Review: The Letter Reader by Jan Casey*

  *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.

Title: The Letter Reader
Author: Jan Casey
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Infertility, Vehicle Crash, Death Of A Parent

Rating: ★★★★

She read their secrets during the war. Now she cannot forget them...

1941. London. Keen to do her bit in the war, Connie Allinson joins the WRNS and is posted as a letter censor. Her task: to read and alter correspondence to ensure no sensitive information crosses enemy lines. At first, she is not sure she's up to it, but is soon drawn in by the letters she reads, and their secrets...

1967. Doncaster. Bored of her domestic life, Connie desperately wants a job, but her controlling husband Arthur won't hear of it. Looking for an escape, and plagued by memories of letters she read during the war, she makes a bid for freedom and starts secretly tracking down their authors. Will uncovering their past give Connie the key to her present? And will she be able to find them all before Arthur discovers what she is keeping from him?

The Letter Reader is the latest historical fiction work from author Jan Casey. The story is told through a dual timeline narrative, flitting between Connie’s experiences as a letter censor in 1941 and her life with husband Arthur in 1967. It is an easy and enjoyable read which isn’t as hard-hitting as other historical fiction works due to the slightly more reserved subject matter but still has powerful and emotional elements.

The focus on Connie’s work censoring letters during the war was fascinating and an area of Second World War history I knew little about. It was clearly very well researched by Jan Casey which made the story feel authentic to the time period. I really loved all of the supporting characters introduced within this timeline and could have read a whole book solely focused on their experiences as letter censors.

It did take me a little while to warm to Connie as a protagonist for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on but I gradually saw her for the compelling and strong character that she was. I really enjoyed her character development and seeing her grow as a person as she reclaimed her identity as more than just a housewife. It was also lovely to slowly see her start to explore more of the culture of the 1960s outside of the more traditional and dated lifestyle she had been living with Arthur. We also get a powerful exploration of the grief Connie experiences following the loss of her mother and the grief she experiences as a result of infertility preventing her and Arthur becoming parents.

Arthur’s controlling nature and sexist ideas were very well written. Looking at his traditional ideas surrounding gender roles through a 21^st century lens meant that I at times found his treatment of his poor wife utterly infuriating but I enjoyed seeing his gradual character development over the course of the novel.

This novel does take a slower pace and the build up to Connie choosing to break free from Arthur’s control and start tracking down the authors of the letters did feel unnecessarily lengthy. But the pace did pick up from the point that Connie goes down to London and that final third of the story was more enjoyable a read, ultimately increasing the book’s star rating for me. When reflecting post-read I can understand more why Jan Casey might have chosen to make the earlier chapters slower-paced as it’s more reflective of the time it might take a woman such as Connie to gradually build the courage to break free from a controlling spouse.

Overall, The Letter Reader is an enjoyable and easy historical fiction read ideal for anyone interested in the 1960s as a time period alongside the Second World War. It was my first experience of Jan Casey’s writing but I look forward to catching up on her other works. 

Review: The Polish Daughter by Gosia Nealon*

  *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.

Title: The Polish Daughter
Author: Gosia Nealon
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  Rape, Torture, War, Antisemitism, Guns, Domestic Abuse, Physical Abuse By A Parent

Rating: ★★★★★

Poland, 1944: Armed men line the streets herding us forward, ignoring screams as they pull people from the crowd. My heart pounds as I hear a familiar cry. They have hold of my darling friend. I desperately push through to her, to save her. But we are too densely packed in. I can’t hold back my sobs as she crumples. I am too late…

When war broke out, Julia’s father, a high-ranking Polish Officer, took her from Warsaw to keep her safe. Now, with her father missing-in-action, Julia has returned to find him and fight for the resistance—but the city is more dangerous than she ever thought it could be.

When she is trapped in the ghetto, Nazis dragging people into the streets all around her, Julia can only watch in horror as her dearest friend is pulled from the crowd. Heart shattering as her friend falls to the cobbled streets, Julia’s desperate screams attract the soldiers’ attention, and it seems she is about to suffer the same awful fate.

Until her childhood sweetheart, Nikolaj, appears in enemy uniform and stops the guards with one word. The boy Julia remembers would never side with the Germans: and in the safety of his private room, he explains he is a resistance spy within the ranks of Nazi officers. But the longer he keeps her in the barracks, surrounded by his soldiers, the more Julia grows uneasy about the man she once knew…

Half-Jewish and with her father a wanted man, how safe can she be behind enemy lines? Has her childhood friend become one of the monsters she has been fighting against? And if he has, will she ever be able to escape him?

