The Melody of the Soul, by Liz Tolsma

Publisher’s Overview:

Anna has one chance for survival—and it lies in the hands of her mortal enemy.

It’s 1943 and Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian living in Prague, has lost nearly everything. Most of her family has been deported, and the Nazi occupation ended her career as a concert violinist. Now Anna is left to care for her grandmother, and she’ll do anything to keep her safe—a job that gets much harder when Nazi officer Horst Engel is quartered in the flat below them.

Though musical instruments have been declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to play the violin. But Horst, dissatisfied with German ideology, enjoys her soothing music. When Anna and her grandmother face deportation, Horst risks everything to protect them.

Anna finds herself falling in love with the handsome officer and his brave heart. But what he reveals might stop the music forever. 

First Thoughts:

I’ve enjoyed Liz Tolsma’s previous novels set during World War 2. I can’t find anything about this title on the publisher’s website, however.

My Take:

Liz Tolsma returns with a new fiction series on her specialty subject of World War Two, this time based around the theme of music. It commences with a prologue set in the spring of 1943 as Anna’s family are deported to the camp at Terezin. Not surprisingly, she harbors strong resentment towards anyone in a Nazi uniform. But Horst is, perhaps, a different kind of Nazi. A military man due to nepotism, Horst isn’t exactly naïve but he prefers to close his eyes and not think about the fate of the deported Jews. That’s until he hears Anna’s violin and is inexplicably drawn to her.

This is a tense and emotional novel. Anna and her grandmother wait for their deportation notices to arrive and then wait to be discovered when they don’t obey the instructions. There’s a side story about one of Horst’s colleagues cozying up to a Czech woman who happens to be a member of the resistance. I couldn’t see the point of its inclusion at first, except perhaps to show a contrast in the officers’ behaviors. But the stories combine and lead to a stunning conclusion that makes you rethink what you just read.

Although primarily a dramatic love story set during war time, The Melody of the Soul raises some uncomfortable questions for both the characters and the book’s readers. At one point, Anna point blank asks Horst why no one stopped Hitler long ago, and especially after the events of Kristallnacht. He has no real response for her. The reader is also forced to confront the notion of “good Nazis” versus “bad Nazis.” For every hero in fiction there must be a villain, and Horst’s fellow officer fills that role as he struts around Prague, coerces/seduces Czech women, and willingly shoots any Jew who gets in his way. Still, we must ask ourselves if the notion of a “good Nazi” is based on individual acts such as Horst protecting Anna and her grandmother, rather than the inability to stop the Final Solution.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for my complimentary copy of The Melody of the Soul, which I received for my honest review.

This review is part of a Litfuse Publicity Book Tour

Have you read The Melody of the Soul? Do you plan to read it? Let me know your thoughts.

Excerpt

Publisher: Gilead Publishing

Publication Date: 16 January 2018

Page Count: 320

Read more on:   Liz Tolsma’s Website  Music and the Holocaust

Purchase on:   Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Books-a-million   Christianbook.com

Grounded Hearts, by Jeanne M. Dickson

Publisher’s Overview:

In the midst of World War II, Ireland has declared herself neutral. Troops found on Irish soil must be reported and interned, no matter which side they are fighting for. When midwife Nan O’Neil finds a wounded young Canadian pilot at her door, she knows she’s taking a huge risk by letting him in. Not only is she a widow living alone, but if caught harboring a combatant, she’ll face imprisonment.

Still, something compels Nan to take in “flyboy” Dutch Whitney, an RAF pilot whose bomber has just crashed over County Clare. While she tends to his wounds and gives him a secret place of refuge, the two begin to form a mutual affection—and an unbreakable bond.

But Nan has another secret, one that has racked her with guilt since her husband’s death and made her question ever loving again. As Nan and Dutch plan his escape, can he help restore her faith?

 

First Thoughts:

I’m unfamiliar with Ireland’s role in World War 2, so I’m hoping for a novel that’s informative as well as entertaining.

My Take:

When Dutch Whitney parachutes into an Irish bog, he has two thoughts on his mind: the fate of his crew, and getting back to the fight. But County Clare is a long way from safety, and he’s injured. He’s fortunate to stop at the isolated cottage of a nurse and midwife who can tend to his wounds and who has a car he can “borrow” – if he can get it running.

