Overall an interesting read. Would recommend this historical fiction.

Thank you to Lelita Baldock, NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the arc of this book

89 year old Zenta has settled in Australia- as much as one can settle after a turbulent life running from both invading foreign powers and threats lurking far closer to home. After receiving a call from someone linked to her distant past, Zenta finally tells the truth about her life and that of her family- a truth which will once again test the family bonds they thought they had.

A simultaneously heart warming and heart breaking tale of relationships both born of and torn apart by differing religious and political ideologies during the Soviet and Second World War, this book tells of the personal cost to many of those involved. With her brother Tomass joining the Latvian Army early on during the Nazi occupation and her sister Estere becoming more involved in resistance work, Zenta finds herself the lynchpin holding her parents and their bakery together as their wider familial relationships ebb and flow.

Forced to run from the Nazis in order to save her sister’s child, Zenta’s journey across the world begins in earnest, but it will cost her dear.

Despite the subject matter, this is one of the most enjoyable I’ve read in a long time. Thought provoking, it made me question what I’d potentially have done if I was in Zenta’s shoes, and whether I’d have had the guts to follow in her footsteps.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

4.5 stars

I knew this was a book set during WWII, but I didn't realize how little I knew about the country called Latvia. The horrors undergone by so many innocent people - all over Europe - but even (especially?) in a country that had won its' freedom from Russia only to be reconquered by them. Then the Nazis came and pushed out Russia - yet Russia came back for another 50+/- years. Wow. Such a heart-wrenching tale wrapped up in the saga of two sisters.

The direction I thought the story would go was wrong - but I'm glad for how it turned out in the end. The Baker's Secret is a deeply moving read, loosely based on relatives in the author's family. Make sure you have tissues and are ready for depictions of war crimes and abuse. I do think a trigger-warning would be appropriate for this fact-based fiction.

I received an ARC; this is my honest review.

An amazing and heartwarming story of two Latvian sisters during World War II. I like that unlike the legion of stories that move between the past and the present with a family secret, there isn’t an info dump of facts about what happened in the past by the modern day characters.

5 stars, Some Secrets Are Good

THE BAKER'S SECRET
by Lelita Baldock

This is a different kind of WWII story, it's told with dual timelines set in Australia in 2018 and in Riga, Latvia in 1940 and beyond. The story is of a Latvian family on the outside looking inward toward the persecution of the Jewish families in their beloved town.

Zenta Venga is a Latvian who escaped the terrors of communist occupation, to Australia.

Zenta had lived in Riga, Latvia with her loving parents, older brother Tomass, and older sister Estere. They lived over the family bakery in a modest home. Her parents were the main bakers, but as the children grew older, they helped out, too. Zenta loved her family and her life there. She loved the Rye Pudding that her mother made, sometimes just to cheer someone up. She liked seeing the patrons of the bakery coming to get their daily bread and visiting with each of them.

First, the Russians occupied Riga, then the Germans moved in and occupied the once lovely town. Riga, nor the people who lived there would ever be the same again.

Estere hands Zenta her newborn baby and tells her she must run to get away from the Germans who are holding the family captive. Zenta doesn't want to leave them, but she also wants the baby to live.

I received a complimentary copy of #TheBakersSecret from #StormPublishing and #NetGalley I was not obligated to post a review.

#HistoricalFiction #WWII #RigaLatvia #Australia #Love #Motherhood #Loss #Death #TriggerWarning #communism #CulturalHeritage #Diverse #genealogy #Secrets #Jews #StrongFemaleProtagonist #LelitaBaldock

Great read, I learned a few things and found interesting. Good luck with the book.. Fairly well written and well researched.

This book provided great insight into Latvia’s history. It is the heartbreaking story of two sisters, Zenta and Estere, who are separated when the Nazis invade their home in Riga. Estere hands her infant daughter to Zenta as the German soldiers take the rest of the family hostage. Zenta escapes to a neighbor who enables her and the baby, Aina, to buy their freedom via passage on a freighter. Zenta cares for Aina as if she were her own child knowing that her sister would do the same for her, though when Zenta falls too ill to continue on, her entire world shatters.

This tragic story is told with so much passion, so much insight into human nature and it gives us glimpses into life during the Nazi invasion. It is a story well told in great detail.

