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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Can you call a book cute that deals with such heavy themes? When I first picked it up, I got an inkling of what was to come, but I was expecting a lighter read than it was. While there were still cute elements to it, the book focuses on the lives of three women who live through the tumultuous tides of the rise of fascism and censorship. There were a lot of uncomfortable parallels to the world we live in now, which makes the book all the more relevant. I enjoyed following the lives of the three women in the book, and how it brings them all together. (Not a spoiler, you find out early on that they all have something to do with each other).
If you like WWII, strong women who also learn and grow, soft romance, and hate censorship, this book is for you!
If you like WWII, strong women who also learn and grow, soft romance, and hate censorship, this book is for you!
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The timing of me reading this book (America march 2025) is impactful. Reading this in my kindle while getting alerts of the dismantling of the dept of public ed and detaining/deporting people without charging them.
It gave this novel such a deeper meaning for me.
It gave this novel such a deeper meaning for me.
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
A story of three strong willed women whose lives come together. Viv the one who unwittingly orchestrates the reunion of Althea and Hannah. Althea had been sponsored by the Nazis as an up and coming author. She was naive and unaware of the deep,seated hatred and racism of Nazism. Hannah a German Jew who loathed the Nazis and all they stood for.
After meeting, Althea and Hannah form a friendship in which Althea learns the truth about her sponsors. The night she is with Hannah and they witness the burning of books which have been banned by the Nazis, her own disgust is unleashed and she stands up to the Nazi who has been her ‘keeper’ while in Germany. She and Hannah have a romantic night together but the next day she is captured by the Nazis for her insubordination.
Hannah’s brother who has been foremost in leading a revolution against the Nazi regime is also captured and Hannah feels Althea had betrayed him for her own freedom. Hannah’s love for Althea turns to hate and as soon as she can, Althea returns to her home in America.
Years later Viv is launching a campaign against a senator who is trying to close down a scheme whereby soldiers sent off to war are issued with books. Through her research for people who can speak out at a function she is organising to gain support, she meets Hannah and later on Althea, not knowing of the history between them.
The lives of these three women are intertwined and their love of books brings them together.
I had been unaware of the scheme, ASE, before reading this story and the senator’s desire to stop it was factual.
The ending of the book also brings focus on the ease with which a buffoon can gain leadership of a country, and how people’s apathy about not voting against bigotry can only spell disaster- something that is so relevant today.
After meeting, Althea and Hannah form a friendship in which Althea learns the truth about her sponsors. The night she is with Hannah and they witness the burning of books which have been banned by the Nazis, her own disgust is unleashed and she stands up to the Nazi who has been her ‘keeper’ while in Germany. She and Hannah have a romantic night together but the next day she is captured by the Nazis for her insubordination.
Hannah’s brother who has been foremost in leading a revolution against the Nazi regime is also captured and Hannah feels Althea had betrayed him for her own freedom. Hannah’s love for Althea turns to hate and as soon as she can, Althea returns to her home in America.
Years later Viv is launching a campaign against a senator who is trying to close down a scheme whereby soldiers sent off to war are issued with books. Through her research for people who can speak out at a function she is organising to gain support, she meets Hannah and later on Althea, not knowing of the history between them.
The lives of these three women are intertwined and their love of books brings them together.
I had been unaware of the scheme, ASE, before reading this story and the senator’s desire to stop it was factual.
The ending of the book also brings focus on the ease with which a buffoon can gain leadership of a country, and how people’s apathy about not voting against bigotry can only spell disaster- something that is so relevant today.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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:
Yes
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Hard to get into. Predictable. Boring.