I think that well written historical fiction novels are my favorites of all time. This book was phenomenal. It takes place during WWII, and focuses on the Lebensborn homes. Never heard of those? Neither had I. That’s why I love historical fiction.

Quick Synopsis:

“The Sunflower House is a meticulously-researched debut historical novel from Adriana Allegri that uncovers the notorious Lebensborn Program of Nazi Germany. Women of “pure” blood stayed in Lebensborn homes for the sole purpose of perpetuating the Aryan population, giving birth to thousands of babies who were adopted out to “good” Nazi families. Allina must keep her Jewish identity a secret in order to survive, but when she discovers the neglect occurring within the home, she’s determined not only to save herself, but also the children in her care.

A tale of one woman’s determination to resist and survive, The Sunflower House is also a love story. When Allina meets Karl, a high-ranking SS officer with secrets of his own, the two must decide how much they are willing to share with each other―and how much they can stand to risk as they join forces to save as many children as they can. The threads of this poignant and heartrending novel weave a tale of loss and love, friendship and betrayal, and the secrets we bury in order to save ourselves.”

This reminded me of The Handmaids Tale so much, just in Germancy during WWII. The Authors Notes state that 20 years of research went into this novel. So truly amazing. In addition to learning about these “Baby-factories” administered by Himmler, the fictional story and romance were wonderful and heroic.

I will absolutely be telling everyone to read this book! Thank you @netgalley @adrianaallegri and @stmartinspress for this advanced copy!!

I’m not sure why I am drawn to books about WWII and the Holocaust. I will always be intrigued and fascinated when a story tells of the bravery that normal people show under the unfathomable details of war.

This is the story of Allina Strauss’s life. She had a pretty normal life, she worked in Uncle’s bookshop, had friends and a fiancé she would spend time with.

Adolph Hitler is in power and Allina has just found out that her Mother was Jewish. When the soldiers come to her village and kill everyone looking for traitors, Allina, the only survivor, is forced into service as a nurse at a state run baby factory called Hockland Home. There, she becomes a witness, spy and participant to the atrocities of Heinrich Himmler’s horrible eugenics program.

This is a fast paced and intense novel about women and their willingness to perpetuate the Aryan population, by giving birth to thousands of babies to be adopted by “good” Nazi families. However, there are too many babies and not enough women to care for them…so, some of them don’t develop properly. Babies need love, care and human interaction to thrive. These babies are on a strict schedule to eat and sleep at the same time, no other interaction…and that is not how nature intended for babies to grow.

If you have never read about the Lebensborn Program, I suggest looking into it through this book! It is very enlightening and very well researched. It will not disappoint in the lesson you may learn.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced copy! This book comes out November 12, 2024 ~

Book Review
The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri

Tropes and Triggers
Historical fiction
Eugenics
Rape
Death of a child
PTSD
Dual timeline and POV
Racism
Nazi Germany

Main Characters
Karl- an SS officer
Allina- a survivor, nurse, teacher, wife and mother

Thoughts
📚 Steeped in fact but a work of fiction- the story focussed more on FMC than the atrocities that happened (for which I am thankful )
📚 This book left me wanting to learn and know more from a non fiction standpoint- the author must have read my mind because her end notes include several suggestions for further reading - I want to know the full truth of what happened
📚 Stories of human compassion and sacrifice always draw me in. The voices of people I don’t know, during historical events I cannot begin to comprehend pull me in each time. Where there are horrors there is also hope.

‼️⚠️This will be a difficult and heavy of heart read for most- read with care and caution ❤️‍🩹

Thanks you to @netgalley and the publisher for my digital ARC. Opinions expressed are my own

A heart wrenching tale of courage and love and an extraordinary debut. Rich in historical detail, this novel explores the Lebensborn Program where women of “pure” blood were forced to bear children for the Aryan race. This is a bokk that the reader will long remember.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Sunflower House is a WWII historical fiction centered around the Lebensborn program. This book is PERFECT for fans of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, and Pam Jenoff. It is fast-paced, historically accurate (to an extent) and 100% worth the read.

