Tag Archive | Bookouture

The Secret Hotel In Berlin by Catherine Hokin

Jul15

Back Where She Belongs

The Secret Hotel In Berlin by Catherine Hokin is a powerful dual timeline historical novel that I read in just two sittings.

The action is set in Berlin, mostly surrounding a hotel, during World War II and in 1990. The hotel was a favourite of Hitler and the leading Nazis in the war years, then fell into Soviet hands as it was in East Berlin. After the wall came down in 1989, it was privately purchased. Now it has the opportunity to be renovated and brought back to life.

Walls came down in hearts too in 1990. Families torn apart by the Soviet controlled East Berlin, had erected walls to protect hearts but it had the opposite effect and actually hurt hearts. Now these hardened hearts need to be softened, renovated and brought back to life. Now is the time to build bridges instead of walls.

Sacrificial love was a major theme. There was love that let go, in order that others might thrive. The love remained when all else was gone. The memories remained. And a hope for restoration one day remained.

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In The Blink Of An Eye by Kate Hewitt

Jul3

A Powerful Offering

In The Blink Of An Eye by Kate Hewitt is a powerful contemporary suspense that had me glued from the start.

The action alternates from various points of view and is in the first person. The reader becomes intimately acquainted with the characters.

As the novel opens, we know that something terrible has happened – but is it deliberate? Or just a tragic accident? As the story unfolds, we must piece the evidence together before the concluding pages.

The novel is about families. There are many different types of family. No one size fits all. The ‘perfect’ family does not exist. There is a family that feels very ‘Stepford wives’ to the reader. It is like a show house but is a show family – very little is truly ‘real.’ There are single parent families and a family that is falling apart due to stress. It is here that we see what true love is.

Parents put their children at the centre of their world. Sometimes the parents bury their heads in the sand to any potential problems. It is far better to identify, and treat, the areas of concern.

We witness the terrifying ordeal that is the school gates! A clique of parents can make life heaven or hell.

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The Stars Are Our Witness by Siobhan Curham

Apr28

Of Magic & Miracles

The Stars Are Our Witness by Siobhan Curham is an inspiring, heartbreaking historical read that consumed me for a few hours.

The novel opens in Warsaw in 1940. It is an occupied city where the Nazis are gradually exterminating the Jewish population. Those who were previously counted as friends are shunning their Jewish neighbours – except for one brave sibling pairing. Kindred spirits cannot be torn apart.

We witness the bravery and daring of even the very young in the fight back against the Nazi occupation. As the grip tightens and the violence escalates, so does the bravery.

The fight back and the resistance looks very different for different characters. They all have very different skill sets – some are called to fight, some to smuggle, and yet some use their feminine wiles to extract information and weapons. Codes of morality blur in times of war.

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The Nurse Behind The Gates by Shari J Ryan

Apr25

Legacy Of Hope

The Nurse Behind The Gates by Shari J Ryan is a powerful and heartbreaking historical novel that I just could not put down.

The action takes place in Munich and Dachau. It alternates between the war years and from 1933 moving forwards. The novel is written in the first person from alternating points of view, and as such, we get to know the characters intimately.

Emilie and Danner are childhood friends – but Danner is a German Jew. He and his family gradually find their lives eroded from 1933 as anti semitism is rife in Nazi Germany.

1933 was a pivotal year when Hitler’s power became absolute and the course of Germany decided and plotted.

For Emilie and Danner, their feelings for each other remain. Emilie will always be a guiding light who offers hope in the darkest of times. As long as Danner keeps her in his heart, hope is alive.

We see sacrificial love practiced by the two lead characters. Danner loves Emilie enough to let her go. Emilie loves Danner enough to never let him go.

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