Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri

336 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: November 12, 2024

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance, World War II, Rape, Children’s Home

Karin received a call that her elderly mother, Allina, had fallen. She rushed to the hospital to get her and take her home. Once there, she saw her mother had been using a step stool in the closet before losing her balance and falling. Karin was removing the stool when she saw a lacquered box with a swastika on it. Her mother said she could explain.

The story jumps back in time to 1938 Germany. Allina was a young woman engaged to be married the following year. Shortly after her uncle’s passing, disaster shook her town. She is beaten and left for dead. A German officer finds her and takes her to Hochland Home, a breeding home for the master race. There she works as a nurse to the pregnant mothers and the unborn children. While working there, she met Karl Von Strassberg, a high-ranking German officer. He began showing interest in her, but she does not trust him or anyone who wore the uniform. He began to entrust her with his secrets and slowly she began to share her own.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are very developed, and it is written in third person point of view. The story is beautifully written although it is a difficult topic. It also shows the relationship between a mother and daughter and how strong the bond can be. If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy reading this book.

I read the final pages through a veil of tears. This is a poignant and beautifully written historical fiction centered around the all too real Lebensborn program entwined with a love story and the healing of a mother-daughter relationship. It garners a rare 5-star rating from me.

Adriana Allegri’s debut novel will transport you on an emotional journey through the era of World War II alongside the resilient protagonist, Allina.

Allina’s character is compelling, her struggles and triumphs mirror the turbulent times in which she lives. As Allina confronts the trials of war and the necessity of concealing family secrets, you are drawn into her world, intimately sharing her fears, sorrows, and acts of bravery.

“The Sunflower House” is a gripping tale, heart-wrenching and hopeful. It will resonate with you long after the final page!

Ms. Allegri, thank you for the privilege to read this amazing book before publication!

The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri is a heartbreaking and fascinating dual timeline that delves deep into the heart of Nazi Germany's horrifying reality of the Lebensborn Program, the Nazi's 'baby farms'. This program was designed to increase Hitler’s Aryan population.
It was difficult to read about the cruelties endured in those homes. In this meticulously researched debut novel, we follow the journey of Allina Strauss, a young woman thrust into a nightmare as she grapples the horrors unfolding around her and her love for Karl.
These were two Jewish Germans that were able to pull off bravery and heroism inside the Third Reich.
Told through the main character to her granddaughter, Katrine, from letters she finds.
I absolutely loved this book and this story. I will be recommending it to all my historical fiction loving book readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read The Sunflower House prior to publication. I was totally engrossed in the story line of this work by Adriana Allegri.

There were many plots and subplots in this book and they all were given the attention each required. For me, this was the first time reading about the Lebensborn program where Aryan women were encouraged to mingle with SS officers to provide children for Hitler's master race plan. Apparently the population of Germany (especially that of males) had great diminished after the Great War.

It also dealt with Mischling - people who had a distant relative of the Jewish faith. I was astounded to learn that some SS officers were allowed to work for the Reich despite their lineage.

It was also a wonderful love story, a tale of courage and the indomitable spirit of many who managed to survive.

This was a powerful story about family, motherhood, love, and survival. Allina’s story begins as she loses her family and loved ones to an attack. A Schutzstaffel officer notices that Allina has survived the attack and takes her to Hochland Home after trying to impregnate her against her will. Allina’s story begins here in the German baby factory and it takes secrets and a complicated love story to get her out.

The Sunflower House was full of eye opening history, descriptions, and details. You will want to read this one.

Wow, The Sunflower House grabbed my attention right away and did not stop until the very last page. This book is about survival and finding love amidst the horrors of the Reich. The writing was so beautiful and vivid in description that I felt like I was looking at a movie. I highly recommend this book!

WOW! What a story. Truly enlightening, heartbreaking, just WOW. I had ZERO idea houses such as Lebensborn existed. This story is written so beautifully it is hard to believe it’s true. I love this author for this reason now. I never once felt I was learning SO MUCH but following a story. Allina is a powerful person - she was thrown into circumstances far beyond her control and did everything in her power to right the wrongs she saw happening daily. With Allina’s birth mom being Jewish, her fake papers are the only way for her to survive. I LOVE how this story was told through Allina to her daughter. This story BLEEDS the true meaning of family, and what one person (or many) will go through for the people they love - and to do what is right.

This was a good read but a tough one, fair warning have tissues on standby. I had never heard of the Lebensborn program, aka Nazi baby factories, before reading this book. The author did a great job sharing the atrocities that happened to the women and children who passed through the doors of these facilities. This book will make you mad , sad but in the end hopeful.