This book is heart-wrenching, but I would absolutely read it again. I enjoyed the love story because it introduced a sense of love, humanity, and warmth amidst the horrible atrocities of World War 2. The POV of the main character adds an extra element to the narrative, both saddening, but at the same time, inspiring. It gives you a sense of hope in a hopeless time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review

It’s hard to believe this is Adriana Allegri’s debut novel, as it is so well written (although it took 20 years to bring it to fruition!). The book is well researched and carefully thought out.
Sunflower House is a heartbreaking story of a young woman, the Lebensborn program, and family secrets. Allina, a young German woman, is forcefully brought to Hochland Home, a place where women of strong Aryan backgrounds come to give birth to babies mostly for other for Nazi families. This is the plan dreamt up by the SS and led by Heinrich Himmler under Adolph Hitler’s rule to keep the so-called “racially elite” going while many lives are taken during wartime.
Adriana Allegri gives us a look at what it would have been like living in Hochcland Home (one of many homes within the program). The Lebensborn program was a very sad concept, though most woman were there to happily do this for their Fuhrer. Allina is not based on a real person, however Adriana makes her a very relatable and believable character. Allina learns some family secrets and goes through some horrific events early on in the story. It takes her a while to get past that emotionally as well as physically, but she eventually emerges stronger and more prepared to help others as well. When at Hochland Home, Allina finds more secrets within. While there, she meets an SS officer, Karl, and soon finds out she’s not the only one harboring secrets. The two become allies and do all they can in order to save precious lives in a time when the world is falling apart.
I had heard about and read a bit about the Lebensborn program before this book. It is so hard to comprehend that things like this existed in reality when it seems like something straight out of a movie. I appreciate all of the research done by the author to help us understand it better while telling a very interesting story.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Publishing for providing me with an ARC through Netgalley. All opinions in this review are my own.

The Sunflower House is a very good WWII historical fiction novel. I don’t know that I would put it in the exceptional category, but it’s enjoyable, interesting, and manages to avoid the popular trifecta of storylines that includes Jewish people in concentration camps, the French Resistance and the London Blitz. Allina is the focus of this story, and she is a young woman from a small village that finds out she is part Jewish just before most of her village is slaughtered for trying to help Jewish people. She’s forcibly taken away and put in a home of women that’s a breeding ground for the future generation of the Reich. She is not surprisingly traumatized by her experience, and it takes kindness from another woman in the home and a SS officer who is more than he seems before Allina begins to recover and find a way within her surroundings to do her own small part to save lives. This story explores the danger of hiding Jewish ancestry within Germany, the breeding programs that were in place, and the eugenics and experiments the Nazis were doing on their own people. Allegri does a good job of exploring how a woman would recover from trauma, creates a love story that seems plausible, and explores a part of history that gets overlooked. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book had me hooked from start. It was
heartbreaking. Reading about the challenges they faced during WWII was absolutely devastating. I enjoyed the dual timeline. The author did a wonderful job with the pace of the book. I absolutely loved it!

This one was a remarkable story, heartbreaking yet inspiring. It mostly takes place in Nazi Germany during WWII. Katrine discovers her mother is partly Jewish and encourages her to tell the story of her background. Her mother, Allina, was sent to work in the Lebensborn program , which I found horrifying! German women were breeding good German children to be adopted by good German families. Some of the newly born children were “not quite right” and were separated from the other children. Then we learn that those children were experimented on by German doctors. Allina and her friend, Karl, tried to save many children. A beautiful story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it to be a very compelling page turner from beginning to end. This book was set in WW2, and was about the women who cared for the children and pregnant women in a home. Lots of romance throughout this book, many secrets that were kept inside individuals make for a wonderful charming book that is not to be missed. There were those that tried to do good at the risk of their own lives and this book was highly emotional and thoroughly enjoyable right through to the last page. Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Publishing Group for providing me an ARC in exchange for my review.

