Tropical Girl Reads

Auschwitz, 1942: This unforgettable novel, based on a true story, brings to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity, and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, pressing a note into her hand. Her entire body trembled when she read it: I am in love with you.

Helena steps off the cattle train onto the frozen grounds of Auschwitz. She has twenty-four hours to live. Scheduled to be killed tomorrow, she is not even tattooed with a prison number. As the snow falls around her, she shivers, knowing that she has been sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit.

When a gray-clad officer marches towards Helena and pulls her away, she fears the worst. Instead, he tells her that it’s one of the guard’s birthdays and orders her to serenade him.

Inside the SS barracks the air is warm, thick with cigarette smoke and boisterous conversation. After she sings to the guard, Franz, he presses a piece of cake into her hands––the first thing she has eaten in days. On the spot, he orders her life to be saved, forever changing the course of her fate.

What follows is a love story that was forbidden, that should have been impossible, and yet saved both of their lives––and hundreds of others––in more ways than one.

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Choice, and The Orphan Train will be utterly entranced by this unputdownable page-turner. This completely heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful novel shows that love can survive anything and grow anywhere.

No. of pages:- 364 pages

Date published:- will be published on 9th August 2021

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Historical Fiction

Rating:-

He was a Nazi, a SS man…she was a Jew…but there are no boundaries for love despite their love is forbidden in the eye of the Reich laws…

When I was in college, I read an article about a Nazi soldier named Franz, who was apparently known as the demon of Auschwitz and his love story with a Slovak Jew named Helena who arrived at the Auschwitz camp. Helena worked at Kannada, a place where many women worked and they were allowed to grow hair and exchange goods in return. While reading that article, I realized that despite the racial laws that forbid Aryans from marrying Jews, there was no boundary for love. Though after the war they moved on with different lives, Franz was arrested for his crimes at the Auschwitz camp but it was Helena who testified for him, citing he saved her life.

This book is loosely based on this true story–the first names were similar but the author has altered the last names. though the events that took place in the book is eerily similar to what happened. Because of Franz’s love to Helena prompted to save Helena’s sister from going to gas chambers and because Helena sang for him on his birthday that made Franz save Helena from execution. Like all her books, the author has done tremendous research and as such, the story was heartbreaking, tear jerking and emotional at times to read. The most interesting part was the court scenes as lawyers had no idea if Helena genuinely in love with Franz or is it just the Stockholm Syndrome. But as we go through the book, we do feel that the love between Franz and Helena was in fact genuine. As always, the brutal conditions at the Auschwitz camp was too disturbing to read, particularly the treatment towards Jews and the fact that this was actually a true story made it more interesting and emotional to read. The book was unputdownable and there were some parts, guaranteed that will make you cry. The story was so beautifully written and for the first time, though I cannot stand the Nazis, I actually felt for Franz at how he worked hard to save his true love!

Overall this is a heartbreaking, tear jerking and emotional book, the one that will not let you put the book down, the one where you will remain hooked into the story until the end–worth five stars!

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

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.

There, on the dusty floorboards, was a piece of paper, folded neatly. A newspaper article from 1941, written in German, alongside a faded picture of two men in Nazi uniforms staring at the camera. I was about to place it back in the box of forgotten things when something in the text jumped out at me. My breath caught in my chest. I know that name.

London, present day. Isla has grown up hearing her beloved grandad’s stories about his life as a child in pre-war Poland and as a young soldier bravely fighting the Germans to protect his people. So she is shocked and heartbroken to find, while collecting photos for his 95th birthday celebration, a picture of her dear grandfather wearing a Nazi uniform. Is everything she thought she knew about him a lie?

Unable to question him due to his advanced dementia, Isla wraps herself in her rainbow-coloured scarf, a memento of his from the war, and begins to hunt for the truth behind the photograph. What she uncovers is more shocking than she could have ever anticipated – a tale of childhood sweethearts torn apart by family duty, and how one young man risked his life, his love and the respect of his own people, to secretly fight for justice from inside the heart of the enemy itself…

An heartbreaking novel of love, betrayal and a secret passed down through a family. Inspired by an incredible true story. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones and The Alice Network.

No. of pages:- 294 pages

Date published:- will be published on 28th July 2021

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:- Historical Fiction

Rating:-

I am a sucker for historical fiction based on Holocaust and WWII!!! Since I have read a book written by the same author, I was excited to read more books from her.

Just like the Watchmaker at Dachau, this story is also based on Holocaust but in a different way. The book divides between the Present Day England with Isla’s point of view and the past based on Isla’s grandfather, Tomasz’s view. In the Present Day England, Isla comes across a photograph with the back written in German. It was a photograph of two German soldiers with their Nazi uniforms, posing in front of the camera. One of them was Isla’s grandfather, Tomasz. Confused about the photograph, Isla sets on a journey to Poland, where her grandfather was from to discover the story of love, courage, betrayal and friendship.

Though the story is fictional, nonetheless, this story felt realistic. I have heard stories of how Polish men were forced to join Wehrmacht during the war and also the Soviet troops and this story is such a story. Many Polish men had no choice but to join the Wehrmacht and at the same time secretly involved in the resistance movement. The author has done tremendous research into the story, making it realistic and I do like the romantic relationship between Tomasz and Zofia. There were some parts in the book that was a bit emotional and heartbreaking — the Germans’ treatment towards Jews and Gypsies were so heartbreaking that I cried in some parts for the brutal treatments, particularly the part where Tomasz’s gypsy friend gets killed. The book is unputdownable that you will be so hooked into the story, taking back to you those hard brutal times!

