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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
This was such an amazing book!!! I usually don't like books with romance, but this book had a decent amount of it. All of the characters were amazing and were all about doing what they thought was the right thing. The girls in the story weren't all "oh, save me my prince" or whatever. This was just an amazing book and I cont wait to read the second one.
I saw this book on Goodreads and it looked so good I decided to preorder it. It arrived on my kindle a few days ago and I absolutely gobbled it up! Most books about Nazi Germany or World War II tend to focus on the peak of fighting and they rarely dare to characterize Hitler. Prisoner of Smoke and Fog sweeps all its precedents away by focusing on Hitler's rise to power, before the war, and his own family circle. The author brilliantly blends history and fiction to make an evocative but believable murder mystery/drama in traditional YA fashion. The book focuses on Gretchen, the petted favorite of her surrogate uncle "Dolf", and through her eyes we see both sides of Hitler, the charming and cruel.
Gretchen's journey from blind follower to disillusioned rebel was totally believable. You feel her pain in dealing with an abusive brother, her fear when she realizes things in the Nazi party are not as they seem, and her hurt when she is betrayed by the man she viewed as father & idol. I thought the romance advertised as "Nazi girl falling for Jewish boy" would be cheesy and overblown, but the growing relationship between them was actually believable and sweet. It is not love at first sight, they both have their own fear and bitterness toward the other, but in the end it becomes absolutely lovely and showed, I thought, the true power of humanity in overcoming prejudice.
I'm so glad I found this book, it was really awesome! I'm now rather interested in learning more about that time period in history, especially about Hitler's half-niece, Geli Raubal. I wish we know what truly happened to her and what she was thinking! In any case, I'll be looking forward to the other books in the series, even if they become more like the traditional World War II books without the focus on Hitler.
Gretchen's journey from blind follower to disillusioned rebel was totally believable. You feel her pain in dealing with an abusive brother, her fear when she realizes things in the Nazi party are not as they seem, and her hurt when she is betrayed by the man she viewed as father & idol. I thought the romance advertised as "Nazi girl falling for Jewish boy" would be cheesy and overblown, but the growing relationship between them was actually believable and sweet. It is not love at first sight, they both have their own fear and bitterness toward the other, but in the end it becomes absolutely lovely and showed, I thought, the true power of humanity in overcoming prejudice.
I'm so glad I found this book, it was really awesome! I'm now rather interested in learning more about that time period in history, especially about Hitler's half-niece, Geli Raubal. I wish we know what truly happened to her and what she was thinking! In any case, I'll be looking forward to the other books in the series, even if they become more like the traditional World War II books without the focus on Hitler.
Alright so I read this book several weeks ago & I'm just getting around to writing a review for it ..whoops:/ so it's not as fresh in my mind as it was then but I'll do as best as I can!!
so let's start off w/ the poor things about this book:
There was A LOT of information thrown at you at once & it got very confusing. All of these German names& German terms I couldn't really remember who was who or what was what ! Also, the story was kinda predictable. I had an idea who did what as soon as the plot was fully developed& I was right.
Positive things:
Overall, this story was great. The plot line was so intimidating & you had to finish the book to know who did what. The main premise of the book was a girl named Gretchen Müller realized that her father didn't die for the reason she was told. So she does everything she can, risking everything just so she can find out what really happened. I loved how this author incorporated real characters in this story such as fictional characters. You can tell Anne Blackman took a lot of time to research Hitler.
At first, I didn't think that hitler was such a BAD GUY(in this story, of course) , until they revealed what he'd been actually doing & Gretchen realizes it. He is such a twisted guy it disgusts me.
DANIEL. favorite character by FAR. he's so entranced by Gretchen omg I loved it. He always is willing to help her w/ out thinking about how it could affect him& man I wish there was more people like that!
This is basically my first historical fiction book ever & I can definitely say I'm satisfied.
so let's start off w/ the poor things about this book:
There was A LOT of information thrown at you at once & it got very confusing. All of these German names& German terms I couldn't really remember who was who or what was what ! Also, the story was kinda predictable. I had an idea who did what as soon as the plot was fully developed& I was right.
Positive things:
Overall, this story was great. The plot line was so intimidating & you had to finish the book to know who did what. The main premise of the book was a girl named Gretchen Müller realized that her father didn't die for the reason she was told. So she does everything she can, risking everything just so she can find out what really happened. I loved how this author incorporated real characters in this story such as fictional characters. You can tell Anne Blackman took a lot of time to research Hitler.