This book had me engrossed from the very first paragraph, it's that good. I enjoyed reading through this historical fiction book and the stories from WWII were pretty spot on. It felt like I was there in the book along with all the other amazing characters as well. If you like reading books that have a little romance, but also has a riveting story to tell, than you will also like this one too. I hope Adriana Allegri plans on writing more books, as this one has hit a home run in my mind. The Sunflower House is so well written that it will keep me thinking about it for many years to come!

*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for for an eBook copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion/review of this book!

It’s the brink of WWII, in a small German village, Alina’s living with her aunt and uncle, has a fiancé and is living a lovely life. Except- Allina’sfamily has been hiding a secret- her mother was Jewish. Allina is soon left alone- missing fiancé, aunt and uncle. She is sent to work at a Lebensborn home raising children for Hitler.
Although I enjoyed learning more about the Lebensborn program and the things Allina did to survive, I felt I needed more depth into some of the characters and their actions.

Thank you to Netgalley for an early read!

4.5 / 5.0 Stars

This was an interesting dual timeline - 2006 Ramsey, New Jersey juxtaposed against 1938 - Hochland Home of Steinhöring, Germany - where Heinrich Himmler's Lebensborn program flourished.

Katrine, while visiting her mother's home in Ramsey, encounters a hiding place holding a swastika emblazoned box containing a secret stash of items from her now 86 year old mother Alina's life in Germany during the years leading up to World War II. Why all the secrets? Who is my mother and why does she have these things? So many secrets and perhaps finally her mother will come clean as to the identity of Katrine's father and what happened all those years ago. Alina begins to unveil the horrors of her life back in the village of Badenburg where she grew up and how she was forced into service at the Hochland Home - the baby factory of Germany's Aryan race.

"Secrets can't exist in the light of truth, and while the truth can be painful to hear, its lasting gift is peace."

This was a thoughtful, heartbreaking and thought-provoking tale of a most dark time in history. Author Adriana Allegri has done a tremendous amount of research into the program's history and has brought those stories to life through her well-developed characters. The writing is well crafted. The courage of the lead characters comes out strong and true. The mise-en-scène is rich and cinematic at times. Long after the final page is read, this engaging story still lingers.

I am grateful to Ms. Allegri and her publisher, St, Martin's Press, for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: ‎ November 12, 2024
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN:‎ 978-1250326522

I really enjoyed this historical fiction book. A women finds a secret box in her mother's closet after her mom falls getting it out of the closet. We then hear the story of how Allina ends up as a nurse in a Nazi baby factory. I did not know anything about these kinds of places and I was captivated by the characters and their unfolding story. It was interesting to read about people inside of Germany trying to fight against the wrong doings of Hitler. I would love to read another book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a sad, but hopeful story be Adriana Allegri. “Sad”, because the story is about a hideous Nazi program. “Hopeful” because of a few brave Germans. This historical fiction focuses on a horrific experiment by the Nazis. “Lebensborm”, (which literally mean “"Fount of Life") was a secret, SS-association in Nazi Germany with the stated goal of increasing the number of children born who met the Nazi standards of "racially pure" and "healthy" Aryans.

The main character, Allina is forced into service as a nurse at a state-run baby factory called Hochland Home. It is very hard to read about these homes, because it’s hard to believe such horror could happen, and on such a large scale. The homes stayed open during the entirety of WWII. Allina is an interesting character and so is her lover, an SS Officer. They put themselves in danger in order to save the children.

This book is hard to read because of the sadness, but it is a good story. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an Advance Digital Review copy. This is my honest review.

Sunflower house has my heart.

The story of Allina who perseveres through so many horrible and tragic experiences through the troubling time of Nazi leadership/takeover and world war 2 was well written, engaging, devastating at times, and informative.

I never knew that houses like Hochland Home or that the Lebensborn Project even happened. Adriana Allegri was able to create and tell a beautiful love story in the midst of devastating truths and an environment where love and kindness rarely existed. It wasn’t lost on me as well how impactful secrets in a family can be.

