The Bookseller of Dachau – ARC Book Review

Germany, 1940: “Can’t I say goodbye?” I shout, cupping my hands over my mouth. The Nazis dragging him away stare at me, soldiers with icy glares. No. No, no, no, they can’t make him leave.

In Nazi Germany, innocent people vanish every day, torn mercilessly from their homes and loved ones. When Matilda’schildhood sweetheart Hans is in danger, she doesn’t hesitate to hide him in her attic. Neighbors their whole lives, and desperately in love with one another, she’ll do anything to protect him. For months, they exist by candlelight, smuggling food and communicating in whispers. But, in the end, nothing can stop the soldiers charging in…

America, 2018: Grace opens a mustard-yellow envelope, and her world unravels. She has inherited a bookstore in the small town of Dachau from the grandmother she had no idea existed. Her mom, adopted as a baby, spent her life searching for her biological parents––and died without ever knowing.

Grace visits her legacy––a bookshop on a cobbled lane filled with lost memories. She combs through handwritten letters, unearthing the story of her grandmother Matilda. A woman whose one true love was locked within the barbed wire of Dachau––a woman who never gave up hope…

As Grace pieces together her family’s heartbreaking past, she discovers the long-buried secret of her own identity. But when she learns the truth, will she ever be the same again?

This heart-wrenching yet hopeful tale will restore your faith in humanity, and in the power of love to triumph over evil. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Orphan Train and Kristin Hannah will be blown away by this breathtakingly gripping page-turner.

The story divides between present day told from Grace’s perspective and the past set in 1941 from Matilda’s perspective, during the Nazi rule in Germany. In the present day, Grace gets a letter that she is set to inherit a book shop in Germany in Dachau and sets of to find more stories about her mother’s side of the family–where her mother tried so hard to find her biological family before she passed away. In 1941, Matilda and Hans are friends turned lovers until Hans is taken away–because he was Jewish. Matilda will do anything to reunite with her love.

From start to finish, the story was truly engrossing and engaging that I was so hooked into the book. I do like the alternative time lines so that’s a plus sign for me and it’s interesting to read more about Matilda and her lifestyle as a German woman during the Nazi rule in 1940’s. There were emotional parts in the story, particularly, Matilda’s romance with Hans, who is Jewish and there were tear jerking moments in the book. As we all now, the author has done some research about the Dachau concentration camp, life in Germany during and after the war and I really like Matilda’s character–how she never gave up finding her true love although she was never able to reunite with her own daughter. Reading Matilda’s part was truly engaging and I felt like I am sharing all these emotions with her. I also liked reading Grace’s point of view, the wave of emotions she felt while reading the letter. Of course, the ending was expected but I really liked the happy ending in the book.

Overall, this is an emotional, heartbreaking and tear jerking book that will keep you on the edge and will keep you hooked–worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.