This book had me hooked from the very first page! I have read a TON of WW2 fiction, and have never even heard of the Lebensborn programs in Germany during this time period. This book tells a tale of a woman's determination and fighting for what is right, with a subtle undertone of a love story that was very well written. This book is in line with a Kristen Hannah or Kate Quinn novel - the writing was amazing and the research it entailed was incredible. I can't believe this was a debut novel! Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! For fans of Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah, you will LOVE this book! I have never read anything quite like this. This book broke my heart in so many ways but I am so glad I read it. I had never heard of the Lebensborn program, aka Nazi baby factories, before reading this book. The author did an incredible job sharing the atrocities that happened to the women and children who passed through the doors of these facilities. Allina Strauss is a character who has been through literal hell and does her best to survive the impossible hand she was dealt, all while grieving immeasurable loss, falling in love, and helping as many children as she can. This book made me furious, sorrowful, and hopeful… This story will stay with me long after I put it down. Be sure to have tissues close by!

TW: sexual assault, child abuse

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In a tranquil German village in 1939, Allina Strauss enjoys a seemingly perfect life, unaware of the looming shadow of Adolf Hitler's regime. But her world shatters when her Jewish heritage is exposed, leading her to serve as a nurse in the chilling Hochland Home. In "The Sunflower House" by Adriana Allegri, Allina's journey unveils the harrowing realities of Nazi eugenics, as she navigates love, secrecy, and the fight for survival amidst unimaginable horrors.

Allegri delves into the dark secrets of Nazi Germany's Lebensborn Program, exposing its chilling reality amidst the backdrop of World War II. This is something I didn't have any prior knowledge of, so it served to be educational for me as well. Through the journey of Allina Strauss, Allegri crafts a haunting narrative of identity struggle and survival, painting a vivid picture of life akin to a real-life Handmaid's Tale in a Nazi-run baby factory.

The novel's strengths lie in its historical accuracy (after my own research about the Lebensborn Program) and exploration of human resilience, as Allina defies the regime to save herself and the children in her care. Amidst the horrors, a forbidden love story unfolds, which challenged me to ponder morality and sacrifice in wartime. Ultimately, "The Sunflower House" stands as a testament to love's enduring power and the importance of remembering history's atrocities.

Thank you again, NetGalley, for the ARC! Comes out November 12th!! I give it 4.75/5.00 stars!!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC read!
Historical fiction written in dual timelines (majority of the book is in the past.)
4-4.25 ⭐️ rating. This is a powerful heartbreaking book that will keep you thinking long after the last page is turned. As depressing as it is, these Nazi/Jewish themes pull me in and this one did not let me down. This story takes you to a German Lebensborn House aka nazi baby making facility. This is not something I had ever read before and while it is a fictional story the research the author has poured into this story is very evident. Bottom line, if these books are your jam, you won’t be disappointed.

This book is centered during the beginning of the reign of the Nazi regimen. The story follows a young woman who is thrust into the belly of the beast as a caretaker to infants that are a product of Nazi ideology. In her attempt to try to rescue herself and as many children as possible she meets a soldier who has the same aspirations.

Adrianna Allegri's writing style is truly enthralling. The storyline was so captivating to follow that I couldn't put it down. The author writes the book in so much detail that the imagery created a vivid movie inside of my head. There were times when I could feel the main character's pain and wished that I could assist her in her journey.

I feel fortunate to be given the opportunity to read this book. It is not something that I would have considered but took a chance on and appreciate the fact that it brought me out of my normal genre. I can't wait to read more from this amazing author!

"You're my partner in crime," he said. "My brilliant recruit. And the most precious."

Boycott. As a Muslim and mother to black children. We demand an apology. It’s a shame such a big company will stand for such atrocities, end this boycott. Issue a public apology.

I finished this book in 3 days once started. The story is heartbreaking, gut wrenching but beautiful. I was both fascinated and appalled while reading but regardless of the emotion, I could not put this book down. I am still thinking of this love story and the journey of Allina, our main female character. This historical romance, takes the reader on a journey through the eyes of a Lebensborn Nurse in Germany during the reign of Hitler. I will warn that the content at times is heavy and could be triggering but each component of this story adds to the development of both the plot and the characters and served a purpose in the creation of this piece of art. While I have a few critiques as I would for any amazing book, (what book lover doesn’t) it’s an easy 5 star read for me.

This is an emotional, well detailed story that truly had me glued to the book. I loved how this novel was told through the main character to her granddaughter.
The Lebensborn home was the primary focus and was tragically true happening during World War II.
It was so well researched and explained that I felt as if I was in the midst of this terrible time as I was reading each page.
I had no idea of all that happened in Germany during this time and the horror thay occurred!
This is an incredible, heartbreaking and heartfelt historical fiction novel that is a must read for everyone to see understand the past times.

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @St. Martin's Press for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

This book has left me speechless. An emotional story set in Nazi Germany containing secrets, love, horror, truths and death. I was taken into one of Germany’s Lebensborn houses during WWII. This is a book that will stay with you!

LOVED this book, we always doubt that one person can charge the world but? This is another side of Horror of war. How you do what is right even if it put you in danger. Not aways as we seam!

WOW! This novel will stay with me for a long time! Part mystery, part love story, Its a tale of two young people beautifully woven into the most despicable event in our history. I've read a lot of books set during the WWII era, but knew next to nothing about the Lebensborn project. All the best books leave you wanting to know more, going down a virtual rabbit hole of knowledge. This is one of those books. The exceptional story telling will have you grabbing for the tissues.