I wish I could re-read this story for the first time & will absolutely recommend it often. It was impactful in the ways a lot of Kristin Hannah’s books have been for me- leaving me emotional, interested in what generations before me persevered through, and wanting to know more about our world and country’s history.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Adriana Allegri for the opportunity to read this amazing arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was mesmerizing! I’d never heard of thus side of WW2, children to “grow” the aryan race. This book was so heartbreaking- I couldn’t put it down. It opened a door to learning something new -which I love. Thank you for the opportunity to read this fabulous book.

I loved this book. The writing was excellent. I loved the characters and the plot was engaging. I ended up binging it because I couldn't put it down.

I had stopped reading books about Nazis and the Holocaust a little while back. Why? Well, because I was going through a mild mental health crisis, and reading about the atrocities that were committed wasn’t helping. But, when St. Martin’s Press approached me requesting to review The Sunflower House, I couldn’t help but accept the invite. The blurb called to me. I wanted to see how Allina, who is half-Jewish, got involved with the Lebensborn Program. I also wanted to know what the reasons were behind her marrying a high-ranking Nazi. Well, I was very pleasantly surprised (and very horrified) at The Sunflower House.

The main storyline of The Sunflower House is centered around Allina and, to a lesser extent, her daughter Katrine. Allina is brought to The Sunflower House after witnessing her entire village massacred and being horrifically raped by a high-ranking Nazi. Her reason for being there is to produce Aryan babies for the Nazi cause. But Allina has a dangerous secret that could kill her if it is found out-she is half Jewish. While working at the house, Allina discovers horrendous neglect of the children, and she turns to Karl, a high-ranking Nazi with secrets of his own. An unlikely romance forms between them. Can Allina trust Karl with her secrets? Will she be able to find true love with a Nazi? Or will everything come crashing down around her?

The main storyline in The Sunflower House was well written. I found Allina to be a sympathetic and strong character. But, before Karl’s secret was revealed, I was slightly put off by her attraction to him. He represented everything that she despised. But, once his secret was revealed (actually, two, and they were freaking doozies), I felt a little better about her feelings for him. But still, for a chunk of the book, I was internally chanting, “Stay away, stay away.”

The author didn’t sugarcoat the Holocaust atrocities. During Allina’s first few months at The Sunflower House, Hitler gave a speech playing in the background during a pivotal conversation. The snippets of the speech (which was presented in 1938) gave me chills. There were talks of Jewish citizens disappearing and being forced into ghettos. Then there were the talks of the concentration camps and what they were doing in there. However, the author focused most of the attention on the Lebensborn program and how the children were treated.

As I mentioned above, Karl had two explosive secrets. I was surprised by what he confessed to Allina without giving away anything. But there was another, even more explosive, secret that destroyed me.

The end of The Sunflower House was bittersweet. I liked that Allina could tell Katrine everything about what happened to her. That answered some of Katrine’s questions about Allina’s past. The author did include an afterward that went more into depth about the Lebensborn program and its long-lasting ramifications.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Adriana Allegri for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Sunflower House. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

There are so many historical fictions about WWII that it's usually hard to be original yet Allegri definitely achieved it. I had no idea the Lebensborn homes existed and I was equally horrified and drawn into this story.

The main character Allina is a care free teen living in Germany when her world is shattered by the Chancellor Adolf Hitler. What follows is an inspiring story of resilience and strength. Through trauma and tragedy Allina finds a way to survive in the new ever changing Germany that gives her purpose and eventually love. I was scared to love Karl in the beginning but I loved his character and I think he added to the depth of the story.

That being said I knocked my rating down to 4 stars because there were parts of the story where I wanted more detail or it felt unfinished. It just kept ramping up and then would change direction and I was left wanting more of the previous parts of the story.

This was definitely a thought provoking book that I'll be recommending to any historical fiction lover.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.