Loved this book! Another look at the horror that took place during this time. Great story, characters and very well written. A story of triumph and sadness. Would definitely recommend. Thank you to netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
Wow! This book. Stayed up way too late, then got up to read more before work. And was late to work.
The story opens with middle aged Katrine discovering a box hidden in her mother’s floor boards- a box with a Nazi swastika . Her mother had refused to discuss her past- or Katerine’s father, but perhaps she decides, its time for the secrets to end. I found the story beautifully told, and completely captivating.

I love stories of complicated morally grey characters- the more research I do on history, the more I learn- It’s never as simple and black and white as school history books led us to believe. Real life is ALWAYS much more nuanced than we would be led to believe. I have read so many WW2 stories of historical fiction- but this one is a story between a NAZI SS officer, and a young German woman who works at a eugenics baby factory ( ala Handmaids) where Arian children are born to supply the thousand year reich. Not your typical storybook heros.

Just as the USA and UK had ALOT of people who felt Hitler wasn’t so bad, (and actively supported Germany in the 30s and 40’s) there were also alot of Germans who were against Hitler and his plans. To survive, they must outwardly show support. Even as they must do the unthinkable, many brave men and women used whatever means they had available to resist, and combat the evil all around them. However, no matter what was done to subvert the evil, the participants must live with the knowledge that its never going to be enough. Guilt they will carry to their graves.

A sad, realistic and satisfying ending, get some Kleenex.

Personal note- It’s 2024 and the worlds power hungry villains are once again in plan sight- I cant help but seeing shades of the 1930s. Inciting fear, and telling us exactly what they have planned. We stand by and say nothing for fear of angering them. Perhaps, we have learned nothing, doomed to repeat history’s mistakes.

The Sunflower House, Adriana Allegri
Summer 2006
Ramsey, New Jersey
“The box unlocks with a soft snick and I lift the lid, inhaling the sweet vanilla of old paper and ink. Inside is an odd jumble of items. German newspaper articles. A heavy gold locket, engraved with an A in ornate script. An opera program from a 1939 production of Richard Wagner’s Siegfried at the Bayreuth festival. A pile of letters, the envelopes stiff and specked with age. There’s also a photo of Mama in a ruffled nurse’s apron – my mother was a nurse? – and surrounded by a group of children seated cross-legged on the floor. The children look sick, their expressions are listless and her smile is too tight to be genuine…”(Pg.9)
Opening that box unfurls the passionate story of Allina Gotlieb. Having done detailed research into a lesser-known aspect of Nazi heinousness, Adriana Allegri gives us a historically accurate narrative filled with love, grief, and tenacity. The Sunflower House reveals the Lebensborn program designed to produce “pure” Aryan children. Hochland Home in Steinhoring was a Lebensborn home. “A baby factory.” (Pg.56)
Written with duel storylines, one set in 2006 and the other in the late 1930s, the story reveals what happened to the young orphaned Allina. With masterful characterization, we hear her innermost feelings and feel her pulse. “My mother prayed this way. She could picture Tomas here so clearly, with one arm around Irene’s shoulders and the other on her pregnant belly. That image sent a sharp yearning deep inside, both from the sweetness of the connection she felt, here in this dark, damp basement among friendly strangers, and bitter certainty that she’d never know more of her parents. As she let her mind drift into nothingness, time seemed to melt into the voices swirling around her and in the beautiful cadence of each prayer.” (Pg. 217)
The book’s extraordinary sensory imagery brings the story to life. “As he gazed across the winter landscape, the silence settled over them like a blanket. The icicles clinging to the roof’s edge melted slowly in tinkling plops and as the tree branches released their heavy burdens, they showered the ground with shimming powder” (Pg.122)
Without giving away the twists and turns of this fantastic historical fiction, I want to comment on Hochland Home’s child-raising rules. ““Play and touch would overstimulate,” Schwester Ziegler said crisply, as she steered Allina out of the nursery and down the hall.” “Developing an attachment serves neither mother nor child.” (PG 82) The Nazi government dictated this approach to childrearing. Yesterday, serendipitously, the front-page article in our local newspaper on May 10, 2024, JHS student overcomes challenges on the road to graduation.” The article is about a young man who has been in 22 different foster homes. “I was diagnosed with something called RAD…reactive attachment disorder.” “That condition prevents a child from forming healthy relationships with people, including parents and other family. It can stem from emotional neglect or abuse at an early age, and cause children to have trouble managing their emotions” Thus, the approximately 25,000 “perfect Aryan babies” tragically may have not been so perfect.
Sunflower House is a masterpiece of historical fiction, beautifully written, and extremely well-researched. Kudos to Adriana Allegri. I fervently hope she is working on more stories.

