Land of Hidden Fires

A short tale of an downed American pilot in ww2 Norway and the young girl that helps him. Full f beautiful language and a captivating story, I give this book 5:stars

This was my first dip into the writing of Kirk Kjeldsen. It turned out to be a delightful experience. I have a recent fascination with Norway already, so when I found that the book is set there, it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that I'd want to check it out. LAND OF HIDDEN FIRES was an easy book for me to get involved in, enjoying the storyline and the time period, all handled in a wonderfully descriptive writing style. It became a battle between wanting to finish the book to see how it ends, and trying to keep from inhaling it too quickly so that it wouldn't be over too soon. Something that doesn't happen all too frequently for me. A satisfying read that has me already looking forward to future works by this author. My thanks to Netgalley, Grenzland Press, and the the author himself for the complimentary copy to read.

I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Kirk Kjeldsen, and Grenzland Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me.

This is one of those books that hook you from the get go. It is WWII and Norway has already been taken by the Germans. Life is hard and winter, always long, seems endless. Land of Hidden Fires is a fast read, and a good tale, but the descriptive phrases sing, and the beauty of the land is heart wringing. Kari and her father Erling are all that you need them to be: strong, stoic, silent, loyal. This is a keeper. Kirk Kjeldsen is an author to watch for.

Thank you Netgalley, Grenzland Press and Kirk Kjelsen for the opportunity to read this terrific book.
An American pilot is rescued by a 15-year old Norwegian girl, Kari, in Norway during WWII. Norway is under occupation by the Germans and Kari is determined to help the American escape to neutral Sweden. The tortuous, harrowing trip is a tense,taut read that will leaving you breathless. Kari's father is frantically following his daughter and the Germans are on their trail too, making for many breathless moments while I was reading, keeping me up most of the night. There were heartbreaking moments that will stay with me for the next several days and I will definitely add Kirk Kjelsen to my list of authors to read.

If you like World War 2 stories, with plenty of action, strong characterization, and a good old fight against the forces of evil, then Land of Hidden Fires is the book for you. As I approached the climax of the novel, I couldn't help but hold my breath. I highly enjoyed my reading experience and just couldn't put this book down!

I received this book from NetGalley after the author asked me to review his book. I found it to be a short, easy read, finishing it in two days. It takes place in the winter of 1943,in occupied Norway. A US air force plane crashes near a Norwegian farm run by a widower and his 15 year old daughter. She finds the pilot, stuck in a tree, and gets him down. She tells him that she is with the resistance and will take him to Sweden. The Nazis are searching for him and the plot proceeds at a good pace. There is quite a bit of descriptive information about the geography, plants and people of Norway.
I enjoyed reading it and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Kari is a 15 year old girl who works on the family farm in Norway with her father Erling. Life on the farm is hard and she has never travelled far from the area. Her dreams of the outside world are fuelled by knowledge gathered from books, films and postcards. It has been a struggle to make ends meet since the German invasion and their supplies are dwindling.
One day Kari sees an Allied plane crash and goes to the aid of the American pilot. She pretends to be part of the resistance movement and offers to lead him to safety at the Swedish border. Unbeknown to her father they set off on a journey where Germans are not the only danger they have to worry about.
Erling has struggled emotionally since the death of his wife and does not know how to relate to his daughter. When he discovers her absence and the reason for it he sets off to save the daughter he has been unable to show his love for.
This story had a realistic feel to it and I could imagine the events actually taking place. There was also some fantastic imagery created by the author. One of my favorite scenes involved a river crossing and my heart was in my mouth the whole way. I also enjoyed getting to know the main characters and understanding the motivations for their behaviour. Although this was fiction it renewed my appreciation for those involved in the resistance movement and the risks they took.
This book can easily be finished in one sitting and is recommended to those who enjoy a tense part historical thriller.

Four out of five stars. This story wa a little short on character development, but the historical aspects and the gripping storyline made up for it.

