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A review by cballar5
The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I received this ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love historical fiction. I’ve read books about many different eras, but I can say I have never read one about the Cold War set in Berlin.
I remember learning very little about the Cold War in school, so it was a definite refresher on how everything went down. The author walks you through the years until the wall comes down (and even a later excerpt, which I truthfully found entirely too cheesy). The plot was great as it showed an average life of a Berliner in this time, not a higher up or exceptionally poor person.
The characters were written well, with great development throughout the book. Without giving too much away, it’s wonderful to see a character with a redemption arc. The author does a fantastic job of appealing to readers’ empathy, which creates great characters!
The writing was easy to read (listen to in my case, so I have not the slightest idea how to spell names) and you really did get a feel of what it was like to live there. She’s descriptive, which gives a more immersive experience.
As a whole, I really enjoyed listening to this book. The accents of the narrators were easy to understand, but I don’t understand why they use an English accent for American English natives. This is not the first time I’ve seen this in a book, but it doesn’t bother me enough to make or break it.
Overall I give it 4 ⭐️. Parts of the book were a bit too cheesy for me, but I’ve been reading darker stuff lately and maybe it’s just the contrast. The ending is extra 🧀 though, too saccharine for my tastes.
I love historical fiction. I’ve read books about many different eras, but I can say I have never read one about the Cold War set in Berlin.
I remember learning very little about the Cold War in school, so it was a definite refresher on how everything went down. The author walks you through the years until the wall comes down (and even a later excerpt, which I truthfully found entirely too cheesy). The plot was great as it showed an average life of a Berliner in this time, not a higher up or exceptionally poor person.
The characters were written well, with great development throughout the book. Without giving too much away, it’s wonderful to see a character with a redemption arc. The author does a fantastic job of appealing to readers’ empathy, which creates great characters!
The writing was easy to read (listen to in my case, so I have not the slightest idea how to spell names) and you really did get a feel of what it was like to live there. She’s descriptive, which gives a more immersive experience.
As a whole, I really enjoyed listening to this book. The accents of the narrators were easy to understand, but I don’t understand why they use an English accent for American English natives. This is not the first time I’ve seen this in a book, but it doesn’t bother me enough to make or break it.
Overall I give it 4 ⭐️. Parts of the book were a bit too cheesy for me, but I’ve been reading darker stuff lately and maybe it’s just the contrast. The ending is extra 🧀 though, too saccharine for my tastes.