*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Last Bookshop In Prague blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.
Title: The Last Bookshop In Prague
Author: Helen Parusel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
Was she incredibly brave or incredibly stupid?
Neither. Just a bookshop girl doing what she could against her country’s
oppressors.
The banned books club was only the beginning; a
place for the women of Prague to come together and share the tales the Germans
wanted to silence.
For bookshop owner, Jana, doing the right thing was
never a question. So when opportunity comes to help the resistance, she offers
herself – and her bookshop. Using her window displays as covert signals and
hiding secret codes in book marks, she’ll do all in her power to help.
But the arrival of two people in her bookshop will
change everything: a young Jewish boy with nowhere else to turn, and a fascist
police captain Jana can’t read at all. In a time where secrets are currency and
stories can be fatal, will she know who to trust?
A
heart-wrenching and powerful story of courage, tenacity and love. Fans of
Suzanne Goldring, Mandy Robotham and Debbie Rix will devour this unforgettable
novel.
The Last Bookshop
in Prague is the latest compelling Second World War historical fiction novel
from author Helen Parusel. This powerful story explores themes of bravery, survival,
fighting for what’s right and the power of books, set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied
Prague in the final three years of the war.
Helen Parusel has
quickly become one of my standout authors within the genre, with both of her previous
novels being definite five star reads and some of my favourites of the past
couple of years (click here to read my reviews: The Austrian Bride and A Mother’s War), so I had high hopes for The Last Bookshop in Prague and it certainly did
not disappoint. The narrative is fast-paced, maintained by short and snappy
chapters which will grip readers from cover to cover, just like it did me.
As usual with
Helen Parusel’s books, the history was impeccably researched. This book covers
some really interesting aspects of Second World War history which I haven’t
seen featured within historical fiction before (despite considering myself very
well-read within the genre), including the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
and the events that followed including the Nazi manhunt for the assailants and
the horrific Lidice and Ležáky massacres. The final chapters of the book also
feature the Prague uprising, which again I’ve not seen covered in other historical
fiction so it was fantastic to learn about it through Jana’s eyes.
At the heart of
this story is really strong female characters, lead by Jana who was a fantastic
protagonist. She was really emotionally intelligent and had brilliant character
development throughout the novel into someone who was even more courageous and confident.
I loved her relationships with both her dad and her grandmother (who was a
strong female character in herself and a brilliant role model for Jana) and the
roles they both played in the story. There are also strong female supporting
characters in Jana’s friends, her fellow resistance fighter Nela, the women she
helps throughout the story and the young characters of Yveta and Maddie. The
male characters were brilliantly written too, including the primary Nazi
antagonists who made my skin crawl every time they appeared.
There’s also a lovely
historical romance element to the story which was a great addition that I
really enjoyed. I think that Helen Parusel completely nailed the blend of
having this romantic element whilst not letting it take away from the
hard-hitting nature of the rest of the plot.
I loved the
setting of the bookshop and the role books continuously played throughout the
story, bringing people together in even the darkest of times. The story
explores banned books, a topic it’s ridiculous is still so relevant in the 21st
century, and I loved that quotes from different banned books were used as passcodes
between resistance members, a detail I can’t believe I didn’t initially spot!
Overall, The Last
Bookshop in Prague is yet another incredibly powerful novel from Helen Parusel,
further cementing her as one of my favourite historical fiction authors of all
time. This is a must-read for fans of the genre or anyone who wants to venture
into the wonderful world of Second World War historical fiction.
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