As I often say, historical novels are very important to complete the alleged academic knowledge should have about our history, more or less recent. Kjeldsen takes us in Norway, near the end of World War II, and puts us in contact with two opposing realities: the resistance and collaboration, the latter described by its demonstration truest and sinister, which is born of envy. While remaining attached to the realism of the facts, Kjeldsen also takes great care in deepening the psychological character, since his protagonist, the young Kari, struggles with all her might, without fear of paying in person, for the things she believes in, and that does not even bow to the first real love disappointment of her life.
Thank Grenzland Press and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Kari, a young Norwegian girl, sees that an Allied plane has crashed in the forest near her home, she decides that she is the best person to help the injured pilot get to Sweden, away from the Nazis occupying her country. Against all odds, she fights weather, her fellow Norwegians, and even her father, to do what she feels is right. The writing in this book is simple yet highly engaging. The hidden reasons for human behavior are explored sensitively and delicately. Recommended.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting book with an incredibly rushed ending. It felt sudden and abrupt and not fitting with the build up before.

Interestingly enough, the main characters of Kari and Lance were the least developed. References to her mother's temperament aside, were we to believe that Kari's motivation to help Lance were solely due to her obsession with American culture? So much more could have been done with Lance's false bravado.

Norway isn't a typical setting for a WWII book, so it was definitely good to see from that perspective. Nordic settings in general tend to be refreshing.

3.5 rounds to 4 stars. The book had a lot more potential and needed more follow through with the ending.

First, full disclosure:
1. I received a copy of this novel from the author with a request to read and review it.
2. I am obsessed with stories related to the two World Wars.

LAND OF HIDDEN FIRES is a novella that takes place in Norway during the Nazi occupation of World War II. But the war almost fades into the background because this is a novel about a chase, with building suspense, that follows the intersection of five lives:
1. An American pilot who crash lands in the forest.
2. A motherless teenage girl experiencing her first tender feelings of love.
3. A spineless Nazi collaborator dreaming of a more prosperous life.
4. A German officer, desperate to leave the relative safety of his posting in Norway for the possibility of earning glory on the battlefield.
5. A remote but desperate father trying to locate and protect his lost daughter.
And one more major character -- the cold Norwegian winter. Snow, cold, and ice impact everything.

My biggest criticism of the book is the elaborate descriptions that start each chapter, which to me, seemed somewhat forced, even unnecessary, and detracted from the building suspense of the story. Nevertheless, the suspense keeps building as the book progresses. And the ending, when it comes, seems realistic.

This book is less a war story than it is about the varied ways people behave during difficult times (brave or self-serving, for example), and how their personal reactions wind up impacting the lives of those who cross their paths.

Kari's just your typical teenage girl, dreaming of boys and being like Rita Hayworth...except that her country is currently occupied by Nazi Germany. When an American pilot crash-lands near her father's farm, she sets off on a desperate adventure to smuggle him to Sweden.

I always have my eye open for some good Nordic reading, so obviously I snapped this up (even though the author is as much American as he is Norwegian). It's a quick, light read, coming in at 135 pages. Nonetheless, there's plenty of action, as we follow not only Kari's trek through the snow towards Sweden, but also her father's chase after her, and the search by the German officer assigned to find the American pilot whose plane has gone down.

Kari is an appealing character, combining girlish romanticism, adolescent rebellion, and a strong sense of right and wrong. She thinks Lance (the American pilot) is the man she's been waiting for, and rushes impulsively into a ill-thought-out rescue attempt, only to discover that the real hero of the piece is she herself. The other characters are more lightly drawn and typical, but still distinct: Erling, Kari's father, is a gruff widower who can't demonstrate his love for his daughter, and Moltke, the German officer, dreams of glory with Rommel in Africa rather than being stuck in backwoods Norway. The atmosphere is also typically Nordic: lots of snow, ice, and skis. The interwoven plot is perhaps the most successful thing about this book, with shifts between the different characters as they all race to reach each other and the Swedish border. Not a giant war epic, but still an engaging and fast-paced novella about a lesser-covered front in WWII.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I liked that Kirk had a tough young woman with the guts to do things that a normal person would not have done. Such as crossing the river and saving her horse when it was going under the ice attached to a cart. Or going alone into town that was filled with Germans. Or finally leaving the American pilot in the ending to go back to her father, growing up in the story not living in daydreams. This story is really worth your time to read it, because of it's reality to life.

