The Banned Books of Berlin

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Pub Date Jul 15 2025 | Archive Date Aug 05 2025

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Description

Another unforgettable story, tying together past and present, from the bestselling author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris and The Royal Librarian

Berlin, 1933. The night skies are burning bright with huge bonfires of banned books. The Nazi party is swelling in number and Berlin is no longer a safe place for young Freya.

She can only watch on, horrified, as her beloved city falls to fascism – and the usually law-abiding Freya is forced to make a choice: continue being a bystander, or sacrifice herself to save the lives of others…

New York, present day. Maddie commutes home to her family to reset. Struggling to fully turn off from her work, she is surprised to come across a pre-war German diary amongst her Grandpa’s things. And when she starts to dig into the diary, Maddie’s shocked by what she finds.

And so begins a journey that will take Maddie beyond America as she searches for the truth about Freya, and how she changed people’s lives across the globe…

Readers can’t put down Daisy Wood's books!

‘Amazing! Delightful! Perfection!’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I couldn’t put it down… utterly enthralling from start to finish!’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This is the best historical fiction I’ve read,’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I cannot stop talking about how much I love this book,’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A genuine pleasure,’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another unforgettable story, tying together past and present, from the bestselling author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris and The Royal Librarian

Berlin, 1933. The night skies are...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9780008699185
PRICE $18.99 (USD)
PAGES 352

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Average rating from 2 members


Featured Reviews

** Please note: Contains spoilers
What a great read. I've always loved historical fiction, especially WW II novels. As many as I have read, it still amazes me that people can be so cruel & heartless. I wonder if I could have been as brave as Freya, Violet, Leon & the others. I grew to hate Walther early. He was conceited and rude. I knew it was going to be a good book when I started feeling strong feelings for the characters. I was heartbroken when I learned Leon was unfaithful l, but can also see the draw of the strong feelings of passion during war time. I also loved that Gramps was understanding of the situation & not bad at Freya or Violet for the outcome. In a world full of hate, it shows you that there are still good, kind-hearted people in the world. Thank you for this book, I will definitely be reading more Daisy Wood novels in the future.

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This novel is told in two timelines. In one timeline, Freya Amsel has lost her mother as unrest continues to grow in Berlin. As the economic depression worsens, Freya finds herself working in a night club, as an assistant the costumer. She becomes friends with one performer, Violet, a young woman from England, who is far more than what she seems. At home, the need for more money leads the Amsel family to rent out a room to a man who is rising up in the Nazi party.

In the other timeline, Maddie is a journalist who has been having some trouble at work and has decided to return home to Los Angeles to visit her family. While there, she starts to help her grandfather go through his things and finds some items belonging to her great grandmother, including a diary. As she reads through the diary, Maddie learns about how her great-grandmother's life during the rise of the Nazi party was far more interesting than she could have possibly imagined.

A well-crafted novel with incidents and themes relevant to events happening today.

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