4.0 out of 5 stars enticing
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2023
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This is a fascinating time travel romance with themes of love and desperation woven throughout. Particularly interesting was all the research behind what it was like to live in France in the 1940s.
This book is long and very involved, so get ready to make quite the commitment here. Even more so because there is a sequel!
5.0 out of 5 stars A non-typical story about a common internal struggle among people
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2022
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This book showcases a non-typical story about a common and constant internal struggle that most of us understand. We all want two contradictory experiences in life. We want the adventure of the unknown, but we also want security in our lives. Usually, this unknown is the future. However, this story puts the unknown in an unfamiliar place – the past. Specifically, the protagonist goes to Europe during WWII, only to discover that changing one’s times and places don’t change the person. For example, the protagonist falls in love with the same type of man, whether it’s the 2000s or the 1940s. Even more interesting, this story explores the question of whether people learn from their mistakes, or are simply destined to be drawn into bad circumstances and repeat those mistakes. History is doomed to repeat itself is a theme that plays out while reading on. This is an enjoyable read that puts the reader on a thought-provoking journey to determine if people have self-determination or if destiny is already written out, or if it’s something between.
5.0 out of 5 stars Good empathy with the protagonists in wartime, good written style
Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on 1 December 2021
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I usually read mostly non-fiction - including a lot about World War II already.
Here I give 6 points as to why the book is worth reading.
- The cover, title and subtitle appealed to me. There is a well-known German soldier's song about the flower Edelweiss. The title and subtitle arouse excitement and tension.
- The author puts herself very well into the minds of the characters, into the uncertainty, into the constant dangerous situations, into personal fates of wartimes.
- You read an interesting mixture of thoughts of the characters and dialogues
- even unimportant things like dealing with laundry is told in an interesting and appealing way
- The hostility between the enemies becomes very tangible
- Different groups of characters and their actions are explained from SS officers over refugees to ordinary people from England or France.
As a fan of non-fiction books I miss a table of contents and a more reader friendly layout e.g. with more paragraphs and thick print.
For fans of fictional stories, which are set close to reality, it is absolutely worth reading.