The Sunflower House by debut author A. Allegri is a historical fiction novel. Set in the late thirties of the 19hundereds in Germany the book tells the story of Allina and Karl.
Intriguing, well written, a good story that I enjoyed reading.

So many emotions after reading this book, which I literally could not put down. I’ve read quite a few historical fiction books set during WWII, but none that focused (or even touched base) on the Lebensborn Program. I quickly found myself researching this horrifying program while reading. Your heart will break, but this book is so worth it. I highly recommend the journey.

Oh how loved this book. I couldn’t put it down and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I finished. While this isn’t something I would generally choose to read, I am so glad I did.

This was in all honesty, terrifying because the workd could easily regress to this or something similar. In saying that, i did enjoy this very much. Im not usually one for historical stuff but i loved this

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

The Sunflower House is a historical fiction novel that takes a look into the real horrors of Germany during World War II. This book tells the story of a young Allina and the horrors she experienced when being forced to be a nurse at one of Germany’s baby factories. I feel like this book did a wonderful job at portraying what Hochland Home was like from the perspective of a young woman looking to save the children she had in her care.

What I enjoyed with reading this book was that I felt like I learned a lot about what Germany was like during that time. As someone who typically doesn’t read historical fiction, I feel this book did a good job at pulling me in and wanting to hear Allina and Karl’s stories and hearing about what happened. I found myself feeling extremely empathetic, especially to Allina as she went through so much at that time in her life in order to get out of Germany.

I feel like the author of this book did a wonderful job at portraying what Hochland Home was like for someone who had never heard of these baby factories before. I feel like a lot of research and care was put into writing The Sunflower House and even though that made it a difficult read, I was interested to see what would happen with these characters in their efforts to save these children and thwart Hitler.

While the romance between Allina and Karl isn’t the overall main plot of the story, I enjoyed getting to see their relationship develop. The way their relationship comes together wasn’t what I originally expected here, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. It was wonderful to see that they both had someone who they could trust during this dark time in their lives, and I enjoyed seeing them work together when it came to the children in Hochland Home and doing whatever they could to help them.

If I had to choose anything with The Sunflower House to criticize it would be that I felt like certain details were left out that to me would’ve been nice to have. For example, I feel like the choice Allina’s fiancé at the beginning of the book makes is never fully explained and I feel like it never revealed how Karl’s plot to assassinate Hitler was discovered. Both of these are things I wanted more details on that were never addressed that to me I wish had been. I also wanted to know what had happened to Allina’s friends from the beginning of the book as it was never revealed if they were actually alive or not. Not having the answers to all of these things in the book bothered me. While I understand to a certain extent why they weren’t addressed, I feel like they should’ve been.

As a whole, The Sunflower House was a good historical fiction read that took a look at one of the many horrors that had occurred in Germany during World War II. I feel like this book is a good read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially historical fiction that takes place during World War II. And I highly recommend it as I feel like you’ll learn something from reading this book just like I did. The Sunflower House is set to release on November 12, 2024 for those interested in reading this book.

Fantastic historical fiction about life under the Nazis and how one couple attempted to resist it and yet still participated in the regime. The book focuses on the homes in which women gave birth to babies “for the regime,” both unwed mothers and women who coupled with military officers in order to get pregnant. Parts were fairly predictable (Karl’s plans had very little likelihood of success…) but it didn’t matter. Highly recommend the whole thing.

I got to read an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. And it is honest! I really liked this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and how their relationships developed during the progression of the story. There was also an important history lesson that I believe most are not aware. It was quite sad to read about the way the children were deprived of human contact and lived regimented lives even in their infant stage. And the thought of what probably happened to the children that were "unadoptable" was unthinkable. I would love to read more books by this author.

I don't know where to begin. This is a book that I will always remember. "The Sunflower House" showed a side of the Holocaust that I didn't know much about. I felt so many emotions reading this book. Many were the same emotions I feel when reading or learning anything about the Holocaust; anger, disgust, sadness, but this book elicited intrigue as well. I had never thought about the women or children on the side of the Nazis. Allegri's writing was vivid. I felt like I was with Allina when she was at the park or sitting with the family at breakfast. I felt the fear and the cold during those talks in the garden. Were there really high rank officers like Karl? How common was Allina's story? What became of the women in these houses? I love when a book leads me to learn more about a topic and that's exactly what this book has done. "The Sunflower House" was a great read. I want to read more works from Allegri.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I love historical fiction from the World War II time period, and this book did not disappoint.
The research poured into this book is evident. The characters are well developed and understood. Their emotions, fears, and the shame of doing things for the sake of survival, are felt deeply.
There were parts of the story that remain untold, which is understandable but might be my only complaint. As we follow the love story of Karl and Allina, we hear less and less of Rilla, Allina’s only friend in the home, and her little baby, Tobias. Something must have come of him during Allina’s time trying to help these kids avoid experimentation, but we aren’t told. We know of her engagement, but no mentioning of how Tobias fits into that. Had he been adopted out? Did he become very slow and underdeveloped like the rest? I felt that Allina would have done everything in her power to protect Rilla’s son from these experiments, but it’s never mentioned.
All in all a very good read.

if you’re a fan of historical fiction books and the handmaid’s tale, this is definitely a book you should read! I loved every page from start to finish. so many times I wanted to burst out in tears from the obstacles being presented and the love that was still very present during a time of so much difficulty. it was so eye opening, because while it is fictional, the historical aspects where very realistic and inspiration taken from the truth of our history.

