ilse's apartment, a man that Mia will come to know, as he shares his part in that past. We get to hear and read the POVs of this elderly man, Ilse's best friend, Marlena, and Ilse, herself.

1937 onward - Görlitz, Germany and Zgorzelec, Poland, two neighboring border towns - Fifteen year old Mia is the daughter of a wealthy German couple and she is clueless to what is going on around her even as people/families are being taken away and never seen again. She's bored with her old childish pastimes and longing for something new and she finds that something new when she meets two cousins, Syzmon and Tadeusz. The blond headed young men could almost be twins, or at least brothers, they look so much alike. Fickle Ilse decides she's in love with one of them to quickly realize she's not in love, flitting from one obsession to another, not realizing are caring who she might hurt or the destruction she causes with all her impulsive and selfish actions.

It's hard to like young Ilse as she can only think about herself and what makes her happy. She's even cruel to her best friend, not stopping to see how she stomps on the feelings of everyone. When her family moves to Berlin, she leaves a hole in three hearts, while Ilse has no idea of what is really going with her friends or the world.

When she comes back to Görlitz things have changed drastically although Ilse hardly notices most of the changes, only the changes that affect her directly. When one of the cousins needs to be rescued she selfishly wants to be involved. She sees everything as a game or as an adventure in the books she likes to read. Even at the age of twenty, Ilse is still selfish and only thinking of what she wants.

Now, in 1999, she wants to confess to all she has done and not done. The story comes out in pieces, over a few days. Marlena can/will tell a bit of the story but mostly it needs to come from Ilse and her downstairs neighbor. The story is heartbreaking but it needs to be told for so many reasons. I felt for this foursome, wish things could have been different, but know that war time removes the ability to fix many regrets even if one wanted to do so before it's too late. Tamsin Kennard does a fantastic job with the audiobook narration and gave each of the characters the emotional voices they needed to tell their stories.

Thank you to Dreamscape Select, Hachette UK - Bookouture, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Powerful story with very tender topics told in a gripping way. I enjoyed the tie between generations and the story heard and seen through both. It was fast for me and I didn’t want to stop.

I've always had a fascination with the WWII era and love listening/reading books that take place during that time. The Postcard is a very good listen, an emotional heartbreaking story as are most from that time period. It's an interesting tale of family and friendship.

I loved this story about a young woman, tracing her German grandmother’s past to find answers about what happened to her during World War II and the man that she loved. This is a real tearjerker and impossible to put down.

3 1/2 stars, rounded up
I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. The premise was great, the characters were interesting, but I found it lacking the excitement and the spark of a deeper connection with the characters that I was expecting based on the blurb. I found the first 60% of the book a little tough to get through, as I wanted to know what happened but the pace was dragging. The characters themselves were likable and I enjoyed the dialogue between them, as well as the explanation of the background that they shared, as that did become integral to the second half of the book.

I would say that the last 20% of the book was what I enjoyed the most, discovering the truth behind the postcard and what it meant for Ilse, Mia, and their loved ones. I would still recommend to any lovers of WWII historical fiction.