Overall, this is a tear-jerking, emotional and heartbreaking tale of courage, love and friendship that will keep you up all night–worth five stars!

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

Carly lives in a tiny cottage in Oxfordshire,  with barely enough room to swing a cat. Yet, she has managed to dwell in such a hobbit-type abode for some years with her two dogs, who keep her company as she reads, writes, eats chips, and drinks the occasional gin.

An occasional runner, gym goer, and walker, Carly is also an habitual binge-watcher of box sets and reader of anything she can get her hands on, including the back of cereal boxes.

Her interest in WWII history spans from a familial connection, and inspired her to complete a PhD regarding the author’s responsibility to historical fiction. Whilst an achievement, she gained 20 lbs, and became a hermit

When Anika Molnar flees her home country of Hungary not long before the break-up of the Soviet Union, she carries only a small suitcase – and a beautiful and much-loved painting of an auburn-haired woman in a cobalt blue dress from her family’s hidden collection.
Arriving in Australia, Anika moves in with her aunt in Sydney, and the painting hangs in pride of place in her bedroom. But one day it is stolen in what seems to be a carefully planned theft, and Anika’s carefree life takes a more ominous turn.
Sinister secrets from her family’s past and Hungary’s fraught history cast suspicion over the painting’s provenance, and she embarks on a gripping quest to uncover the truth.
Hungary’s war-torn past contrasts sharply with Australia’s bright new world of opportunity in this moving and compelling mystery.

No. of pages:- 259 pages

Date published:- 15th July 2021

Publisher:- Red Door Press

Genre:- Mystery

Rating:- 3.5/5

Anika flees from Hungary to Australia with a painting which is a gift from her father and hangs it in the living room of her aunt’s house. The painting seems to have a known value. However, the painting gets stolen and the painting seems to have a history spanning during the WWII years to Hungarian Revolution.

The plot sounded interesting to me. In the beginning, it was a little bit boring, but in the middle part of the book, the story gets interesting with the painting being stolen and the history behind the painting fascinated and intrigued me at the same time. Nonetheless, the story was set when Berlin Wall collapses and the end of Soviet Union with Hungary having their first elections after years of communism rule so the author did a good job researching about the history. The writing was great however and so are the characters.

Overall, it was actually a good book–worth three and a half stars in my opinion. I haven’t read any books from this author but I would like to read more books from her in future.

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

Good Morning America’s “27 Books for June”

PopSugar’s Best Summer Reads of 2021

In New York Times bestselling author Alka Joshi’s intriguing new novel, henna artist Lakshmi arranges for her protégé, Malik, to intern at the Jaipur Palace in this tale rich in character, atmosphere, and lavish storytelling.

It’s the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At twenty, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema.

Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur’s Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema’s balcony tragically collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. But Malik suspects something far darker and sets out to uncover the truth. As a former street child, he always knew to keep his own counsel; it’s a lesson that will serve him as he untangles a web of lies.

No. of pages:- 309 pages

Date published:- June 22nd 2021

Genre:- Historical Fiction/Women’s Fiction

Rating:-

This is the second book of the Jaipur trilogy by Alka Joshi, the first Henna Artist. This story takes place, twelve years after the events that took place in Henna Artist. The story takes place of course in Jaipur and as well as Shimla, where now Lakshmi is living with her new husband, Jay Kumar, a doctor.

Twelve years after Lakshmi leaves Jaipur with Malik and her sister Radha, she is married to Jay Kumar and is living in Shimla, tending a healing garden and helping her husband with the clinic. Radha gets married to a French man and moves to France, wanting to forget about the past, particularly about Nikhil, the son Radha gave birth to, now adopted by Kanta and Manu Agarwal. Malik is in love with a tribal girl named Nimmi who has two children, Rekha and Challoo from her previous marriage. Then Lakshmi sends Malik to Jaipur where Malik under Manu Agarwal works in Singh-Sharma architectural firm, where they are going to build a beautiful cinema complex in Jaipur. Then on the night of the grand opening, the balcony collapses, killing some people and injuring many. Manu is threatened to be thrown out of the company while the real people, who are responsible for the collapse wanted to get away. Meanwhile, Lakshmi back in Shimla finds an illegal gold trade happening around Chandigarh area to the Shimla.

I must say, from the beginning to the end, I was literally drawn into the story. The story is told from the perspectives of Malik, Nimmi and Lakshmi so we would know what each of them thinks about one another–about Malik’s stay in Jaipur and Nimmi’s relationship with Lakshmi. Since I listened to the audiobook, the narrators did a good job! The writing was great, making the reader feel like they are in Jaipur and Shimla. I also like getting to know some culture and tradition and the way of like when reading through Nimmi’s perspectives. Also, I have to say, the story is realistic, despite the fact that it’s fictional. As a Sri Lankan, where our country’s culture is a bit similar to India, I am not surprised when reading this book how rich can get away with anything by bribing and that it was the hardworking and poor people who get caught in the middle. The author did a good job, highlighting the corruptions in the system and the illegal smuggling of gold which is realistic. The characters in the book are likable particularly Malik and his love for Nimmi, although I thought his obsession with Sheela’s naked body was irrelevant in the book. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book and felt like I was a part of the story with me in Jaipur and Shimla.

Overall, I give this book five stars and cannot wait for the third book to come!

Alka Joshi was born in the desert state of Rajasthan in India. In 1967, her family immigrated to America. She earned a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts in San Francisco. Prior to writing The Henna Artist, Alka ran an advertising and marketing agency for 30 years. She has spent time in France and Italy and currently lives with her husband on the Northern California Coast.
Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPflbk14yjY&t=2s
More at: https://www.instagram.com/thealkajoshi/