This was an enjoyable book. It is set in Norway in March 1943, when the Germans control the country, but there are resistance movements. Kari, a Norwegian farm girl with an idyllic view of America and Americans based on Hollywood movies, sees an American plane go down in the hills not far from her farm. At night she sneaks to the crash site and finds the pilot alive, caught in the trees in his parachute. Wanting to spend time with him and wanting adventure, she claims to be a member of the resistance and says she will get him safely across the border to Sweden, which involves a somewhat treacherous journey through forests and mountains in winter. The book focuses on their journey via horse cart (and later by horse) to the Swedish border as they try to avoid German troops and Quislings. Unbeknownst to them, Kari's father has figured out what she has done and where she is going and is following after them, trying to find them before harm befalls them. The Germans are also aware that an American plane has crashed and the pilot is missing, and with the aid of a local who has grand dreams of being heavily rewarded for helping capture the pilot and those aiding him, are also on the tracks of Kari and Lance (the American pilot). It is a story of resilience and survival. The book has interesting characters, an engaging plot, vivid descriptions of scenery, intrigue, and the ultimate question of whether Kari and Lance will make it safely to Sweden.

I am just bowled over to how such an amazing story can fit into so few pages. In this book a young girl with every step she takes leaves behind everything that was the innocence of being a child through war time in Norway on a remarkable journey that will change some lives and end others. Not everyone can have a fairy tale ending.
Fifteen year old Kari  lives with her father that can not see past his own grief after losing his wife years before to be able to form any sort of relationship with her, except as provider of a roof over her head and food.  When she sees a small plane go down in the mountains she is determined to be first on the scene where she finds an American pilot stuck in a tree.   Lance realising that this girl could be his only chance of survival soon sweet talks her into helping him down and she in all innocence of day dreams, fairy tales and happy ever afters says she is part of the resistance and can get him over ruggered mountains in the heart of winter to the safety of Sweden.
OMG what a tremendous and perilous journey that not only has its battles with nature in the wintery mountains of Norway but also a determined German Officer and Nazi Oberleutnant Conrad Moltke hot on the pairs tails and gaining ground all the time along with his hot shot team of soldiers that are intent on capture of the American pilot and the traitor that is helping him.  Erling, Kari's father has finally woken up to the fact that he has a daughter and he must find before the Nazis get to her. A race against time and the elements.
Wow, Wow, Wow,  what an outstanding story Kirk Kjeldsen tells with such vivid and crisp descriptions of this beautiful country that I could close my eyes and I was there. The contrasts then between such beauty and the ugliness of invasion was so very dramatic. If the beauty of this country wasn't taking my breath then fear was. I can't find the right words for how I felt because helpless and frightened just don't do it.
I would say to anyone read this book because it is more of an experience than just reading words. Outstanding! I wish to thank Kirk Kjeldsen for a NetGalley link to this book which I have chosen to review.

I received a review copy but have been a bit delayed getting my review up - and when I glanced at the other reviews I was surprised indeed that it had a lower overall score than I expected.
I loved this book! Yes, it's not a gritty Scandinavia thriller, so those who wanted that would have been disappointed. It is a historical drama, but it doesn't bang on about the scenery for pages and pages - it gets on with the story. Which was great! I didn't need more background, I didn't need a different ending, and although it was a fairly bleak and sad portrayal of Norway under German occupation, there was enough plot at a good pace to keep my interest.
I was fascinated to read a little about the author's family afterwards, which did explain a few things. I will look out for more books by this author, and hope they are as interesting as this one.

An allied plane goes down over a remote region in Norway. Kari Dahlstrom is out working on her family's farm when she sees it drop. Though her recently-widowed father forbids her to get involved, Kari investigates the crash anyway, and when she finds the pilot alive, she decides to help him cross the border into Sweden. Land of Hidden Fires is about their journey through the cold and unforgiving countryside as they try to avoid being captured by SS officers.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, but I was hooked from the start. It's a short little nugget of a story but still completely captivating in a quietly suspenseful sort of way. The characters are very reserved, but their inner lives are revealed just enough so that it is easy to empathize with them. Kari's father, Erling, surprised me by becoming one of my favorites.

I also really appreciated how fully author Kjeldsen was able to describe the harsh Norwegian climate. I felt like I was frozen on a mountain right next to these people.

My only minor complaint is that the story's ending felt rushed. I liked where the book ended up, but Kjeldsen seemed too eager to get there. As an example, it took a whole novel for Kari to get from her farm to Sweden, but it only took a few pages for her to go from Sweden back to her farm. I wish there had been a little more detail at the end. I wasn't ready to let go that quickly.

Still, I loved getting lost in this story. The characters are endearing, the setting harsh but gorgeous, and the plot is unique and creative. Not a bad little book.

i really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to fans of this genre. It was engaging and interesting, with memorable characters and intriguing settings. Very good