At first, I didn't think that hitler was such a BAD GUY(in this story, of course) , until they revealed what he'd been actually doing & Gretchen realizes it. He is such a twisted guy it disgusts me.
DANIEL. favorite character by FAR. he's so entranced by Gretchen omg I loved it. He always is willing to help her w/ out thinking about how it could affect him& man I wish there was more people like that!
This is basically my first historical fiction book ever & I can definitely say I'm satisfied.
Can't wait to read the second BOOK!!!! Loved his kne so full of action and mystery and I'm glad I got to know hitler a little bit more and hate him more too 😬😬😬overall this book was fantastic!!
If Nazi Germany is something you're interested. You will love this, whether or not you're sceptical about the plot. I can't say the plot of the story is anything special, it's not and I would have preferred for it to have taken a different turn, but regardless of that, this is still an amazing book that's worth the read! Although I did have some issues with the book, more on that later, I enjoyed reading it.
Full review on my blog!
http://originalbooker.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/prisoner-of-night-and-fog-anne-blankman.html
Full review on my blog!
http://originalbooker.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/prisoner-of-night-and-fog-anne-blankman.html
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
*4.5 stars
At times, this book was extremely uncomfortable to read, but that was obviously intentional. It was an extremely interesting and engaging perspective to read from, and I really appreciated that. This book was fast-paced, and extremely hard to put down. The reason I knocked it from a five star were mostly for the romance in the story. I thought it was predictable and it felt insta-lovey. I just don't think that we got enough of the journey of their relationship before they were completely enthralled with each other. Obviously that was because their romance wasn't at the forefront of the story until they were already so close, but I just didn't think that their romance added much to the story. I think just a friendship would've sufficed. There were also times during the action scenes that I skimmed over some parts because so much was going on and it was slightly confusion.
That being said, I thought this book was very enthralling and an overall great read; I highly recommend it. I don't think I will continue with the story, though, because I think this suffices as a stand-alone just fine for my taste, and I personally prefer stand-alones to series. The ending was not enough of a cliff-hanger to make me need to pick up the next book. I wasn't disappointed by the ending, it was fine; I just don't feel the need to continue on with the next book.
Overall a great book, though, and I highly recommend it.
At times, this book was extremely uncomfortable to read, but that was obviously intentional. It was an extremely interesting and engaging perspective to read from, and I really appreciated that. This book was fast-paced, and extremely hard to put down. The reason I knocked it from a five star were mostly for the romance in the story. I thought it was predictable and it felt insta-lovey. I just don't think that we got enough of the journey of their relationship before they were completely enthralled with each other. Obviously that was because their romance wasn't at the forefront of the story until they were already so close, but I just didn't think that their romance added much to the story. I think just a friendship would've sufficed. There were also times during the action scenes that I skimmed over some parts because so much was going on and it was slightly confusion.
That being said, I thought this book was very enthralling and an overall great read; I highly recommend it. I don't think I will continue with the story, though, because I think this suffices as a stand-alone just fine for my taste, and I personally prefer stand-alones to series. The ending was not enough of a cliff-hanger to make me need to pick up the next book. I wasn't disappointed by the ending, it was fine; I just don't feel the need to continue on with the next book.
Overall a great book, though, and I highly recommend it.
*SPOILERS*
More than a few issues with this weakly written book. The main character is TOO naïve. I understand she needs to be naïve to be “under Adolf Hitler’s wing” but come on.
The fact that the female protagonist views the main love interest as a “non-human” or a “sub-human” was not attractive or intriguing at all. Then she seemed to flip a switch and fall in love with him...
In fact I disliked the main character so much, I was waiting for her to get caught by Hitler. Which sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not.
What does it take for this girl to understand what her “Uncle Dolf” and brother support is wrong? Her brother has to physically abuse her, and then she understands. But then she doesn’t…because she runs to “Uncle Dolf” for comfort. When he was the one that supported her brother’s violent tendencies in the first place. When she gets to "Uncle Dolf", she realizes she's there to "comfort" him and she finally gets it.
It’s frustrating and obnoxious. I want to say it’s a good young adult introduction into the Holocaust, but I can’t even say that in good conscious. It has too much adult content when it comes to physical and sexual abuse.
Overall, cannot recommend this book for anyone.
More than a few issues with this weakly written book. The main character is TOO naïve. I understand she needs to be naïve to be “under Adolf Hitler’s wing” but come on.