I am a new fan of Lelita Baldock and I encourage you to pick up this book. It easily rates 5 stars. Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.

I was hooked from the very first chapter of this book. I couldn't put it down. It's set in the 1940's and was a very interesting read. It had a great story and a brilliant cast of characters. I highly recommend it and I can't wait to read more by the author.
💖 Thank you to Storm publishing, netgalley and the author for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

communism, germans, latvia, cultural-heritage, culture-of-fear, family, family-business, family-dynamics, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-romance, historical-setting, history-and-culture, secrets, lies, ww2, sisters, emmigrants

Born into a family of bakers in Latvia, she was quite young when the country became occupied by the Russian communists and not many years older when Hitler's men came to remove one set of oppressors and install themselves in their place. It was a very terrible time and many decisions were made that would leave their impact on the remainder of the family for a great many years. The publisher's blurb is a good intro to the heartbreak and terrors of those years. A wrenching story well told.
I requested and received an EARC from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you.

This is a WWII story about strength and loyalty between 2 sisters and families during the war. Just how far will they go to save each other? Loved, loved this story!!

Really enjoyed this book. Dodnt really know much about the troubles before so it was good to find out about it.

Once I started reading this, I couldn’t put it down. Not knowing anything about the war experiences of Latvians, this was a real eye opener. Caught between the Russians and the Germans, life was incredibly difficult. I didn’t know about the slaughter of the Jews in Riga. Lolita Baldock has crafted a moving story of the choices people make in war and then after to protect their families. This is a book that will move you and stay with you, and you will admire the resilience of survivors. Many thanks to NetGalley for an opportunity to review an ARC of this book.

Riga, Latvia 1943: It is the time of the Nazi occupation of her home city of Riga, Zenta and her family continue the tradition of baking. Her mother and father, her brother Tomass and sister Estere. While her brother Tomass joins the German Army and her sister joins with her lover in the Latvian Resistance, 11 year-old Zenta continues to work in the bakery. The Latvian city of Riga, previously run by Russia, falls to the Nazis. As the war advances, it becomes clear that Germany is losing and Riga once more comes under the control of the Russians. Estere has given her baby to her sister Zenta giving the child a chance to live. Once the Russians enter the city, many of the citizens are desperate to leave the city. Zenta and her sister's child Aina, are among those who manage to flee.
Australia, 2018: After her flight from Riga, Australia is destined to be the place where Zenta will be sent. During her journey, she joins with a fellow Latvian in the hope that there may be a future for them and Aina in this strange land they are to live in, Australia. In 2018 Heather, a person with connection to Zenta's past in Latvia, arrives at her door. The time has come for Zenta's secrets to be revealed.
I loved this story as difficult as it was to read in some parts. Secrets and betrayal, weakness and strength and a forever loyalty and love for family, country and tradition is ever present within this story. It has also given me an understanding of the ravages of war in Latvia that I hadn't known before. Latvia suffered the most terrible holocaust and terrible destruction and, as I read this story, I could not help but think of the suffering that is existing close to that part of the world today.
To quote part of the book description: "In Nazi-occupied Latvia, two sisters are forced to make an impossible choice. To save a child, one sister must flee, while the other must stay behind. The secret of what happens next will endure for generations. But the truth won't stay hidden forever..."
Thank you Lelita Baldock for this story and thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC for reading.

Make no mistake. This heartbreaking story was so difficult to read that I often had to put the book down and take an emotional break. Latvia's history from 1940 until the fall of the Soviet Union is the stuff of nightmares. First occupied by the Soviets, then the Nazis, then the Soviets once again. The story is told through the voices of two sisters, Zenta and Estere, whose family runs a small bakery in Riga. We watch as the war tears their family and country apart. The despair and sorrow drip from the pages as each sister loses what matters the most to them.

I marveled at the strength of Zenta who was only a teenager during the war, the youngest member of her family. She made such huge personal sacrifices that I don't know how she didn't lose her sanity. This story begins and ends in Australia, giving the reader a glimpse into the displacement camps in Europe and the difficulties of resettlement. So many women throughout this story offered care and shelter to others, instinctively offering whatever comfort they could. Although this is fiction, I know that If not for the resilience of women during and after World War II, many of us wouldn't be alive today. This is a profoundly moving book that opened my eyes to the struggles of Latvia and I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read the digital ARC. All opinions and the review are my own.