This book will be seared in my brain forever. It is a historical fiction about the Lebensborn program (Nazi baby factories) and the eugenics program from neglected children. It is a very engaging read and handled these tough topics very well. Even though you know Allina gets out of Germany because she and her daughter are in the US in present time, I still felt the anxiety in the whole book of will she escape? Will she be caught?
I learned so much and my heart breaks for all those children.

Content warnings for a rape at the beginning and child neglect all throughout.

Wow. I truly feel honored to have been able to read this book. I've read other holocostbooks, but never from this point of view. It saddens me to know what people; children went through. It's also good to learn the history.

The Sunflower House by @adrianaallegri
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🌻Well, this debut author just gently extracted my heart page by page in this historical fiction novel. The characters were easy to love and hate - Adriana did an amazing job creating vivid scenes. Even the setting, which takes place at the Hochland Home, seemed like a character as well. This book is told in Dual Timeline, but I'd say 90% was during WWII, and the present day was timed perfectly-exactly when you needed a break from the atrocities of the Nazi Regime.

🌻How sad is this book?
You know how Kristin Hannah just rips your heart right out, and you're left to recover? You have to read like 10 brainless books as palette cleansers to fix all the sobbing you just did?

This is very similar to Hannah but done much more gently. You're fully emersed in the story, and there is enough foreshadowing to know what is probably going to happen as Adriana slowly pulls back curtain on the horrors of WWII. I much prefer this method.

I definitely recommend this one.
Romance, Historical Fiction based on lots of research, best friends, the kindness of strangers... it's all here. Available November 12th.

Thank you for this gifted book♡

It's 1939 and Hitler is in power. Allina is seemingly living an idealic life in the German countryside. One fateful night Alina will lose everything she holds dear. Forced to work as a nurse in one of the notorious state run baby factories of the Lebensborn Program. Her Allina meets Karl, a high ranking Nazi SS officer. Each with secrets of their own, they must decide how much they can risk to save as many of these children.
With all the WW2 books out there is was a change to read a story from the German point of view. It's a fascinating look into something not that well known, Himmler's Lebenseborn Program. Adriana Allegri provides us a look into these hospital where women were encouraged to do their duty for the Fatherland by providing the perfect aryan babies.
Beautifully written, this story takes you on a journey to WW2 Germany. The author blends a love story with the heartbreaking situation many German women and children endured, all in the name of Hitler and his Fatherland.
The Sunflower House is a must read.

I’m completely shattered. This story was so incredible in so many ways. It was multi-faceted and not what I expected. I loved the way Adriana made this story a story that was being told from a mother who seemed to be tired of holding in all these secrets and a daughter who felt lost all her life, living a half-life from never knowing the events that led to her life and how she lived it. The sacrifices and risks that Allina and Karl gave and took helped and saved so many lives. They put their own lives as secondary. The side characters were as equally important and impactful in this sad story. I felt for Rilla and the small moments of happiness she was able to have. I cried when Ziegler and Allina shared a sweet unexpected moment. She was cold and stricter but she had so much love and heartbreak. The last few pages truly broke me. Karl’s chapters did me in, especially the end. Adriana wrote such an awful sad moment in an extremely beautiful lyrically sensitive way.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Sunflower House
by Adriana Allegri
Katrine, a daughter caring for her elderly mother, discovers a hidden wooden box in the floor of her mother’s bedroom. The box contains papers, letters, and photos. Strangely the top of the box has an engraving of a Swastika! Confronting her mother Allina Strauss, about her discovery, an intriguing story unfolds. It is a story of great loss and triumph during World War II and how her mother became involved in protecting and saving young children in the baby factory called Hochland Home. Being part Jewish, she had to hide her identity to survive. Along her tenuous journey, she finds love and acceptance. It changes her life forever. It is a beautiful gripping tale that will break your heart as you read the struggles and danger that surrounds those working undercover to protect the lives of children and families The story is based on many historically correct events.

The topic of this book isn't widely discussed. The method here was well done. I found myself liking the characters and couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Sometimes when an author uses two different time frames, it can get confusing. I found that this did not.