To Save A Life
The Hotel Dancer by Ellie Midwood is a powerful historical novel that I just could not put down.
The action is set in Warsaw during 1943. Chapters are interspersed with ones from ‘the writer’ in 1974. As the action unfolds in the past, the writer interviews a different person in 1974, giving their perspective on actions past. Who is the writer? My jaw fell as the penny dropped. I was reminded of the Jewish saying that whoever saves a life, it is as if he saved the whole world.
This is a book about bravery at a time of great evil. Characters could choose to go out with a whimper, but they go out with a bang.
Dancing under the noses of the Nazis, a young Jewish girl does what she does in order to survive – but surviving is not enough, she wants to rescue as many as she can from the Nazis reign of terror.
The reader witnesses the growing relationship of love – is it real? Or has a woman been duped? Read the novel, and make up your own mind.
Ellie Midwood has created an atmosphere of terror. Lives were balanced on a knife edge as they could be snuffed out in an instant.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Hotel Dancer. It was a powerful book that must be read in memory of the six million innocents who perished, and of those who tried to save them.
I received a free copy from the publishers for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
Ellie Midwood
Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.’ Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.
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The Hotel Dancer
Ellie Midwood
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- Amazon: https://geni.us/B0H4H6MLSYsocial
She checks the ties on her dancing shoes under the spotlight at the Germans’ favorite hotel. She moves automatically, her body remembering the steps, even though her mind is screaming at the danger she is in. The soldiers must never know she is Jewish. And that she is helping her fellow Jews escape…
Warsaw, 1943: Every night, Franceska dances at the most dangerous hotel in Poland. She knows which floorboards creak on the stage, which waiters are clumsy, and which officers like to be smiled at.
After her performance, one strap of her black silk dress sliding off her shoulder, she sips champagne with the terrifying SS commander who is determined to rid the streets of Jewish people. She charms him in the soft candlelight, hoping he might lead her to her missing sister. And she prays he misses the glances she exchanges with the man in the corner of the dining room, who is helping her smuggle Jewish people into the hotel and to safety.
The war has stolen so much from Franceska. She has almost nobody left in the world, and little to lose. But as she bewitches the soldiers with her dancing and flattery, extracting details that will help her in her quest, will she pay with the ultimate sacrifice? For as she fights the dark, she can no longer hide in the dark…
Fans of The Midwife of Auschwitz and The Orphan Train will fall in love with this heartbreakingly beautiful book about the terrible choices women needed to make to survive. The Hotel Dancer is an account of incredible bravery in the face of fear, inspired by a true story.
What everyone is saying about The Hotel Dancer:
“I read this with my heart in my throat. Franceska’s story broke me and put me back together in the same night” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Emotional and powerful… Only Ellie Midwood could have you feeling furious, heartbroken, panicked, and awe-inspired in such a short period – in my eyes she is the queen of historical fiction!” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Completely pulled me in. It’s heartbreaking, intense, and beautifully written… I found myself reading faster and faster because I just needed to know what would happen next. Emotional, gripping, and unforgettable. Definitely a 5-star read for me.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A heartbreakingly beautiful book… What wonderful characters … I was totally invested in their stories. I laughed along with them, cried tears of sorrow along with them and held my breath waiting to see what happened next.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I was gripped, reading long into the night… Loved it.” NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Adored this book, for all lovers of history and good storytelling. You will not be able to put it down because you will have to know what happens! It definitely kept me glued to the pages as you race to the end and you will be disappointed that’s it’s finished I was!” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A heart-wrenching prologue… My heart was in my mouth at the end. A worthy heroine.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“As gripping as it is heartbreaking… Beautifully written, emotionally powerful, and impossible to forget. Five stars without hesitation.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A very emotional read… Highly recommend… totally worth 5 stars.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A powerful historical novel that I just could not put down… I thoroughly enjoyed The Hotel Dancer. It was a powerful book that must be read.” ChristianBookaholic, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ISBN: 9781807220983
Publication Date: 04 September 2026