I have mixed feelings about Grounded Hearts. I felt the plot plodded for the first two-thirds and I didn’t feel the rising tension I expected. I was waiting for Dutch to be discovered, but nothing in my emotions screamed “Danger!” I did grow increasingly annoyed with each appearance of the lecherous – and ambitious – army reserve officer investigating Whitney’s whereabouts. I couldn’t connect with Nan: her Catholic beliefs left her feeling guilty for much of what she did, while my opinion of her republican background was colored by my own experiences of growing up in England during a time of IRA bombs.

One aspect I did make note of was how Nan and Dutch changed. Nan was a lonely woman who eventually found herself surrounded by friends eager to help her. Dutch saw how his military actions could impact innocent civilians just trying to get on with their lives. While helping her ‘flyboy’ escape north, Nan was able to escape from her recent, tragic, past. The title might be Grounded Hearts, but these were two hearts that took flight.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity and Waterfall Press for my complimentary copy of Grounded Hearts, which I received in exchange for my honest review.

This review is part of a Litfuse Publicity Book Tour

Have you read Grounded Hearts? Do you plan to read it? Let me know your thoughts.

Excerpt

Publisher: Waterfall Press (an imprint of Amazon Publishing)

Publication Date: 13 June 2017

Page Count: 348

Read more on:   Jeanne M. Dickson Website

Purchase on:   Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Books-a-million   Christianbook.com

The One True Love of Alice-Ann, by Eva Marie Everson

Publisher’s Overview:

Living in rural Georgia in 1941, sixteen-year-old Alice-Ann has her heart set on her brother’s friend Mack; despite their five-year age gap, Alice-Ann knows she can make Mack see her for the woman she’ll become. But when they receive news of the attack on Pearl Harbor and Mack decides to enlist, Alice-Ann realizes she must declare her love before he leaves.

Though promising to write, Mack leaves without confirmation that her love is returned. But Alice-Ann is determined to wear the wedding dress her maiden aunt never had a chance to wear—having lost her fiancé in the Great War. As their correspondence continues over the next three years, Mack and Alice-Ann are drawn closer together. But then Mack’s letters cease altogether, leaving Alice-Ann to fear history repeating itself.

Dreading the war will leave her with a beautiful dress and no happily ever after, Alice-Ann fills her days with work and caring for her best friend’s war-torn brother, Carlton. As time passes and their friendship develops into something more, Alice-Ann wonders if she’ll ever be prepared to say good-bye to her one true love and embrace the future God has in store with a newfound love. Or will a sudden call from overseas change everything?

First Thoughts:

I’m not sure about the title, as it sounds a bit cutesy for my liking, but I loved the last book I read by Eva Marie Everson.

My Take:

On Alice-Ann’s 16^th birthday, Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor. Although over 2000 men were killed, Alice-Ann can only think about how her birthday party has been ruined. She’d had big plans for that day, including telling her brother’s friend how much she loved him. She finally got her way, but he promised her nothing except that he’d write to her. During the next three years, Alice-Ann got older, finished high school, began working at the bank, helped out on her family’s farm, helped teach Sunday school, and wrote to Mack.

As much as this is a novel about a young woman, this is also a tale about a small town at war forced to change. Life did go on in some respects: young people got married and babies were born. But many of the young men left to join the military, which meant women taking their jobs in various occupations. A POW camp opened and the townspeople had to occasionally interact with ‘the enemy.’ And then there were the tragedies: a local boy was killed in action, and another came home severely injured. What was life like for those left ‘at home?’

The message of this book is that life never goes how you think – or hope – it will. It might even work out for the better. Sometimes, something amazing can even come out of the direst of circumstances. I wanted to flip to the back to get to the ending, but I didn’t want to be spoiled! Because, really, learning the identity of Alice-Ann’s ‘true love’ is as much as the journey as it is the destination.

Thank you to Tyndale House for my complimentary copy of The One True Love of Alice-Ann, which I received in exchange for my honest review.

Have you read The One True Love of Alice-Ann? Do you plan to read it? Let me know your thoughts.

Excerpt

Publisher: Tyndale House

Publication Date: 01 April 2017

Page Count: 432

Read more on:   Eva Marie Everson’s Website   Tyndale’s Website

Purchase on:   Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Books-a-million   Christianbook.com