By: Rose Alexander
Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book and allowing me a stop on the book tour.
BLURB
German-occupied territory, 1945. Tearing open the envelope, Katja studies every line and letter on the map. She wills herself to memorise it, copying every detail onto scraps of paper in the flickering candlelight. She’d nearly been caught delivering the letters by the SS that afternoon. Picturing Karl’s handsome face, her chest tightens. They’re in this together. But if she’s caught, what will happen to the baby?
London, present day. Jo is at a crossroads in her own life in her cosy bungalow on the edge of beautiful Hampstead Heath. Clearing out her mother, Katja’s, empty home, Jo’s world is turned upside down when she discovers a small, dog-eared diary stuffed into the back of a tiny kitchen cupboard. And tucked within its pages is a ripped, yellowed envelope with an unfamiliar, faded postmark. As she scans the scrawled handwriting, Jo can scarcely believe her eyes…
What really happened to that tiny baby all those years ago? And will this long-lost diary finally give Jo the answers to everything she’s been searching for?
MY REVIEW
This is simply a beautiful and breathtaking book. Alexander weaves together the two timelines to tell a wonderful story full of fear, strength, sorrow, grief, and light. As always with historical fiction, I love learning something new about the historical time period – especially one like WWII when you think that you know most of what happened. I didn’t live through WWII, but I can’t even imagine what it would be like. My grandfather fought in the war but I wasn’t old enough to understand and ask him about his time before he passed. This book shows the importance of asking questions and learning more about history – to make sure we don’t repeat it.
I also like that there was more than one “storyline” here. There was Jo learning about Katja’s experience, Jo learning about her father’s experience through his diary, and also Jo going through her own martial issues. All of these storylines were brought together perfectly.
This is a must read for anyone that enjoys historical fiction.
This book is now available. You can get your copy here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rose Alexander has had more careers than she cares to mention and is currently a secondary school English teacher. She writes in the holidays, weekends and evenings, whenever she has a chance, although with three children, a husband, a lodger and a cat, this isn’t always as often as she’d like. She’s a keen sewist and is on a mission to make all her own clothes.
https://www.rosealexander.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/rosealexanderauthor/
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Rose Alexander here: https://bookouture.com/subscribe/rose-alexander/
Book Addict Book Blog 