The Polish Daughter is the third book in Gosia Nealon’s Secret Resistance series. After reading and reviewing the first two instalments of the series earlier this year, I was eagerly awaiting the publication of The Polish Daughter and it certainly did not disappoint.

Each of the Secret Resistance stories exist within the same universe and are all centered around the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. This gives us a unique opportunity to explore the events of the uprising from the perspectives of a range of characters who each had different roles to play in the resistance effort. There is a natural overlap of characters and events across the three stories and I personally really enjoyed the opportunities to encounter the protagonists from previous novels and see how all of their stories fit together like puzzle pieces. It is important to note that the books will work as standalone stories if you don’t fancy committing to an entire series but I would strongly recommend reading the entire trilogy back-to-back.

The Polish Daughter is an intense and gripping story which is fast-paced and packed full of action and suspense. Gosia Nealon’s captivating writing style has created another of the powerfully hard-hitting stories we’ve seen in the rest of the series and as with her other works the story doesn’t shy away from sharing the brutal atrocities of the Nazi regime. This book also rounds up the series by further exploring the cruelty of the Soviet regime in Poland following the end of the war.

Julia was a fiercely courageous and tenacious protagonist who, alike all of the other characters in the Secret Resistance series, had such depth to her character. The exploration of grief we get through Julia’s character and the losses she experiences was particularly powerful and a highlight of the story for me. Her infatuation with Nikolaj made her naïve and oblivious to his true nature and I thought both this and the gradual process of Julia opening her eyes to the reality of his character were really well written. In Nikolaj, Gosia Nealon has created a truly vile antagonist who perfectly captures the brutality and evil of the Nazis.

Throughout the story we get little nods to the Polish language and Polish culture and this really helped the story to feel authentic.

One criticism I would have is that I simply would have liked the story to have been longer. The main narrative is set five years on from the prologue and this has meant that we have missed a really significant portion of Julia’s story and with it a significant portion of her character development. We’re told about her earning the nickname of the ‘huntress of the north’ but it would have been nice to have the story behind this explored in a little more depth.

Overall, The Polish Daughter is a really powerful piece of historical fiction which has brought Gosia Nealon’s Secret Resistance series to a hell of a close.

Click here to read my review of the first book in Gosia Nealon’s Secret Resistance Series: The Polish Girl.

Click here to read my review of the second book in Gosia Nealon’s Secret Resistance Series: The Polish Wife.

Review: The Maiden by Kate Foster*

  *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.

Title: The Maiden
Author: Kate Foster
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  Capital Punishment, Sexual Violence, Prostitution, References To Abortion

Rating: ★★★★★

"In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me."

Edinburgh, October 1679. Lady Christian is arrested and charged with the murder of her lover, James Forrester. News of her imprisonment and subsequent trial is splashed across the broadsides, with headlines that leave little room for doubt: Adulteress. Whore. Murderess.

Only a year before, Lady Christian was newly married, leading a life of privilege and respectability. So, what led her to risk everything for an affair? And does that make her guilty of murder? She wasn't the only woman in Forrester's life, and certainly not the only one who might have had cause to wish him dead . . .

The Maiden is a fictional account of the real-life case of a woman named Lady Christian Nimmo who was convicted of the murder of her lover and executed in 17^th century Scotland. The story is told through the multiple perspectives of the different women who played varying roles in the life of James Forrester (Lady Christian’s lover and apparent murder victim), including Lady Christian herself. Although they are initially separate perspectives, they gradually begin to intertwine as the story progresses.

Despite being a passionate historical fiction reader, I tend to stick within the realms of the 20^th century so reading something set in the 17^th century was a step into unknown territory for me. But, it’s ultimately a step I’m glad I’ve taken as The Maiden has been one of my standout books of 2023 so far.

Kate Foster’s flawless storytelling made all of the characters truly come alive on the page and for this to be her debut work is really impressive. Each character has such depth and complexity to them and I was particularly captivated by both Lady Christian and Violet. The vivid descriptions of 17^th century Edinburgh were also incredible and clearly impeccably researched.

Lady Christian’s story is a compelling and complex read which takes so many twists and turns that it truly had me on the edge of my seat and made it easy for me to absolutely devour the book in a single sitting. The story jumps between time periods, sharing Lady Christian’s story before the death of James Forrester, during her trial and also in the aftermath of the trial. This is supported by frequent extracts from newspaper articles documenting the trial and the subsequent events.

