Reviews

I loved this book! I struggled to put this down and got a little moody when I had to. Life still had to be lived. I was submerged into the story, felt so much the same as the characters themselves. I love history books that make you truly understand the life and capacity on which the lives of past have shaped our world. I cried, laughed, cheered, felt fear with them and then cheered and celebrated with them. My 10 year old downloaded the audio of this book because he heard me listening to it in the car and he enjoyed it as well.

beachbookbabe's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

4.0

mikaela_wade's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn’t want this audiobook to end! I keep going to play it and remember it is over :( it was 14.5 hours long and I loved every minute!

Lynn Austin did an amazing job with the story telling & Stina Nielsen’s narration had me lost in the worlds of these 3 main characters! Highly recommend this audiobook.

Summary:

This Book Follows 3 women through World War II from 1939 to 1945 in the Netherlands. The book covers so much and it was refreshing that whilst there was romance throughout it was never the focus of the story and while I love a hallmark romance this was really nice to focus on the war and really feel the grit and devestation, fear and sorrow, small joys and purpose, faith and miracles, questions and disappointments. It felt realistic to me without being gory.

Main Characters:

This book is written from the P.O.V. of three women

Lena De Vries - Lena is a Christian Dutch farmers wife and a mother of 3, Ans, Wim & Maiike, she is married to Pieter. And her father is the local pastor and full of wisdom. Lena likes to be in control and has trouble trusting God with her family.

Ans De Vries - Ans is the eldest of 3 children and 19 at the start of the book, she is a rebellious teen and wants to leave the farm and religion she was raised with and move to the big city.

Ans finds a boyfriend in the big city, he is a police officer who is forced to join the Dutch Nazi Party

Ans works as a live in companion for Eloise who struggles with melancholy and trauma from WWI. Ans processes her faith in God and her role in the war.

Miriam Jacobs - Miriam is a young German Jew who flees to the Netherlands excited for the freedom this country will hold for her and her father. Miriam struggles with Anxiety and her violin is a gift to her to express her emotions and calm her panic

Miriam meets Avi in refugee camp when she arrives in the Netherlands and they marry and have a beautiful baby Elisheva aka Bep

Series:

Stand alone.

Content:

I really liked the biblical exploration that so naturally flowed through the characters as they asked questions of “what is ok?” “Can I lie?” “Should I protect myself?” Etc. These are all things I’ve wanted to understand and I loved how much this book impacted me and my own faith journey!

Book recommendations:

Reading this book reminded me of the first book I ever listened to by Lynn Austin and what made me love her writing: Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin and the whole refiners fire series! It’s about the civil war.

Other similar books by Lynn Austin that I’ve liked
A woman’s place set in early 1940s and follows 4 woman

And If I Were You about 2 women during WWII

Audio Performance: 9/10

Lovely to listen to, she brings the characters uniquely to life.

Author: Lynn Austin

Narrator: Stina Nielsen

Length: 14hrs 38mins (Unabridged)

Released: 8-June-2021

Publisher: Recorded Books Audio

Platform: Scribd

Content Warnings

heidi_checkedout's review

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

cerarose's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

World War 2 was difficult for many people.
A lot of people made hard choices.
This book follows 3 women and the choices they make to help others and for the war.

anmaridocarmo's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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