The fact that the female protagonist views the main love interest as a “non-human” or a “sub-human” was not attractive or intriguing at all. Then she seemed to flip a switch and fall in love with him...
In fact I disliked the main character so much, I was waiting for her to get caught by Hitler. Which sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not.
What does it take for this girl to understand what her “Uncle Dolf” and brother support is wrong? Her brother has to physically abuse her, and then she understands. But then she doesn’t…because she runs to “Uncle Dolf” for comfort. When he was the one that supported her brother’s violent tendencies in the first place. When she gets to "Uncle Dolf", she realizes she's there to "comfort" him and she finally gets it.
It’s frustrating and obnoxious. I want to say it’s a good young adult introduction into the Holocaust, but I can’t even say that in good conscious. It has too much adult content when it comes to physical and sexual abuse.
Overall, cannot recommend this book for anyone.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Prisoner of Night and Fog is a story of a girl named Gretchen Müller who is Adolf Hitler's "adopted" niece. Her father was a close acquaintance to Hitler and was a hero when he jumped in front of the bullet to protect him. BUT, Gretchen begins to realize that something is wrong. Her father was shot from both the front and the back. Now mixed in with a handsome Jewish boy, Daniel, she is left finding out who really killed her father on that day.
The thing I liked about Prisoner of Night and Fog was definitely the romance. Daniel and Gretchen's romance was very well paced, and they never over stepped each other's boundaries. I feel like Anne Blankman really kept the historical part of that; adding in the old customs on dates and such really helped make the story believable.
I felt like each of the characters were real. They all had a very distinct personality that made them memorable, but there were still some that I didn't see having a purpose. I would mix a few up and forget who did what.
I found myself rooting for Gretchen in parts and then wanting to roll my eyes at her decisions, which in reality is what happens. People don't always make good decisions, but they're still a good person.
A few things that I found lacking was the action throughout. Most of the time, there's action around every corner in historical fiction, fantasy, etc. stories. However, with PONAF, it was all saved till the end.
It was a very well written book, but I felt like it needed just a tad bit more in the action side. I felt like I was receiving a history lesson, rather than a romance/historical fiction book.
"Would you recommend this?" Yes.
"But Meagan, you said it was like a history lesson, why do you still recommend it?" Well, it's a well written history lesson. WWII is one of my favorite time periods, because of patriotism, tactics, and family values. This story delves deep into the hidden side of Hitler and what he might have been like behind closed doors.
I will, hopefully, be reading the second book soon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, can I just add in that the girl on the cover is really pretty? Like, who does your eyeliner and where can I find them? I want my eyeliner to look that perfect.
Prisoner of Night and Fog is a story of a girl named Gretchen Müller who is Adolf Hitler's "adopted" niece. Her father was a close acquaintance to Hitler and was a hero when he jumped in front of the bullet to protect him. BUT, Gretchen begins to realize that something is wrong. Her father was shot from both the front and the back. Now mixed in with a handsome Jewish boy, Daniel, she is left finding out who really killed her father on that day.
The thing I liked about Prisoner of Night and Fog was definitely the romance. Daniel and Gretchen's romance was very well paced, and they never over stepped each other's boundaries. I feel like Anne Blankman really kept the historical part of that; adding in the old customs on dates and such really helped make the story believable.
I felt like each of the characters were real. They all had a very distinct personality that made them memorable, but there were still some that I didn't see having a purpose. I would mix a few up and forget who did what.
I found myself rooting for Gretchen in parts and then wanting to roll my eyes at her decisions, which in reality is what happens. People don't always make good decisions, but they're still a good person.
A few things that I found lacking was the action throughout. Most of the time, there's action around every corner in historical fiction, fantasy, etc. stories. However, with PONAF, it was all saved till the end.
It was a very well written book, but I felt like it needed just a tad bit more in the action side. I felt like I was receiving a history lesson, rather than a romance/historical fiction book.
"Would you recommend this?" Yes.
"But Meagan, you said it was like a history lesson, why do you still recommend it?" Well, it's a well written history lesson. WWII is one of my favorite time periods, because of patriotism, tactics, and family values. This story delves deep into the hidden side of Hitler and what he might have been like behind closed doors.
I will, hopefully, be reading the second book soon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, can I just add in that the girl on the cover is really pretty? Like, who does your eyeliner and where can I find them? I want my eyeliner to look that perfect.