The story was quite hard-hitting at times as it’s ultimately a tale about the experiences of multiple young women being groomed and exploited by a man in a position of power over them. It does really make you stop and think about how little the female experience has changed in 350 years and this is still terrifyingly common in the 21^st century.

Kate Foster provides a powerful exploration of the idea that historically women haven’t had a voice no matter how loudly they’ve shouted and this is perfectly captured in the quote at the forefront of the blurb: "In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me." I’m a big fan of fiction which provides a feminist commentary and this was done brilliantly in The Maiden through the exploration of the female experience in 17^th century Scotland where society was engulfed by patriarchal and misogynistic ideologies and largely governed by the church. I love that Kate Foster has chosen to use literature to share the story of a real woman silenced and ultimately forgotten by history and it will be really interesting to see if she continues this with her future works.

Overall, The Maiden is an incredible historical fiction work which has the potential to be one of the best we see in 2023. It is truly one of the standout debut novels we’ve seen and it has really secured Kate Foster’s place in a list of authors you need to watch.

Review: The American Wife by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger *

  *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.

Title: The American Wife
Author: Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Antisemitism, Guns

Rating: ★★

With her heart in her mouth, Kitty let herself into her husband’s private study. She knew where he kept the papers that might save her dearest friend from the Nazis. She just had to steal them…

Vienna, 1937. When beautiful American Kitty becomes engaged to Austrian diplomat Edgar, she finds herself thrown into a very different world in Europe, and soon longs for home. But when the woman designing her wedding dress, Judith, takes Kitty under her wing, she sees the city of Vienna in a new light – a city of culture and music that she can explore with her new friend.

But when the Nazis come, the fact that Judith is Jewish means she is no longer safe. Kitty knows that as a diplomat’s wife she can steal the papers that will allow her closest friend to escape to safety, but will it mean betraying the love of her life?

Except that Edgar has grown distant and secretive since she joined him in Europe and, when war breaks out, Kitty wonders which side her husband is really on. And, as she prepares to betray him, Kitty begins to fear that she doesn’t really know the man she married at all.

Facing an impossible choice between her dearest friend and the man she loves, Kitty knows she must be brave, and do the right thing, no matter the personal cost…

 

The American Wife is the latest historical fiction novel by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger and the first in her new ‘The Diplomat’s Wife’ book series.

I want to preface this review by saying that I did really want to like the book as a story focusing on the annexation of Austria and the lives of American diplomats living in pre-war Europe was a really interesting concept but unfortunately it did really miss the mark for me.

One of my primary criticisms of the book was that it tried to be too many things. There were three distinctly separate aspects to the story: Kitty’s work for the US embassy processing visa applications for those trying to leave Austria, the relationship between her and her diplomat husband Edgar despite their apparent opposing political views and her work for the Austrian resistance protecting people being persecuted by the Nazis. All three aspects were interesting plot points in themselves but it felt like they were fighting for page space and therefore none of them were explored in the depth I was craving.

I did particularly find the exploration of the American visa application process for people trying to escape Nazi persecution to be very interesting and something I hadn’t seen before in other Second World War historical fiction novels. It was particularly powerful to see the book shed a light on the impact of international antisemitism

I unfortunately didn’t warm to Kitty’s character at all and that did have a big impact on my overall enjoyment of the story. She felt incredibly immature, selfish and generally unlikeable. Although she did have redeeming qualities such as her determination to do whatever it takes to protect the friends she hadn’t even known for that long, these moments of bravery and thoughtfulness didn’t quite do enough to make up for her negative traits unfortunately.

Although I can be a fan of the instalove trope normally, it was really quite hard to root for Kitty and Edgar’s relationship at all. Their initial connection felt very superficial and their marriage was incredibly rushed, although we are told that this was very typical of Kitty’s character. It was inevitable that the cracks in their relationship would start to show very quickly and I honestly didn’t find myself really caring if they found their way back to each other or not. Kitty was clearly not mature enough for marriage and I felt Edgar would have actually been better finding someone more mature and trusting.

Although they were only supporting characters, I actually found myself really drawn to the different characters within ‘The Gang’ and felt they would have actually been much stronger protagonists than Kitty and Edgar. I am curious to see the direction Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger plans to take the rest of the series to see if we get any further exploration of their stories.

