The Edelweiss Sisters – ARC Book Review

1938, Salzburg. A powerful story of hope, forbidden love, and incredible courage, about three sisters who will risk everything—even their own lives—as part of the resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Austria.

Johanna, Birgit and Lotte Eder have always lived quiet lives, working in their father’s clockmaking shop and helping their mother in the house. But like many other Austrians, they find it impossible to ignore the changes in the world around them.

At first Johanna finds it hard to believe the Nazis pose a real threat. But then her father hires Franz to help in his shop. He’s kind and soulful, with dark eyes that twinkle with intelligence. But he’s Jewish, and as Johanna falls for him, she realizes that loving him puts them all in danger.

Then comes the Anschluss—the reunification of Austria and Germany under Nazi rule. The three sisters’ lives have become ever more separate with Lotte joining the convent at Nonnberg Abbey and Birgit’s secret involvement with the Resistance. But as Johanna realizes how mistaken she was about the level of danger, she begins to see that it may be down to her to protect the man she loves.

She knows that she can’t do it alone though. She will have to turn to the people she trusts the most: her sisters.

The three of them work together to try to get Franz to the safety of Switzerland, and they soon prove invaluable to the Resistance. But they’re risking everything. Can three women who would die for each other, also be prepared to die for what is right?

The sisters’ subsequent journey from Nazi-occupied Salzburg to the devastating concentration camps of Ravensbruck and Mauthausen will show the strength of human spirit like never before. As, out of the darkness, a tiny seed of hope flowers…

A totally heartbreaking and impossibly powerful story about love, tragedy, and the power of humanity. Perfect for fans of The Nightingale, The Lilac Girls and The Sound of Music.

No. of pages:- 399 pages

Published:- will be published on 8th June 2021

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Historical Fiction

As a child, I have been a fan of Sound of Music and one of my favorite songs from Sound of Music was “Edelweiss,” which is the national flower symbol of Austria. This story, set during the Nazi occupied Austria and during the WWII talks about the lives of three sisters–Johanna, Brigit and Lotte who are known as Edelweiss Sisters. They sang in the festival along with the infamous Von Trapp family and helped with their father at the clock shop. So when Franz joins the shop as an apprentice, Johanna falls in love with Franz–but the problem is he was Jewish. Brigit joins a resistance movement and Lotte becomes a nun, the story talks about the bravery and the courage of these women who would risk their own lives to protect their loved ones.

As a fan of historical fiction based on Holocaust and WWII, this book was really good–a heart breaking, tear jerking and emotional book. The story is told from the perspectives of Johanna, Brigit and Lotte, in third person view so the reader could share all those feelings and emotions with the sisters. The brutal treatment towards the Jews, the worsening and appalling conditions at the labor camps, the night of Kristallnacht in 1938 were so disturbing and sad to read all the same time. I was so hooked into the story that I felt I was living with these sisters during that time!! The ending was so sad, heartbreaking that I felt like I want to cry but at the same time happy as well for some characters. The characters to me are all likable and admire their bravery and courage and support for each other. I stayed up all night reading this book and didn’t want to let this book go! Also, I like how the author has done so much research about the history of Austria, particularly during the Anschluss in 1938, WWII and the labor camps as well as about the Von Trapp family that the book felt realistic, drawing the reader back to those years.

Overall, a tear jerking, heartbreaking emotional tale of three sisters who are brave and courageous women that will keep you up all night and unputdownable that will keep you up all night–worth five stars!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Kate Hewitt is the bestselling author of many novels of both historical and contemporary fiction. She particularly enjoys writing contemporary issue-driven women’s fiction, and her novels have been called ‘unputdownable’ and ‘the most emotional book I have ever read’ by readers.

An American ex-pat, she lives in a small market town in Wales with her husband and five young(ish) children, along with their two Golden Retrievers. Join her newsletter for monthly updates and giveaways at http://www.kate-hewitt.com, or be part of her Facebook groups Kate’s Reads, to discuss all manner of books, movies, music and cooking.