The ending of The American Wife paves the way for the next book in the series although I have to say I did find it predictable, particularly the ‘big twist’ about Pim’s identity.

Overall, whilst The American Wife did feel well researched, the plot and characters really didn’t grip me unfortunately and it ended up feeling like I was having to drag myself towards the end of the book. As stated previously, this was a shame as the different aspects of the storyline were interesting but they just weren’t as effectively executed as I would have wanted.

Review: The First Spark of Fire by Marion Kummerow*

  *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.

Title: The First Spark Of Fire
Author: Marion Kummerow
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Antisemitism, Infertility, Fire, Violence, Guns

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Germany, 1930s: Edith holds the letter in a trembling hand, her eyes fixed on the eagle carrying the terrifying symbol in its claws. The summons from the Gestapo is everything she has dreaded for months. She tells herself she has nothing to fear. She has done nothing wrong…

In this heartbreaking story based on real events, it will be up to one woman to fight for her love in a world that wants to destroy it.

When beautiful, shy Edith married her elegant, banker husband Julius, she believed that their union would be forever. In spite of her humble background, they have loved each other since the minute they met at a dance. As she learns how to behave in the high society world Julius has opened to her, she is determined to enjoy every moment.

But the Nazi party is growing in power, and her marriage comes under increasing strain. Julius is of Jewish origin—and even some of Edith’s closest family believe their relationship is an abomination, demanding she divorce him.

Julius refuses to see the risk, insisting his powerful friends will protect him. But Edith finds herself scared that her husband may be declared her enemy. And if that happens, how will she protect him?

Soon, she finds herself plunged into a world of revolution and danger, where everything she knows can be changed at the stroke of a pen—or the strike of a fist. As the peril grows, can she find the fire in her heart to fight for what is right, at the cost of her own safety?

The First Spark of Fire is the latest gripping historical fiction novel by Marion Kummerow and the first in her new ‘German Wives’ book series. It is a gripping and fast paced exploration of the Nazi rise to power and the impact it had on German citizens, focusing on two fictional housewives Edith and Helga.

The narrative opens in Munich in 1923 and we’re taken on a journey through the 20s and 30s as the Nazi Party take control of Germany and move Europe towards another world war. Although the novel is less than 300 pages long, it provides a deep dive into many key events in Germany during the inter-war period. This includes the Beer Hall Putsch, the Reichstag fire (and the political consequences of the fire such as the Reichstag Fire Decree and Enabling Act), the Night Of The Long Knives, the 1936 Summer Olympics and Kristallnacht. This was all clearly meticulously researched and history is seamlessly woven into the story. As an avid reader of historical fiction focused on the Second World War and the years building up to it, I’ve read a large number of books set during this era but never before have I read something which covered so many crucial historical events in such depth whilst still creating a captivating and emotive story.

The First Spark Of Fire provides an unique perspective on the rise of antisemitism in Germany through its focus on non-Jewish women who were supporting their Jewish husbands (and in Helga’s case, also her half-Jewish children) through the introduction of antisemitic laws and were determined to keep them safe. We have two strong female characters in both Edith and Helga and it was nice to see a strong female friendship represented through the two old school friends reconnecting in adulthood. The choice to give the women contrasting family backgrounds (through their relationships with their husbands, whether or not they had children and also how affluent they were) was really impactful and allowed us to explore the impact rising antisemitism had on a range of different members of society.

Alongside Edith and Helga, we also get some chapters sharing the perspective of Edith’s brother Joseph as he joins the SS and rises through its ranks. I was conflicted on the choice to give Joseph his own chapters as it does ultimately really humanise the SS but on the other hand I do also recognise the importance for historical fiction to explore how ordinary Germans such as Joseph were sucked into the Nazi ideology and became willing to commit such atrocities. Sharing Joseph’s perspective also allowed us to explore how families could have really opposing views on Hitler and the Nazi party and the impact it would have on their family relationships.

In The First Spark of Fire, Marion Kummerow has found a powerful balance between creating a story which is educational and historically accurate whilst also capturing the raw and emotional experiences of German citizens at the time. The characters are all beautifully written and perfectly capture the courage shown by Jewish people and their non-Jewish spouses during the rise of antisemitism. The ending to this book is rather abrupt, paving the way for the next book in the series. After reading the entire story in a single sitting I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Overall, The First Spark of Fire is a powerful and incredibly gripping piece of historical fiction which is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and those with an interest in Second World War history.